Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat

The Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat was named after the retired navy admiral who was in charge of the construction of both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Facts

* Opened: October 2, 1971
* Closed: 1980
* Ticket: D Ticket

History

It was named for a retired Naval Admiral who had an important part in the building of Walt Disney World. Admiral Fowler had run the San Francisco naval shipyard during WW II, when Walt was looking for a naval expert to help with the building of the Mark Twain Steamship in 1954 for the then under-construction Disneyland. He found the retired General supervising the construction of tract homes in the San Francisco region as construction boss for the whole Disneyland project. After Disneyland was completed, Fowler stayed on as General Manager of the park for its first 10 years, and assisted with the construction of Walt Disney World. He retired from Disney in 1978 though he continued on as a consultant.

When a second steam ship was added to the Rivers of America in 1973, it was named for imagineer Richard F Irvine. The original Fowler was damaged during a refurbishment in 1980. The Disney company decided that having TWO steamships in the Magic Kingdom was not necessary so the Fowler was scrapped. [http://bigbrian-nc.livejournal.com/#entry_1152]

In 1999, one of the ferries that crosses the Seven Seas Lagoon taking guests from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Magic Kingdom was renamed in his honor; it was originally known as the Magic Kingdom I, and is the one with the Green side panels.

External links

* [http://legends.disney.go.com/legends/detail?key=Joe+Fowler - Admiral Joe Fowler Disney Ledgend]
* [http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com/id141.htm Walt Dated World - Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat]
* [http://www.aednet.org/ced/jan98/disney.htm - Kingdom Builders]
* [http://www.bigbrian-nc.com/wdw-pc05.htm#fowler - Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat]