5 things to know about the Mark Twain Riverboat attraction in Disneyland

The Mark Twain Riverboat in Frontierland at Disneyland has been running since July 17, 1955, going around the Rivers of America.

The ship captures the look, ambiance, refinement and design of a 19th century steamboat.

Mark Twain Riverboat in this Disney publicity photo.

Here are five fun facts about the ship:

1. The Mark Twain Riverboat is 28 feet tall and 105 feet long, it is a 5/8 scale sternwheeler that runs on steam.

2. The ship’s maiden voyage was on July 13th, 1955, for a celebration of Walt and Lillian’s 30th wedding anniversary.

3. Walt Disney named the boat after one of America’s greatest writers and Walt’s personal hero, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who was a riverboat pilot as a young man. That experience inspired his pen name; “mark twain” is a riverboat term that means a vessel is at a safe depth.

4. “Mark Twain” narrates the trip and details a time when traveling was as much about new discoveries as it was about transportation.

5. The entire voyage around the Rivers of America takes 12 minutes.