El Rio del Tiempo ("The River of Time") was a

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

housed within the pyramid-shaped Mexico pavilion, in EPCOT Center at

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista ( or ) is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World, although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically loc ...

. The ride carried passengers on a slow boat ride through various scenes from Mexico's history. The scenes were filled with doll-sized

Audio-Animatronic Audio-Animatronics (also known simply as AAs) are a form of Mechatronics, mechatronic animatronics puppetry created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Trademark, trademarked by The Walt Disney Company for use in designed shows and attractions at Disn ...

figures clad in authentic folk clothing, singing, dancing and playing music.

Synopsis

The ride began on a quiet river under an evening sky. It passed a

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

and continued on to scenes of native inhabitants. The ride continued with scenes of swimming, jumping into the ocean and relaxing at a bar. It would pass a Mexican shop, where merchants talked directly to the riders and tried to bargain with them. The finale was a fireworks filled night sky in modern-day

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, with oversized marionettes dancing in a carousel.

Closure

El Rio del Tiempo closed on January 2, 2007 and was updated into a new ride titled Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in April 2007. The updated ride is based on the characters from the 1944 Disney film ''

The Three Caballeros ''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action and animated musical propaganda anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the ...

'', including

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

, Jose Carioca and

Panchito Pistoles Panchito Pistoles is a cartoon anthropomorphic rooster created by Fred Moore. He first appeared in the 1944 Disney film ''The Three Caballeros'' with his friends Donald Duck and José Carioca. He later appeared in several Disney comics, includin ...

. The attraction's new story has Panchito and Jose searching for Donald across Mexico. It features much of the same settings as El Rio del Tiempo, and is located in the same place.

References

External links

Walt Disney World Resort - Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Del Tiempo Amusement rides introduced in 1982 Amusement rides that closed in 2007 Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Epcot Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gentle boat rides Water rides Audio-Animatronic attractions 1982 establishments in Florida 2007 disestablishments in Florida

Synopsis

Closure

See also

References

External links