The Sailing Ship ''Columbia'', located at the

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

park in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, is a full-scale replica of '' Columbia Rediviva'', the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. The ''Columbia'' has operated in the park for more than fifty years. Passengers of the ship take a 12-minute trip around the Rivers of America. At night, the ''Columbia'' plays the role of a pirate ship in riverfront performances of the park's nighttime show, '' Fantasmic!''

History

When

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

decided that the Rivers of America needed more river traffic and wanted another large ship to join the ''

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

'', he asked Joe Fowler, who was Disneyland's construction supervisor and a former naval admiral, to suggest a historic sailing ship for inspiration. After examining every maritime museum in the country, Fowler recommended the first American sailing ship to go around the world: the '' Columbia Rediviva''. However, there is only one known picture in existence of the original vessel. WED researchers used it, along with research materials from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, to design the ''Columbia''. Architect, artist, and marine expert Ray Wallace was commissioned in 1957 to work with Fowler in creating the construction plans, the original designs were sketched out on a napkin by Ray Wallace at a meeting to discuss the final design of the ship. Wallace would later be known for designing the '' Lady Washington'', a replica of the original ''Columbia's'' tender ship, and prop ship for HMS ''Interceptor'' in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and as Captain Hook's ship in

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

. The ''Columbia's'' masts, rigging, spars, and sails were constructed at Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where the ''

''s hull had been built a few years earlier. After Fowler told Disney that it was customary to put a silver dollar under each mast before it was set, Disney personally put one under each of the ''Columbia''s three masts. For the ship's christening on June 4, 1958, Fowler was dressed as a sailing captain of the 18th century, while the Mouseketeers appeared as his crew. Since then, the sailing ship ''Columbia'' has had many extensive refurbishments, but the only major change has been the addition of the crew quarters exhibit in 1964. The ''Columbia'' was christened by Gretchen Campbell Richmond, wife of Alfred C. Richmond, Commandant of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

(1954–1962). A copy of the ''Columbia'' was planned for Disney World, but it was canceled and replaced with plans to build a second steamboat. On January 11, 2016, the Sailing Ship ''Columbia'', along with the other attractions and shows along the Rivers of America, closed temporarily for the construction of ''Star Wars'': Galaxy's Edge. The ship reopened on July 29, 2017.

Attraction description

Passengers wait for the ship, which departs every 25 minutes, inside a sheltered area called Frontier Landing, located in

Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company, Disney around the world. Themed to the American frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and Settler, pioneers, ...

. The waiting area for the ''Columbia'' is shared with the ''Mark Twain'' Riverboat. Historic United States flags are displayed at the attraction's entrance. Passengers board the full-scale replica of the original sailing ship ''Columbia'' by climbing steps, also known as the "brow", up onto the main deck. Once on board, they can visit a nautical museum below deck, which shows what life was like for the 1787 crew. In addition to the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

pantry A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, (sometimes) dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etymol ...

, dry stores, and sick bay, there are quarters for the crew, bosun and bosun's mate,

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

, captain, and surgeon. Once the ship casts off, it begins its voyage around the Rivers of America. The ship, which has three masts and rigging but rarely unfurls its sails, is powered by a compressed natural gas engine (formerly a Marine Detroit Diesel 2-stroke). It runs along the same track as the ''Mark Twain'', hidden by green dye in the water. The captain provides a tongue-in-cheek running commentary as he calls orders to his crew, while recorded background music plays a selection of nautical songs, such as " Blow the Man Down". As the ship passes Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island, a ''Columbia'' cast member fires a 12-gauge blank from one of the ship's ten cannons. The Fort also had a cannon that used to fire back. The Sailing Ship ''Columbia'' operates only on the park's busiest days, or when the ''Mark Twain'' is not operating. The attraction usually opens at 11am and closes at dusk. On evenings when '' Fantasmic!'' is being performed, the ship, which plays the role of Captain Hook's pirate ship in the show, will also close at dusk. In 2017-2023 incarnations of ''Fantasmic!'', the ship served as Black Pearl. When the ship is not operating, it is docked at Fowler's Harbor, near the Haunted Mansion attraction.

Accidents

On December 24, 1998, a cleat used to secure the ship to the dock tore loose, striking park visitors Luan Phi Dawson, 33, of Duvall, Washington, and his 43-year-old wife Lieu Thuy Vuong in the head, as their son and grandchild and other park visitors looked on. 30-year-old park employee Christine Carpenter of

was also injured. Dawson was declared brain-dead two days later at UCI Medical Center in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

, when his life support system was disconnected.

Soundtrack

* " Show Narration", 3:25 * " Haul Boys Haul", 2:05 * " Oh Johnny Come to Hilo", 2:30 * " Song of the Fishes", 1:41 * "

Drunken Sailor "Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?" or "Up She Rises", is a traditional sea shanty, listed as List of folk songs by Roud number, No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It was sung aboard sailing ships at ...

", 1:51 * " A Whale of a Tale", 1:44 * " An American Frigate", 2:08 * " Blow the Man Down", 2:12 Current songs (all vocals): " Blow the Man Down", "Clear the Track (Let the Bulgine Run)", "One More Day", " Rolling Home" and "Song of the Fishes".

References

Sources

External links

*
Sailing Ship ''Columbia'' at AllEarsNet.comSailing Ship ''Columbia'' at MousePlanet.com

at MiceAge {{coord, 33.81234, N, 117.92062, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark_scale:2000, display=title Amusement rides introduced in 1958 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Disneyland Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gentle boat rides Frontierland Audio-Animatronic attractions Western (genre) amusement rides 1958 establishments in California Age of Sail