The Sailing Ship Columbia, located at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

, is a full-scale replica of Columbia Rediviva

Columbia Rediviva

Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...

, the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. Its passengers embark on a scenic, 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America

Rivers of America (Disney)

The Rivers of America is an artificial river found in the Frontierland district of the Magic Kingdom-classed Disney theme parks around the world. The first river was built in Disneyland when the park opened in 1955. It surrounds Tom Sawyer Island, which can be reached by rafts traveling from the...

. When it was constructed in 1958, it was the first three-masted windjammer

Windjammer

A windjammer is the ultimate type of large sailing ship with an iron or for the most part steel hull, built to carry cargo in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century...

 to have been built in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in more than 100 years. The Columbia has entertained park visitors for nearly fifty years, including its continued role of Captain Hook's pirate ship in the park's popular Fantasmic show.

Ride description

Passengers wait for the 84 feet (25.6 m) ship, which departs every 25 minutes, inside a sheltered area called Frontier Landing, located in the Frontierland

Frontierland

Tokyo Disneyland's instance is known as Westernland, as "frontier" does not adequately translate into the Japanese language. The Mark Twain sails this park's Rivers of America...

 section of the park. The waiting area, which the 110 feet (33.5 m) Columbia shares with the Mark Twain Riverboat

Mark Twain Riverboat

The Mark Twain Riverboat is an attraction, located at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, on which passengers embark on a scenic, 12-minute journey around the Rivers of America. Originally named the Mark Twain Steamboat when the park opened in 1955, the stately, 5/8-scale...

, is made to resemble a real dock, with cargo deliveries sharing space on the dock. 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, pantry, dry stores, and sick bay, there are quarters for the crew, bosun and bosun's mate, first mate, 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 does not unfurl its sails, is powered by a compressed natural gas engine. It runs along the same track, hidden by the green dye in the water, as the Mark Twain.

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

Blow the Man Down

Blow the Man Down is a sea shanty. The lyric "Blow the man down" refers to the act of knocking a man to the ground.-Lyrics:The full lyrics areChorus:Oh, blow the man down, bullies, blow the man downWay aye blow the man down...

". As the ship passes Fort Wilderness on Tom Sawyer Island

Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island is an artificial island surrounded by the Rivers of America at Disneyland. It contains caves with references to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, Mark Twain characters from the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and provides interactive, climbing,...

, a Columbia cast member fires two 12-gauge blanks 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!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic! is a Disney nighttime show at Disneyland in the Disneyland Resort, Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World and Tokyo DisneySea in Tokyo Disney Resort. The show features fireworks, live actors, water effects, fire, music, several boats, decorated rafts and projections onto large...

 is being performed, the ship, which plays the role of Captain Hook’s pirate ship in the show, will also close at dusk. When the ship is not operating, it is docked at Fowler's Harbor, near the Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...

 attraction.

History

When Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 decided that the Rivers of America needed more river traffic and wanted another large ship to join the Mark Twain, he asked Joe Fowler, who was Disneyland's construction supervisor and a former naval admiral, to pick 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

Columbia Rediviva

Columbia Rediviva was a privately owned ship under the command of John Kendrick, along with Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. The "Rediviva" was added to her name upon a rebuilding in 1787...

. However, there is only one known picture in existence of the original windjammer. WED

Walt Disney Imagineering

Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...

 researchers used it, along with research materials from the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

, to design the Columbia.

Architect Ray Wallace was commissioned in 1957 to work with Fowler in creating the construction plans. The ship was constructed at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, where the Mark Twain 's hull was 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 a silver dollar under each of the Columbias three masts.

For the ship’s christening on June 4, 1958, Fowler was dressed as a sailing captain of the 18th century, while the Mousketeers

Mickey Mouse Club

The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...

 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.

Yesterland on the river

There are a few things from Yesterland that the boat passes along the river. The Burning Settler's Cabin, which used to use propane to burn, is passed along the way. The Disneyland Cabin was recently doused, and the one at Walt Disney World is no longer burning.

The Mine Train passed is actually one of the original Mine Trains from the Old Nature's Wonderland Attraction. The critters popping out are Animatronics also from the same attraction. They stopped popping out recently. The Mine Train is on the original track of the attraction and used to border the Cascade Peak, also left over from the attraction but was demolished in 1998 due to structural failure. The train was removed in June 2010 for restoration.

There is an hour long movie, "Columbia", made by cast members in 1988. It was "filmed" in the early morning hours before the park would open and featured the keelboat

Keelboat

Keelboat has two distinct meanings related to two different types of boats: one a riverine cargo-capable working boat, and the other a classification for small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yachts.-Historical keel-boats:...

s for "mail delivery" and both the old Fowler's Harbor as the crew's shore cabins and the Golden Horseshoe Landing as the Admiral's residence. The script was based on a M.A.S.H. episode, but the "home-made" commercials are the real gems of the ocean voyage.

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

Duvall, Washington

Duvall is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on SR 203, halfway between Monroe and Carnation. The population was 6,695 at the 2010 census.-History:...

 and his wife in the head, as their son and grandchild and other horrified park visitors looked on. Dawson was declared brain dead two days later and died when his life support system was disconnected. A park employee was also injured. See Incidents at Disneyland Resort

Incidents at Disneyland Resort

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.While the California Department of Safety and Health has ruled that some guest-related incidents are Disney's fault, the majority of incidents were due to negligence on the guests' part.The...

 for more information.

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", 1:51
• "A Whale of a Tale", 1:44
• "An American Frigate", 2:08
• "Blow the Man Down", 2:12

External links

• Sailing Ship Columbia at Disneyland.Disney.Go.com
  Go.com
  Go.com is a web portal first launched by Jeff Gold, and now operated by the Walt Disney Internet Group, which is a part of The Walt Disney Company. The portal includes content from ABC News, ESPN, and FamilyFun.com, all of which are associated with Disney and are hosted under a .go.com name...
  
  
• Sailing Ship Columbia at AllEarsNet.com
• Sailing Ship Columbia at MousePlanet.com
• The Columbia Story at MiceAge