Mark Twain -

Liberty Belle - Molly Brown

The first steam ship in the Disney fleet was Disneyland's Mark Twain. It was christened by Irene Dunne as part of the park's opening ceremonies on July 17, 1955. The Mark Twain is a stern wheeler with three levels. To finance it, Walt Disney took out a mortgage on his home. The week before Disneyland opened he held his wedding anniversary on board. This same ship still sales today  leaving its Frontierland dock and traveling down Disneyland's Rivers of America.

The Magic Kingdom has had three steam ships travel the Rivers of America during it's life time. The first steam ship, the Admiral Joe Fowler,   opened on October 2, 1971 . It was named for the man in charge of the pre-opening construction of Walt Disney World. It was retired in 1980. The second of the Magic Kingdom's Sternwheelers was the Richard F. Irvine. It's first trip was on May 20th, 1973. This ship was named for the retired head of WED enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering). The ship was retired in 1996. The third and latest sternwheeler is named Liberty Belle. The name was most likely chosen because the ship docks in Liberty Square. It is interesting to note that two of the ferries that shuttle guests between the Ticket Transportation center and the Magic Kingdom are named Admiral Joe Fowler and Richard F. Irvine.

Tokyo Disneyland chose to duplicate Disneyland's Mark Twain to traverse its version of the Rivers of America. Although this ship sets sail from Westernland, the dock is a duplicate of the Liberty Square dock found in Florida's Magic Kingdom. Tokyo Disneyland still uses ticket books as well as all day passports. The Mark Twain is an E ticket attraction.

Disneyland Paris not only duplicated Disneyland's Mark Twain but also added a completely new steamship, the Molly Brown. This ship is a side-wheeler. Both boats depart from a duplicate of the Disneyland boat dock for a trip around the Rivers of the Far West.