Walt Disney World has officially announced that the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom, including the Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island, is closing permanently at the end of July 6, 2025, immediately following the Fourth of July weekend.
For many, the timing feels symbolic, as Disney says farewell to a piece of Americana just one day after celebrating America’s independence.
A Closed Sign on the Entrance to Tom Sawyer’s Island – Photo Credit: M. Montanaro
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The decision ends over five decades of history along the Rivers of America, which has been a defining part of Frontierland and Liberty Square since the park’s early years. While the river itself existed on opening day in 1971, the Liberty Belle Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island officially launched in May 1973. The riverboat, a steam-powered paddlewheeler, has long offered guests a scenic, narrated tour through a romanticized American frontier, complete with show scenes nestled along the waterbanks.
Tyler Dean Morgan in front of the Rivers of America in What Walt Would Say – YouTube, TDMcDowellVEVO
Over the years, the area has also seen the closure of several other attractions:
- The Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes in 1994
- The Mike Fink Keelboats in 2001
Notably, the dock for the Mike Fink Keelboats in Liberty Square—repurposed in recent years as part of the extended Haunted Mansion queue—will also be demolished in the upcoming construction. This marks a broader transformation of the area that will eliminate nearly all remaining traces of the original Rivers of America experience.
The dock at Tom Sawyer Island in Walt Disney World – M. Montanaro
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Construction walls will not be erected immediately after the closure, but they are expected to go up in the weeks following. A representative from Walt Disney Imagineering confirmed the walls will not obstruct guest pathways or parade viewing areas in the near term.
The replacement? A Cars-themed expansion of Frontierland. Rather than recreating the desert vistas of Radiator Springs and Route 66, this new experience will shift the Pixar property to a fictional National Park set in the Mountains. While details remain limited, early plans point to a fully immersive environment with new attractions and themed dining experiences.
Concept art for Disney’s unnamed Cars attraction for smaller racers at Magic Kingdom
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As for the Liberty Belle herself, her fate is still undecided. According to Disney, conversations are ongoing about what to do with the iconic vessel. Whether she will be relocated, preserved, or dismantled has yet to be revealed.
The move follows a broader pattern across Disney Parks, where classic American and frontier themes have steadily given way to IP-driven expansions. For many longtime guests and Disney history fans, the closure represents more than a logistical shift—it’s the quiet removal of a once-proud tribute to America’s past.
The Rivers of America and Big Thunder Mountain in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: M. Montanaro
With this announcement, Disney closes out Independence Day by quite literally sailing away from its own celebration of American history.
How do you feel about the Rivers of America closing officially in Walt Disney World? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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This makes me sad on many levels. I was fortunate enough to go to Disneyland many times as a kid and if you had asked me which was more fun, The Matterhorn, Space Mountain, or playing tag with my cousins around Tom Sawyer island (and especially Injun Joe’s cave!), I don’t think I could have decided.
Young me would have told you the river boat (or maybe the gondola, it the 30th time around in the train) was boring, but the river boat was never for us kids. As an adult, I will miss it and I wish anything I’d done could have made the difference for them to keep SOMETHING of this special area.
Personally, I think they should build a loch and keep the boat there as a museum of the old Frontierland. But that wouldn’t be a good use of space. Maybe if we all petitioned them to change it into a floating “adult space” (read: a bar) Disney would go for it. That seems about their speed under current leadership.
Yeah, that’s the ticket!