# Disney Boat Ride - Source of Propulsion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481 "2010-02-26T03:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/1 "2010-02-26T03:17:03Z")
Maybe I’m overlooking something, but what propels the boat in the Disney ride, “It’s a Small World”? The water seems to have little to no current, and the boat seems to have no motor. Is the boat on wheels, and an electric motor silently pushes the boat along? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/2 "2010-02-26T03:20:18Z")
It’s on a track. I assume it has a motor that with wheels either riding the track or the floor that drive it. I suppose it could also use a cable or chain to pull it along, I’m not sure, but there is a track under the water. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/3 "2010-02-26T03:27:38Z")
The It’s A Small World ride uses flume pumps. The water appears to be still, because the boat is moving with it. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/4 "2010-02-26T03:29:31Z")
Flume pumps? Please explain, if you would (to make this OP complete). ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/5 "2010-02-26T03:33:54Z")
If you ever taken Disney’s riverboat ride around Tom Sawyer Island, you will notice the boat seems to dock like a real boat. So, is this boat ride actually for real? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/6 "2010-02-26T03:38:35Z")
The ride is a ‘flume ride’, in which a boat floats along with the current in the same way a log moves down a flume. Whereas a log flume is powered by gravity, amusement park rides have to be a closed circuit. So to move the water, pumps are built in to push it along. I know that on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I have felt the water jets on the bottom of the boat. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/7 "2010-02-26T03:43:29Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > If you ever taken Disney’s riverboat ride around Tom Sawyer Island, you will notice the boat seems to dock like a real boat. So, is this boat ride actually for real? I didn’t think we really needed two separate threads about Disney boat rides, especially since the original title just referred to boat rides in general, so I have merged this one with the previous one on “It’s a Small World.” Note that **Johnny L.A.s** post before this one is in reference to “It’s a Small World,” not the Tom Sawyer one. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/8 "2010-02-26T03:45:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I didn’t think we really needed two separate threads about Disney boat rides, so I have merged this one with the previous one on “It’s a Small World.” > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Thanks…good idea! My apologies for two similar posts… ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/9 "2010-02-26T03:47:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The ride is a ‘flume ride’, in which a boat floats along with the current in the same way a log moves down a flume. Whereas a log flume is powered by gravity, amusement park rides have to be a closed circuit. So to move the water, pumps are built in to push it along. I know that on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I have felt the water jets on the bottom of the boat. I agree. But, on “It’s A Small World”, I do not feel it. Maybe it is weaker and/or I am more engrossed by the scenery to notice??? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/10 "2010-02-26T03:55:53Z")
[Here’s a photo](http://www.mouseplanet.info/gallery/d/79161-1/IASW1-091308-AVP.jpg) of the IASW flume. Note the ‘trench’ in the middle. I don’t know if the boats have keels that stick into it, or if they have a pair of wheels. In any case, they’re carried along by the moving water. The paddle boat is actually run on steam. It has a Diesel generator for electrical power. The boat runs along an I-beam. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/11 "2010-02-26T03:58:23Z")
The only self-guided boats in DL are the canoes and rafts. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/12 "2010-02-26T03:59:10Z")
Ahhh, yes, I remember now seeing the jets here and there keeping the current moving, but IIRC there was a track to keep it on course. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/13 "2010-02-26T04:12:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I don’t know if the boats have keels that stick into it, or if they have a pair of wheels. I don’t know if this will shed any light on the matter, but the reason the ride was recently closed for an extended period of time is that the canal had to be deepened. The reason for this (as explained to me by a park employee) is that Americans have become so fat since the ride was first constructed that the boats were scraping the bottom. I’m guessing that if they are on wheels then this wouldn’t be an issue, since the wheel would support the boat. But then again, the boats may still have wheels and the ride’s functioning is dependent on a certain amount of buoyancy being present for the wheels to turn freely. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-boat-ride-source-of-propulsion/530481/14 "2010-02-26T04:19:32Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I’m guessing that if they are on wheels then this wouldn’t be an issue, since the wheel would support the boat. But then again, the boats may still have wheels and the ride’s functioning is dependent on a certain amount of buoyancy being present for the wheels to turn freely. I was guessing that the wheels (if they exist) might be mounted horizontally, so that they roll along the sides of the trench.