I’ve Been Visiting Disneyland Since I Was a Child and I Finally Tried The One Ride I Have Always Skipped

There is one ride at Disneyland that so many frequent visitors skip entirely and many new guests do not even know exists!

This is probably the most frequented skip ride in the park either due to the style of the ride itself, the physical energy it requires or just because guests don't even know it is there!

I have been visiting Disneyland since the '90s as a child and I just now finally went on the ride that I always skip, despite our multiple visits each year we just NOW experienced this ride!

A Disney Ride That Requires Exercise?

Yes, you read that right. This Disneyland attraction requires actual exercise! Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes in Frontierland are trackless, canoes that actually require that all guests paddle to make the trip around the Rivers of America.

These 20-passenger canoes are real floating canoes with NO motor and NO track. They are entirely powered by guests that must paddle around the Rivers of America. These canoes are modeled after the same boats that early Native American and European explorers used and they are 35-feet long.

Davy's Crockett's Explorer Canoes Test Your Strength

These canoes are named are the 19th century icon Davy Crockett. The route of Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes take guests around the Rivers of America and are real, free-floating canoes.

There is no motor and no track, they are completely powered by guests. These 35-foot-long canoes are powered entirely by paddles so you will need to be an active participant on this ride!

Be prepared to work up a sweat especially if you do this on a hot day like we did. But part of what makes this ride tough is that how hard you have to work depends on how much everyone else on the boat participates. If you have a canoe full of guests that aren't participating, those that do are going to have a harder job.

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Are the Disneyland Canoes a Skip?

The cast members that work on the Disneyland canoes have a wonderful sense of humor and interacted with us in a similar way the Jungle Cruise skippers do. They made plenty of jokes about doing the ride that “no one in Disney ever wants to do” and poked fun at us for paddling too slowly. Their high energy and humor really were the highlight of the attraction.

You also get the experience of a different point of view of the Rivers of America as you cruise around Tom Sawyer's Island. It was fun seeing the water up close including all the Disney ducks!

There are also plenty of different wildlife and Native American statues and animatronics to view as you go around the river. But the real show stopper on this ride are the cast members. For their humor alone, I think it's worth doing the Disneyland canoes at least once. We were glad we did it even though we picked a hotter than normal day but it was definitely something I'm glad I finally did.

Now it's your turn to go drag your family on this ride that everyone at Disneyland always skips!

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