El Rio del Tiempo

Former dark ride at Epcot

28°22′19″N 81°32′48″W / 28.37194°N 81.54667°W / 28.37194; -81.54667StatusRemovedOpening dateOctober 1, 1982Closing dateJanuary 2, 2007Replaced byGran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros Ride statisticsAttraction typeBoat CanalDesignerWalt Disney ImagineeringThemeMexican Mythology and HistoryCapacity1656 riders per hourVehicle typeBoatRiders per vehicle16Duration8:07PropulsionPropulsion Pumps

Must transfer from wheelchair

Closed captioning available

El Rio del Tiempo ("The River of Time") was a dark ride housed within the pyramid-shaped Mexico pavilion, in EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The ride carried passengers on a slow boat ride through various scenes from Mexico's history. The scenes were filled with doll-sized Audio-Animatronic figures clad in authentic folk clothing, singing, dancing and playing music.

Synopsis

The ride began on a quiet river under an evening sky. It passed a volcano and continued on to scenes of native inhabitants. The ride continued with scenes of swimming, jumping into the ocean and relaxing at a bar. It would pass a Mexican shop, where merchants talked directly to the riders and tried to bargain with them. The finale was a fireworks filled night sky in modern-day Mexico City, with oversized marionettes dancing in a carousel.

Closure

El Rio del Tiempo closed on January 2, 2007 and was updated into a new ride titled Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in April 2007.^[1] The updated ride is based on the characters from the 1944 Disney film The Three Caballeros, including Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. The attraction's new story has Jose and Panchito searching for Donald across Mexico. It features much of the same settings as El Rio del Tiempo, and is located in the same place.^[2]

References

^ Kassab, Beth; Powers, Scott (February 5, 2007). "Attracting more foreign tourists". The Orlando Sentinel. p. X8. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
^ "WDWMAGIC.COM WDW, Walt Disney World News Rumors Photos Reviews Discussion Forum". Archived from the original on April 10, 2007.