Meet the Magic Kingdom's First New Ferryboat in 50 Years: It Will Carry Meg Crofton's Name
A real Friday treat from Disney Parks Blog: a brand-new ferryboat is joining the Seven Seas Lagoon fleet at Magic Kingdom for the first time since 1976. It will carry the name Meg Gilbert Crofton, the former president of the Walt Disney World Resort and the only woman to ever lead the property.
The headlines:
First new ferryboat since 1976. The Seven Seas Lagoon fleet has been three boats strong since the bicentennial year. This is the first new addition in five decades.
Named for Meg Crofton. Crofton was the fourth president of Walt Disney World, serving from 2006 to 2013, and is the only woman to have led the resort. She already has a Main Street, U.S.A. window, dedicated in 2015.
Launches in 2027. The new vessel joins the existing trio: Admiral Joe Fowler, General Joe Potter, and Richard F. Irvine.
Concept art for the new Magic Kingdom ferryboat. Image: Disney Parks Blog.
Why this matters
The Magic Kingdom ferryboats have been a fixture of the resort since opening day in 1971, shuttling guests between the Transportation and Ticket Center and the park entrance. The original three boats, named Admiral Joe Fowler, General Joe Potter, and Richard F. Irvine in 1997 after a renaming, all carry the names of men who shaped the construction and early years of Walt Disney World.
Adding a fourth boat named for Meg Crofton breaks two long patterns at once: it brings a new vessel into a 50-year-static fleet, and it puts the name of a woman on the lagoon for the first time. Crofton led WDW for seven years, including the build-out of New Fantasyland and the opening of Disney's Art of Animation Resort. Disney recognized her with a Main Street window in 2015 (the highest visible honor a Disney leader gets in the parks), and the ferryboat is a step beyond that.
Meg Crofton, former president of Walt Disney World Resort. Image: Disney Parks Blog.
Disney Parks Blog included a quote from Crofton on the announcement: "I was humbled to learn that my name would be on this new ferryboat. It means so much to be recognized by the cast members I had the privilege of working with for so many years."
The existing fleet
For context, the three existing ferryboats are:
Admiral Joe Fowler, named after the construction admiral who oversaw the building of Walt Disney World.
General Joe Potter, named after the army engineer who handled the resort's infrastructure.
Richard F. Irvine, named after the Imagineer who served as president of WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering).
The existing fleet on Seven Seas Lagoon. Image: Disney Parks Blog.
Quick planner notes
2027 launch. Disney did not give an exact date in the announcement. The boat is in build now, with expected service entry next year.
The ferryboats run between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom. They are an alternate to the monorail and the resort buses, and historically the calmest way to see Cinderella Castle from the water on the way in.
Photo angle. The view of all three (soon four) boats lined up at the dock from the Magic Kingdom side is one of the resort's most underrated photo spots, especially at golden hour.
Sources
Image credits. All images: Disney Parks Blog.
