Walt Disney World, the mammouth tourist attraction which opened in 1971 at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, boasts of owning the "world's seventh largest navy." The Disney fleet consists of over four-hundred excursion vessels of varying sizes and annually handles over ten-million passengers.
The vessels, which roughly fall into ten basic categories, were designed by Admiral Joe Fowler and the Morgan Yacht Corporation, St. Petersburg, Florida. Admiral Fowler is retired from the United States Navy and is a senior vice- president for Walt Disney Productions in charge of engineering and construction. The Admiral also serves as the fleet's commodore.
The majority of the ten categories have only minor appeal to Society members, as they consist of such craft as "unsinkable family sailboats" and "steerable rafts." Five of the types, however, make Walt Disney World well worth a Society member's visit.
Although by no means the largest members of the Disney fleet, SOUTHERN SEAS and PORTS-O- CALL, designated as the "Osceola" class in honor of Florida's famed Indian chief, rank at the top of the steamboat buff's list.
What makes the pair so special is the fact that they are powered by steam single piston walking beam engines. With a 23' bore and 62" stroke, the engines were designed by M.A.P.O., a Disney manufacturing subsidiary located in California. Steam is supplied by oil fired boilers capable of 300 pounds per square inch, which in turn is reduced to 50 pounds for maximum operating efficiency.
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