The Disney Attraction That Runs on French Fries!

This may be one of the most interesting behind-the-scenes Disney facts we’ve ever heard! Disney Parks shared a video on TikTok that explains how they fuel the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland Park, and you have to see it to believe it!

The Mark Twain Riverboat is a sightseeing attraction in Frontierland that takes Guests around Pirate’s Lair and Tom Sawyer Island. The 19th-century paddleboat cruises around the Rivers of America in a relaxing 14-minute trip.

It’s the perfect attraction to experience if you need a rest in the middle of a summer Park day. Along the route are waterfalls, cabins, villages, and animal animatronics for Guests to observe and enjoy.

With a working steam engine, this authentic reproduction is propelled by a giant paddle that moves the vessel along. According to the video, Disneyland uses refined french fry oil to power the Riverboat!

Wait, what? It’s true! The Park uses old cooking oil from various restaurants within the Resort to make the ship go. In addition to the Riverboat, the potato oil is also used to fuel all five of Disneyland’s Steam Trains.

This recycling program eliminates the need for roughly 200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel which the Riverboat and Trains would require yearly to run.

@disneyparks

How do french fries run the Mark Twain at Disneyland? 🍟🚢 #Disney #DisneyParks #Disneyland #DisneyPlanetPossible #Conservation #FrenchFries #Potato #Oil #Boat #RiverBoat #DidYouKnow #HowDoesThis

♬ original sound – Disney Parks

Here’s an interesting fact you may not have known about the Mark Twain Riverboat. Walt Disney was a huge fan of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who went by the pen name of Mark Twain.

Clemens wrote the famous tales, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which were favorites of Walt’s. As a young man, Clemens was a Riverboat pilot, and his experience at sea was the inspiration behind his pen name, a boating term that means a vessel is at a safe depth.

Disney’s goal is to get closer to net zero emissions by the year 2030. I don’t know about you, but I’ll never think of a Disneyland french fry the same way again!