Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing

In October 2025, Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing returned after a long closure. Guests had been without the attraction since early January, when work also began on Big Thunder Mountain. The mine train reopened in June, but the riverboat remained out of service for several more months. When Molly Brown finally ran again across the Rivers of the Far West, the most striking detail was what was missing: the previously promised scenes based on Marc Davis designs were not visible. Looopings mentioned the announced buffalo and deer by the waterfall, but guests could not yet see those additions. That gave the reopening a mixed tone. Fans were pleased that Frontierland had regained its moving river scenery, yet the quality boost Disney had outlined in April had not materialised. The article also made clear once more that Molly Brown is now the only operational boat; Mark Twain had effectively become scrap. It records an important recent chapter for the attraction: a return, but with unfinished expectations.

In April 2025, Disneyland Paris presented new plans for the surroundings of Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing. The Rivers of the Far West, the body of water around Big Thunder Mountain used by Molly Brown, would receive regular maintenance and new scenes. Disney pointed to original designs by Disney legend Marc Davis, including a buffalo on the prairie and a deer drinking near the waterfall. For the riverboat attraction, the most important detail was that Molly Brown itself would be refurbished from bow to stern. That made the work sound not only like technical upkeep, but also like an attempt to enrich the experience along the route. The article also placed the attraction in its historical context: Frontierland once had two boats, Molly Brown and Mark Twain, but the latter had been out of service and neglected for years. For fans, the announcement created hope that the remaining vessel and its landscape would finally receive a meaningful quality boost.

In early 2022, Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing temporarily disappeared from the Disneyland Paris attraction line-up again. Looopings reported that guests would be unable to cruise across the Rivers of the Far West for the coming months because work was taking place. Disney did not specify what would happen during the maintenance period and only confirmed that the attraction would remain closed at least until early April. For visitors, that meant a quiet Frontierland river: Molly Brown, normally the boat circling Big Thunder Mountain's island, was out of service. The article again underlined how dependent the attraction had become on a single vessel. The second boat, Mark Twain, had not operated since 2011 and was by then heavily deteriorated, though not demolished. This closure therefore fits into a longer history of maintenance sensitivity. Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing is not a high-speed headliner, but it is an atmosphere-maker; when the boat disappears, Frontierland loses an important moving, historical element.