The decades-long reign of the Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes team in the annual Disneyland employee canoe races has come to an end with the Disneyland Fire Department wresting the crown away from the perennial favorites on their home turf. Disneyland crowned a new champion on Thursday, Aug. 1 before the Anaheim theme park opened to the public as the team made up of Disneyland firefighters hoisted the Fastest on the River trophy.
ALSO SEE: 12 things Disneyland could announce at D23 The Smoke on the Water team bested the Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes team by 10 seconds and finished a single loop of the Rivers of America in 3 minutes and 44 seconds. “It felt great,” Disneyland Firefighter and Smoke on the Water team captain John Simpson said. “Such a sense of accomplishment for our entire team.
” The canoe races that started more than 60 years ago at Disneyland have become a beloved summer tradition for employees that has been exported to Disney parks around the globe. ALSO SEE: How to get your free Mickey ears at Disneyland The Davy Crockett teams at Disneyland have been so dominant in recent decades that the junior varsity team often finishes a close runner-up to the victorious varsity squad. But not this year.
“Firefighters are very competitive by nature,” Simpson said via an email interview. “Give us a task that seems insurmountable and watch out.” The Disneyland firefighters vowed three years ago to vanquish the Davy Crockett teams from the top spot on the.