[people chattering]
My name's Joe. What's yours?
-Aidan. -[woman] Aidan.
Aidan, well, nice to meet you.
-Yeah. -[gasps] What--
[all chuckle]
[woman] Be careful.
[Joe] Attention all Frontierland and Big Thunder Trail
and all the way out in New Orleans Square.
This grand steamer, the Mark Twain, is now taking packages and cargo
for an authentic steam-powered journey along the Rivers of America.
[bell dinging]
To me, this is not work, this is more enjoyment.
[steamboat whistle blows]
I love the fact that I can create
all these different moments throughout the day.
I look at it as, I get to come to play.
I'm Joe Hernandez.
I am an attractions lead at the Mark Twain riverboat
here at the Disneyland Resort.
[male announcer] We begin our trip right here on the mighty Mississippi
heading south and ending up down in New Orleans.
The Mark Twain riverboat is one of our opening day attractions at Disneyland.
It's been running around the Rivers of America since 1955.
We take guests around the river on a 15-minute excursion,
and they get to see landmarks and different viewpoints of the river,
giving them tidbits about the history of the park.
Now this is gonna be our first boarding call
for the grand steamer, Mark Twain.
Do you like my boat?
You ever driven a boat before?
You wanna learn to drive a boat?
Let's do it, girl.
-Come on! -Come on.
Let's go right this way.
So, we're gonna go all the way to the very, very top.
My favorite part about working at Disney is the wheelhouse.
This way, ladies. Please watch your step.
Throughout the day, our captains will invite groups
to help us pilot the riverboat around the Rivers of America.
Are you ready to steer?
All right.
Let's go and have you take a step right up here for me.
All right. You're gonna take us around the river.
Creates that magic that guests enjoy,
and a lot of them will go home remembering that
as part of the biggest points of the trip here at the Disneyland Resort.
-Oh, there's a cave. -Mm-hmm.
That's the Dead Man's Grotto.
Rumor says that they have the dead man's chest in there.
After this, I'm gonna get Mickey Popsicles.
-All right. That sounds like a good idea. -Mm-hmm.
[steamboat whistle blows]
[motor humming]
[steamboat whistle blows]
[Joe] It is designed to look like a steamboat you would have seen
going around the Mississippi during the late 1800s.
It's great to experience and let the guests see
this is part of our heritage.
We went all the way around.
You went all the way around. Yes, you did.
You went all the way around, and you brought the boat back.
For me, my favorite part of taking guests up in the wheelhouse
is watching that little kid grin from ear to ear
when they just took the boat all the way around the river on their own,
and they feel so accomplished.
Then I get to hand them their little pilot certificate.
And to them, it's the greatest thing in the world.
-What do you say? -Thank you.
Oh, you're welcome.
That's what epitomizes being a riverboat captain,
it's just seeing that smile from a guest's face
when you come back into port
and they've just had one of the greatest experiences of their day.
Hi, folks, come on in. Please do watch your step.
I started working at Disney while I was working as a personal trainer.
So, for me, it was kind of a transition
from helping individuals to helping more groups.
I get to come in and be a captain
or a pirate or an explorer on a daily basis.
And I get to have fun playing these roles with our guests
and watching those guests leave with that smile.
I wanna continue doing this as long as I can keep the fun and the magic going.
And knowing at the end of the day,
I've given it my all...
and feeling that same kind of magic that we're leaving the guests with.