Editor’s note: This piece comes to us from Jeffrey Ross, whose work has appeared in various outlets including the Hemmings Daily, Autoblog, Road & Track and Off-Road.com.
Of all the rides and attractions to experience when visiting Disney World, few offer any sort of child-like enthusiasm to automobile lovers. Sure, Epcot has Test Track and the Magic Kingdom has Tomorrowland Speedway, but neither is as unique as the Amphicar rides from The Boathouse over at Disney Springs, formerly known as Downtown Disney. Dreamt up by restaurateur and car collector Steven Schussler, The Boathouse is a ride, museum and nautical-themed restaurant all wrapped into one.
The Boathouse is the anchor (pun intended) of the newly renovated Disney Springs, and its claim to fame is a fleet of Amphicars that give riders the exhilarating experience of being in a fully functional automobile as it plunges into the water. Unfortunately but not unexpectedly, the Amphicar ride is a passenger-only experience as the cars are piloted by “captains” who have been extensively trained by both Disney and The Boathouse. It is without a doubt the most fun you can have in a car at eight MPH… or seven knots, if you’re down with the nautical lingo.
Steven Schussler poses with one of his Amphicars.
That speed is actually where the Amphicar’s official name, the Model 770, comes from, denoting a top water speed of seven knots and a top land speed of 70 mph. These cars were produced in Germany between 1961 and 1968, with about 3,000 making their way to U.S. waterways and driveways. It is estimated that fewer than 600 seaworthy examples still exist. Power comes from a rear-mounted Triumph 1,147cc inline-four that motivates the Amphicar on land through the rear wheels and on water via twin propellers mounted just behind the rear axles. Just like on terra firma, the front tires steer the Amphicar out on the water by acting as rudders.
Schussler first encountered the Amphicar a decade ago when he added one (then two and then three…) to his growing fleet of classic cars, and he spent the last eight years trying to sell the idea to Disney. He had already masterminded some of the most popular themed restaurants at Disney such as Rainforest Cafe, Yak & Yeti and T-Rex.
On the outside, Schussler is your typical entrepreneur/restaurateur with a larger-than-life personality, but it doesn’t take long to figure out that deep down, he is a true car nut. His first car was a 1958 MGA, and he said that he has a “love of cars, love of shapes and love of car art.” The Amphicar definitely fits all three bills.
Selling the Amphicar idea to Disney was made a little easier when Schussler learned that past U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson both owned these cars, and they had used them to take people for rides on their personal farms, but the hardest part, as it turned out, would be redesigning certain aspects of the amphibious vehicle to ensure they could stay running and afloat. Being a niche, low-production European car built in the ’60s, there were inherent quirks that needed to be worked out, including making the cars as sink-proof as possible. Disney is among the most public relations savvy companies in America, and a sunken Amphicar would not generate the kind of press that draws visitors back to the park.
Schussler said that a large number of Amphicars suffered such a fate when owners entered the water with the drain plugs left out. Compounding such an oversight, the factory bilge pumps would allow between 150 to 200 pounds of water to enter the hull before they’d start pumping, which meant they were at a disadvantage from the beginning.
To combat this concern, Schussler and his team—“the best minds in the business”—completely redesigned the bilge pump system to include a pair of high-volume pumps mounted in a different location than the original, allowing the car to be able to pump water out of the hull faster than it can come in.
Many other changes were made to the car for safety, comfort and reliability. Understandably, Schussler didn’t want to divulge all of the specifics regarding his proprietary secrets that went into transforming the Amphicar from an automotive oddity into a commercial workhorse, but he did say that some 3,200 components were engineered specifically for The Boathouse’s Amphicars and most of which are completely hidden from plain sight.
These under-the-skin modifications include an all-new ignition system for improved reliability, and to combat vapor lock—the biggest problem that Schussler said Amphicars suffer from—the carburation (after experimenting with fuel injection) and exhaust systems were reengineered. Engine compartment cooling was also improved with a redesigned vented hood and unique cooling fans.
The heat buildup in the engine compartment also resulted in an uncomfortable rear passenger experience, and with that being the key draw to these cars at Disney Springs, Schussler made sure to make improvements to this area, too. The rerouted exhaust system helped keep the rear bench cooler, but a bigger issue was the lack of legroom, as this area was designed more for cargo than passengers. The Amphicars at The Boathouse provide three additional inches of rear legroom compared to a standard Amphicar, and while Schussler remained mum on how this was accomplished, it looks like the rear seat was moved aft thanks to the convertible top being reworked—or possibly even removed altogether—to free up the extra space.
“We’ve taken all of the intricacies from the history of Amphicars, and every day we came up with something new to change whether it was the position of a hose or whether it was the propellers,” Schussler said. “We kept the integrity of the original design, but we had engineers, and we consulted with all kinds of people to make certain that what we did was the best that could possibly be done.”
In total, Schussler said that each car required $65,000 to $75,000 worth of upgrades, on top of the purchase price, to make sure the Amphicars could operate under conditions that they were never intended to endure. The Boathouse is currently giving between 35 and 60 rides per day and, like everything else at Disney, the cars are expected to run 18 hours a day year-round.
Just one example of how much these cars command comes from the Discovery Channel show Fast N Loud where Schussler bought a rough Amphicar from Richard Rawlings at Gas Monkey Garage for $25,000… and a free lunch. Of the car’s starting condition, Schussler explained, “It doesn’t matter what condition they’re in, they all need that amount of work [for The Boathouse].”
All the effort is definitely paying off. The Boathouse has been open since April, and the cars haven’t been down one day. This is not only remarkable for a low-volume car like the Amphicar, but for just about any classic car operating under similar conditions, particularly one that spends the bulk of its day partially submerged. As the only business in the world running Amphicars commercially, The Boathouse has its own shop dedicated to repairing and maintaining the cars daily as well as a collection of wrecked Amphicars providing donor parts when needed.
Just like the idiom about ducks on the water, on the surface, The Boathouse is a well-oiled machine, but it’s clear that more hard work went into creating this Amphicar experience than your typical restaurant startup. After talking to Schussler for about an hour about everything from cars and food to boats and music (Schussler also loves old jukeboxes), the moment had finally arrived to get some seat time in an Amphicar.
The leisurely cruise starts near the restaurant’s main entrance on a fenced-off turntable. Just like on a rollercoaster, there is some safety talk while an employee engages the secondary door latches to help prevent any accidental opening of the doors. Heading down the boat ramp, there’s a brief pause while the captain engages the Amphicar’s propellers by pulling a lever positioned next to the gear shifter, and then the fun starts. The initial splash into the lake is perhaps the best part of the ridealong as water almost crests the windshield, but the rest of the cruise gives a unique perspective of Disney Springs that most guests won’t get to see.
At $125, a 25-minute ride in an Amphicar costs about as much as a full day’s admission into any Orlando theme park. On the bright side, though, there’s no other ride or rollercoaster anywhere else in Orlando that leaves the rider feeling like as much of a rockstar as when the cars are greeted by a camera-wielding crowd of onlookers. And these aren’t people waiting in line for their ride; most just stopped for a better look when the attention-grabbing Amphicars made their transition from boat to car.
Alter Ego, a 32-foot 1958 Unlimited Hydroplane powered by a V-12 Allison Vimalert aircraft engine.
Of course, the Amphicar rides are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to enjoying the entire Boathouse experience. Although riders don’t even need to venture into the restaurant to get their Amphicar fix, they would surely be missing out by doing so. Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing that is obvious is the nautical theme with a front booth built into a boat hull (similar to the car booths featured on Pulp Fiction) and the other boating paraphernalia covering the walls, and the food served from the kitchen is some of the best that Disney Springs has to offer. After enjoying the Amphicars and an amazing meal (try the Grilled Mahi Tacos), visitors can then wander through what has to be The Boathouse’s crown jewel—a collection of 19 unique and/or vintage boats.
1992 Cir-Craft, steered by shifting body weight.
A reproduction of the Brooks Stevens-designed 1956 Cadillac Sea Lark.
Disney, as a whole, is a magical place, and the Amphicar rides at The Boathouse are just further proof of this as riders and spectators of all ages—regardless of automotive knowledge—are sure to get a kick out of experiencing or just watching these cars out on the water. For now, Schussler is only focusing on the single Boathouse location in Disney Springs, but he isn’t ruling out a future expansion down the road for more people to enjoy his love of everything Amphicar.
More gadget review in www.mamaktalk.com
