Here’s a post for the more technically minded readers. It stems from being in the right spot at the right time. You see, we Jotters like to take the Friendship boat from Morocco to the Port of Entry at Epcot. Well, on this hot day one of the passengers asked the captain about the air conditioning on the boat, which, how can we say this nicely, is a tad underpowered. In response, the captain was nice enough to dish out some details about the history of Disney’s efforts to keep these boats cool and comfortable for guests.

Turns out, the boats used to have a built in central cooling system. These marine air conditioners use water as a heat sink rather than ambient air. The cooled air would be distributed throughout the boat by vents along the walls. You can still see the vents of this system, although they’re capped now. Just look down along the wall between the seats.

The captain mentioned that these old systems were expensive to maintain. Disney replaced them with individual air conditioning units in the ceiling. However, these units are now over 30 years old, so they’re not as efficient as newer models. As an extra cooling trick, the front window of the boat can be opened to let in a breeze. But since the boat moves slowly, the breeze is pretty gentle. While not perfect, it helps on those hot summer days.Next time you’re on the Friendship boat, take a seat and check out the old cooling system remnants along the wall. Pretty cool, right?