Down at the end of Paradise Bay, the Paradise Pier Fire Department's fire boat S.S. Trustworthy has run aground and broken apart, creating a wet and whimsical play area. Conveniently enough, most of the "T"s in signs and placards that once read "Trustworthy" have fallen off, become obscured or simply rusted away. The end result being that the wreckage of the old fire boat has been rechristened the S.S. Rustworthy.
S.S. Rustworthy was an early Paradise Pier attraction at the Disney California Adventure park, where young Guests were encouraged to climb, explore and get a little wet. There were water cannons which could be fired at smaller boats in adjacent tide pools, activating sound effects and animation from the props. Explorers also came across misters, leaky pipes, pop jets, clam fountains and a water spouting whale.
Kids could even play fireman, standing behind one of two realistic looking fireman uniform flats and spraying each other with water.
On the upper deck of the ship, the wheel house featured hands-on controls that activated lights, sounds, gauges and a radar scope. There were also binocular stations, providing views across the bay at the distant Pier.
At times, the S.S. Rustworthy could feel like a quiet seaside remnant, a man made roost for visiting pelicans. Every so often, though (actually like clockwork on the quarter hour), rumbling could be heard from the ship's engine room as excess boiler pressure forced a huge release of air through the ship's whistle. The smokestack ejected a blast of water in the air, and all the boat's sound effects would blare in unison.
At one time, the S.S. Rustworthy play area was sponsored by McDonald's, also a participant at the nearby Burger Invasion stand. Some of the wreckage from the grounded fire boat was scattered about the Burger Invasion dining area. By 2008, McDonald's had moved on and much of the area around the S.S. Rustworthy had been closed to Guest traffic. Soon, the entire area will become part of a Victorian garden with all new restaurants fitting the period of the re-imagined Paradise Pier.
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