ORLANDO, Fla. — It was a cool Tuesday morning, and the Rivers of America area of Magic Kingdom was bustling.

​​Hours before the first visitors entered the theme park for the day, a small crowd of Disney World employees, known as cast members, gathered near the Liberty Square Riverboat.

Some wore matching shirts, some held signs and cheered, but all of them were there for an annual cast member tradition: Canoe Races of the World, or C.R.O.W. for short.

During the three-week C.R.O.W. event, 90 teams comprised of cast members from different departments across the resort, race in 35-foot long canoes around the Rivers of America.

The team names vary and are often a play on words. Some of the teams competing Tuesday included Lettuce Win, FAM United - Lights, MotOARs, Action!, and Disney SpOARTs.

For the cast members gathered at Magic Kingdom early Tuesday, it was time for the finals, with qualifying teams racing to see which one makes its way around Tom Sawyer Island the fastest.

To prepare, teams go through what’s called steerers' clinics to learn how to maneuver the canoes. They also go through practice sessions, with some that take place outside of the water.

“We have teams in the off-season that will actually practice in their break rooms like lining up chairs and watching a video of the river,” cast activities coordinator Joe Vecciarelli told Spectrum News.

The races are a tradition that originated at Disneyland in California back in 1963 before making its way to the East Coast in 1973.

For cast members, it’s an experience unlike any other. Ellen Sawin, who competed on both the Beauties and the Beast and Disney SpOARTs teams, has been participating in C.R.O.W. for five years.

“My favorite thing is the people,” Sawin said. “Working for Walt Disney World Resort is unlike anything else, it’s just a really amazing cast, crew. And so coming out here, you know, who chooses to wake up at 4:30 in the morning before work or even after work for some people, and just have a good community event but also have a little healthy competition.”

By the time visitors arrived in the park, any signs that canoe races had taken place were gone.

“It’s like we were never here,” Vecciarelli said. “But we have a great time.”

For this year’s event, the theme was “C.R.O.W.BACK,” marking the return of the tradition after a brief hiatus because of the pandemic.

The return of the canoe races also comes as Disney World celebrates its 50th anniversary celebration. The 18-month long celebration kicked off Oct. 1.