Disneyland: One Man's Dream- The Wild West

Here's a land that hasn't gotten much attention- Frontierland. It didn't originally have many attraction, just a pack mule ride and stagecoaches. In 1956, it was also home to Tom Sawyers Island, where guests could take rafts to the Island in the middle of the Rivers of America and explore the area based on Mark Twain's books.


But in 1956, The Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opened, and took guests on rides to explore desserts. In 1960, the Rainbow Caverns Mine train became The Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland opened. At this time, the stagecoaches also closed. The newest incarnation of the Mine Train brought guests could board a train and be taken on a tour through western landscapes, from desserts to forests.


This attraction was not fit to last, however and closed in 1977. The Pack Mules also dissapeared at this time. What was to replace them? Only the wildest ride in the wilderness!

The idea for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was originally concieved for Walt Disney World by Marc Davis and Tony Baxter. It was to be a large western plateau pavilion, which was to contain many rides including a runaway mine train. The idea proved to be to expensive, and was abandoned, save for the Mine Train. This was put on hold while Space Mountain was built. The ride benefited from this, because by the time it opened in Disneyland (first), computers were controlling the ride, making it easier to operate. It's also interesting to note that many props from the Mine Train are n

Thunder Mountain opened in 1979, and opened in Magic Kingdom one year later. It's story revolves around a legend where gold was discovered in the mountain, and the area soon became a boom town. The miners who mined the area did not know that the mountain was sacred to Native Americans who lived there and was cursed. Soon, there was an earthquake and everyone who lived there fled. The mountain was "rediscovered" later, and those people saw the old mine trains racing around on their own. The people decided to open the Mountain up again, but this time as a tourists on rides.

Thunder Mountain was once again another hit, and the Disneyland Mountain Range was still growing...

Disneyland: One Man's Dream- Bear Country

Disneyland was doing very well, and continued to enjoy enhancements and expansions. New Orleans Square was a success, but something was a little odd: Frontierland wrapped around the perimeter of the new land, connecting to the Indian village. But in 1971, the Indian Village where for years tourists enjoyed Indian tribal dances and stories, was removed to make way for yet another brand new land- Bear Country.

If you haven't noticed, all the new lands did not end in "land" like Frontierland ot Tomorrowland. It sort of keeps the prestige of the original lands. Today, hardly any new lands end in "land", keeping the nostalgia of the original lands.

Anyway, Bear Country opened up in March of 1972. This area featured a restaurant, a shop, an arcace, and the signature attraction, The Country Bear Jamboree. The Country Bear Jamboree was a show that featured only Audio-Animatronics, like the Enchanted Tiki Room, only the performers were bears. The Country Bears was also an attraction Walt designed. The attraction was intended for a ski resort that Disney wanted to build, but the deal fell through. It is commonly known that Walt one day was looking at concept art for the Country Bears with Marc Davis and laughed because he really liked the pictures. As he left, Walt turned around to Marc and said "Goodbye". Walt never did this and Marc was fearful that Walt's health would futher deteriorate. It was the last time Marc saw Walt. A few days Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966.


The show then went to the newly opened Walt Disney World, where it was a hit. The show was then duplicated at Disneyland in Bear Country. New shows were also produced, such as the Country Bear's Vacation Hoedown and Country Bear Christmas -Special.

The show eventually closed and was replaced by The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh. But, many believe the show hasn't disapeared from Disneyland forever...