Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Early Disneyland: Welcome to Frontierland!



Before we settle into Frontierland, our photographer gave us one quick glimpse of the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant. Ready to move onto the Wild West? OK Pardners, let’s go! We begin with a fantastic shot of Rainbow Ridge, that quaint mining town that actually still exists in present day Disneyland!



While traveling along the Rivers of America, we see a Stagecoach:



With this closeup view, it looks like a villain might be trying to hijack it!



Here we see Fort Wilderness, in all its original rustic glory:



Next we pass the Indian Village, which is located in what is now referred to as Critter Country:



Now we are inside the stockade at Fort Wilderness; you can see a similar "peephole" across the way on the other side of the Fort:



An interior view of the Fort:



The fact that this "gun" is pointed at the Indian Settlement is just a little unsettling! I don’t think this would fly today, whether it was an accurate historic depiction or not.



Our last shot is of the Mark Twain, most likely taken from the Treehouse on Tom Sawyer’s Island:



See more Disneyland Frontierland photos at my regular website.

7 comments:

Thufer said...

Your statement about the direction the 'gun' was pointed begs the question....how would Walt have stood to those types of questions when it came to 'HIS Park'?
I wonder?
Really good set of photo's as always. Riding on the Mark Twain and seeing a wagon running along the bank must have been a real unique experence.

Daveland said...

Thufer - Almost impossible to say; it was a different time, and in the first place, that question would probably not have been asked, and even if it was, probably would not have been loud enough to cause an issue for Walt. And yes, the wagons really seemed cool; I was disappointed not to be able to ride the one at Knotts...it was shut-down due to bees on the trail!

TokyoMagic! said...

Great series of photos today....I especially like the Fort Wilderness shots. They need to rebuild that structure....PROPERLY!

Connie Moreno said...

Man, that made me feel like I actually did some time travel, LOL!

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Great vintage set of photos! The Mark Twain shot is an unusual angle, I like it!

Speaking of guns, last time I rode the Columbia I was right next to the cannon/gun that a cast member still fires, with 18 gauge shells (blanks I assume), dang that thing is M-80 loud! Not sure what we were shooting at, but it probably wasn't Indians! Pirates maybe?

Peter VINCENT said...

Hey Dave..
This is off topic but, A big thanks to you for linking my blog. I'm always amazed how many hits I get at my blog, directed from your site.
The portfolio site I pay to showcase my artwork doesn't get me as many hits as I do from you.

Thanks again!
Pete

Daveland said...

Pete - You are welcome; you do great work!