Sometimes, the addition of one image to my collection is like getting the final missing piece to a puzzle. It allows me to see 'the big picture' an assemble a post that tells a story instead of a single moment. Today, I am assembling a batch of photos that when posted together, will allow the view to experience what a guest would have seen in the queue of the Nature's Wonderland attraction during the 1960's. First up is the anticipation as the NWRR Mine Train pulls into the Rainbow Ridge station.
As you check out the details of this August 1965 beauty...
be sure to notice the guests riding the Pack Mules up yonder in the Rainbow Ridge hills.
Two up close and personal shots of the train and cast members, awaiting the next batch of guests, with the first one being in Genuine FauxD©.
Look at this group and their festive hats - how fun!
And away we go...
it sure is getting dark as we approach the tunnel...
Oh the wonders that must on the other side! See more vintage Nature's Wonderland attraction photos on my Nature's Wonderland web page.
7 comments:
This could be my favorite post of the year. It could!
Such a delightful scene (great tranquil look at it in the 2nd from bottom). I just can't imagine ever standing there and saying, "Let's put something else here." What does the tender say at the bottom? "The Wilderness ?" Boy I never get pics as swell as that family shot.
Thank you for assembling this montage from your awesome collection, Dave.
- Property of N.W.R.R.
You know, this was one of my all time favorite attractions at Disneyland. I look forward to seeing more!
I am feeling a bit odd right now. I know I rode it, I remember parts of it such as the bubbling colored puddles of...of what? I don't remember. I also remember going through a desert and seeing a spinning rock which to my young eyes looked so fake, I couldn't believe Walt Disney thought it was good. Ya, I didn't understand tongue-in-cheek humor back then. And that is all I remember about this attraction. As I got older, I made the decision NOT to ride it anymore with my parents. I waited for them by perusing the stores in Frontierland. Strange kid, I know....
Your post has me feeling conflicted, I guess. I look at these images in amazement and yet not a spark of memory comes back. NOW I can appreciate this attraction and I feel like a complete dufus for ignoring it while it was available to me. In these photos, I see the beauty and wonder of the attraction. Like I said, I know I was there, I know I rode it and yet, it feels like it wasn't me but someone else. Oh good grief, I should just shut up!! Thanks, Dave!
Oh Dave, you have outdone yourself this time.
Collections like this make me hope that some day, we can assemble a virtual 3D Vintage Disneyland in an online world and walk around in it again.
I know, it's sad that grown men and women sit around thinking of this, but... it was so much fun.
And these pics bring it all back.
Thanks just doesn't cover it.
JG
Re the virtual disneyland, my daughter was playing some kind of virtual disneyland game the other day, she was telling me how accurate the model is to Disneyland today, how in the game that she saw walkways on our September trip which in the real world lead backstage, and in the game, you can't walk there, but can see that a path goes beyond your game boundary so the NPC characters can go there. A close match-up to reality, in gamespace.
Maybe someday, the vintage version will come out.
JG
Top of my list
of rides most-missed.
Doesn't seem so long ago.
Coming from a former MT operator, this is as good as it gets. That family pic...well, it's taken from the ride operator's position on the battery tender which powered the train. To the left foreground is the brake wheel handle. To the right is the throttle. I took many a picture of guests just like this one. Let's go for the ride. Wheel the brake off and position the throttle to click into first gear. Oh and don't forget to push the narration button below the seat.
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