This overhead shot of the Nature's Wonderland attraction from 1957 shows the Stagecoach thundering through the Living Desert.
Zooming in, you can see the miniature pueblos atop the rock formations.
Here's a better view of the Stagecoach, which disappeared from the park somewhere around 1959/1960.
This 1954 shot shows the Stagecoach parked at the Burbank Disney Studio:
Zooming in to the side of the vehicle you can see an illustration of a mission.
When you compare it to this contemporary shot I took of the Santa Barbara Mission, I'd say we have a match!
Another 1954 photo shows Walt with some youngsters horsin' around the Stagecoach on the Disney Studio lot in Burbank:
See more vintage Disneyland Nature's Wonderland photos on my Nature's Wonderland web page.
The b&w Living Desert image is awesome! Lots of detail and things to look at.
ReplyDeleteNice job on your research matching up the Stagecoach illustration with the Santa Barbara Mission.
Beautiful stagecoach! I'm glad they decided to use a painting of the Queen of the Missions on it! Wonder whatever happened to that stage?
ReplyDeleteMy employer, the Save Our Heritage Organisation in San Diego recently acquired a Wells & Fargo Concord stagecoach for our newly restored historic Warner-Carrillo Ranch House Museum, located at the fork in the road between Los Angeles and San Diego on the original Southern Overland Trail.
Originally an adobe Californio ranch house built by the brother of San Diego's renowned Josefa Carrillo Fitch (the gal that eloped at sea with an American sea captain), built on the remains of what was once Warner's Ranch, this adobe became a genuine Butterfield stage stop, and from the turn of the century until 1960 it was a quintessential cowboy bunkhouse, where lunch was frequently served up cowboy style to Will Rogers, John Wayne and other 'movie' cowboys!
We had our Grand Opening last weekend and gave stagecoach rides on the original Butterfield trail up in the Valle de San Jose and it was magnificent! It sure is a different 'ride' on a real trail out in the middle of nature than it must be on a paved pathway at Disneyland.
Too bad they changed that ride at Disneyland, before my time and I never experienced it..so great to see these photos.
For anyone interested in capturing a bit of California's Old West, check out:
http://sohosandiego.org/warners/