Before it became known as "Nature's Wonderland," Disneyland's premier Frontierland attraction was known as the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train. Finally, my collection has a color image of the Ticket Booth with the RCMT signage:
The name came from the Rainbow Caverns, which were one of the highlights of the attraction:
The attraction that replaced it, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, does its best to pay homage with the cavern scene at the beginning of the ride:
Big Thunder Mountain should be reopening next month following its lengthy refurbishment. I for one am pretty excited to see how it turned out.
See more vintage Nature's Wonderland photos on my main website.
Awesome find, Dave. Some day I'll have to look through your Disneyland photo archives to see which signage you do have.
ReplyDeleteThe classic "narration" attractions; Jungle Cruise, Mine Train and Submarine Voyage were always "must do" attractions on our trips to Disneyland back in the 60s & 70s. I'm glad Knott's still has their Calico Mine Train which I understand will go through a major rehab this year.
I was so disappointed when I found out "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" replaced the Mine Train. Big Thunder Mountain provides a beautiful backdrop for Frontierland, but as a roller coaster, I found it anti-climatic. It's hard to believe Big Thunder has been around for nearly 35 years, much longer than the Mine Train.
Definitely let us know if there are any new surprises when you visit Big Thunder Mountain this year.
Rainbow Caverns was one of my favorite things at Disneyland! I will miss it forever.
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