Building The Burning Cabin at Disneyland

Did you hear the “whoop” I let out when I acquired this shot of the Burning Cabin at Disneyland? One of my favorite “lost” attractions at Disneyland appears to still be under construction. The fireplace located on the right of the structure hasn’t even broken ground yet.



This previously posted shot of the Cabin is undated, but has no dead settler. I wonder how long it took for the settler to appear?



This October 16, 1956 is the first dated shot in my collection that shows the poor dead dude.



Whoop…there he is.



The most recent shot of the “burning” cabin from 2015 shows that not only is it not burning, but the dead settler has flown the coop.



As a kid, it was always a thrill to round the bend in the Rivers of America and see the cabin aglow with flames and a dead guy in front with an arrow through his chest. Today, the entire scene has been sanitized, and like the rest of Disneyland, flattened emotionally to appeal to all.

R.I.P, Burning Cabin.

See more Disneyland Burning Cabin photos at my main website.

Disneyland, 9-15-1960 in 3D, Pt. 3

The final conclusion to this short little series of Genuine FauxD©images from September 15, 1960. In this view of the Burning Cabin, you can see Cascade Peak in the background. Below is the composited left and right view:



Yes, I had to zoom in to the dead poor settler.



The oft told quote of Walt Disney saying that things would always change at Disneyland was certainly true for this tableau. Originally, there was no settler:



He appeared in this October 1956 shot:



In this July 1970 image. he had changed outfits AND positions AND had an arrow in his chest. Now THAT’S what I call plussing an attraction!



Back to the topic at hand…the last one is of Cascade Peak. The 3D effect is not so good on this one.



The composite view:



See more Disneyland photos at my main website.

Dave Metz Remembers

Thanks to former cast member David M. (Cavalry Trooper, Tom Sawyer Island, 1970-71) for sharing his memories:

I got out of the Army in 1970, but was not ready to start a career and decided to take a year off to do absolutely nothing gainful – and the best place for that was in Southern California. I called my fellow First Lieutenant roommate (Bob Romoser) with whom I had served in Germany, suggested that we go to Guaymas, Mexico and then drive PCH up California to the Bay Area, then return to Orange County where I “would get us jobs at Disneyland.” He was skeptical, but rising to the moment I called the personnel director at the Magic Kingdom (Chuck Shields) and told him that two ex-lieutenants wanted to work for him – and we’d do anything Disneyland wanted, to include “cleaning up after the Clydesdales on Main Street.” He sent us the applications and said to come see him when we arrived in Orange County. We got to the area, secured housing at the Huntington Capri Singles Apartments in Huntington Beach, drove up Harbor Blvd., met the personnel director and were hired. Bob ended up working in Tomorrowland in that funky uniform with white spats (see below), but I was assigned to Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland – and I have to say that working on The Island was fabulous – with a main job of keeping people from trying to cross the Pontoon Bridge the wrong way and possibly falling off, and keeping kids from smoking grass in Injun Joe’s Cave. I also was asked to pose with guests for their Instamatic photos. My favorite duty was to occasionally make a tour of the area around The Burning Cabin to ensure that kids had not managed to get through the fence to the back lot.

While in the area, I also had some (quite unauthorized) fun. I would stand totally still in my cavalry officer’s costume as if I has just arrived on the scene of the massacre, and would await the passage of the Mark Twain or the Columbia which would always have kids hanging over the rails watching the Burning Cabin.

I would wait until only one kid was watching and I would – just like a Disney Audio-Animatronic figure – turn, look right at him, waive and grin. The kid would always tug at a friend or his parent and say “Look at the cavalry guy!” But when that happened I would freeze until the friend or parent looked away, whereupon I would again have some fun by again acting the role. Of course, I had to be careful doing kind of thing or I would have been chewed out by a supervisor. But someplace out there, there are people that remember the cavalry trooper who grinned and waived at just them – and no one else.

David was also kind enough to share a number of non-Burning Cabin photos below, such as the ones showing him doing Tomorrowland Duty (with the funky spats) to supervise the dance floor (The Sound Castle was the band):

David also let me know that the New Orleans Square One Of A Kind shop was a favorite of his. When he told me that, I knew he was legit! Below, you can see a treasured print that David bought there of the famed dancer Nijinksy by George Barbier in 1913. He found it in The One of a Kind Shop in 1970, paid about $15 for it (less the employee 10% discount, of course), and it’s followed him around for 50 years. How it looked in his 1971 apartment:

An image I found of the original Barbier print:

Many thanks to David M. for sharing all of his stories and images!

See more Disneyland Burning Cabin photos at my main website.

The Final Spin

Yesterday was the last day that guests could take a spin around the original Rivers of America before its closure and "editing" to make room for the new Star Wars Land. Although I am a big fan of "less is more," this is definitely the exception to the rule. My niece visited me in December and I took her to Disneyland for her very first visit. I am so grateful that she was able to experience a journey on the Mark Twain before the changes occurred. Today's post is a photo journal of that trip.

This shot shows my very first trip aboard the Twain back in 1970, posing with my brother, the father of my niece.





Are you ready? Here we go!



It is so impressive to hear the whistle and see the steam from the Twain as it begins to travel around Tom Sawyer Island.



Many of the photos in today's post are large-sized panoramas; make sure you click them and zoom in on all of the details!



The Columbia was docked at the time; although I enjoy riding on it as well, I was glad that my last trip could be aboard the Twain.











From what I have read, this is approximately where the journey will change. The Rivers will end here and cut through Tom Sawyer Island, which has caused the new route to be called "The Donut." No idea whether the cabin will be moved or removed.





These figures seem to be saying, "Where did our River go?"





This one is waving away to Walt's original classic. Bye-bye…



This tableau is supposedly going to be moved.







The remnants of Nature's Wonderland are also supposedly going to disappear.





My niece thoroughly enjoyed her leisurely trip around the Rivers of America.



I am saddened by the shortening of the River, but not very surprised. After the loss of the Carnation Gardens and the slaughter of tasteful design in New Orleans Square to make way for a larger (and more profitable) Club 33, I can't say that anything really shocks me about what the Disney Corporation does any more.

See more vintage and current Rivers of America photos at my main website.

Let It Burn

For no other reason than just because, I am posting some images of the Burning Cabin at Disneyland. It's one of those little things that really made me appreciate Disneyland so much. Even though it has a family-friendly reputation, every now and then you would encounter a little dark twist that would make you think, Hey…this Walt guy is actually pretty cool. This first shot is one of my earliest and best, dating back to October 16, 1956.



Another 1956 shot. Can't you just imagine Walt at the story meeting for this one. "OK guys…I want a cabin on Tom Sawyer's Island. And I want it to burn. And let's put a dead guy with an arrow through his chest. Sounds good, right?" In these two 1956 shots, the dead settler appears to be rolled on his side.



A few from 1958:





Have to get a better look at the dead settler:



This November 1967 shot must have been taken from the train:



Talk about heartburn.



And here it is today. Positively snoozeville. No dead settler. No flames.



Light things up over at my main website with more Burning Cabin photos.