Wagon Repair at Disneyland

A beautiful overhead view of Rainbow Ridge in Frontierland from November 1967. Zooming in we get a closer look at the Wagon Repairing sign. By the time this photo was shot, the Wagon and Stage Coach ride attractions had been long gone.



These images might explain why they were eliminated.





More vintage Nature's Wonderland photos at my main website.

Santa Barbara Mission and The Disneyland Stagecoach

This May 1955 image shows the Mission Santa Barbara, which was founded on December 4th, 1786. It was the tenth of twenty-one California Missions to be founded by the Spanish Franciscans. Over time three adobe churches were constructed on the grounds, each larger than the one before until the fourth and present church was built in 1820. Flash forward to 2002 and you can see this comparison image that I shot during my first visit there:



Walt paid homage to the Mission with the decoration of one of his stagecoaches, which was named The California.



It featured an illustration of the Mission on its door:



This 1955 Disneyland Stagecoach photo shows it in color:



Zeroing in for a closer look:



Just a little closer:



Two more 1950's shots of the California Coach:





The Arizona Stagecoach had a picture that looked worthy of a John Ford western:



The closeup view:



This December 1955 shot gives an even better view of the Arizona's illustration:





Which one would you rather ride in?

See more vintage & current Daveland Santa Barbara photos from my collection on my main website.

The SD Half Results and Buckboards

The pictures are in, so now I can tell the rest of the story of this year's San Diego Half Marathon. The temperature was slightly cool when I arrived at the starting line at about 6:30am. The official start time for the race was 7:20am, and I was in Wave 2, which would begin approximately 1 minute and 45 seconds after that. I was nervous about 2 things; one was taken care of by a quick trip to the restroom inside of the Omni (note to self: never eat lasagna laden with mozzarella the night before a race) and the other was something I had no control over, which is the outdoor temperature. It was going to be a warm day, and I just wanted to start as soon as possible before the sun came out in full force. As you can see in the first photo, I was in a pretty good mood, excited to be doing a new race and excited to see how far all of my training would take me. I also had a number of coworkers who were running the race, too (thus the apparel).

Here's how it started: the first few minutes, I always wonder, "How the hell am I going to run 13 miles at this pace?" Then by about mile 1, I calm down and start to feel pretty good, as witnessed by this shot of me passing the Star of India Maritime Museum on Harbor Drive.



As the race wore on, the heat factor increased, and I began to wilt. By mile 8, I started seeing too many people pass me (never a good sign) and it really messed with my mind. I had a feeling that my goal time was slowly going down the drain.



After completing the worst hill of the course (and there were quite a few for this race), I saw the time at the 10 mile marker which showed I had been running for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Son of a bleeping bee-yotch. I realized that a personal best was impossible, and all I wanted to do was just stop and walk the last 3 miles. Fortunately, I trudged on and began to get my game back. Not enough to run 3 miles in 15 minutes, but enough to finish with a time of 1:56.12. I saw my assistant from work at the finish line; she had waited for me after completing the 5k. If you run, I am sure you understand how much it can help to see and hear somebody cheering you on. It definitely bolstered my spirits and helped me finish strong.



I was disappointed beyond belief not to achieve a personal best, but I was happy that despite the heat (which is my achilles heel when it comes to running), I came in respectably under 2 hours. And the worst part of the race? Having to climb a few flights of steps to pick up the after-race snacks and goody bag. Ouch, ouch, and double ouch.



Next up…maybe I'll do the SD Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. Stay tuned…

Thanks to David over at Gorillas Don't Blog, I was reminded that Life Magazine had a number of shots of the Buckboard Wagons from when Disneyland first opened. Hmmm…looks like fun; can't imagine why they didn't last!



Driving through Frontierland, with Native Americans along the way, it looks like lots of fun! I don't get it?!?



Oh…now I get it.



I can imagine that there were very few guests who were excited about getting wet in this vehicle that provided very little (if any) protection from the elements along the way.



Obviously, not much testing occurred with this attraction before it opened! NOW I know why the buckboards didn't last long in the park.



See more Daveland photos from my collection on my main website.

Frontierland Transportation

From 1955 until approximately 1960, Disneyland guests had a choice of three vehicles in which they could tour Frontierland. First up is the rarely seen Yellowstone Coach, of which I only have 3 shots of in my vintage collection, starting off with this 1955 image.

Image #2 from my Yellowstone collection:



And this black and white shot, taken before opening:



A 1959 image of a stagecoach:



Zooming in on the guests inside:



Here's a vintage August 1956 view of a Conestoga Wagon.



A closeup of the driver:



A December 1955 newspaper ad for Disneyland trumpeted:

“You will ride the Conestoga Wagon in Frontierland—one of the most picturesque and vital vehicles in history. It was the Conestoga, not the Covered Wagon, that developed the West. The great wagons were first built in the Conestoga Valley of Pennsylvania, with water tight bottoms that permitted safe crossing of rivers. You will also ride authentic stage coaches, pack trains, and buckboards in this remarkable re-creation of the old West.”

A Buckboard is the name for a four-wheeled wagon drawn by a horse. The "buckboard" itself is the front-most board on the wagon that could act as both a footrest for the driver and protection for the driver from the horse's rear hooves in case of a "buck."

Before somebody chimes in, "But Dave, the ad says they also had a Pack Train! That means there were four types of vehicles!" A Pack Train is just a fancy way of saying mules. Although not a mechanical vehicle, yes, they do deserve to have a photo in this post:



See more vintage & current Disneyland Frontierland transportation photos from my collection on my main website.

All Aboard the Disneyland Stagecoach

From 1955 until 1960, Disneyland guests could take a bumpy ride along the trails of Frontierland inside the comfort (?) of an old fashioned stagecoach. The first image for today is from 1955, followed by a November 1958 shot.



Naturally I had to zoom in for a detailed closeup. Something tells me that there's no way safety codes would allow guests of today to ride on top of a Stagecoach.



You'll note that for publicity photos, the Stagecoaches were not quite as full!



See more vintage Disneyland Stagecoach photos on my main website.

TPE: Stagecoaches & Wagons

Are Pack Mules too unpredictable for you? How about viewing Nature's Wonderland aboard a Stagecoach, Buckboard, or Conestoga Wagon? This was another option for you from 1956—1960.



Guests could ride either shotgun (on top with the driver) or inside of the coach itself (and learn what a sardine feels like!). Both the Stagecoaches and Wagons shared the same route through Frontierland, which included Coyote Rock, Elephant Rock, Inscription Rock, Horse Thief Canyon, Dead Man’s Spring, Natural Bridge, and Indian Territory. A December 1955 newspaper ad for Frontierland stated:

“You will ride the Conestoga Wagon in Frontierland—one of the most picturesque and vital vehicles in history. It was the Conestoga, not the Covered Wagon, that developed the West. The great wagons were first built in the Conestoga Valley of Pennsylvania, with water tight bottoms that permitted safe crossing of rivers. You will also ride authentic stage coaches, pack trains, and buckboards in this remarkable re-creation of the old West.”



After new scenic landscaping, the Stagecoaches were renamed the Rainbow Mountain Stage Coaches in 1956. Unfortunately, the Stagecoaches were prone to tipping over (which shook up the Pack Mules...talk about a chain reaction); breakaway harnesses didn’t solve the problem...instead it caused many a guest to be stranded while the horses proceeded on the journey. I can't believe this was actually captured on film:





Low guest capacity and high overhead were the reason the coaches were eliminated; the last journey of the Stagecoach and the Conestoga Wagons is debatable; in the Nickel Tour, two dates are given: September 13, 1959 and February 10, 1960.







Taint many who love the history of Walt Disney’s Disneyland as much as Wild Ol’ Dan Blasius. He’s just wandered into Daveland, unsaddled his horse, rolled out his bedroll, and sat down by the campfire to have a cup of coffee. Wild Ol’ Dan is also the author of the first Hopalong Cassidy novel to be published in well over 50 years: “HOPALONG CASSIDY RIDES AGAIN.” So as you might figure, I’ve asked him to put a few thoughts together on Frontierland at Disneyland. Well, turns out he has more than a few thoughts on that subject...Enjoy!



WHICH ONE OF YOU FELLERS WANTS TO RIDE SHOTGUN?

Howdy Pards, Well, I suppose it's kinda hard for the young whippersnappers around today to even imagine that there used to be a time when you could catch a real, honest to gosh stagecoach in Frontierland and head off into the backcountry. But there was...yur durned tootin' there was! Yessirreebob! From the get go, Ol' Walt Disney loved the idea of a Disneyland stagecoach ride...and a conestoga wagon ride…and even buggy and buckboard rides there in Frontierland. Walt loved horses. You fellers may not know this but Walt and some of the animators there at the Walt Disney Studios once had a Polo Team! Yessir, they surely did. And one of Walt's biggest movie stars, a feller named Goofy, once did a film on "How to ride a horse"...even Donald once did one about visitin' a Dude Ranch...and I hear tell that Mickey was mighty handy with a rope (remember...every week on the old Mickey Mouse Club? Talent Roundup Day it was...) Why, shucks, Walt even invited the King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers, and the Smartest Horse in the Movies, Trigger, along with the famous Sons of the Pioneers, to tell the story of Pecos Bill for one of those movies of his...a thing called MELODY TIME as I recall. Yep, Walt Disney loved horses, and he wanted them to be a part of his new park in a big, big way.



Before Disneyland opened the fellers over in the studio carpentry shop (the fellers who put those coaches together for the park) fully outfitted one with a four horse hitch and brought the thing over to the Animation Building where Walt’s office was. Walt put on his cowboy boots and his big white cowboy hat and climbed up into the box and took the reins to get his picture took. I wanna tell ya that was a mighty special thing to Walt. All those dreams of his were comin' true...and taint nuthin' like lookin' at a four horse hitch from the driver's seat of a real, honest-to-gosh stagecoach...That thar can make a feller's imagination soar…especially a feller like Walt Disney. Well, naturally they were gonna need a mess of horses for the park...big ones, miniature ones, all kinds of horses...and some pack mules too. You betcha. Afterall, we're gonna call this thing Frontierland don't ya know? The stagecoachs started rollin' the very first day the park opened and folks could either ride up topside or inside the coach as they headed out...and what an adventure it musta’ been. Mark Twain once called the stagecoach a "cradle on wheels" and I reckon that's what it was until those horses started gettin' rambunctious. Nobody bothered to explain to those Disneyland horses that they would be hearin' train whistles and bells out thar in the backcountry and even the ol' Mark Twain Riverboat a bellowin' out thar on the river. Well, on occasion all these strange noises kinda spooked the horses some. Not a good thing for a top heavy stagecoach…but it sure gave the guests a taste of the authentic Old West. Yep, those coaches tipped over on occasion.



But, as ol' Dave says, the biggest problem was "ride capacity" and the expenses of keepin' all those horses fed and watered...keepin' the equipment safe...and all the other costs involved in runnin' a modern stage line...Sad to say the end of the trail came all too soon...yep sometime tween '59 and '60 the only way to get out thar into the back country was by Mule Train or Mine Train... the stagecoachs, conestoga wagons, buckboards, buggys and such began to vanish from the park. But you know fellers, you can still catch one of those horse drawn streetcars down Main Street U.S.A. till this very day. If you ain't done it...get'r done...there's nuthin' like hearin' the beat of one of those big ol' horse's hooves as they make their way towards the castle. And...with crowds growin' thicker and thicker all the time, there's no tellin' when they might vanish from the park too. Sure hope they never do though...



Yessir, buckaroos, there was somethin' downright magical to ridin' in one of those stagecoaches or conestoga wagons…somethin' that kinda connected ya to the pioneers and those rip-snortin' days of the Old West. Reckon that's why they called the place Frontierland to begin with...for a good many of us there sure are a lotta wonderful memories in those parts...thanks for ridin' along... Adios for now. Talk to ya on’ down the trail.

Wild Ol’ Dan

























See more vintage Disneyland Conestoga Wagon & Stagecoach attraction photos on my Wagon & Stagecoach web page.