Frontierland Friday: Concept Art Comparison

I love comparing concept art with the actual execution of a project. It’s interesting attempting to figure out why changes were made (budget, time constraints, change in direction) and what might have been if plans had been carried out as originally designed. In the art above, it appears that the Indian Village was planned to be located at the entrance to Frontierland. I would agree with the decision to move it behind the gates further back, as it would most likely have created a bottleneck of guests at the entrance. From July 18, 1955, the opening day of Disneyland for the normal folk:



This shot from December 26, 1955 shows the festive holiday decor at the gate:



In this detail view of the concept art, it appears that the original name was to be Frontier Country:



It’s clearly Frontierland in this October 1959 shot! I do like the addition of the flagpole at the entrance inside the “fort.” I can’t remember there ever being a flag ceremony here like the one in Town Square; anyone know about that?



For this piece of concept art facing the river with the Mark Twain in the background, Frontierland looks like your typical movie western main street, with lots of shops and services:



In this July 18, 1955, the final product had fewer shops and a lot of real estate for the miniature horse corral instead.



If you compare this detailed view of the art with photos of Disneyland’s neighbor, Knott’s Berry Farm, it looks very much like that Park’s Ghost Town:



Knott’s Ghost Town, circa May 1966:



A contemporary view of Knott’s



In this third piece of concept art, the name is Frontier Land, but spelled out as two words instead of one (same with True Life Adventure Land in the upper right).



This aerial construction view shows a somewhat similar vantage point. The Mark Twain/Columbia dock area for guests was nowhere to be found in the concept art; that was a nice addition.



Closeup of the construction for the New Orleans Street area (where River Belle Terrace is now):





A color view from October 1955:



Without mature landscaping, it was much easier in the early years to see the other lands in the distance. Still no Matterhorn or Skyway at this point; just the spires of the Castle and the Carrousel.



A 1950s view taken aboard the Mark Twain:



The flagpole or “town square” portion of Frontierland seems to have been closer to the river according to the concept art:



Here’s the flagpole and plaque as shown on Opening Day at the front gate:



The concept art also seemed to include a larger two-story building at the entrance to the Stagecoach/Wagon attraction that took guests through the “desert.” 

Value-engineering at its finest:



You can see the New Orleans inspired balconies on the building connected to the Golden Horseshoe in this detailed view. The bandstand by the river appears to be in the lower right:



The New Orleans Street bandstand on the Rivers of America as it was constructed:



Overall, not too bad as far as building what was promised!

See more Disneyland Frontierland photos at my main website.

Wednesday in the (not so) Wild West

This undated 1950’s image shows early Disneyland. Looks like the bad guys and the good guys are exchanging stories in Frontierland (I see Black Bart and Sheriff Lucky in this one). Closing in we can see the “office” of Willard P. Bounds, blacksmith AND U.S. Marshal of Frontierland. You can also see Eddie Adamek’s trick ropes for sale, strewn in a semi-circle over the counter.

Farther on the right you can see the sign for the Miniature Horse Corral (which closed in 1957):

See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Frontierland photos at my main website.

TGIF-rontierland

Just because...a medley of previously posted Frontierland shots that were intended to get us to that 5 o’clock weekend bell...but as usual, I was running behind yesterday morning. All are from March 8, 1956.

Zooming in for a closeup of the Miniature Horse Corral sign:



And an early drinking fountain:



I wonder if trading was actually done at the Trading Post?





I love the way the lamp shadow was caught in this photo of the Assay Office exterior:



For those who want to weave a reproduction of the blanket, here’s a closeup:



In a pure case of nepotism, Walt put his father-in-law’s name as the Sheriff on the signage in Frontierland:



Sorry; no Pack Mules today!



Care to buy a trick rope?



I wonder who painted the art on this sign? Painted...as in brush and paint. Yes. It used to happen.



See more vintage Disneyland Frontierland photos at my main website.

Disneyland's Miniature Horse Corral

When Disneyland first opened, Frontierland had a Miniature Horse Corral.



Lasting until July 1957, this area had miniature horses, ponies, and donkeys that guests could view and pet. On the right of this detail shot, you can also see the Frontier Trading Post:



Another 1956 image of the same area:



Very rarely do I see shots with the animals; maybe they were resting.



A few previously posted shots of the Corral:



In the background you can see one of the Conestoga Wagons:



An overhead shot from July 18, 1955:





I wonder how a petting zoo would go over in the Park today?

See more Daveland Frontierland photos at my main website.

Frontierland Rarities, Pt. 2

Black Bart was the dastardly villain that inhabited Frontierland back in the early years. Here are some previously published photos of Sheriff Lucky arresting Bart...



As well as being involved in a shootout by Lafitte's anchor:



Later, I was able to upgrade my collection by coming across a negative that showed the same scene in much better detail.



A few more previously shown random shots of Bart, including one of him actually smiling:



Two more early shots of him hanging out by the Miniature Horse Corral, which eventually became the Shooting Gallery.



Sheriff Lucky on the right seems amused by Bart.



And I finally acquired a color shot of Bart. I wonder if this little boy was ever heard from again? The lady in the background seems to signing for someone to call for help!



Now, with the same batch as the Aunt J. photos, I have yet another color image of Bart, circa Winter 1956. You can see the Ace of Spades in his hat.



Characters like this make the park experience a lot more memorable; the return of some of these guys to Frontierland would surely liven it up.

See more vintage Black Bart photos on my Frontierland web page.