The Rainbow Ridge Hotel

The buildings of Rainbow Ridge in Disneyland’s Frontierland have always fascinated me. Built to a smaller scale to give the illusion of depth for the Nature’s Wonderland attraction (and now Big Thunder Mountain), the amount of detail each one has is truly impressive. This image from May 1967 shows a unique view of the Rainbow Ridge Hotel:

It is interesting to compare the “set” decoration from the 1967 image with this previously posted shot from 1960. Chairs removed, a blanket on the railing added...always something different to see!

Rainbow Ridge must have been a hot spot for tourists (or perhaps the miners), as there were three additional hotels, including the Pioneer:

The El Dorado:

…and the Panhandle:

If you’ve ever wondered why these cute little hotels were never available to Park guests, this 1957 publicity still supplies the reason:

Because of their smaller scale, the average sized guest would have to spend their stay stooped over!

See more photos at my main website.

The Pioneer Hotel at Disneyland!

While it was not photographed as much as the nearby El Dorado hotel, Disneyland’s Pioneer hotel was a formidable contender for visitors to Rainbow Ridge! The sign says “Nice Beds,” but are the sheets free? Or do they charge like the El Dorado? Inquiring minds need to know! Right next door you can eat at the Horse Shoe Cafe.



Another shot from my collection from June 1960; this one gives an overhead of view of this stretch of Rainbow Ridge and the El Dorado.



This section of buildings would disappear to make way for Big Thunder Mountain. In fact, they are in the approximate location of where the actual mountain was built.



What? Can it be? THREE hotels in Rainbow Ridge? Looks like it! The Rainbow Ridge hotel really got the shaft when it came to location. Tucked away in a back corner. They probably didn't even have sheets.



This previously posted shot of Rainbow Ridge and the Pioneer Hotel is from the 1950s:



Through the miracle of Photoshop, I stitched the previous shot in that batch of slides and got a semi-decent panorama view of the area, Matterhorn and all:



And in case you haven’t had enough Rainbow Ridge…here’s one of the Pioneer Hotel under re-construction when Nature’s Wonderland got a major renovation in 1960. Could they define “reasonable”?



See more vintage Disneyland Nature's Wonderland photos at my main website.

Nature's Wonderland on a Friday

I’m a little late to the game today (hey, it's a holiday at work, so cut me some slack!), but figured I'd make up for it with a nice collection of 1960’s Nature's Wonderland images. The first one is from 1960, and I'm going to zoom in for a closer look at an area that guests were only able to see if they were on the Pack Mule attraction:



Wouldn't it be great to offer a hotel stay at the Rainbow Ridge Hotel? Guests are attempting to stay dry as they journey beneath the falls of Cascade Peak:



The rest of today's shots are from September 1964, presented (of course) in the order that they were taken. Four years later, and guests are still trying to stay drive!



How about a closeup of the cab?



Two shots of the Devil’s Paint Pots:



An unexpected geyser! Ain’t nature grand?



Last one shows the Mine Train at the Rainbow Ridge station:



See more vintage Mine Train/Nature’s Wonderland photos at my main website.