Disney's Ghost Town

When you enter Frontierland who doesn't feel like a cowboy? You pass through the fort entrance and visit another time and place. Too bad there isn't a little more to it.

Big Thunder Mountain, Mark Twain Steamboat and what? The Frontierland Shootin' Exposition? Why are there constant rumors about Tomorrowland and needing to add attractions when Frontierland hasn't had an addition since 1979? It is hard to count the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer Island as an update to Frontierland when it makes the island more a part of New Orleans Square than anything else.


It is not like there isn't plenty of room to place a new attraction. Festival of Fools arena hasn't been used in years for anything but private events. Big Thunder Ranch will be open again next month for HalloweenTime and then it will go back into hiding. Why not use this space for something that can be open all year and give people a reason to use the trail between Frontierland and Fantasyland for something other than a place to puff a cigarette.


Disneyland is in a great place for a Frontierland attraction with Tony Baxter as the head Imagineer over the park. As the person most responsible for both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain he has proven that he can design great attractions that fit well into Frontierland. He should cement his status as a future Disney Legend and give us an attraction or two in Frontierland.

What would you like to see in Frontierland? Would you prefer a thrill ride, a dark ride, a movie tie in, an original story, or a grand pageant like Pirates of the Caribbean? I don't think a Disney park will ever see the Western River Expedition but it would be great to get something similar to that. I would hope for a water based attraction loaded with animatronics. Something that tells the history of the west or like Pirates just moves you from scene to scene depicting life in the old west. Another ride capable of eating 3000 people per hour would make the busy days of summer a lot more bearable.


While rumors continue to swirl about a new E-ticket for Tomorrowland I will continue to hope for a west side addition. Maybe someday the dreams will become reality and Frontierland will finally get the attention it deserves.

Earthquake? Are we at Universal Studios?

Have you ever been in Disneyland during an earthquake? After Sunday I can answer yes to that question. From the time of the quake, 10:29 AM, and the fact that we were in line for Small World at 10:45 AM I know I could have felt it. I just didn't.

We exited Small World and headed down to the rest of Fantasyland and noticed that Matterhorn was closed. Since the crowds were out of control on the Fantasyland dark rides we headed straight on through and around the Big Thunder Trail. At the end of the trail we noticed that Big Thunder was closed too. Our next choice was Pirates. This was also closed.

Sine there was no escaping the heat at Disneyland we were going to head over to Disney's California Adventure and our lunch reservation at the Wine Country Trattoria. We stopped at the Main Street Wait Time kiosk and this was when we were told that there had been an earthquake. It was good to know that Disney takes safety seriously and closed the attractions to make sure that everything was working properly. I would have never had a clue that there was an earthquake if I had not been told. I would have just found it very odd that every attraction that we tried to ride was closed.

Here is a link to the LA Times article on the earthquake.

To Fastpass or Not to Fastpass, That is the Title

Fastpass. This one word can cause a lot of emotion in the Disney Park fan community. When I first learned of this system I thought it was the greatest idea I had ever heard. You would only have to wait for 10-15 minutes and then the E-ticket of your dreams is all yours. There have also been a few downsides to skipping the wait.


When it comes to Space Mountain I can't imagine that I would like to wait outside during the hot summer months. It would be crazy to stand in line for an hour or two when you can grab a fastpass then sit down, have some lunch, and cool off. After an hour or three you come back, walk up the ramp and into the building.


At the same time that Space Mountain is a great time saver the fastpass has ruined half the fun of Indiana Jones Adventure. You miss out on most of the greatest queue in a US Disney park. When you run to the safety movie room you don't really take in all the little details that are packed in this queue. The decoder card that used to be passed out to you made the time a lot easier to deal with. Now you wouldn't even have a chance to look at the glyphs let alone translate them.

Big Thunder Mountain is still a different situation. The standby line could have a 20 minute wait and people are still getting fastpasses. There is no real reason to have fastpass here. So maybe there would be a 20 to 30 minute wait. Who can't wait that long?


I have heard people moaning about both the fastpass system in general and the lack of fastpass on certain attractions. You often hear Matterhorn, Peter Pan, and Dumbo mentioned as attractions that should be fastpass enabled. I have even seen posts mentioning Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Tours as possible attractions.

I laugh every time I see Star Tours since it used to have fastpass but they took all the machines out when it didn't prove worthwhile. Pirates of the Caribbean is probably the fastest moving line in the park. If you had to deal with taking fastpasses and separating the queue would only slow the entire attraction down.

Peter Pan and Dumbo have issues that can't be solved by fastpass. They need to increase capacity for those attractions before they could even consider an option like this.

I think that Disneyland would be just fine without fastpass and you would still enjoy yourself. As long as it is still there I am going to continue using it though.

Big Thunder Mesa

One of my earliest memories of Disneyland is being bribed to ride Big Thunder Mountain with my mom. I was four and scared out of my mind. My parents bought me a leather vest with a sheriff star and matching chaps. I know I didn't want to get on that day even after they had bribed me but now you can't keep me away.

Big Thunder is the first roller coaster that I ever rode. I believe for that reason it hold a special place with me. I can't help but think I missed out on though. I grew up watching old Disneyland specials on the Disney Channel and I always wished I could have ridden a donkey or taken the Mine Train through Natures Wonderland. When you hear that the Big Thunder concept came from a runaway train that was going to be housed on the show building for Western River Expedition you have to wonder what might have been. Yet this attraction will always be a classic.

Big Thunder takes you to another time. At Disneyland while you are in the queue you can hear the town in the buildings above you. Having the train wrap around the queue only serves to help make you feel separated from the rest of the park. I would like to know who doesn't smile when they are told to hang on to their hats and glasses. You whisk around goats, under waterfalls, and through collapsing caverns. You do all of this under a spectacular mountain and in an area in the middle of the park.

Frontierland doesn't have many attractions. At this time I think it may be down to just Big Thunder and the Mark Twain (I don't count the Shooting Arcade). It is still one of my very favorite areas of Disneyland. You can escape the crowds of Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Adventureland right here. And while you are visiting the old west what could be better than a train ride through a mountain?

If everything I have learned researching Thunder Mesa and Western River Expedition are true then I would have loved to see this attraction come to life. I can hold out hope that they will bring back the huge experience rides like Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. If they ever decide to use the Big Thunder Ranch for something other than private parties I would love to see a grand attraction there. The old west has so many stories and tall tales you could have blast visiting the old cowboys.


I have heard rumors of an E-ticket attraction being planned for Disney's California Adventure that would be similar to the Western River Expedition. I don't really believe them but that can't stop me from dreaming. I don't know if I am the only person that would be thrilled with more animatronics, but I think they are a huge part of what sets Disney apart from other theme parks. I believe this would make a great addition to Disney's California Adventure. Other than Hopper in It's Tough to Be a Bug, they don't really have any animatronics in the whole park. It would be great to see more over there. I would hope that $1,000,000,000 will buy a couple in the next few years. With a little luck we will get to board a boat and take a river ride through western mining towns. With a lot of luck we will get to board a boat and take a long river ride through western mining towns.