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Frontierland is one of the 6 themed lands at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
It is here that we experience the story of our country’s past.
The colour, romance and drama of Frontier America as it developed from wilderness trials,
to roads riverboats railroads and civilization.
The original Frontierland at Disneyland was born out of Walt Disney’s love for America,
and when Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 these same ideas were brought to Florida.
The land takes you into the pioneering days of America in the early 19th century.
This old western town is famously known for being home to popular attractions like Big
Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, but there’s so much more that makes Frontierland
one of the best lands to just go and explore.
It has so many secrets and hidden details you’ve probably never noticed.
So today while looking at some history of the land we’re gonna be counting down the
Top 7 Hidden Secrets in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom.
Number 7 Frontierland is no secret, but have you ever
realized that it’s the only land that isn’t accessible from the hub?
When you’re walking through the centre of the park, Frontierland is really a hidden
land.
You need to travel through Adevntureland or Liberty Square to get into this old western
Town, but why is that?
Well this was an intentional design by imagineers and it all follows a story that starts in
Liberty Square.
See the buildings in Liberty Square show the architectural progression through Colonial
America starting in the 1700s.
Since Frontierland is adjacent to Liberty Square, this architectural progression continues
showing the western expansion of America through the 1800s.
The Diamond Horseshoe is the official transition point from Colonial America into the old west
and as you walk between the two lands the transition is seamless.
All the buildings in Frontierland are historically accurate right down to the elevated sidewalks.
Aside form the sidewalks on Main Street, Frontierland is the only land in Magic Kingdom that has
raised walkways.
Back in old western towns, the roadways were always really dirty, full of mud and dust,
so raised wooden sidewalks were used to keep people’s boots and dresses clean when they
were walking through the town.
And speaking of this town, at the top of some of the buildings in Frontierland you’ll
notice a number.
The number is actually significant and actually represents the year of the building’s architectural
design.
So on Grizzly Hall you’ll see its from 1898, Town Hall from 1867 and the Saloon from 1878.
Number 6 If you look across the Rivers of America you’ll
see Harper’s Mill on Tom Sawyer Island.
This water wheel has sort of become an iconic part of the riverbank adding even more kinetics
to the Rivers of America.
Contrary to popular belief Tom Sawyer Island was not an opening day attraction at Magic
Kingdom.
It opened in May of 1973, just over a year and a half after the park opened in October
of 1971.
Now the island is inspired by the characters and stories of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer novels.
If you’re familiar with the characters from these books, there’s a boy named Joe Harper
who’s one of Tom Sawyer’s friends.
If you board one of the rafts and head to the island, you’ll see a sign right beside
Harpers Mill that gives you it’s backstory.
Tom Sawyer being the good friend he is, named the grist Mill after Joe Harper’s father.
So that’s the Tom Sawyer story, but there’s a double meaning to the naming of the Mill.
Disney actually named Harper’s Mill after the late Imagineer Harper Goff.
He was involved with designing Disneyland’s Main Street and the Jungle Cruise as well
as the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
So the Harper’s Mill pay tribute to this late imagineer but it’s also home to another
hidden secret.
Inside the Mill you’ll see as series of wooden gears that are usually spinning.
Here on this large gear you’ll spot a little blue bird in a nest.
Well in 1936 Disney released an animated short called The Old Mill.
There was a scene in the film that shows a little blue bird on a wooden gear inside the
Mill.
So Imagineers hid a little blue bird in Harper’s Mill as a tribute to this classic Disney short!
Number 5 Now if you’ve watched past videos you’ll
know we always point out details on the ground since Disney is well know for creating theming
that goes from top to bottom.
Frontierland is home to the County Bear Jamboree where a cast of singing Animatronic bears
treat you to a musical revue.
When you enter the Grizzly Hall lobby, it gives you this warm cozy feeling with the
hardwood floors and the pictures of the cast of bears on the wall.
Well if you look down at the hardwood floors they seem to be a little scuffed up.
Since Grizzly Hall hosts a cast of Bears, naturally they’d enter the hall, sharp nails
and all, marking the hardwood floors with their claws.
So Disney added the claw marks to the floors.
It’s a fun hidden detail that you could definitely miss if you don’t look down or
if there’s a lot of people in the waiting area.
The bears sure know how to make their mark.
Now speaking of the bears, one of the most iconic characters is Big Al
and he was actually modelled after an imagineer.
Al Bertino was a show writer for many Disney attractions including the Country Bear Jamboree
and Big Al was modelled after Al Bertino, name and all.
When you look at both Al’s the resemble is uncanny.
Bertino passed away in 1996 so Big Al at the Country Bear Jamboree will forever be a reminder
of this legendary Imagineer.
Number 4- Hidden Tink As you step further into Frontierland it’s
hard to miss the 197 foot butte that’s home to Big Thunder Mountain railroad.
After you’ve taken a spin on the wildest ride in the wilderness you’re gonna wanna
keep your eyes peeled for a little hidden secret at the ride’s exit.
Now we’ve all heard about hidden Mickey’s by now, and if you haven’t we have an entire
video explaining the phenomena, but have you ever heard of a hidden Tinkerbell?
Well there’s one at Big Thunder Mountain.
As you exit the ride, there’s these set of rocks on the left hand side.
They look like ordinary rocks with nothing to hide.
So if you look right here theres what appears to be a crack in the rock, but when we switch
to this angel directly in front, you can see its a side profile of a shilouette of Tinkerbell.
There’s no real explanation as to why this Fantasyland character is hidden in the world
of cowboys and fur traders, but with some faith, trust and pixie dust anything can make
sense at Magic Kingdom.
Number 3 There’s nothing quite like the feeling of
plunging down Chick a Pin Hill on Splash Mountain.
The ride takes you into the world of the Bre’r characters as Bre’r Rabbit tries to find
his laughing place.
In one of the first indoor show scenes on the ride, you see Bre’r Rabbit leaving his
home.
It looks small and quaint, perfect for Bre’r Rabbit.
Throughout the attraction Bre’r Rabbit realizes he wasn’t cut out for his adventure and
in the very last scene of the ride he returns home.
Now have you ever thought about what Bre’r Rabbit’s house would look like inside?
Well if you ever have, then the answer sits hidden in Frontierland.
As you exit Splash Mountain, on the right hand side there’s the Briar Patch gift shop.
Inside, there’s an abundant amount of Splash Mountain merchandise but at the back of the
shop, hidden on the upper portion of the wall illuminated by these blue lights sits Bre’r
Rabbit’s house.
On the left hand side there’s what looks to be his dining room nicely decorated with
some flowers on the table.
Then to the right, there’s his bedroom that has everything from a bed and rocking chair
with a mini plush toy to an armour.
You can really imagine a little Bre’r Rabbit hoping through this space just going about
his daily business.
It’s a really fun little hidden secret that many people miss especially considering where
it’s placed in the shop.
So next time you’re on Splash mountain and see Ber’r Rabbit standing outside his house,
you know exactly what he’s leaving behind inside.
Number 2 One of the most famous Frontiersmen is Davy
Crockett Davy, Davy Crockett King of the wild frontier.
Davy Crockett is an American folk hero that dates all the way back to the late 1700s and
in the 1950s Disney released a Davy Crockett mini series.
This series heavily inspired the creation of Frontielrand at Disneyland and the character
also went on to inspire Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland.
From 1971 until 1994 you were able to paddle along the rivers of America on the Davy Crocket
Canoes.
The footage you see here is taken from Disneyland where the Canoes still operate today.
Even though this is now an extinct attraction at Magic Kingdom there are still references
left that pay tribute to the king of the wild frontier.
Now Davy Crockett is known for wearing his tan buckskin hunting suit with the iconic
coonskin hat.
If we take a look at the Frontier Trading post, placed above you’ll notice some clothes
on a clothes line.
This tan buckskin suit could very well belong to Davy Crocket and there also appears to
be some boots placed on the right hand side.
Now theres no way to knowif any of these actually belong to Davey Crocket but he definitely
left behind some other belongings that are hidden in Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe.
Pecos Bill is a character featured in the 1948 film Melody Time.
The restaurant’s backstory is that every time a friend visited Pecos, they left something
behind to remember them by.
Well naturally Davy Crockett visited Pecos Bill and here in this little section hidden
on the back wall of the restaurant you’ll find items that belong to by Davy Crockett.
He left behind his leather bag, powder horn and the iconic coon skin hat.
So next time you’re grabbing a bite at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe keep an eye out
for these Davy Crocket items hidden right in the restaurant.
Number 1- Walt Disney Initials.
So we’ve talked about a hidden Tinker Bell but what about a hidden Walt Disney?
Now although Disneyland in California has many direct references to Walt Disney himself,
Magic Kingdom doesn’t have as many since it built after Walt passed.
He didn’t personally touch the park in the same way that he did with Disneyland.
But on Tom Sawyer Island there’s one secret that pays tribute to Walt Disney and you need
to look really hard to spot it.
At the back of the Island you’ll find Fort Langhorn which originally opened as Fort Sam
Clemens.
It was changed in 1997.
The fort is a fun section of the island with many places to climb and explore, one being
the Escape tunnel.
Once you’re inside this dimly lit corridor it’s a lot of fun to walk through and when
you reach the light at the end of the tunnel well this is where you’ll find a hidden
Walt Disney.
Do you see it?
Yea that’s a W and a D, Walt Disney’s initials.
Now obviously Walt Disney himself didn’t engrave the initials since he had already
passed away before the island was even built.
But some imagineer out there hid this at the end of the escape tunnel as a hidden tribute
to man responsible for all the Disney magic.
So have you ever noticed any of these hidden secrets and details in Frontierlan?Whats your
favourite hidden detail at the park?
I’d love to know!
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