[Intro sound effects]
>>NARRATOR: The subject of unbuilt Disney theme park lands and attraction concepts,
can range from simple ideas that never made it off the drawing board, to ones that came
about as close to production as you can get.
[sound effects]
Magic Kingdom’s unbuilt Expansion known as Thunder Mesa and The Western River Expedition
attraction, is one such case, which has not only been the inspiration for many aspects
of attractions you see today, but would have forever changed the course of the parks future.
[Intro theme]
In 1967, construction began on Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
And while the park would include nearly identical elements and attractions from its Anaheim
relative, other aspects would be altered.
Such as the building of underground tunnels
for cast members, which due to florida’s high water table, would require the park itself
to be built 108 feet above ground level.
But perhaps one of the biggest differences
between the two parks would be the absence of the incredibly popular Pirates of the Caribbean,
with the mindset being that since Florida was close to the real Caribbean and full of
Pirate folklore, there would be little interest.
[sounds effects]
Instead, a large portion of land northwest of Frontierland was set aside for the building
of a sub land called Thunder Mesa named after what was supposed to be one of the park’s
icons Thunder Mesa mountain
which would have included 3 primary attractions, including a runaway mine train coaster and
canoe-themed river rapids ride, along with scenic hiking trails and explorable areas,
But it was Thunder Mesa’s 3rd attraction
that would be located in a show building hidden by the facade inspired by Utah's Monument
Valley, that would be the lands signature ride, and would take guests back in time to
the days of the Wild West
[Doc: “I apologize for the crudity of this model, but I just…”]
[Marty: “Yeah, I know, Doc, it’s not to scale.”]
The ride was called The Western River Expedition,
which was Designed by Walt Disney Imagineer Marc Davis.
And Like Pirates of the caribbean, which he had also designed, it would be a boat ride
attraction, only instead of pirates, it would be full of western characters and animatronics.
With the attraction being housed in not 1, but 2 connected showbuildings, each comparable
in size to Pirate’s of the Caribbean’s main showroom, which would have resided in
a massive third showbuilding underneath and intertwined with the lands other attractions.
And would borrow many aspects of Pirates of
the Caribbean’s ride design and track layout.
[ride scene: “Keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight.”]
Upon entering the attraction, you would wind
your way through an old mining shaft, which lead to the first showbuilding featuring a
scenic canyon sunset and the ride’s loading dock.
And after disembarking and drifting through the western landscape, much like Pirates of
the Carribbean, you would enter a rocky cave, but instead of skeletons and old relics, the
cave’s stalactites would appear to resemble familiar Old West characters and animals.
And Upon exiting the cave, you would witness
a stagecoach being robbed by bandits, which could also be seen by passerby’s riding
The Walt Disney World Railroad, as it’s here where the train would have bisected the
show building, with the other side to feature a diorama comparable to the one found on the
Disneyland Railroad.
From here you would travel through an open prairie, which would feature characters singing
variations of the Western River Expedition theme, eventually leading to the town of Dry
Gulch, in which you would drift through scenes of typical Wild West characters and scenarios.
[sound effects]
From there you would come across a group performing a Rain Dance, which would bring on rainfall
accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Shortly after you would begin to climb a waterfall,
and find yourself in a forrest where trees are set ablaze from the storm.
And it’s here where the ride would reach
it’s climax, as the bandits from earlier have caught up with you.
But luckily, you would escape as the boat goes down a waterfall, and after going through
another cave, would arrive back at the beginning.
[Marty: “Great Scott.”]
[Doc:“I know, this is heavy.”]
Construction of the ride and Thunder Mesa itself was set to begin shortly after Magic
Kingdom’s opening in 1971, and was planned to be finished by the parks 5th year anniversary
in 1976.
However, when the park opened, guests had
one major complaint about Disney’s newest theme park: Where was Pirates of the Caribbean?
So while Thunder Mesa was nearing the end
of it’s pre-production, Disney put the project on hold in order to begin immediate construction
of a Magic Kingdom Pirates of the Caribbean.
And it’s interesting to note, many believe
that the reason behind Magic Kingdom’s version of Pirates lacking so many of the Disneyland
counterpart’s ride elements, was to avoid direction competition with Wilderness Expedition’s
many borrowed elements.
But Despite the delay, work on the ride continued,
which included possible design changes and the revisal of certain planned portrayals
of certain groups, which going into the 1970’s, began to feel outdated and offensive.
[movie scene]
But when approaching early 1974, due to the energy crisis that had hit America, and the
decline of general interest in Westerns in both TV and film, combined with construction
costs of Florida’s Pirates of the Caribbean and the upcoming construction of Walt Disney
World’s second theme park, Thunder Mesa and it’s showcase attraction was becoming
increasingly unrealistic.
However, not wanting to lose the nearly 5
years of ideas and planning, up and coming imagineer Tony Baxter, came up with an attraction
which would use elements of Thunder Mesa and it’s runaway mine car coaster, called Big
Thunder Mountain Rail Road.
And while Disney was pleased, seeing it as
a cost cutting compromise, Marc Davis was upset that The Western River Expedition had
been excluded.
And while Tony Baxter attempted to rework
the ride into Thunder Mountains plans, Disney would only green light the western roller
coaster, and while some planned elements would make it into Epcot’s world of motion, Thunder
Mesa and the great river expedition as originally conceptualized, never saw the light of day.
Despite some delays, Thunder Mountain eventually
debuted at Magic Kingdom in 1980, taking up the vast majority of Thunder Mesa’s originally
set aside land, with Splash Mountain taking up the rest in 1992.
And while it may be disappointing to think about what could have been, one doesn’t
have to look too hard to find Thunder Mesa and The Western River Expedition’s influences
scattered throughout Disney’s theme park history, assuring that while unbuilt, it will
never be forgotten.
So what about you?
If you could bring one unbuilt attraction to life, which would it be?
If you want to know more about Thunder Mesa and it’s attractions, check out some links
to some fantastic articles in the description.
As always, thank you guys and gals so much for watching, hit those like and subscribe
buttons, and I’ll see you next time.
https://youtu.be/lFSzgmeqN0c