Friday, September 26, 2008

Mine Train & More, 1972

We've got three more Mine Train related images today, all from 1972. First up is the view taken (apparently) from somewhere on Tom Sawyer Island (at first I thought it was from the Mark Twain, but the trees in the foreground make that unlikely). The li'l Mine Train has only just started its journed through Nature's Wonderland, having just passed Big Thunder Falls as it 'rounds Cascade Peak and prepares to go through a tunnel. When you emerged from the tunnel you would see...


...this view! I find it fascinating to compare this to a view from when it was all brand-new. It sure looks different! What's with that one brown bear, is he supposed to be a young 'un? He seems a bit out of place. I think it's Smokey the Bear, and those other bears have stolen his pants and hat. Notice the way the other bears can't look at him because they will burst out laughing. Joke's on you, Smokey!


Near the end of your trip through the Living Desert, you would have seen "the sun-bleached bones of an ancient animal"; in this case, a T. rex! Which is much cooler than seeing the sun-bleached bones of an ancient moose. For some reason you don't find many photos of these dino bones, so I was happy to have this one. Notice that this T. rex was a girl, see her nest of eggs? Also check out the huge rattlesnake making its home in the skull.

at

9 comments:

  1. Vintage Disneyland Tickets7:28 AM

    Great shots of the mine train ride! Yeah, what's with that brown bear, not only is his (her?) color wrong, but it doesn't even look real, it looks cartoonish?

    Are the dinosaur bones at Big Thunder the same as these old ones?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:29 AM

    I'm pretty sure that they recycled some of those bones into the final splash down at Big Thunder. I believe that (the actual ride area of) Big Thunder got (1) some animals, (2) some of the scale buildings from Rainbow Ridge, and (3) some of them old Dino bones from Nature's Wonderland.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Major Pepperidge9:16 AM

    I agree with Todd... although if they used any of the dinosaur bones, it must have been only a few. Maybe parts of the skull?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Katella Gate11:48 AM

    I've been meaning to ask this for a while - Has anybody plotted out the layout Mine Train track, and the position of the geysers, animatronics, etc?

    There's enough info on the web now to do it with just a medium effort, and I'd do it myself just for fun, but I am so bogged down I hardly have time to pester my blogger-host with my jejune and obvious commentaries. I'm hoping somebody's already done the heavy lifting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Daveland12:51 PM

    David - a few bones? More like the whole carcass! I always wondered if these were the same bones or not:

    http://davelandweb.com/nw/images/btmr/DSC_8147.jpg

    http://davelandweb.com/btmrr/images/DSC_2706.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous4:15 PM

    Definitely an attraction loved and missed. This from a former Mine Train CM.

    ReplyDelete
  7. outsidetheberm9:45 PM

    The first image is so inviting. You just want to wander into those woods.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kevin Kidney10:18 AM

    Yes, this is indeed the same dinosaur at Big Thunder. I had planned on doing a post on this in the future. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:27 PM

    Yeah outsidetheberm, you sure do. Even if there are bars around, the wrong kind! What's even sweeter, one could take a super cute train on a pleasant amble through those wilderness scenes. So love the theme of that ride. Tho' Big Thunder's use of that dino shure tops it. Let's have both rides improved & weaved together out there.

    Hey Disney peeps, if parts of DCA don't work out all so hot, I've loads of ideas for attractions that are both more timely and of more lasting appeal ;)

    ReplyDelete