Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Frontierland, 1997/1998

GDB pal Mr. X has done it again, and presented me with about 50 color slides from photos that he personally took about 20 years ago - while many are undated, X guesses that most are from 1998. Twenty years doesn't seem that vintage, but it's surprising how much has changed in two decades.

First up is this nice photo of the south end of the Rivers of America, as seen from the Disney Gallery (which closed in 2007) - which, as many of you know, was going to be the site of Walt's new apartment, had he lived long enough. Imagine waking up to this view! At the extreme lower edge of the photo you can see people walking along the elevated queue to enter "Pirates of the Caribbean". And... seeing a Keel Boat along the river means that this must be from no later than 1997, since they closed in May of that year.


This end of Tom Sawyer Island saw some major changes when "Fantasmic!" was introduced in 1992. The original Old Mill was moved eastward, and a massive stage area (full of hidden lifts and other stage tech) was built. I know that many people adore Fantasmic!, but I wish this part of the island didn't look so crummy during the day. The Columbia is nestled peacefully in Fowler's Harbor.


And there's a Keel Boat again, gliding past Cascade Peak, with its waterfalls still going strong at this point. Cascade Peak was razed in the Fall of 1998 (for some reason I can't find a precise date - probably because it took days or weeks to demolish the peak). It sure looks pretty here! Fort Wilderness can be seen (barely) in the distance, it closed for good in 2003.


Stay tuned for more photos from Mr. X!

11 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

I know Fantasmic! is a big crowd-pleaser - and the first couple of times I watched it, found all the 'technology' very interesting and exciting. But the 'excitement' was short-lived for me. I have since found it boring, and over-produced "more is-never-enough" nonsense, that at Disneyland, has destroyed TSI and the southern end of the RoA. (And now the north end has been "re-profiled" to accommodate 'Wookie World'). Oh, goody. In spite of "it looks like every-other building at a theme park" structure to conceal much of the Fantasmic! paraphernalia, there's still a semblance of some sort of TSI in these images.

Thanks to Mr. X & The Major.

TokyoMagic! said...

Yes, crummy is a good word to describe the look of the Fantasmic staging area. For me, this era was the "beginning of the end" for the park. The original look of Tom Sawyer Island was destroyed for the nighttime show. Two years later, the Skyway was removed from the park. Two years after that, we were told that the Main St. Electrical Parade was "glowing away forever." (Hey...buy a light bulb, everybody!) The following year, Light Magic was foisted upon us and at the same time, Tomorrowland was slowly being destroyed for it's 1998 reopening.

It is nice however, to see Cascade Peak and the Keel Boats at this late of a date, even if they were both about to be given the axe!

Thank you, Major and Mr. X! (Hey, if Mr. X and Mysterious Benefactor went into business together, would they be known as Bene-X-Factor?)

Melissa said...

I love the built-in wrought iron picture frame in the first shot! I'm going to guess that the three red-haired ladies taking each other's picture in the lower left are having a sisters’ day out in the park.

ManM I'd love to be on top of that Keelboat, feeling the mist off the waterfall.


Alonzo P Hawk said...

20 years has changed a lot. 97/98 was when wifey and I had our first annual passes. The middle tier pass at, if memory serves, a whopping $99 total. Now days that might get you into one park on a discount ticket.

I do love the old mill and keel boats in these shots. Not to mention the termite or dry rot infested (which ever it was) Cascade Peak as she spills her last few thousand gallons of recirculated 'merican river water.

Thanks to Mr. X and Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I’ve only watched “Fantasmic!” once. It was fun, but as usual, the extreme crowding affected by enjoyment of the experience. After that one viewing, I’ve never wanted to try it again. That being said, if thousands of people love it, good for them. I admit to holding a little bit of a grudge against it, since the Mark Twain closes early (unless Fantasmic is down). Guess I’ve turned into the classic grumpy old man.

TokyoMagic!, just looking at the photo posted today, that end of the island really looks awful. So many fence posts! Maybe there was a sale at Home Depot. My guess is that we could trace “the beginning of the end” back further, but this definitely was a sign that something was amiss. They’ve ruined what was once a beautiful little scene, all for two 20 minutes evening shows.

Melissa, the wrought iron in the foreground makes me think of Viewmaster photos! And yes, I’d love to be on that Keelboat!!

Alonzo, man, it’s hard to believe that an AP was only $99. No wonder so many people got them! I don’t think even Disney imagined the demand there would be. Cascade Peak wouldn’t have had dry rot or termites if they had made it out of lightweight, attractive aluminum siding.

JG said...

What Melissa Said.

@Major, "the beginning of the end", truer words never spoken. If you are a grumpy old man, then sign me up too. Should we have t-shirts?

My return visits to the Park started about here, about 20 years after my previous visits, and it was a real letdown. The first time for me that Disneyland was "less fun" than before.

I agree, the Fantasmic show is a "one-and-done". The only good thing about it now is that during the show, queues are shorter at Space Mountain and Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Broken Ride Mechanism, even IASW.

I have found that the "shank of the evening" when everyone else is lining up for parades and fireworks, is the best time to ride Pirates and Haunted Mansion. I rode the HM 4 times in about an hour, which is pretty good considering the length of the ride. Got 3 runs of the Pirates right after that. I doubt I will ride POC that much in future, now that the narrative has changed.

JG

stu29573 said...

Am I wrong or does the redo of the Star Wars end of the river include several waterfalls? If so, that could be considered a little bright spot. Ok...very little, but in modern Disney parks, you have to grab for anything you can (unless you LOVE Star Wars and Super Heros)

Anonymous said...

The keel boat certainly added 'flavor' to the theming. And Cascade Peak...there's no excuse for not putting up a replacement in my book. KS

Matthew said...

@stu29573

Yes that far end of the Rivers of America does now include waterfalls. Not the big thunderous kind we saw from Cascade Peak, nor even close to Grizzly River Run (which I understand why those are so large), but still... a win is a win in this neck of the woods. I, along with others, begged Imagineers reading the blogs to put back in some waterfalls. They are natural cooling systems for the Park.

And yes... it was the beginning of the end. I was thankful to work for the Disney "Renaissance" (1984 - 1994). It may be a year or two longer, but I truly believe that the death of Frank Wells in April of 1994, was the "Beginning of the end" for The Walt Disney Co. under Michael Eisner.

Always your pal,
Amazon Belle

Chuck said...

The beginning of the end may have been when they started tearing out orange trees in 1954. Without that, we'd have nothing to complain about... ;-)

Major Pepperidge said...

JG, we need to give TokyoMagic! the credit for that truism. But I agree with him! I always wonder how much of my disappointment in the current park has to do with age. And it might be *some* of the issue, I admit. But I loved going there until perhaps 10 years ago, when the crowds got overwhelming. As for riding “Pirates” and the Mansion at night when people are lining up for the fireworks or whatever, we had the same idea. But Frontierland and New Orleans Square got SO packed that we had a hard time making our way over to the Haunted Mansion. We finally gave up and decided that it was time to go home.

stu29573, yes, there were some waterfalls added to the rocks at the end of the river. I do like the way they look, but still miss our old, bigger river. You can see them on this nice YouTube video from a trip on the Mark Twain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByECUI8CCTE .

KS, wouldn’t it be amazing if the powers-that-be put in something like a new Cascade Peak just because it was beautiful?

Matthew, it does seem like Frank Wells was a voice of reason in the Disney organization. Who could have imagined that his unexpected death would cause so much drama? It sure would have been nice if the new Frontierland waterfalls were more impressive, but as you said, we’ll take what we can get I suppose.

Chuck, as a fan of orange trees I agree with you!