Frontierland / Big Thunder
Let's continue our long series of Big Thunder-related scans, graciously shared with us by the Mysterious Benefactor! We left off from the last installment with some photos of Big Thunder cast members, and the first three continue that trend.
As I said the last time, it's clear that the photographer thought it would be fun for these folks to have some bubble gum. Well, OK. I guess it gave them something to do besides sit there and smile. In my dad we chewed tobacco and let the juice run down our chins, but I guess that won't do now. I thought that this young woman might be a ticket-taker, but to be honest I don't know if they still used tickets when these photos were shot.
We saw this guy last time, and I swear he looks so much like actor Anthony Michael Hall (from "The Breakfast Club" among others). The Ray Bans seem like they might not work with "The Disney Look", but he's not in Disney Jail, so I guess it was OK. On a hot summer day, shades might have been needed for mere survival.
It's the gal from the first photo again - I'm posting these in the same order that they appear in the MB's folders - I just realized that gum in general was frowned upon in Disneyland (it's a pain to deal with when folks drop it on the ground), I think the photographer should have given them all switchblades to brandish instead.
We're done with gum! Here's a pretty photo of a small cascade pouring through the town of Rainbow Ridge - for some reason I thought that the town's name had changed when The Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland closed, but nope, it is still Rainbow Ridge.
A dramatic angle!
Next is this nice look at some of the theming, with mine equipment and machinery, old crates and casks, etc. I wonder if "Burke" was the name of an Imagineer?
THANK YOU, Mysterious Benefactor!
6 comments:
Major-
Cast members and bubble gum - they go together like... they don't really go together, do they-? And Rainbow Ridge still looks grand in these images.
(I'm gonna say "Burke" stands for the [somewhat diminutive] character actor Walter Burke).
Thanks to the M B and The Major.
CMs blowing bubble gum bubbles... What a weird subject matter. I would guess that the photographer was bored with all the usual stuff and just went a little stir-crazy one day. (What does "stir-crazy" mean anyway?... OK, I just looked it up: Apparently, "stir" means "jail" in 19th century Brit Speak. Prisoners would go crazy being locked up in jail over an extended period.)
Anthony Michael Hall's name badge says "Michael". Coincidence? I don't think so!
Wow, the 'water feature' photo looks great! So many things came together just right to make a beautiful picture.
The "dramatic angle" pic demonstrates how a lot of 'old west' buildings had facades that were squared off at the top, instead of angled with the roof line (like the dormer window). Was this purely to be decorative and impressive? It doesn't really serve any purpose since there's nothing behind it. Maybe it just saved a lot of sawing?
They did a good job making that mine equipment room look really rustic and crude. I bet you're right about "Burke" being an Imagineer. The name is deliberately eye-catching.
Thanks, Major and Mysterious Ben.
I think that contraption in the last photo, was used in the 1978 Disney film, "Hot Lead & Cold Feet." I seem to remember my friend's father (who worked on the construction of the attraction) telling us that. Mike might have mentioned it in the past, too. Hopefully, he will chime in and confirm that.
Thank you, Major and MB!
The crate with the name BURKE is a tribute to WED imagineer Pat Burke ( John Patrick Burke) who started at WED imagineering in the very early 70’s. Pat was instrumental in the design and construction of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad … he created many designs and built models but also as a antique railroad and old west mining expert sourced mass amounts of vintage mining equipment and implements from the American southwest primarily the Mohave desert. These props were used on all the four big thunder attractions. John Hench had remembered some abstract modern looking ceramics in Pat’s portfolio when interviewing for WED- when filming for the TV Art school and shopping channel scenes for Space Mountain’s RCA HOME OF FUTURE LIVING , WED production art directors rented some of Pat’s futuristic looking ceramics for use as ceramic class projects and merchandise being shopped on TV shopping channels ( 1973/1974). Pat Burke passed away in 2014.
There were four “donkey engines “ used in the Disney film “Hot Lead & Cold Feet” two of each # 5 ( red smoke stack band) and #11 ( green smoke stack band) were created for outdoor filming props and indoor soundstage filming) all four were really battery powered . The designs were based on a real non mining locomotive, the American TOM THUMB vertical boiler locomotive. The props were saved for use in Big Thunder … 2 went to Disneyland ( both red #5) and one green #11 went to want Disney world ( the duplicate green band #11 exploded in the film.) why BOTH red #5’s went to DL is unknown : one is in the entry mining camp and the second is located facing the Big Thunder Trail entering a mine tunnel) the green #11 Donkey engine at WDW is seen just as the trains return to enter the underground loading station . The props are actually tagged “BLOODSHY” which was the original working name of the film HOT LEAD & COLD FEET …
Sorry: I realized I mixed the donkey engine numbers up! Disneyland got (2) red #11’s and Walt Disney World received the only surving #5.
MAJOR: from 1979 - 2014 the mining town was called THUNDER RIDGE …. It was renamed RAINBOW RIDGE after the big refurbishment in 2014. It should have been left THUNDER RIDGE after… Rainbow Ridge was a different kinda town.
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