The Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

. railroad attraction in

Frontierland Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gol ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

, that featured

Audio-Animatronic Audio-Animatronics (also known as simply Animatronics, and sometimes shortened to AAs) is the registered trademark for a form of robotics animation created by Walt Disney Imagineering for shows and attractions at Disney theme parks, and subsequent ...

animals in natural desert- and woods-themed environments. It opened on June 12, 1960, as an extension of Rainbow Caverns Mine Train, which opened on July 2, 1956... It closed on January 2, 1977, to make room for

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park in Paris. In Tokyo and Paris, the attraction is named Big Thunder Mountain. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is ...

History

In 1956, the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train was opened in Frontierland, as part of the Living Desert. Guests boarded a miniature train and were transported through the various scenery of the desert environment, which featured anthropomorphic cacti, the Balancing Rocks which precariously rolled back and forth above the guests, and the beautiful Rainbow Caverns. The Living Desert was also host to other attractions like the Conestoga Wagons, Stagecoaches, and Pack Mules, though the former two disappeared when Nature's Wonderland was introduced. Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland was redesigned by Marc Davis when

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

requested him to insert more humor into Disneyland's attractions. Rainbow Caverns Mine Train was closed and redesigned into Nature's Wonderland, taking inspiration from ''

True-Life Adventures ''True-Life Adventures'' is a series of short and full-length nature documentary films released by Walt Disney Productions between the years 1948 and 1960. The first seven films released were thirty-minute shorts, with the subsequent seven films ...

''. The scenes of the Living Desert and Rainbow Caverns were incorporated into the redesign, which had guests boarding a train at the fictional Western town Rainbow Ridge before heading off into the attraction. The train traveled through Cascade Peak, Bear Country, Beaver Valley, the Living Desert, Devil's Paint Pots (multicolored geysers), and Rainbow Caverns before returning to the station. The attraction featured over two-hundred replicas of North American animals, and the narrative was provided by

Dallas McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps and wa ...

(who also did voices for some of

's feature films and is the voice of

Gumby ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation Media franchise, franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length ''Gumby: The Movie'', and oth ...

). Due to the rise in popularity for thrill rides, Nature's Wonderland was closed to build a new attraction, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which opened in 1979. However, Big Thunder Mountain is similar to Nature's Wonderland, featuring a runaway train as the ride vehicle, the set of Rainbow Ridge is used as the loading area, and a tribute to Rainbow Caverns exists within the attraction. A surviving locomotive from the ride was part of the scenery on Rivers of America for years, near the former location of Cascade Peak. It was removed in 2010 and sat abandoned in a lot for years until it was moved to the

Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum The Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum (LALSRM) is a non-profit public-benefit corporation founded in 1956 by live steam enthusiasts for the purpose of educating the public about railroad history and lore, and to promote live steam and scal ...

in 2014, pending final contracts for donation to the Carolwood Society, but was then returned to Disney when negotiations dragged. The deal was finally signed in 2016, and the group began raising funds to restore the engine. It will be placed on display in a new building next door to the Carolwood barn. An episode of ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'' titled "Nature's Wonderland" was released in October 2017, with its story made in homage of the defunct attraction.

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External links

{{Disney rail transport 1956 establishments in California 1977 disestablishments in California Amusement rides introduced in 1960 Disneyland Former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Frontierland Heritage railroads in California Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Railroads of amusement parks in the United States Western (genre) amusement rides

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links