Monday, July 11, 2011

Lost Disneyland: Mine Train Through Natures Wonderland

"Howdy, folks! Welcome to the little minin’ town of Rainbow Ridge, the gateway to Nature’s Wonderland"
That was the greeting from a friendly old miner when you boarded your mine train to natures wonderland. Natures Wonderland was a classic Disneyland attraction that ran from 1960-1979 and took up the entirety of the backwoods of Frontierland. It took you through scenes that showed Americas great wilderness. Your first stop was Beaver Valley. Here you could see beavers that were working on a dam. After Beaver Valley, you went by Big Thunder "The biggest waterfall in all these here parts."  After that you passes the Twin Sisters "You recognize 'cause they're always babilin." After that you went into Bear Country. You passed by bears fishing, scratching, and just laying around. After that was The Living Desert which took up most of the room. Here you saw geysers, the devils paint pots, and cactus that took on the shapes of people. After that was the last stop: Rainbow Caverns. You saw stalactites stalagmites and colorful waterfalls. After that you got back to Rainbow Ridge.
You can still see remains of Natures Wonderland. As you go along Big Thunder Trail, you can see Bear Country when you go past the lake. In fact when you walk along there, you are in the Living Desert. Up until a while ago you could see Big Thunder on Tom Sawyers Island. Today you can see parts of the track when you go through the Rivers of America. The old mine town at Big Thunder Mountain is actually Rainbow Ridge. So next time you are in that area, look for the tributes to this great ride.

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