Thunder Mesa

When Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, a slight adjustment to the park's layout saw Frontierland set along the western edge of the Rvers of America rather than the eastern as at Disneyland. Given its placement along the park's far western edge with practically limitless space beyond the Walt Disney World Railroad, you might've expected Magic Kingdom's Frontierland to contain a sprawling Living Desert or Nature's Wonderland of its own. But it didn't. Instead, Frontierland contained only two attractions: Tom Sawyer Island, and a Marc Davis-designed show – the Modern Marvel: Country Bear Jamboree.

The truth is, plans were in the works for the next evolution of Nature's Wonderland – a headlining, anchor attraction that would change Magic Kingdom forever. Along the Rivers of America's edge would rise Thunder Mesa, a massive, multi-ride complex celebrating the legends and lore of the Old West.

The centerpiece would be a Western-set equivalent of Pirates of the Caribbean (hence why Magic Kingdom opened without the pirate ride) through western towns inhabited by "Cowboys & Indians," with guests facing off against waterfalls, mauraders, thieves, and gullywashers.

That dark ride – explored in-depth in our Possibilityland: Western River Expedition feature – would be the centerpiece, but the complex would also contain a log flume through Western scenery and past North American animals, and a "runaway mine train" roller coaster dipping and dodging along plateaus. 

The entire Thunder Mesa complex would've been a staggeringly cool evolution of the intersecting rides of the Living Desert, and as colorful and adventurous as Nature's Wonderland... but of course, it didn't happen... 

Mountains Rise

Even by the 1970s, the allure of the "Old West" was waning. As it always does, pop culture had simply moved on. "Howdy Doody," "Davy Crockett," "Zorro," and "The Lone Ranger" were remnants of another time. If the construction of Magic Kingdom's version of Pirates of the Caribbean hadn't been enough to officially cancel it, Marc Davis' hopes for a Western River Expedition at Magic Kingdom were scrapped by the Space Age, as young people turned their gaze from America's idling past to the gee-whiz wonder of outer space.

The 1967 redesign of Disneyland's Tomorrowland (adding the Rocket Jets, CircleVision, and the Lost Legends: PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, and Adventure Thru Inner Space) charted a new course for the imagination, but it was 1977's Space Mountain that sealed the deal. Opening just two days after Star Wars debuted (forever redefining space and sci-fi in the public consciousness), Space Mountain both tapped into then-modern tastes and offered Disney a lower-cost, thrill-focused M.O. to weather the company's financial downturn of the '70s.

With Space Mountain as a guide, Imagineers were tasked with separating out the "runaway mine train" developed as part of the Thunder Mesa project and developing it as a standalone experience. The Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland closed forever on January 2, 1977. 

 In 1979, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened at Disneyland, officially replacing Nature's Wonderland for good. Even so, parts of the ride's sprawling layout lived on for decades.

• The path constructed between Frontierland and Fantasyland passed through the old Beaver Valley, with a distant mine tunnel in tact and a few leaping fish figures still visible for those with the patience to carefully observe;
• Big Thunder Ranch retained many of the red rock pinnacles and natural arches of the Living Desert until it, too, was demolished in 2016 to make way for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge;
•  Cascade Peak along the Rivers of America outlived the ride by two decades. It was demolished in 1998, allegedly because years without repair had weakened its structural integrity to the point of near-collapse;
• The tracks visible from the Rivers of America that once circumnavigated Cascade Peak remained even longer. A Nature's Wonderland mine train parked there as decoration was finally removed in 2010 (today, it can be found at Walt's Carolwood Barn in Griffith Park) whereas the tracks themselves lasted until the Rivers of America's re-shaping in 2017 to make way for Galaxy's Edge;

• The desert town of Rainbow Ridge was partially salvaged and now resides on the hillsides over the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and along its final brake run near Rancho Del Zocalo. 

Lost Legend

From the Skyway to Alien Encounter; 20,000 Leagues to Horizons; Soarin' Over California to Body Wars, Disney history is filled with E-Ticket attractions that have been lost to time. Yet despite being one of the largest Disney rides ever designed – and by the legendary animator-turned-Imagineer behind the Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, and Country Bears, at that – Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland is often overlooked! Maybe it's because the ride closed five years before any of EPCOT Center's Lost Legends would even open, making video evidence and first-hand memories scarce.

For generations of Disneyland guests, though, Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland was a formative experience; quite literally, a Frontierland-set version of the Jungle Cruise, with all the joy and wonder and humor that you'd expect from a Marc Davis production.

Walt Disney called on Frontierland to contain the "color, romance and drama of frontier America as it developed from wilderness trails to roads, riverboats, railroads and civilization." The Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland was a perfect encapsulation of that mindset, and despite its relatively short life, stands among the most legendary attractions Disney Parks have ever hosted. Not ready for the story to end? Dive deeper into Frontierland lore by making the jump to our in-depth features on Magic Kingdom's Western River Expedition or Disneyland's Discovery Bay to see what almost was...