Frontierland / Westernland
Frontierland was one of Disneyland’s five original themed lands. It opened with the rest of the park on July 17th, 1955. It was created to suggest the American west in the middle of the 19th century. It is a land of cowboys and Indians and of forts in the unexplored wilderness.
Since it opened, Disneyland’s Frontierland territory has been greatly reduced. Both New Orleans Square and Critter Country have been carved out of it.
The Frontierland entrance is an old log stockade which may be entered directly from the hub. Once through the gates we find ourselves in a pristine western town circa 1850. On our right are the shooting gallery, a candy shop and an adobe Mexican restaurant. On our left is the log constructed Pioneer Mercantile. Further down the street toward the river a couple of well kept western buildings hold other shops. On the corner is the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. Directly in front of us, at the river’s edge, is the boat landing where you can board the stern wheeler steamship, Mark Twain or the Sailing Ship Columbia for a trip around the Rivers of America. As we approach the dock, we see Big Thunder Mountain looming up on our right. A path travels between the river and the mountain toward the Big Thunder Barbecue and Fantasyland. If we follow the river around to the left, passing in front of New Orleans Square, we come to a dock where rafts will take us out to Tom Sawyer Island.
Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom also opened with the park on October 1, 1971. Unlike Disneyland, Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom can not be entered directly from the hub. In fact, it is the only version of this land that can not be entered from the center of the park. You must go through Liberty Square or Adventureland to reach it. As we enter from Liberty Square past the Frontierland sign (pictured above), weathered, old western buildings line the left side of the street. The right side of the street is the shore of the Rivers of America. As we continued down the street we pass the log constructed Shootin’ Gallery and Country Bear Jamboree. Further down the street we pass clapboard sided western buildings which house the area’s shops and a hamburger restaurant. As we round the bend in the river, towering up on our left are the slopes of Splash Mountain. Just past the mountain on the right is the dock where we can board the Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island. The path dead ends at Big Thunder Mountain which marks the farthest reaches of Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom.
There is no translation for the word Frontier in the Japanese language, therefore when Tokyo Disneyland opened on April 15, 1983, one of its original 5 lands was listed as Westernland. There is no conceptual difference between Westernland and Frontierland. In fact, you will find much of the architecture from the earlier two Frontierlands duplicated there. Westernland is entered directly from the hub, however there is no stockade to mark it. This is possibly because the entrance is on the parade route and a stockade would interfere with the larger floats. As we enter from the hub on the left we see a short line of weathered western facades leading up to the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon. On the right is a thick stand of trees. As we pass the Diamond Horseshoe, we find our selves in the heart of Westernland. The first thing that strikes us is how wide the street is. Across the way we see the log constructed Country Bear Theater surrounded by weathered, western, clapboard buildings which house the area’s shops. We turn right and head toward a thick stand of trees below a railroad truss. If we turn to the left at the truss we will find ourselves passing the Westernland Shootin’ Gallery and wind up at the slopes of Big Thunder Mountain. If we continue straight and pass under the truss we will come to the Rivers of America and the boat landing for the Mark Twain Sternwheeler Steamship and the dock for the Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island.
Frontierland at Disneyland Paris also opened with the park on April 12, 1992. Just as at Disneyland, Frontierland is entered directly from the hub by passing through a stockade. The difference is that this stockade is actually the entrance to a log fort, Fort Comstock. This fort is a more elaborate version of the forts found on the Tom Sawyer Islands and it contains a walk-through attraction, Legends of the Wild West. We pass through the fort and out the back entrance and find ourselves in a rugged western town. On our left is the Lucky Nugget Saloon. On the right, a line of weathered, clapboard buildings house the area’s shops. Directly in front of us are the Rivers of the Far West. Across the water on an island we see Big Thunder Mountain. As we come to the river and turn left we encounter the riverboat landing where we can board the Mark Twain Sternwheeler Steamship or the Molly Brown Side wheeler Steamship. If we follow the road to the end we come to a hill overgrown with weeds. On top of the hill looms the ominous Phantom Manor. We turn around and head the other way around the river. After we pass Fort Comstock we come to the Rustler Round up Shootin’ Gallery. Beyond that is the boarding area for Big Thunder Mountain. The path rounds the bend in the river and leads us past the dock for the River Rogue Keel Boats and to the Pocahontas Indian Village. Continuing along we encounter the Critter Corral right next to the Frontierland station of the Euro Disneyland Railroad. And across the way is the final attraction of the area, The Chaparral Stage.
To explore Frontierland/Westernland further select an attraction from the list below.
Big Thunder Mountain
Rafts to Tom Sawyer Island
Shootin’ Gallery
Steam Trains
Sailing Ship Columbia
Fantasmic
Legends of the Wild West
Critter Corral
Pocahontas Indian Village
