A Frontier of Infinite Detail

Frontierland at Disneyland Paris (just like every other area of that park) is full of incredible details that work together to weave a rich storytelling tapestry. We've seen many of those in the past few weeks here on the blog, but as we wrap up our exploration of Frontierland, I have a few more favorites to share with you.

Pictured above is the Frontierland dedication plaque, the sort of thing you don't typically see much of in Disney Parks. It's mounted just inside the land, after you pass through Fort Comstock. Be sure to click on the photo to read the inscription... in English or French; your choice.

Walking through Frontierland, there are so many little moments like the well pictured below. The land would have been pretty spectacular with just the main attractions and other facilities, but it's small details like this and the horse and wagon tracks in the ground, that fill in the gaps and make Thunder Mesa feel like a real place.

Popcorn wagons get the story treatment, too. Check out the props and the reference to the Thunder Mesa Mercantile. There's even a little gauchito turning the crank inside to "make the popcorn."

The Mexican culture we saw at Fuente del Oro carries over to the nearby guest restrooms, with the same sort of adobe construction. As always, I really appreciate a level of storytelling detail that even reaches the point of the identifying signs for the men's and women's restrooms.

Just like Main Street before it, Frontierland at Disneyland Paris displays a variety of period-appropriate ads, including this one for the Thunder Mesa Barber Shop where you can get a shave and a haircut for two bits (that's 25 cents to you and me).

There's even a touch of Hidden Disney in a corner of Frontierland. Beneath the sign for Huntington Mill is a reference to a Jack O'Ferges. Well, it turns out Jack Ferges is one of the legends of Imagineering, who happened to work in the model shop at WDI around the time Tony Baxter and several other members of the Disneyland Paris design team got started with the company. This is their tribute to one of their early mentors.

Frontierland Depot

Just beyond Cottonwood Creek is the Frontierland Depot of the Disneyland Paris Railroad, Thunder Mesa's connection to the rest of the wide open west. Folks bound for California or parts unknown might book passage on the next train leaving town by stepping up to the Ticket Office at the front of the station house.

Inside, other services are provided, including message receipt and delivery via the Telegraph Office. In fact, it sounds like there's a message coming in right now. Too bad the telegraph operator's on break! Otherwise, he'd be able to tell us it's a portion of Walt Disney's dedication speech for Disneyland, delivered in Morse Code.

Peeking into the Station Master's office, you can get a view of how things operate around here. Most importantly, there's the train schedule to tell you when specific lines may be arriving or departing. The trains listed include three of the ones that really operate at Disneyland Paris (G. Washington, W.B. Cody and C.K. Holliday - Eureka was added later and isn't included in this original graphic). It also includes other train names meant to evoke the spirit of the west and the Gold Rush. My favorite, though, is the inside joke: Graybar Hotel Express. Graybar hotel is a common idiom for jail or prison. Notice that the destination is Leavenworth, and they're selling one-way tickets only.

Out the other side of the station house by the tracks is a sign welcoming people who are just arriving in Thunder Mesa. This is definitely a boom town. Just look at that population explosion!

Of course, for those headed out of town or just passing through, the Frontierland Depot is a place for trains to stop and take on water for the journey ahead or pick up cargo from the Thunder Mesa Shipping Co. The stop's never long, though, and those engines are soon chugging off into the wilderness, ready for the next adventure.

For more on the Disneyland Paris Railroad and its trains, be sure to click back to this article on the Main Street Station.

Cottonwood Creek Ranch

After the excitement of the Gold Rush dried out, large swaths of land around Thunder Mesa was turned over to agriculture. One such farm is the Cottonwood Creek Ranch. The whole community is invited to come over today for the big Cowboy Cookout Barbecue being hosted in the main barn on the ranch. Inside, it's clear several families have pitched in by bringing tables and chairs from home. None of them match!

If you head out to Cottonwood Creek Ranch, come for the barbecue, but stay for the details. The ranch gets its name from the cottonwood trees growing along the banks of the creek. Cottonwood is a variety of poplar tree that produces fluffy, cotton-like tufts on which to carry its seeds.

Also along the creek is the ranch's old windmill. It may look like an appropriately aged Disney prop, but this is actually an authentic piece from about 1880. Frontierland's chief designer, Imagineer Pat Burke, acquired it from a gentleman in exchange for nothing less than a new TV!

Throughout the farm, you'll find loads of real equipment, gained during scouting trips across the west. Collectively, these antique props not only fill the scene, but give a setting like Cottonwood Creek Ranch a sense of believability. This looks and feels like a real, working farm (with the possible exception of the outhouse, which thankfully is a modern reproduction).

When Disneyland Paris opened back in 1992, Cottonwood Creek Ranch featured the Critter Corral, a small petting farm with real animals. The pigs, goats, rabbits and other critters moved on in 2007, when the area became Woody's Roundup Village.

Today, the horse stables are still there, but most of the critters you'll find wandering the ranch are of the animated variety.

Not far from Cottonwood Creek Ranch is the Chaparral Stage, where local cowboys might gather to put on a rodeo and show off their skills. It's another venue in this stretch of Frontierland which hasn't always been in use. Recently, though, the Chaparral Stage has come back to life with a production of "The Tarzan Encounter" (yes... Tarzan... in Frontierland... well, it is kinda close to Adventureland).

River Rogue Keelboats

Down by Smuggler's Cove along the Rivers of the Far West is the dock for the River Rogue Keelboats. Similar attractions, inspired by the 1956 film Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, once operated at Disneyland (1955-1997) and Magic Kingdom (1971-1997). Today, they're exclusive to Disneyland Paris.

Keelboats were common on the rivers of the old west as a means of transporting cargo. Not typically powered, they were pushed up and down river by means of oars and poles. The keelboats in the parks, however, have engines in back piloted by a captain happy to give a tour of the river to his guests.

During my visit to Disneyland Paris, the River Rogue Keelboats were only operating on peak days. We never got to ride, but I was able to snap this picture of the Coyote being brought around the bend (the other boat in the Paris fleet is named Raccoon). From a distance you can see the three passenger cabins open to the side of the boat, as well as the top deck where many prefer to ride.

While I was disappointed to have missed riding, it was nice to see a keelboat on the river again. It brought back memories from early in my Disney career, when I was a proud keelboater on the Rivers of America in the Magic Kingdom Park.

The keelboat dock is dressed with fishing nets, long oars for piloting the boats and a small crane used to load and unload cargo... assuming, that is, the cargo makes it to the dock. Keelboats were sometimes used and often attacked by river pirates, a gang of which are holed up in a cave just upriver. Their torches have been extinguished and scattered about, and as you pass by, you can hear them inside, raucously celebrating their ill-gotten gains.

Rustler Roundup

Cattle thieves have been hitting some of the ranches surrounding Thunder Mesa, so the town's Sheriff is putting together a posse to round up those rustlers. Interested persons may apply at the Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery in Frontierland, where a series of targets will test your skills as a marksman. Similar to shooting arcade attractions in the other Disney Parks, the Rustler Roundup Shootin' Gallery features a cartoonish western scene filled with gags ready to be triggered by sharpshooters aiming their infrared rifles.

The scene is comprised of three main sections. First up is the Twin Butte Gold Mine. There are fun plays on words here with some of the names represented. Check out the crate of surveying equipment addressed to Ewell B. Rich or the medicine man cart of Professor N. Clement Weathers. His Thunderbolt Elixir claims to be a "Miracle from the Heavens." Elsewhere, be sure to look for a case of bullets from Ames & Fyers.

The middle section is old Boot Hill. Here, the tombstones are partially in French, partially in English and completely tongue in cheek. Overlooking Boot Hill is a bunk house that isn't the most reputable of establishments. In fact, lucky shots may just discover it's a hideout for rustlers.

The final part of the scene is a farm, and it looks like the farmer has been dabbling in moonshine. He's got his own still, out behind the chicken house. If properly encouraged (by a good shot, of course), the chicken will lay an egg down through the chute and into the basket. Keep a close eye out, though, for human rustlers aren't the only thieves around. Looks like there's a fox in the hen house, and he's about to sneak out the side door!

Fuente del Oro

Native tribes, cowboys and prospectors aren't the only folks making their home in Frontierland. In a corner of Thunder Mesa, not far from the Big Thunder Mine, is a collection of haciendas associated with the town's Mexican American population. The Mexican immigrants who settled here called this place Fuente del Oro, the "Source of the Gold."

Fuente del Oro Restaurant at Disneyland Paris is a counter service restaurant, offering southwestern specialties. The adobe structure comprising the restaurant are modeled on those found throughout the desert southwest. One can almost imagine El Zorro bounding over the rooftops, being pursued by Capitan Monastario's soldiers. In fact, just such a thing happened when a small Zorro stunt show was performed here during the park's first couple of years.

Today, Fuente del Oro is a quieter spot, where you can grab a bite to eat and rest before continuing your exploration of the wild frontier. A series of stone owls stand watch over the entrance, presumably to ward off unfriendly natives (an old Mexican saying roughly translates as "When the owl cries, the Indian dies"), and in the courtyard of the main hacienda, there is a golden fountain covered in Aztec symbols (not sure why these kids felt the need to reach inside it, though).

Inside the hacienda, a giant burro holds up the roof, opening a window to the kitchen to allow the delicious smells to flow into the restaurant. At the other end, a man has the burro by the tail, holding the animal in place so he and his guests may get the tasty treats from within.

A reverence for the creatures of the southwest, both real and imaginary, pervades the dining rooms of Fuente del Oro with animals depicted in paintings, ironwork, traditional masks and Oaxacan woodcarvings. It's an outstanding tribute to yet another aspect of the cultural diversity of the American West.

Native America

The supernatural elements in the story of Big Thunder Mountain derive from Native American legends, but Big Thunder is not the only Native American presence in Frontierland at Disneyland Paris. Fort Comstock at the entrance to the land is neighbored by a camp of Shoshoni Indians, complete with authentic props and traditional tribal paintings on the walls of the teepees. Perhaps the most well-known of the Shoshoni was Sacagawea, the young woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark as interpreter and guide on their expedition through the west.

Other tribes represented include the Pueblo Peoples and the Powhatan. The Pueblo Trading Post near the outskirts of Frontierland offers southwestern jewelry and souvenirs and is set in a typical Pueblo-style dwelling marked by native symbols. The Powhatan, also known as Virginia Algonquins, get their due by way of a forested cove along the Rivers of the Far West. Here, you'll find the Pocahontas Indian Village.

At one time, this area was home to a canoe dock. Today, it's a play area for young children, with canoes serving as slides. It's a great place for little explorers to burn off some energy... and for parents of little explorers to enjoy a nice break.

Look around, though, and you'll see there's even more to appreciate here. Details like this campfire and totem complete the story of the area. The totem is especially fun, as it includes carved images of characters like Meeko, Flit and Grandmother Willow from Disney's Pocahontas.