Western River Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Western River Expedition (WRE) is the name of a Disney attraction
that was designed but never built. It was to be a western themed boat ride, slated to appear in the northwestern section of Frontierland
at the Magic Kingdom
, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort
in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
USA.
This Disney attraction is not to be confused with a similarly named river rafting outfitter with a plural spelling (Western River Expeditions, WRE). Both the Disney attraction and the rafting company were conceived at roughly the same time (early 1960s) and it is unknown if either knew of the other's existence until recent web searches began producing results for both.
-Imagineer
Marc Davis designed the attraction and characters in the form of drawings and models over a five-years period. Disney executives such as Richard Irvine
and Roy Disney
both liked the idea when presented with Davis' concepts. The attraction was to have been located inside, outside and around an architectural feature in Frontierland known as Thunder Mesa Mountain.
Guests would have entered an inside boarding zone, in a twilight atmosphere (similar to the night atmosphere in Pirates of the Caribbean). After boarding a wooden launch, riders would have glided up a waterfall. The ride's narrator, Hoot Gibson (an audio-animatronic owl) would explain the ride's safety instructions. Then, guests would have passed by peaceful scenes in the wilderness, featuring buffaloes or prairie dogs. They would then encounter banditos robbing a stagecoach, warning them they would meet again downriver.
Many following scenes would then take place in a fictional town known as Dry Gulch, where guests would have witnessed a musical show (a bank robbery, prisoners escaping the Sheriff's cells via an underground tunnel, a saloon with a cowboy on horseback on its roof, plus ten other characters including a bartender trying to shoot the intruder off the roof, three saloon girls, and other cowboys hooting and hollering.
Then, back into the wilderness, guests would have discovered Indian abode houses, and even witnessed a rain dance that causes it to rain on the set. The ride would finally come to an end with guests about to be robbed by the aforementionned banditos, but escaping via a waterfall-drop finale.
If built, it would have been one of the most complex and expensive Disney attractions of its time, housed in one of the largest show buildings (a large warehouse that stores the interior of the attraction) ever created by the Disney company. Its projected expense is one reason it was never built. The attraction would have also shared the show building with a "runaway" mine train themed roller coaster
. Other features of the pavilion-style WRE would have included hiking trails atop the mesa, a Pueblo Indian village, and a pack mule attraction.
When ground broke on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in January 1979, Marc Davis, desperate to save his Western River Expedition, offered a compromise: the roller coaster could be built as long as a scaled down WRE was built opposite the railroad tracks. There would be no trails on top of this scaled down version. The only thing WRE would have was the boat ride. Unfortunately, this was not the way things turned out. The proposed compromise never was enacted on, and construction of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continued. Frontierland would not receive a water based attraction until 1992, when Splash Mountain
, a log flume themed to the film Song of the South
, opened.
opened in September, 2 1979, on the plot of land originally to be occupied by the Western River Expedition. The original concepts for the ride incorporated it into the WRE pavilion, and also featured a backwards segment.
, Splash Mountain
is derived from the planned boat ride in WRE.
at Disneyland Park (Paris)
is derived from the planned scene showing the town of Dry Gulch in WRE. There are even some WRE elements in Phantom Canyon, like the bank robbery, the showgirl and the bartender.
at Disney's Animal Kingdom
does take one element from WRE : the backwards segment of the ride. The planned roller coaster in WRE was to have a backwards segment as well.
, World of Motion
, Phantom Manor
, and Living with the Land
. Davis' concept drawings and model for the Western River Expedition have been filed away in the Imagineering Research Library.
Attraction
In general, an attraction draws one object towards another one. The term may have the following specific meanings.* In physics, attraction may refer to gravity or to the electromagnetic force* Attractiveness...
that was designed but never built. It was to be a western themed boat ride, slated to appear in the northwestern section of Frontierland
Frontierland
Tokyo Disneyland's instance is known as Westernland, as "frontier" does not adequately translate into the Japanese language. The Mark Twain sails this park's Rivers of America...
at the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
in Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
USA.
This Disney attraction is not to be confused with a similarly named river rafting outfitter with a plural spelling (Western River Expeditions, WRE). Both the Disney attraction and the rafting company were conceived at roughly the same time (early 1960s) and it is unknown if either knew of the other's existence until recent web searches began producing results for both.
Walt Disney World
When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, it featured many popular Disneyland rides, but not Pirates of the Caribbean. The Western River Expedition was to have been Walt Disney World's answer to this ride. When plans were being made for the Magic Kingdom, Imagineers had no plans to replicate Pirates of the Caribbean for the Magic Kingdom. At the time, it was believed by many Imagineers that Florida residents were too accustomed to pirates, as pirates are part of Florida's local legends and lore. Disney management thought that cowboys and Indians would be more surprising and exciting to Florida residents. However, this led to many inquiries of "Where are the pirates?" and complaints being filed during the early days of the resort's operation.The Ride
The attraction began life as a proposal of a historical recreation of the Western Expansion of the United States, that would have been built on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, near the Jefferson National Memorial. AnimatorAnimator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
-Imagineer
Imagineer
Imagineer may refer to:* Disney Imagineer, a position at the Walt Disney company* Imagineer Systems, a visual effects software company* Imagineer , a Japanese video game, mobile, software company...
Marc Davis designed the attraction and characters in the form of drawings and models over a five-years period. Disney executives such as Richard Irvine
Richard Irvine
Richard Irvine was an American art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Sundown. He worked on 31 films between 1939 and 1953....
and Roy Disney
Roy Disney
Roy Disney may refer to:* Roy O. Disney , Walt Disney's elder brother and the financier of his efforts* Roy E. Disney , his son, director emeritus of The Walt Disney Company...
both liked the idea when presented with Davis' concepts. The attraction was to have been located inside, outside and around an architectural feature in Frontierland known as Thunder Mesa Mountain.
Guests would have entered an inside boarding zone, in a twilight atmosphere (similar to the night atmosphere in Pirates of the Caribbean). After boarding a wooden launch, riders would have glided up a waterfall. The ride's narrator, Hoot Gibson (an audio-animatronic owl) would explain the ride's safety instructions. Then, guests would have passed by peaceful scenes in the wilderness, featuring buffaloes or prairie dogs. They would then encounter banditos robbing a stagecoach, warning them they would meet again downriver.
Many following scenes would then take place in a fictional town known as Dry Gulch, where guests would have witnessed a musical show (a bank robbery, prisoners escaping the Sheriff's cells via an underground tunnel, a saloon with a cowboy on horseback on its roof, plus ten other characters including a bartender trying to shoot the intruder off the roof, three saloon girls, and other cowboys hooting and hollering.
Then, back into the wilderness, guests would have discovered Indian abode houses, and even witnessed a rain dance that causes it to rain on the set. The ride would finally come to an end with guests about to be robbed by the aforementionned banditos, but escaping via a waterfall-drop finale.
If built, it would have been one of the most complex and expensive Disney attractions of its time, housed in one of the largest show buildings (a large warehouse that stores the interior of the attraction) ever created by the Disney company. Its projected expense is one reason it was never built. The attraction would have also shared the show building with a "runaway" mine train themed roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
. Other features of the pavilion-style WRE would have included hiking trails atop the mesa, a Pueblo Indian village, and a pack mule attraction.
Where are the pirates?
When the Magic Kingdom opened, the most common complaint from guests were that there were no pirates. Disney hastily built a second Pirates of the Caribbean ride in the Magic Kingdom, thus scrapping plans for the Western River Expedition because much of the budget planned to build it was used in building Pirates of the Caribbean for the Magic Kingdom. The economic downturn of the early 1970s and changes in Disney management also contributed to keeping the project from going through, along with concerns over the stereotypes of Indians and the loss of popularity of Westerns. Years later, there was the possibility that the Western River Expedition would be built. Unfortunately, such chances were very slim, due to several factors, which besides changes in management and an economic downturn, included:- The opening of Pirates of the Caribbean in 1972. WRE was seen to be a western themed version of Pirates.
- The opening of Space MountainSpace Mountain (Magic Kingdom)Space Mountain is an indoor outer space-themed steel roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It opened on January 15, 1975 and is the original version of the iconic attraction that is included in all five of the Disney theme parks...
, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, the Astro Orbiter, and the Tomorrowland Transit AuthorityTomorrowland Transit AuthorityThe Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover , formerly known as the WEDWay PeopleMover until 1994 and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority until 2010, is a PeopleMover system in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort...
in 1974 and 1975, as part of the TomorrowlandTomorrowland- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
Phase II development. The construction of these four attractions meant that money and resources couldn't be allocated to construction of attractions in other lands. - Groundbreaking for Big Thunder Mountain RailroadBig Thunder Mountain RailroadBig Thunder Mountain Railroad is an indoor/outdoor mine train roller coaster located in Frontierland at several Disneyland-style Disney Parks worldwide...
in 1979, which took place on the very tract of land reserved for WRE.
When ground broke on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in January 1979, Marc Davis, desperate to save his Western River Expedition, offered a compromise: the roller coaster could be built as long as a scaled down WRE was built opposite the railroad tracks. There would be no trails on top of this scaled down version. The only thing WRE would have was the boat ride. Unfortunately, this was not the way things turned out. The proposed compromise never was enacted on, and construction of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continued. Frontierland would not receive a water based attraction until 1992, when Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
, a log flume themed to the film Song of the South
Song of the South
Song of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
, opened.
Tom Sawyer Island
The original plans for WRE included a raft which would take guests to WRE, according to artist renderings. Guests also take the raft to gain access to Tom Sawyer Island in Florida.Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Big Thunder Mountain RailroadBig Thunder Mountain Railroad
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an indoor/outdoor mine train roller coaster located in Frontierland at several Disneyland-style Disney Parks worldwide...
opened in September, 2 1979, on the plot of land originally to be occupied by the Western River Expedition. The original concepts for the ride incorporated it into the WRE pavilion, and also featured a backwards segment.
Splash Mountain
Although themed to Song of the SouthSong of the South
Song of the South is a 1946 American musical film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories by Joel Chandler Harris. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the...
, Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
is derived from the planned boat ride in WRE.
Thunder Mesa at Disneyland Paris
When Disneyland Paris opened in 1992, Frontierland's fictional town was named Thunder Mesa, as a tribute to the WRE. This version of Frontierland was strongly influenced by WRE compared to any previous version.Phantom Manor
The Phantom Canyon scene of Phantom ManorPhantom Manor
Phantom Manor is an attraction located in Frontierland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. Sharing a similar theme with the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, it opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992...
at Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Disneyland Park is a theme park at Disneyland Paris, a resort complex just outside of Paris, in the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, France. The first of two parks built at the resort, it opened as Euro Disneyland on 12 April, 1992...
is derived from the planned scene showing the town of Dry Gulch in WRE. There are even some WRE elements in Phantom Canyon, like the bank robbery, the showgirl and the bartender.
Expedition Everest
Although one might consider it to have no relations with WRE, Expedition EverestExpedition Everest
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a roller coaster attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando...
at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Disney's Animal Kingdom is an animal theme park located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The fourth park built at the resort, it opened on April 22, 1998, and it is the largest single Disney theme park in the world, covering more than . It is also the first Disney theme park to be themed entirely...
does take one element from WRE : the backwards segment of the ride. The planned roller coaster in WRE was to have a backwards segment as well.
Legend among Imagineers
Western River Expedition is something of a legend among Disney Imagineers, especially to those who admire the work of Disney legend Marc Davis. Every time Imagineers pitch the ride idea to Disney executives, it is vetoed. Imagineers have instead slipped parts of the ride into other attractions: Splash MountainSplash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
, World of Motion
World of Motion
World of Motion , sponsored by General Motors, was the former tenant of the Transportation pavilion at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort...
, Phantom Manor
Phantom Manor
Phantom Manor is an attraction located in Frontierland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. Sharing a similar theme with the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, it opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992...
, and Living with the Land
Living with the Land
Living with the Land is a ride located within The Land pavilion which is part of Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is a slow-moving boat ride, which is part dark ride and part greenhouse tour...
. Davis' concept drawings and model for the Western River Expedition have been filed away in the Imagineering Research Library.