Disney Foolishly Traded A Mountain For A Pile of Dirt

Disneyland has built some of the most legendary mountains in theme park history-but did you know they once tore one down? This is the story of Disneyland’s missing mountain, a towering icon that shaped the Rivers of America, only to be abandoned, neglected, and ultimately destroyed. But why did it happen? And what does this decision reveal about how Disneyland is maintained today?
In this episode, we’ll uncover the forgotten history of this lost Disneyland landmark, the shocking reason it disappeared, and the hidden traces that still exist in the park today. Plus, what can Disneyland’s new president learn from this mistake to protect the park’s future?
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[@TheRejectsAz]

My Father worked in Burbank during the building of the park. I absolutely love your videos that take us through the history of Disneyland! I get to learn all the history that unfortunately I never got to ask him about ❤️🙏❤️

[@ckbarry]

🥰

[@falcon_three_fifty]

I went to Disneyland as a child in the '80s and loved all the movement. When I came back to it in 2014 I still enjoyed the park but always felt like something was missing. Now I know exactly what it was missing. Movement! The park just doesn't feel as alive as it used to. Even with new shiny attractions it still doesn't feel right. You're absolutely correct, Brickey.

[@scruffskunk]

This video really brought me back and reminded me why I was always in awe inside Disneyland all those years ago. There was always something happening, something to look at, something to ponder. Although there have been beautiful visual additions to the park in recent years, it all seems static. One large void in the public spaces until the story telling begins in the queue. Thanks for your insights, Brickey. I hope Disneyland is listening.

[@dougmartin7129]

As a kid I loved riding the mine train behind the waterfall . I still remember the sound and smell of rushing water, the spray in my face. The sunlight through the water. Good times.

[@chrismiller1718]

You really hit the nail on the head as to what is missing in Galaxy's Edge. I think the land is absolutely stunning, but it feels like a museum piece, not a living land. A Few more cast members walking around and a little kinetic energy would go a long way

[@brucemarshall5110]

I was born in 1957 & I remember riding the mine train behind the Big Thunder waterfall. That was the real "backside of water"...lol.

[@25wins1]

Riding around and under those waterfalls was always thrilling as a kid. This is definitely one of your best videos. It brought back all kinds of memories. Thank you.

[@jemntertainment]

Walt Disney handed these people his dreams and gave them the recipe book to keep it's magic alive. Sadly I don't predict anything getting better in the future because the new management certainly doesn't understand Walt Disney the genius. Great documentary work brother. I appreciate your eye to details.

[@kevinpeterson6468]

I miss the kinetic energy of the peoplemover and Astro orbiter

[@KensanOni]

Firstly, thank you for the mind trip. I haven't directly remembered Cascade Peak in forever, and while it was in decline the time I would really remember it, it's kinda neat to have a chance to reminiscence about it. Secondly, I think Galaxy''s Edge started off having an energy of it's own. For sure, there was a plan on having it be a Dream Park experience, where you were transported off our world, and into another. The sound engineering in Galaxy's Edge is fantastic, and you get the sense of ships moving from every corner of that land, even if you never see it. I do feel that they are trying their best to keep up interactions, but the land is about getting to interact with the cast in fantastic ways, and it's hard. It's hard on the cast, it's hard to get guests to break out of their shell and engage. It's just hard and no amount of kinetic energy may help the underlying problem that the 2010's Disneryland is struggling to overcome, and that is that they are trying SO HARD to move to a theater in the round entertainment mode for these new lands, and while it's an easier sell with Avengers Campus, it also doesn't have the space and structure for it. Disney, since GE's design, has been trying to incorporate theatrical energy to the park. I really think that the vision, at the start, really worked, but it comes at a bid. You have to hope that the audience wants to join in on the fun. Guests opting to not participate can really be a downer. All I am really saying is that there are more than one kind of energies that exist inside the park, and while we admit that the Kinetic energy has been left behind, and is lagging behind, and we desperately want it back, there are other kinds of energy. There is a different thought line that has been pursued over the last decade, and I think it's era might be petering out, but I would love to see more Theatrical Energy in those places that got designed for it, and I would love to have more engagement from the guests, on a level. It is what made me so excited for (to me) the latest additions to the park. I kinda wanna see what they would do next.

[@JBX302]

24:13 - No one does this kind of content better. Thanks for another amazing video!

[@JamesBrown-hs9yz]

Love how you told this story and also tied it into a cautionary tale for the future.

[@ickysan]

I'm glad you also brought up the kinetic energy/everything moving-aspect; Another land that is severely lacking in now is Tomorrowland. Watch any footage of Tomorrowland from the 60s through the 90s, when the Peoplemover, the Monorail, the Skyway, the Submarine Voyage were all moving, brightly colored, all whirling and whizzing and spinning and dynamic around the centerpiece of the birthday cake: the fabulous Rocket Jets, with its gleaming, white rocket spire in the middle and its bristling arms of Rocket Jets flying around it. All of that is gone now, and Tomorrowland is a boring, motionless mess.

[@briankast1580]

The dock that is behind you in most of the video was a functional set piece. Those pulleys and chains were connected to the filters that were in front of the inlet pumps for the waterfalls, which had to be pulled up and cleaned from time to time.

[@jamesl1130]

Cascade Peak was fascinating in so many ways. Storytelling was the biggest aspect with its place on Frontierlands Rivers of America. Kinetic energy is why Walt stood at the Rivers edge, observing the Mark Twain, the Canoes, and stated the River needs another large boat. The Columbia was ordered to be built. (Tomorrowland 1967 also benefited from kinetic energy.)

[@sky0kast0]

Of course now the only kinetic energy is the sub or autopia when it actually works

[@twizshiz]

I actually remember this mountain and mine train. I forgot about it until this year. I also remember riding the skyway and peoplemover. Wow, I also remember the huge parking lot in front with those trams, blue and yellow. I was born in 1972, my mother took me here several times throughout my childhood. So much has changed and Brickey brings back these memories so well. It is cool looking at the history of what was and what it now is. Of course, this was so long ago, I don't remember the details.

[@FunAtDisney]

Great video Brickey! I am fortunate that I have been going Disneyland for 66 years (age 2 at my first visit in 1959) so Cascade Peak and all of the Mine Train was a big part of my Disneyland memories. I also was a CM when they started on Big Thunder. And you hit two very good points: Forced perspective and kinetic energy. When it comes to the trees - most are over grown even now, especially at Town Square and Main Street (over the years they would remove those trees when they got too large and replace them). As for kinetic energy - Nothing beat Tomorrowland during the years they had the Peoplemover, Rocket Jets on the top of the Peoplemover load platform spinning, the Skyway gondolas drifting by and the monorail going past - And you could see all of those at the same time from many vantage points. Fortunately at Main Street still has that energy. And fortunately I have dozens of photos from those times (and I wish I had my dad’s old 8mm movies of those as well). And the interesting thing was back then there was no social media to post all of this, yet the guests back then I think just “felt” it even without knowing why they did. That is what made Disneyland so special. Even Magic Kingdom at WDW back in the 70’s did not quite fell that way.

[@LupoDePace]

Another great deep dive Brickey! Informative as always and I've learned a new bit of DL history!

[@thebluetarp]

I remember very vividly going in the mine train! It was my favorite ride as a kid. The rainbow caverns and the rock about to fall on your head. That little plot of land has got to be available for something. I love going on the mark Twain mainly to see the track remnants around cascade peak. Honestly I didn’t know that’s what it was called

[@williamhanna4823]

It was my favorite ride, too (with the possible exception of Casey Jr.)

[@Rich.O]

What a shame, it is one thing to lose something to make room for something else. But to lose something due to neglect and potential miss management is just sad. Thanks for sharing this bit of history with us.

[@zarajenkins6948]

This is why I love this channel so much! The rich history that you talk about, the way you talk in each video is like a poem, you're just incredible! I really hope that when the ROA goes in MK for cars that this will bring kinetic energy with the different mountains and waterfalls, it makes me sad to see the old track still lying there, it makes me think about all the people that enjoyed the attraction, thank you for another great video

[@AJSXenigma]

Fascinating! The one thing I wish was talked about was the future of that spot: if it's truly just a pile of dirt now, could a spiritual successor come along to utilize that precious square footage? Perhaps a new "mountain" with a walk-through attraction? New "backstage" space? Or does it already serve a current purpose beyond decoration?

[@HolidayKingDL]

Has any one else realized that the video is exactly 19:55 long?

[@HeyBrickey]

Thanks for noticing ❤️

[@JBX302]

@@HolidayKingDL You did, and Brickey intended it that way. Thanks for enhancing our magic, you two. Love it!

[@AdCab77]

Nope. Still haven’t noticed.

[@Pokemanmon]

I feel like this was a major initial problem with Disneyland Paris. Almost every ride in the park was an understated dark ride, and even the one's with larger showbuilding's were easy to miss. Without the signs indicating each attraction, you'd only know a handful of rides even existed, like Big thunder, Autopia, It's a Small World, and maybe Phantom Manor and Pirates of the Carribean. This is also why the Indiana Jones temple of peril and Space Mountain: From the earth to the moon rides were so succsessful. They weren't subtle, and practically screamed at you that they were rides and they were important, which let European guest's largely unfamiliar with Disney know "Wait, these are rides!" Modern Disney is pretty hit or miss with those kind of rides, having rides that singlehandely advanced theme park storytelling like Radiator Spring's Racer's and Tron to an extent, and then they do have some examples like Pandora or Galaxies Edge, land's that are pretty but have difficult letting you know there is a reason to go inside of it.

[@jimt9245]

Another great dive! Thou I had ridden this attraction prior to it's closure - I only remember Cascade Peak with it's boarded up tunnel sitting across the walkway from Big Thunder Mountain. Just seems like a senseless deletion of a landmark that was allowed to go into disrepair. Or was this a ploy by the other "Backside of Water" As a footnote : I had recently seen a miniature of the Natures Wonderland Railroad captured in a backyard railroad.

[@markapuan]

Thank you for another great story of a time passed and forgotten by many of the youth of today. Im pretty sure Cascade Peak was there in its final days from my first memories of Disneyland, but sadly, I don't remember it.

[@julieclarke621]

Awesome energy in your narrative Brickey!!…. Have never heard the story of Cascade Peak. Love that you were standing in front of it’s spirit the entire time….

[@ckbarry]

Thanks for the outgoing salute to Kenny P 🎷and important incoming message for Tommy Maztasmic.

[@albertrubidoux]

Great story, Bricky everything you stated was correct. We as fans/patrons of Disneyland miss the story of the old days. We were so young we fell in love with the story. Wearing racoon hats, shooting a rifle, and dancing with indigoes people was an honor. As a 70yo man miss it. Good job.

[@scotts3938]

Thanks for taking us back in time and showing us some fascinating history.

[@jasoncarbone5553]

Another fabulous history lesson Professor B. I miss this attraction and I call it an attraction because it brought energy and life to the park. I can remember the first time I visited in the early 70s and I was a young boy and that mountain reminded me of visiting the Sierra‘s. Thanks for keeping the old attractions alive and as you said here’s to bringing new ones to life that pay homage to the past.

[@Balancedpower420]

Brickey is the best Disneyland storyteller on YT. Great video

[@clintonwillis9941]

Once again, you have uncovered some forgotten treasures. Well done.

[@tylerkochman1007]

Kinetic energy is why even people who used to skip the Peoplemover and Skyride still miss having them in the park

[@teresashewell7105]

I really hope they listen to things like this. It’s important to bring that kinetic energy back.

[@ct6852]

Oh I do remember that. Barely. But it really did make that part of the park immersive in a special way. Complete bummer it had to go. That really tied the park together.

[@ericgerds3980]

Great Video. It is very sad to have seen that mountain go away.

[@CoastersCities]

I rode that mine train as a kid in the early 70's... yeah I'm that old. LOL. And I seem to remember the waterfall though could mistake it for the ones in Jungle Ride. The only "kinetic" energy left at DL is the over crowded park and people bumping into you. :)

[@Carl_Frank]

I grew up in Anaheim, went to Disneyland many times, and even worked there between late 1993 and late 1997 (in New Orleans Square). The crazy thing is, I am struggling to remember seeing Cascade Peak, even though it was apparently there until just after I stopped working at the park. I know it's been a long time, but it's weird that I can't really seem to dredge up a memory of it. I guess all the tree growth that you mentioned really was so overpowering that the mountain didn't stick out to me, or something. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

[@jeffsadon552]

It's sad to see how the magic of Disneyland has been traded for dollars

[@chicochrish]

Insightful and perfectly executed! Well done man.

[@Pab-B]

This is some of your best work. Bravo!

[@AIM54A]

Another great video!

[@Hopper42]

This video blew my mind! My 1st of many subsequent visits was Circa 74-75. And I have no memory of that mountain. It must have been at the time u mentioned when the trees had over shadowed it. I had to have seen it, I remember paddling the canoes around the river, but its visual impact so diminished, it left no memory. 🤯

[@LuckyPierre789]

Thank you Brickey! Awesome insight as usual.

[@RichUlrich-e9l]

You have truly captured the issue with Disney today.

[@Michaeland]

Much as I LOVE trees, I see this happening around Matterhorn now too; scale is being lost.

[@ickysan]

I was so bummed when they demolished Cascade Peak. It was the same cheap-@$$ BS, where they didn't want to pay for the plumbing to be updated/repaired. Such a drag. One more in the long line of management and their stupid decisions.

[@jelliiifiiish]

tag urself I'm the child screaming bloody murder @5:15

[@Michaeland]

Add all this water action to Pirates cove / Skull rock, the Tomorrowland entrance, fountains, Tahitian Terrace falls / stage…, the ”back side of water” nearby, the Treehouse domestic system, heck even Huck had a stream running under his treehouse.

[@markwelker95]

i have to agree with what you are saying.....the waterfalls did more than add esthetic to the park...they also kept the rivers of america aerated...so it wouldnt turn green like it is today(one of the problems with the rivers of america in fla as well....not enough aeration,green water.)they used to have live fish in the river,and fishing off the docks on tom sawyer island....and yes,it was all part of the kinetic energy of the park...and they didnt maintain it.(same can be said for tomorrowland....the kinetic energy lost by taking down the rocket jets,and screwing up the peoplemover ,will never be brought back..and its all because of the beancounters not taking care of the esthetics,and shutting down what made the living,breathing kinetic energy be silenced.) the little waterfall next to the walkway and the last tunnel on "the wildest ride in the wilderness"across from the old tunnel on big thunder trail had been off for a while now...and the water looks horrible. not good show. they need to fix that,ASAP. what makes california adventure work is its mountain....those waterfalls make all the difference.

[@edstrong597]

Another fun video. I think Cascade Peak with the proper perspective would be an amazing part of Rivers of America. Keep up the good work. Yes, Mr. Maztasmic we are counting on you.

[@Olyphoto7]

Outstanding storytelling Brickey, bravo 👏

[@kevinwilley968]

Bricky, I hope the administration and imagineers watch your channel. You have such great insight. I have learned so much from your channel.

[@stevemammen5595]

Removed before I was alive...What a loss!! Great video!!!

[@TELarkin61]

Brickmiester Maximus! Great video! I totally agree. Hopefully, he will also right that horrible wrong that was stuck next to the Haunted Mansion. I still believe that Disney as a company is still more interested in lining the pockets of their investors rather than delighting their customers. I believe both can be done, but so far, the guests have definitely taken a back seat.

[@NorseNerdleMeister]

This is such a cool channel!

[@wheelindisney5874]

Great video! Thanks. I have some vague memories of riding the mine train - more of the donkeys and stage coach that used to be in the area. But I don't remember the mountain. Which probably means it was doing it's job.

[@pault5557]

Wow! I’m huge DISNERD and I have never heard about Cascade Peak! You are an amazing researcher and storyteller, VIBES NOT RIDES is truer than ever! 🙌😎🙌

[@anthonymejia7838]

love the stories brickey!

[@ckbarry]

Another well done and interesting video. Fun to learn about this. I feel like I should remember it, but don’t. Thanks, friend. ☮️ edit: commented too soon…the “message from Cascade Peak” is brilliant . Also the Bobby Chapstick throwback. 😂👏👏👏

[@nick7077]

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Cascade Peaks!!!! What?!?!?! Thanks for telling this story. I’ve seen the old tracks, but had no idea they belonged to a once great attraction. Gotta bring this back. Rivers of America would be completely revitalized. Especially after getting stripped in MK.

[@robertjones1729]

Aloha Bricky I miss that mountain and the waterfall. That brings me to the topic of my comment. Have you noticed the degradation of water features in the park? The water fall at Big Thunder rarely works,the new fountains at the Haunted Mansion are underwhelming and the feeling is one of neglect and budget cutting. Neither of those Walt would approve of Thank you for this video reminder of what and why we miss the energy in the park.

[@jokeal3613]

I would name the video, Making a molehill out of a mountain.

[@thebluetarp]

AND…..I miss the days of thunderous waterfalls! The Columbia river area concept art shows thunderous waterfalls but what we got was trickling streams. UGH! I’m trying to be more positive about the current state of Disney. It’s tough man!

[@katherinejenkins5049]

that mid video ad just reminds me of Spider-Man 2 where Willem Dafoe shouts "AVENGE ME!!"

[@Teletran35]

Brickey your awesome Ilove your videos Since i'm a Disney Worlder I knew nothing of this place

[@rosariobono438]

How can you not mention grizzly peak!? It is literally having the same fate, it’s barely visible anymore behind so many trees

[@starlitepark]

Hey Brickey, great channel. If it’s ok, I’d like to offer a little constructive feedback (as someone who has been in the business behind the camera for many years). In your storytelling delivery, it would make it feel more natural to alter your tempo and change up your cadence to create a longer overall arc to the story. Currently, each individual assertion of fact you deliver has the same repeating vocal pattern that rises and falls and lands with the same dramatic finality. Everything sounds like it has the same level of importance and continually sounds as though we’re about to go to a commercial break.

[@QuincyDisneyVegan]

I miss Cascade Peak and Nature's Wonderland

[@yoopergamer2121]

Bob paycheck, senior!!! 😂😂😂

[@Demetrisadventures]

Well said

[@kmr2433]

Your explanation of kinetic energy in Disneyland makes me hate Magic Kingdom's Cars mud-riding attraction even more.

[@kotch35]

Cascade Peak was a relic of old WDI. The waterfalls were so artificial looking that today's audience would find them cheesy and fake. Modern WDI could come up with an amazing new version of Cascade Peak that would look far more realistic than the old version. Would they ever get the green light? Probably not but you never know. I love the idea of DLR doubling down on the enhancement of RoA while its sister version at WDW disappears.

[@stevemellin5806]

I remember that ride . thunder mountain is good. The old Ride was fantastic. A adventure. I say bring it back .I know it's gone forever.

[@venusdistorted5170]

Now Iger wants to take out the Rivers of America. I think that would be a huge mistake. :}

[@christopherbattles68]

Well done. Remember what created/creates the magic.

[@johnmccaslin-doyle6917]

Yes, i miss the peak and Skull Rock.

[@brandonthailand2062]

I rode the mine train ride in 1976

[@brainysmurf74]

This guy needs to be the CEO of disney parks

[@jerseyforhawks]

Disney would love to eliminate all mountains. I remember tees shirts celebrating the Big three. No more.

[@justinfriedrich5741]

Huh, didn’t know that there was a hidden missing mountain. To be honest, that is kind of true because what came before is always a reminder of what to do right. If they make something new or retheme something then they actually have to put the effort and care to make it enjoyable and interesting to the guests, otherwise the magic might be lost to the guest. As immersive as Galaxy Edge is it basically isn’t a movie IP theme land because it never appeared in movies and shows. That’s kind of why I never actually call it Star Wars land because it’s basically like the Disney lands of Star Wars and not really Star Wars. Carsland actually does a better job of being in the story of the movie than Galaxy Edge. Anyways, when something is good but still remembers the past then we will call it by its current name. However, if something isn’t that good we would want the original attraction back. Apparently, Kathleen Kennedy was wrong to change the original version of Star Wars land into Galaxy Edge because this land is so out of Star Wars that are we sure that it is actually in Star Wars. For someone who is a film and TV show watcher if it’s not in the watches or even mentioned in there then is it really a canon place to be Star Wars? The original Star Wars EU renamed legends I’ll give it a pass since basically it is either mentioned or altered a little in the stories showed in cameras. However, the Star Wars EU now whenever we get a planet or a name of a planet that we don’t know, it’s basically like a one and done like if you said the name of the planet it would be like saying Voldemort in Harry Potter. Sorry for the rant, but Disney definitely needs to hear this. To make something is like a marriage between the creators and guests both will enjoy if it is well thought out and had a lot of effort into it. However, if being separated and have the feeling of being better than the people that they are separated from, then the cracks are showing that they are actually better creating for the guests than against them.

[@BruceBergman]

Bd the "life rights" hulu commercial interrupted you. ironic, isn't it? 😮 11:11

[@alancranford3398]

Fiddling with forced perspective means that both Tiana's and the Haunted Mansion will go away. Will Space Mountain be next or will it be Main Street USA?

[@sky0kast0]

I had to like because Cascade Peak didn't say it but I couldn't subscribe another time

[@brainysmurf74]

They eroded and destroyed much of the scenery and magic. 20’0000 leagues was destroyed and the MK lost a huge aspect of the magic at wdw.

[@shashona3084]

🎉

[@sky0kast0]

Cruel excuse me chills save the DLR goes underneath that mountain was thinking that maybe it wouldn't fit in this current just because that looks like it might be where splash mountain was now or Winnie the Pooh is now

[@Michaeland]

Sob. Rainbow caverns gone too. Big chunks of what made Disneyland.

[@johnskowronski4906]

😢

[@jmcflorida3596]

The Disneyland president really has no power, remember Ed Greer, who only took photos with beautiful women for press conferences. If the public wants to change something for Disneyland, or other parks, why not flood the corporate offices with letters, emails, and even occasional picket outside their offices?

[@nickliefo4997]

Love Hey Brickey

[@baystated]

Corpos now use chatgpt's creativity to spin up meaningless jargon to prattle out during D23 without know how to invest the real work that could make their plans succeed.

[@Victor38077]

I understand what you are saying, but today people want gay superheroes. Disneyland is not the same. When I was a child it seemed magical. Today, that magic is gone.

[@gridley]

Meanwhile, they plan to take out the ROA at the MK in Orlando. They've already destroyed EPCOT's Fountain of Nations. There were once fountains in front of the entrance of Tomorrowland at both DL & the MK. The Mine Train Though Nature's Wonderland also at least had audioanimatronics. In DCA's Grizzly River Run? Nada. The new gift shop next to the Haunted Mansion? It's partly blocked off again due to poor design (psst, rain & drainage, Disney planners). "Disney" over the past 20 years, symbolized by DCA in 2001 to Tiana's in 2024, is an era of 'ya gotta be kidding me!

[@badhabitbabbitt7655]

Iger land will destroy the Rivers of America and make it a crappy off road cars ride... Talk about destroying the imagination storytelling just reinforces Walt Disney's Disneyland is dead.

[@thedoctor4637]

Forced perspective, “cough cough…” Madam’s big gift shed. But more importantly: kinetic energy - Galaxy’s Edge AND the Red Car Trolley! Please save the Red Car Trolley!!! 🔴🚃🛎