Nature's Wonderland & Rainbow Caverns

I have a hobby of recreating rides at Disneyland. Some have even been gone for quite some time. Nature's Wonderland is a good example. I took some old footage (and some of my own) and recreated this vintage ride at Disneyland. I used the original narration, music created for it, and did video trickery to recreate Rainbow Caverns from black and white footage. The colors were made from my ever-fading memory.

[@markcampo9336]

While Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been a great successor to the old mine train ride through Nature's Wonderland, I'm very grateful that I got to ride the original attraction. Thanks for posting the video and thanks for the great memories.

[@DerSchneb]

It's not bad at all. I agree there. And for pity-sake, it took up SO much real estate. I can see why they removed it. Just wish they made better point of view films of the rides they modify or replace.

[@lindah3954]

Walt needed twice the amount of land he purchased. It's a shame they couldn't have preserved all these great original rides. Thanks for posting!

[@DerSchneb]

Yes, but back in the early 50s, Disneyland was a great experiment and Walt was not sure how it would be received. All of his main men regretted not buying more property and "controlling the accommodations revenue". When he quietly began buying swamp land in Florida, he had learned his lesson and bought HUGE parcels for next to nothing.

[@maxquimby4695]

That’s why WDW is in the middle of Florida where they have six parks and at least as many resorts, and still have room for more! DL continues to evolve, partly because it doesn’t have a ton of space to build on. It makes the CA parks better.

[@kermie-frog1955]

@@maxquimby4695 Wait 6 parks I thought there was only 4?

[@maxquimby4695]

@@kermie-frog1955 Two big water parks too

[@kermie-frog1955]

@@maxquimby4695 Oh right I forgot about blizzard beach and uh I don’t remember the other ones name

[@pdute1]

I was there in 1965! I loved that train! I was 12 years old! And it was a magical vacation!

[@DerSchneb]

You had two-years on me. I was born the year Disneyland opened.

[@itsguncledave]

Well done! I feel like I've finally gotten to experience this long lost attraction.

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks for the kudos, David! Really glad you enjoyed the ride!

[@Dr.Dumbshit]

Yea the only thing that could make this more realistic if it was in vr

[@fallspeed]

@@DerSchneb I was lucky enough to go on this ride about a dozen times in the Seventies and I still miss it.

[@mpup54]

@@fallspeed is the Rainbow Caverns unedited, or was this colorized later after it was shot? Im trying to get a sense of what it really looked like as I never saw this ride in my lifetime. If this is just a straight unedited video, the search has ended.

[@mpup54]

oops I revealed the rest of description. So I guess no footage has come forward with the color version of the film used and I hear it was an awesome display to view. You gotta find this color footage, Rick!

[@ARCHITECT342]

This ride would of been, one of my favorite Rides; I was only 4 years old when Nature's Wonderland Closed. Thank You, so much for sharing.

[@DerSchneb]

You are so very welcome. I miss it, but man, it sure was a HOT ride during the summer.

[@fredrehfield870]

Such GREAT video and and a wonderful memory Rick. I was born in 41 and worked in Disneyland in 1959. When I would get off work I would head over to the Nature's Wonderland and ride a few times. It has been said that this was one Walt's favorite attraction. Again thanks for the memory.

[@DerSchneb]

That is SO awesome, Fred, you made my day!

[@LaurensTravels]

Rainbow Caverns 😍

[@gregpetty7411]

Rick.... This is great. I just discovered it tonight. Thanks for doing this. Greg Petty.

[@DerSchneb]

Greg, wish you had joined Dan Isom and I when we went to Disneyland. He was... well, Dan. But it was fun!

[@rbjnla]

Cool, thank you. I used to LOVE this ride when I was a kid (born 1964) I always sat by my Mom on this one. Glad you got a little of the soundtrack from Rainbow Caverns in this.

[@DerSchneb]

My parents would just let us run wild at the park. It was the most fun I could ever imagine, and no need to walk slow with the grownups and stop and shops.

[@boilingoden7984]

Ma dads your age

[@ScottDLR]

I remember seeing this in about 1968 and even as a kid, it was tremendously cheasy looking but still a hoot.

[@DerSchneb]

I agree, it was very cheesy looking. It looked more like a train set that you can ride in. I, for one, did not mind seeing it go (it took up too much property). But, I do appreciate looking back.

[@allisonramirez8641]

What a great trip down memory lane! Thanks so much

[@rosestrife1498]

If I had a time machine Id love to just go to Disneyland throughout the years and enjoyed it.

[@DerSchneb]

I would greatly urge Walt to film each ride, attraction, and stage show in Vista Vision for archival purposes. The dark rides could be filmed with all the mechanics slowed to half speed and open F-stop. The Golden Horseshoe needed to be filmed live and not orchestrated.

[@colleenblock5517]

This was fantastic! I was very small at the time, but I remember it so vividly. It was wonderful seeing the rainbow caverns again. Thanks for pulling this together. Great job.

[@DerSchneb]

What a wonderful post. Thanks Colleen!

[@jkd432]

Nice job putting this together. My favorite ride as a little kid. My brother and I would always run to the front to sit with the engineer. Missed the Cascade Peak waterfalls, beaver valley, and the excitement of narrowly escaping from the huge geysers. This brings back great memories. Thank you.

[@DerSchneb]

You are very welcome. Your memory is about the same as mine, but I didn’t know I could sit with the engineer, which I would have loved. My dad just let us loose and he just stayed on Main Street.

[@doctoradventure413]

I wish this ride was recreated in Disney World it has plenty of space where it would never need to be torn down I wish I could experience the rainbow caverns because they look beautiful

[@DerSchneb]

Agreed. I think all the retired rides should be featured there. I think they should take Carousel of Progress and reinstall the original ending touting the coming "Color TV", then have people exit into displays of the latest devices that are coming.

[@doctoradventure413]

that's hilarious I didn't know that's how the Carousel of Progress originally ended I knew it had a different ending but I didn't know that it was color TV

[@DerSchneb]

Yes, I wish I could find footage of that original ending to put in my video recreation of that attraction. You can find images of what I remember at the bottom of the page at Daveland here... davelandweb.com/tomorrowland/carousel.html

[@joseharo5975]

This was my favorite ride. I wish they never got rid of it. It was what made Frontierland look like Frontierland.

[@DerSchneb]

Also them changing the shooting gallery from steelies to electronic. Losing the Conestoga French Fry Wagon. And all but losing the fun of the Golden Horseshoe Review.

[@lohphat]

I remember riding the pack mules when I was a toddler in the early 70s. They stopped in 1973.

[@DerSchneb]

Good writeup here... disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/06/today-in-disney-history-pack-mules-through-natures-wonderland-opens-at-disneylandpark/

[@MoonshineTheDragThing]

Every time I remember this ride existed, I tell people about how it was Walt Disney's favorite ride and where they can find pieces of it that are still part of Frontier Land.

[@DerSchneb]

Yep, when my kids were young, I showed them the two tunnels, the jumping trout, the small houses of Rainbow Ridge, and the derelict train seen from the Mark Twain.

[@MoonshineTheDragThing]

@@DerSchneb it's always fun to look at the parts of the ride that are still there. I always take the time to look for those things.

[@DerSchneb]

@@MoonshineTheDragThing This is why I used to love going to Disney World. They had many of the attractions now retired from Disneyland. It gave me a chance to create a lot of "lost attractions" videos.

[@MoonshineTheDragThing]

@@DerSchneb thank you for doing this. Those extinct attractions deserve to be documented for future generations.

[@robertbeermanjr.2158]

So Awesome!! I love seeing these old School attractions exactly as Mr. Disney envisioned them. He really was someone special.

[@DerSchneb]

He truly was a treasure!!

[@treknician1701]

FANTASTIC video!! Thanks for the share, Rick!!

[@DerSchneb]

Thank you for all the kind kudos! You are very welcome.

[@afilmdude]

Great job Rick!

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks, Film Dude!!

[@humphrey_bear_MDC]

It is so missed by many.

[@matthewleeprice6611]

hi, I am 14 y ears old and ever since I was little I had a huge fascination with this ride. every day after school my dad would take me to Disneyland. that's when we could afford it XD. when I was little I would always go to look at the tunnels in the rock. I haven't been since kindergarten but I have a great memory. just recently I have been fascinated with this ride and even though I'm 3 years late I am so happy I got to see this. thanks so much.

[@DerSchneb]

Awesome, Matthew! So great that I could give you at least a small glimpse into what was a fun little mine train ride.

[@WasatchWind]

I first saw mention of this ride in an old musty book about Disneyland at my grandma's house. It was astounding to me - there was a different train ride _before_ big thunder? My obsession for Frontierland has only grown bigger. Just recently, I found a model railroading channel that has a fantasy layout replicating big thunder.

[@philosophersprose3792]

@@WasatchWind link?

[@WasatchWind]

@@philosophersprose3792 kzbin.info There you go my friend, enjoy.

[@matthewleeprice6611]

@@WasatchWind my dad had an old book that had this ride in it lol

[@hermanpesina6328]

I hope moving forward the company will invest in some sort of vr recordings of their rides so everytime a ride has to go it can forever be stored In vr form

[@CraigFigtree]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU ! wonderful job..how we miss it !

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks Craig, appreciate the kudos!

[@Ghostchaser73]

Thanks so much for posting that. I never got to experience that ride and now I feel like I got a little taste of it. Thanks!

[@DerSchneb]

Ghostchaser73, you are very welcome. But, believe me, seeing it this way prevents severe heat stroke!

[@Ghostchaser73]

Rick Schneblin 😂

[@marksommers6764]

Was there the first year ('55) ! We also enjoyed the Prarie Schooners though I never had the Burro ride . To this day , the great sound systems fill in the "gaps" with the perfect ambiance. Many of the attractions were still under construction but my folks loved it as much as we kids did . Walts innovation and and vision was not lost on me and whilst times have changed , Disneyland is STILL the most bang for your buck ! Thanks for the memories !

[@DerSchneb]

Mark, what a great post! Since I was born in '55, I think my earliest memories go back as far as '59. I remember the Mouseketeer Theater (we used to retreat to from the heat) and the Tomorrowland Saucers and such. I agree with the "Sound Systems" ambiance. I like collecting all those vintage audio files. What I liked much was my parents feeling free to let us "run hog wild" over the park, all we needed to know was to meet at the City Hall at a particular hour. They would then retreat to the Carnation building to relax and listen to the piano player.

[@BW92116]

Great video! This is the attraction that sold me on Disneyland when I was a little kid. It was a great adventure. I still believe that with proper planning, they could have kept the Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland while adding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, then we would have both attractions today.

[@DerSchneb]

I agree. I think Natures Wonderland could have been cut down, kept Rainbow Caverns, and still built Big Thunder. I could have done without the petting zoo and BBQ.

[@leslierigsby1803]

Thank you so much for doing this! I just came across my dad's slides from a trip he took there in 1957. He took a ton of pictures of Frontierland, and your video helped me understand what he likes so much!

[@DerSchneb]

Leslie, you are so very welcome! Please have your dad’s slides digitized and post them. We need to keep the legacy of what Disneyland used to be like- alive!!

[@gahvno]

I actually remember this ride...

[@SpookFX]

What I remember most was how horribly hot a ride it was, and what a relief it was entering into the cool Rainbow Caverns.

[@mdalsted]

Do you? o.O How old are you? This ride was closed early on in Disneyland's life, I heard.

[@geofferypmeyers]

Hard to believe this used to be Disneyland

[@DerSchneb]

I know, that is why I try to recreate videos of old rides and really wish Walt would have made a more diligent record of them in 35mm or Vistavision.

[@neosrealitycheck]

THANK YOU for posting this incredible video! Ya know, when I was a little 5 yr old kid in 1970, I remembered this ride from the past, but-- I could never find any information on it and I thought it was just a dream I had! Well dagnabit, it was real! The thing I remembered the best was the wild pigs, tipping hoodoo rocks, and especially the rainbow caverns! This video made my day....

[@DerSchneb]

So very glad! It’s for folks just like you that I went to all the trouble to make this video a reality.

[@WasatchWind]

They did not have good low level light video in the 60s... but still awesome ride.

[@KaiserXionTV]

I recently purchased a CD "Walt Disney's Legacy Collection" and on disc one track 17 I could not identify what that track was at all. Never heard of it or anything close to it so I just ignored it. That is, until I heard the name "Rainbow Ridge" and the Nature's Wonderland Mine Train went through the "Rainbow Caverns". Now that I know the history behind track 17 I love it! Wish I could have ridden this classic ride.

[@DerSchneb]

I know how you feel, however, having been on it, the video is pretty accurate to the experience... er... minus the heat.

[@hamlong74]

I LOVED this ride - so sad when it closed! :( Thanks for the trip down memory lane! :)

[@DerSchneb]

My pleasure!

[@rdalp]

Amazing. I have been looking for someone to.put a video up about he old ride. Not even Disney had this footage. Great job and thank you

[@DerSchneb]

You are welcome, however, I must correct you. Disney DID make footage on this ride and what you are seeing is the results of much of that footage. It is found in a film titled Disneyland USA. It did not include the narration or music (I mixed that), and Rainbow Caverns was created by me via B&W video footage that I colorized. When Disneyland USA was made, Rainbow Caverns footage was not shot (I'm assuming) due to the low light not being able to be captured. It is a shame in that I would have used the fastest film available (cmon Kodak) opened the shutter to full, slow the speed to half, and rode the track with a very slow dolly. If I could go back in time, I would exhort Walt to capture every ride for the archives, and every live performance (especially a good take from Golden Horseshoe).

[@nolantom63]

Ride that replaced this ride is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad .

[@frostypinesanimation]

Wow, this is amazingly done! I'm so glad I got a chance to experience this ride in some form. I'm a huge nerd for Disney history and this ride was long gone before I came along.

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks, FrostyPines! Since I had experienced it, I can tell you that this was pretty much the experience- without the heat of the Summer sun baking you. 🌞

[@cbonilla10027]

What a video! Some of the best footage of this wonderful attraction that I’ve ever seen. As someone too young to experience the original, very grateful for this video.

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks, Bon Islander!

[@matthewburrows2000]

That was awesome....! I hear they might bring something like thst back.

[@DerSchneb]

Probably not Disneyland, not enough property. However, a recreation would be cool beans!

[@adamwright4262]

Outstanding! This was one of my favorite rides growing up. If you timed it right, you could be on the train when Fantasy in the Sky fireworks were presented. They stopped the train in the middle of Nature's Wonderland and you saw the fireworks from a unique perspective. I actually experienced that once!

[@DerSchneb]

Wow, never knew that! Wish I could have done that.

[@kentcourtney5535]

This train ride had a big influence on my model railroading. I guess I’m trying to re-create this an HO scale but with Southern Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande steam locomotives.

[@DerSchneb]

Use Google to search out Natures Wonderland Model Construction and see if you can find the dude who did it.

[@kentcourtney5535]

@@DerSchneb I found the On30 model railroad that was exhibited at Fullerton, California in 2016. My jaw dropped. I especially loved the geysers. I pull 1920s era steam trains on my layout but the scenery is very much like the mine train ride. As a kid I also loved the Calico mine train ride at Knotts berry farm.

[@DerSchneb]

@@kentcourtney5535 A friend of mine, Garner Holt, has an animatronic company. He also loved the Knotts mine train and was overjoyed to be the group to overhaul it with all new robotic characters. Later, I informed him that Knotts was having a huge auction and he ended up buying one of their huge locomotives!! :-0

[@WasatchWind]

Have you seen the KZbin channel making a fantasy layout of thunder Mesa? It's a thing of beauty.

[@WasatchWind]

@@DerSchneb Having one of those locomotives sounds amazing. If I ever got into live steam, I'd move down to Southern Utah, and make some big thunder esque railroad.

[@zackariahmayhew8324]

I think Disney should rebuild and restore that ride to expand frontierland western land whatever it's called and build it right next to thunder Mesa it might be good for them what's the classic Disney ride and Disneyland videos from the 40s and 60s are amazing as if you step back in time

[@alanwilhite7034]

This was my favorite ride when I went to Disneyland. I am sorry to hear it is no longer there.

[@DerSchneb]

Unfortunately, it took up too much real estate. Would like to see Disney World pick it back up, but rain may be an issue.

[@aggiesjc]

Thanks to this video, I feel I've been able to experience this ride, even though it's been long gone. I visited Disneyland with my family in the early '70s, and think we rode this ride. My strongest memory of it was the devil's paint pots and geysers. They seemed strange and alluring to me, and still do.

[@DerSchneb]

Yep, I think you caught it just before they shut it down.

[@evanveitia]

I wish I could of ridden that ride, but not to long ago Disney made a Mickey Mouse Short called Nature’s Wonderland and it is all based off this ride. Hopefully that’s a hint that Disney will bring it back to Disney Land and introduce it to Walt Disney World!

[@DerSchneb]

Evan, it was a death ride during the summer. I highly doubt they would bring it back to Disneyland, it took too much room. However, Disney World DOES have the land mass to think about it in Frontierland.

[@evanveitia]

Rick Schneblin Good point, well if not Disneyland let’s hope for Disney World!

[@hiridavidfeign]

An iconic first attraction that still has remnants today. Great work. I loved this. Very cool that you colorized the Rainbow Caverns. Thanks.

[@DerSchneb]

Hiri, great comments, thanks!!

[@arcturusregula306]

I cant believe they have this much footage of this. This is amazing!

[@DerSchneb]

Much of it I pieced together. However, a large portion is from the promotional movie Disneyland USA. I just wish upon wish that Walt would have had the foresight to document each of his attractions with 35mm film. Many of the dark rides could have been slowed down for longer exposures OR, used a very fast film.

[@minutemark]

Excellent!!

[@marksommers6764]

Nice Rick ! Vivid memories (since '55) .

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks!

[@kohakufi9]

Thank you for recreating rhis experience!! Youre fantastic 💗

[@DerSchneb]

What a kind thing to say, thank you very very much!!

[@YIPMAN23]

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[@DerSchneb]

Andrea, you are very welcome!

[@jaybonn5973]

You know I thought that mickey short literally named after this attraction, which I forgot was what it was, made up a lot of stuff to fill in the gaps of an attraction that was workshops and never built. Yeah no I was wrong. It rips the entire ride, the map, the animals, the literal path and all its details, even the rocks. And I have to say, it seems the entire purpose of the short is to bitterly lampshade big thunder mountain, like, "hey you know that frontierland ride, wouldn't it be so cool if it was actually this, too bad it isn't" every frame and dialogue of that explicitly says what it is. And I never actually knew this was built. I thought it was always a concept. But no, it's real. This is real. And it's so funny to me.

[@QuincyDisneyVegan]

Thank you for posting this! I remember this ride vividly, as I went on it quite a few times during my early childhood. -- As great as you did this video, you left out the "babbling twin" waterfalls section. My favorite parts of this ride were Saguaro Cactus forest, Geyser grotto in the Devil's Paint Pot where sitting close to the side of the train meant the possibility of getting a little bit wet, and I especially loved the Rainbow Caverns segment and its hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. But the funny thing is ..... I always remembered seeing the geysers as being on the right side of the train *The footage you used for that segment is flipped ..... Another funny thing is: I was born in November, 1976 and all the websites say that this ride closed on January 2nd, 1977. Even though i certainly remember being carried by my dad seeing this as a baby, but I also remember being older riding this at night fearful clinging to my parents trying to avoid getting wet by the geysers. In other words, I believe the websites have its closing date incorrect, and that it may have closed in 1979 to make way for Big Thunder's opening the following year. So therefore I also believe the opening dates mentioned for Big Thunder at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are also incorrect. Here's especially why: I use to own a Disney Parks documentary videotape (I can't recall the name of it) that mentions Magic Kingdom Park (In Orlando) got theirs first in 1979, and Big Thunder came to Disneyland in 1980, which is why the Florida version is unmodified from it's original appearance and Disneyland's has more special effects, because it's a replica just like their version of Space Mountain. But I don't yet have tangible proof to show that I'm right and all the websites are wrong. Isn't it funny how freely websites spout misinformation and people believe it and spread it without contesting it? But anyways......

[@DerSchneb]

VMG, a lot of great info there. The reason I did not put the Twin Falls is because they were not in when Dland was opened and this footage was taken. They might have even moved the track around as your memory served. I had to special effect in Rainbow Caverns because it too was not around when this early footage was made.

[@surferchick6730]

What an incredible video. Well done

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks!

[@Devoteewolf_86]

I would have enjoyed this old frontierland attraction. Yee Haww. 🐎

[@DerSchneb]

It was fun, but cooked you during the summer heat. When you got to Rainbow Caverns, it was a relief, but over too quickly. I wanted to jump out and just soak in one of the pools.

[@JTQA_Tester]

So that's why they have all those deserted train track tunnels across from BTR, Matterhorn, etc. In fact, one theory I have is that they donated this train to Knott's Berry Farm to be that train ride across the way from the Log Ride.

[@DerSchneb]

Actually, no. What remnants you see of Nature’s Wonderland are two, boarded up mine cave entrances, the trout pond, the tiny houses at the end of Thunder Mountain, and a dilapidated train near the end of the Rivers of America. They gave nothing to Knotts because they are a competitor. The wild pigs and Mr. Bobcat were given to Disney World. There is a KZbin video that tours the remains of NW.

[@theheroneededwillette6964]

Who’s here because they saw that one Mickey short?

[@michaelleadingham9923]

Thank you so much for posting this video wow I was like 6 when this ride closed my mom rode this great video Thanks for posting

[@DerSchneb]

You are very, very welcome, Michael!

[@gerthenriksen8818]

Great! Thanks!

[@letsc2011]

Oh Wow You did Great! I have looked and checked and looked and checked on KZbin over the years hoping someone would post some old color 8m film footage of this ride. The passenger cars were blue then changed to yellow. You got the colors pretty close filling in on the black and white film. I remember riding the donkeys and the stage coach. Great job! I found a video of the flying saucer ride in color. And after the flying saucer part the is a clip of of the park entrance with a person in an original Mikey outfit walking around greeting people. Right to his right is a teen handing out flyers who I believe is a clip of Steve martin. He worked there as a teen. Disneyland 1961 flying saucers.

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks for the kudos! Yes, the guy with the bowler is indeed Steve Martin handing out flyers... he confirmed it. That is a wonderful video made from a 16mm film-- a real treasure! In my film, unfortunately, the train turns from yellow to green and then back. But, a minor annoyance. The wild pigs and the bobcat I captured from Disney World where that tableaux was repurposed for Big Thunder Railroad.

[@douglashall6326]

I just wish some good color video would have survived of the inside of the caverns.

[@DerSchneb]

Me too. The reason why they didn't, including the other dark rides, is because they did not have the technology to capture such dark footage as we do today. Seems to me that they could have used ISO/ASA 1600 35mm film to at least archive these classics.

[@jennycraigadventures3314]

Really nice job, Rick! This was obviously a lot of painstaking work. I rode this as a small child and only remember the colored pools and some of the animals. I don’t remember the stagecoach or horse (mule?) rides at all, so they must’ve been gone by the time I rode it.

[@DerSchneb]

Thank you! Yes, they eliminated the pack mules and stagecoach rides before my time as well. I remember being disappointed with the little house on top of the teadering rock because it just looked fake and took me out of the "experience". Also, it was horribly hot during the summer. The rainbow caverns was a welcome relief. Personally, I think they should revive this ride at Disney World.

[@jennycraigadventures3314]

Rick Schneblin I agree, but doubt there’s room, unless they built out some of these features as an addition to the DLRR.

[@brissadlr9939]

Never heard of this ride before

[@jacobs4363]

All great footage of rainbow caverns, but just a disclaimer that 4:11 is big thunder mountain, not mine train through nature’s wonderland

[@DerSchneb]

Good eye. Yes, the added cave footage is my own from Big Thunder. The amount of caverns footage I had was shorter than the narration so I added it for "filler".

[@herculesli6043]

The nature wonderland was closed in 1977 because the new mine train roller coaster

[@Luke17d]

I wasn’t born during those years :(

[@DerSchneb]

At least you live in an age where you can enjoy it on video.

[@thatguy1990]

Ikr I wanna see country bear jamboree, America sings, and carousel of progress

[@DerSchneb]

Maybe I'll publish those some day. I got Country Bear and Carousel of Progress while at Disney World. America Sings is available to watch on KZbin... sadly, poor quality.

[@fullermrff]

I think you did an excellent job. Do you remember the duration of the caverns? As a kid it seemed to last a long time

[@DerSchneb]

Thank you very much! As for the length of the caverns, I remember it being shorter than I liked as a kid. I would venture to guess about 3 minutes.

[@QuincyDisneyVegan]

I agree that the scene was definitely around 3 minutes long and should've been longer. I remember the entire ride being over 10 minutes long.

[@DerSchneb]

I’ll bet many drivers slowed way the heck down to recover from the heat. ;-)

[@keeline]

There is some clever coloring of the black and white footage from "An Adventure in the Magic Kingdom" (1958). However, due to a lack of information (and memories of more than 40 years ago), the colors selected are incorrect in most or all of the cases. Still, it was a good effort.

[@SpookFX]

James, agreed. I had the same problem recreating a local theater marquee. What was the color of the neon?

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

He actually got the colors right. I remember riding this ride when I was nine or ten, and I remember the caverns colors. I have photographic memory. He did awesome.

[@DerSchneb]

Wow, thanks Jason!! Man, a photographic memory... and in color, too!

[@keeline]

I still maintain that the colors are inaccurate. I have copies of the engineering diagrams that identify each color used for the waterfalls. Further I have some copies of photos that show most of the waterfalls. The red is spectacular but completely wrong. In all deference to Jason who claims a photographic memory, it has let him down this time. It has been a long time since anyone has seen this in person. That's why I rely on vintage evidence of documents and photos. For the person who hoped that amateur photographers or film makers would come up with one, it is unlikely. If it had been at all possible to get the colors on film, Disney would have done it for Disneyland, USA (1956) where most of the color footage comes from. With the longwave UV lights, the camera film (still or motion) is overexposed. A straw-yellow filter can help but it takes a lot of trial and error on film to get the right exposures and block the UV so it doesn't mess things up. Photos like the one from National Geographic (Aug 1963) took a full day and many exposures and some after-processing (headlight, camera flash) to get the printable result. Bridal veil is blue. Staircase is blue. I could go on. I've done some colorization work of this type in Adobe After Effects and agree that it is a tedious and time-consuming process. The effort is a noble one but is not quite true to history. The video is shared on Facebook regularly and is creating new memories for people who only dimly remember the original or never saw it at all.

[@kaitlynreynolds5192]

At least Knott's still has a s similar ride

[@DerSchneb]

Yes, I work for the guy who did a complete refurbishment of the Mine Train ride.

[@skylarweatherford2007]

At 4:22 it’s supposed to be one every different color not all purple but I LOVE ❤️ this video!

[@DerSchneb]

Thanks! I was going by memory. Do you remember the sequence of colors?

[@skylarweatherford2007]

Rick Schneblin I didn’t ride the ride myself but my father rode it many times he said it was more like a rainbow. He said each one was a different color he doesn’t remember the sequence of the colors because it’s been so long ago

[@DerSchneb]

Skylar, that tells me a lot, just wondering how they did that seeing the water is cascading. Dang, wish I had a cold photo of it.

[@skylarweatherford2007]

Rick Schneblin I wish I could have seen it myself!

[@VictoriasCantina]

Hello, thanks for the video. Where is the clip at 4:05 from? The part where the train goes into the Rainbow Caverns. From what I have seen online, the entrance to the Caverns looked very different and had the mountain lion on top. Thanks.

[@DerSchneb]

I created it from scratch because I did not have any footage available at the time. If you have a good source, please pass on the link here.

[@VictoriasCantina]

@@DerSchneb OK, that's what I suspected. I have studied this attraction extensively and it just did not seem right. I believe that tunnel in your video was built for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but it's roughly where the old tunnel once stood. It is hard to find video or even photos of the old tunnel but there are a few out there. Here is one video I found doing a quick search. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4S6oJZse8iHhpo

[@frostedfrinkal]

I'm curious. How did you and that other KZbinr obtain the audio? I only just found out about this ride and it's way too late in the night for me to look it up and start digging. Thanks in advance.

[@DerSchneb]

For years I have been collecting Disneyland audio from various CDs and online sources. I have had this one for a while, so it may have been on a CD that is now out of print.

[@frostedfrinkal]

@@DerSchneb Wow you must be holding one of the largest collection of Disney lost media. Keep them safe, you never know where you can find them again.

[@littlegeckogaming7263]

I guess that’s how they got the idea for world of color

[@DerSchneb]

Actually, Rainbow Caverns was black light and fluoresce. WWOC is LED lighting and the projection spray pioneered in Fantasmic.

[@littlegeckogaming7263]

Oh ok

[@theghostofboxes2192]

Was Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland also in Walt Disneyworld for its first few years of operation, or was The Western River ride planned instead of this.

[@DerSchneb]

I went to Disney World when it first opened, and alas, it was a Disneyland attraction, only. Pity, seeing that DW had the real estate to recreate it.

[@1babynoah]

The mine train the rainbow caverns

[@haunter8661]

That’s what Disney looked like in the 90s?

[@DerSchneb]

No, more like the late 50s. Note the lack of vegetation.

[@cosmo6440]

big Wonder

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

Are these colors accurate?

[@DerSchneb]

The colors are from memory. They were fluorescent, so the color palette was limited.

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

@@DerSchneb That means they are accurate! Congrats man!

[@63Malda]

3:18 Is that a house on the rock? I don't remember it.

[@DerSchneb]

63Malda, yes, I remember because I never liked it. It kinda took me out of the magic of make believe because it was too much like a model and not to scale.

[@mdalsted]

I take it you had to edit the color onto those falls?

[@SpookFX]

You mean Rainbow Caverns? Yes! Video trickery. I went according to my own memory of what they looked like. When I asked a Disney guy why they did not make movie archives of all their rides back then, he replied that most were dark rides and could not be filmed with the technology available. But, I'm sure someone could have thought of some kind of solution.

[@mdalsted]

@@SpookFX Hm, y'know, I'd been thinking; whatever technology they used at the time to make the Rainbow Caverns' falls change color... It sadly wouldn't be as impressive nowadays, would it? Probably one of the reasons we won't see this ride resurrected. : (

[@SpookFX]

The technology (at the time) was a fluorescent with black lights everywhere. Of course, I knew what it was, but fun to look at, and it was a relief from the heat. The reason why they would not bring it back is because it took WAY too much room in the park. As a kid, it never really wowed me, anyways. It was long, slow, and hot. I miss it only for nostalgic purposes.

[@Local_Gamer_kid]

4:11 Is that big thunder mountain caverns

[@DerSchneb]

Yes! I used my footage to extend the very short video I had of Rainbow Caverns. Good eye.

[@Local_Gamer_kid]

@@DerSchneb thx

[@Local_Gamer_kid]

@@DerSchneb 2:27 big thunder mountain too extra footage to extend the short vid.

[@aprilmaldonado2952]

3:30 how does that even work?

[@DerSchneb]

The teetering rocks?

[@aprilmaldonado2952]

@@DerSchneb yea

[@DerSchneb]

April, an offset motor and lever causes tilt. The spinning rock is by a regular motor. The top alternating rock is just chained to the on below.

[@user-ny1ev6eh4l]

流石に日本人いないよね？

[@DerSchneb]

私は違います。

[@herodisney732]

日本人きましたよー これ、日本にあったらビッグサンダーマウンテンが乗れない方も楽しめそうですよね〜

[@user-ny1ev6eh4l]

Hero Disney うそでしょ？！ 絶対いないと思った！！

[@herodisney732]

ネモ船長 いや〜、Twitterでフォローしてる人がこのアトラクのことを呟いてるの見て探しにきたのよw てかその言葉そっくりそのまま返すけどまさか日本人いるとは俺も思わなかった‼︎

[@user-ny1ev6eh4l]

Hero Disney いやもう今めちゃくちゃ驚いてるwwwwww