July 1955 – January 1987
LOCATION
Frontierland – After crossing the bridge from Main Street USA into Frontierland, guests could find the Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade on the left, next to the walkway to Adventureland. This building now houses Frontierland’s gift shop, called the “Pioneer Mercantile”.
BACKGROUND
When Disneyland opened in 1955, Frontierland was a much more leisurely, quiet area without any major rides or animatronics. One of its original attractions was a walkthrough exhibit called the Davy Crockett Frontier Museum. The museum held a model of the Alamo, complete with knife and rifle displays. Guests could purchase Davy Crockett memorabilia, or pose with life-size wax figures of Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) and his pal George Russel (Buddy Ebsen) from the Disneyland television show. But after just three months, the unpopular museum closed, in favor of a more exiting and interactive activity.
Starting in January 1956, Frontierland’s busiest and most “modern” attraction was the Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade, which offered visitors the chance to play classic arcade games featuring Davy Crockett and his animal friends. For 30 years, the arcade survived major changes and updates, and became a nostalgic gaming experience in its last years of operation.
EXPERIENCE
The Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade was a unique mix of a game center and a gift shop. In the center of the room, guests could purchase furs, dishware, clothing, and other collectibles. Along the walls of the arcade, guests could play a series of shooting or adventure games, and Davy Crockett himself made occasional appearances and had meet and greets.
CLOSURE
In the late 70’s and early 80’s, Frontierland dramatically evolved into a lively western mining town, particularly with the addition of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. As a result, many of the older walkthrough exhibits and attractions closed, as visitors favored the more exiting coasters and boat rides. With the high-tech and boisterous Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition next door, the Arcade was all but forgotten to park visitors. So in 1987, the Davy Crockett Frontier Arcade closed, and a souvenir and gift shop opened in its place.
TRIVIA
The hat shop in Frontierland is named after Crockett and Russel; you can see their names at the top of the building, located next to the Golden Horseshoe.
I remember much of this. My brother Ronald was a crew member on the Mark Twain, July 17, 1955: opening day. (It had a crew of 8 back then.) He and his fellow 1955 Bell Gardens High School grad Jerry Cavender, started to work 2 weeks before the park opened, as cast members needed to be trained and costumed. I believe Jerry worked somewhere in Adventureland. He was with Disney for 11 years in various roles.
My first visit was Aug 25th, (mom’s birthday) 1955. Back then, there was also a stage coach ride, which we rode. I think it was a “B” or “C” ticket. It seems to me the ticket book was $2.95, and had 2 or 3 each of A-B-C. (Milk was .05c a gallon, except at Disneyland.)
I remember shooting the rifles at Davy C’s arcade. They had light beems for bullets. When one hit the glass button on the side of the bear, the bear would turn to face you, then turn and reverse directions. In that short pause, if you hit the button on the front of bear, he’d fall over or stopped dead(?) Seems the rifles had a “Bang” sound when the trigger was pulled.
The Rainbow Caverns Minetrain was slow, for a 9 year old. As I got older, I grew to appreciate it’s beauty and peacefulness. As all things Disney, it was quite detailed. The goats, snakes, raccoons and wild cats were there in 55. Some geysers spouted steam and water upward. (I also remember kids wore Raccoon Hats, like Davy Crockett, which you could buy in Frontierland.) That desert ride was also called the “Painted Desert” and was fashioned on the Disney movie “The Painted Desert”, a live “action” film of nature and was the first use of time-laps photography, which I believe the Disney folks invented. (They certainly made it famous back then.) That was Disney’s first Nature film. It didn’t make much money, so naturally, it was achieved and forgotten. Walt liked it. (My brother told me, after calling Mr. Disney, Mr. Disney, he said, “Call me Walt. My dad is Mr. Disney.”
Thank you for sharing your memories! I love hearing about what Disneyland was like in the early days 🙂
This is cool, wish Davy Crocket had more of a presence in Disneyland now although I know he does have the canoes.