Welcome to TPMvids Disney Beat where we talk
about all things Disney! If you’re new to the channel, hit that subscribe
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find us @TPMvideos. Frontierland is one of the 6 themed lands
at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. It is here that we experience the story of
our country’s past. The colour, romance and drama of Frontier
America as it developed from wilderness trials, to roads riverboats railroads and civilization. The original Frontierland at Disneyland was
born out of Walt Disney’s love for America, and when Magic Kingdom opened in 1971 these
same ideas were brought to Florida. The land takes you into the pioneering days
of America in the early 19th century. This old western town is famously known for
being home to popular attractions like Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, but
there’s so much more that makes Frontierland one of the best lands to just go and explore. It has so many secrets and hidden details
you’ve probably never noticed. So today while looking at some history of
the land we’re gonna be counting down the Top 7 Hidden Secrets in Frontierland at Magic
Kingdom. Number 7
Frontierland is no secret, but have you ever realized that it’s the only land that isn’t
accessible from the hub? When you’re walking through the centre of
the park, Frontierland is really a hidden land. You need to travel through Adevntureland or
Liberty Square to get into this old western Town, but why is that? Well this was an intentional design by imagineers
and it all follows a story that starts in Liberty Square. See the buildings in Liberty Square show the
architectural progression through Colonial America starting in the 1700s. Since Frontierland is adjacent to Liberty
Square, this architectural progression continues showing the western expansion of America through
the 1800s. The Diamond Horseshoe is the official transition
point from Colonial America into the old west and as you walk between the two lands the
transition is seamless. All the buildings in Frontierland are historically
accurate right down to the elevated sidewalks. Aside form the sidewalks on Main Street, Frontierland
is the only land in Magic Kingdom that has raised walkways. Back in old western towns, the roadways were
always really dirty, full of mud and dust, so raised wooden sidewalks were used to keep
people’s boots and dresses clean when they were walking through the town. And speaking of this town, at the top of some
of the buildings in Frontierland you’ll notice a number. The number is actually significant and actually
represents the year of the building’s architectural design. So on Grizzly Hall you’ll see its from 1898,
Town Hall from 1867 and the Saloon from 1878. Number 6
If you look across the Rivers of America you’ll see Harper’s Mill on Tom Sawyer Island. This water wheel has sort of become an iconic
part of the riverbank adding even more kinetics to the Rivers of America. Contrary to popular belief Tom Sawyer Island
was not an opening day attraction at Magic Kingdom. It opened in May of 1973, just over a year
and a half after the park opened in October of 1971. Now the island is inspired by the characters
and stories of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer novels. If you’re familiar with the characters from
these books, there’s a boy named Joe Harper who’s one of Tom Sawyer’s friends. If you board one of the rafts and head to
the island, you’ll see a sign right beside Harpers Mill that gives you it’s backstory. Tom Sawyer being the good friend he is, named
the grist Mill after Joe Harper’s father. So that’s the Tom Sawyer story, but there’s
a double meaning to the naming of the Mill. Disney actually named Harper’s Mill after
the late Imagineer Harper Goff. He was involved with designing Disneyland’s
Main Street and the Jungle Cruise as well as the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So the Harper’s Mill pay tribute to this
late imagineer but it’s also home to another hidden secret. Inside the Mill you’ll see as series of
wooden gears that are usually spinning. Here on this large gear you’ll spot a little
blue bird in a nest. Well in 1936 Disney released an animated short
called The Old Mill. There was a scene in the film that shows a
little blue bird on a wooden gear inside the Mill. So Imagineers hid a little blue bird in Harper’s
Mill as a tribute to this classic Disney short! Number 5
Now if you’ve watched past videos you’ll know we always point out details on the ground
since Disney is well know for creating theming that goes from top to bottom. Frontierland is home to the County Bear Jamboree
where a cast of singing Animatronic bears treat you to a musical revue. When you enter the Grizzly Hall lobby, it
gives you this warm cozy feeling with the hardwood floors and the pictures of the cast
of bears on the wall. Well if you look down at the hardwood floors
they seem to be a little scuffed up. Since Grizzly Hall hosts a cast of Bears,
naturally they’d enter the hall, sharp nails and all, marking the hardwood floors with
their claws. So Disney added the claw marks to the floors. It’s a fun hidden detail that you could
definitely miss if you don’t look down or if there’s a lot of people in the waiting
area. The bears sure know how to make their mark. Now speaking of the bears, one of the most
iconic characters is Big Al and he was actually modelled after an imagineer. Al Bertino was a show writer for many Disney
attractions including the Country Bear Jamboree and Big Al was modelled after Al Bertino,
name and all. When you look at both Al’s the resemble
is uncanny. Bertino passed away in 1996 so Big Al at the
Country Bear Jamboree will forever be a reminder of this legendary Imagineer. Number 4- Hidden Tink
As you step further into Frontierland it’s hard to miss the 197 foot butte that’s home
to Big Thunder Mountain railroad. After you’ve taken a spin on the wildest
ride in the wilderness you’re gonna wanna keep your eyes peeled for a little hidden
secret at the ride’s exit. Now we’ve all heard about hidden Mickey’s
by now, and if you haven’t we have an entire video explaining the phenomena, but have you
ever heard of a hidden Tinkerbell? Well there’s one at Big Thunder Mountain. As you exit the ride, there’s these set
of rocks on the left hand side. They look like ordinary rocks with nothing
to hide. So if you look right here theres what appears
to be a crack in the rock, but when we switch to this angel directly in front, you can see
its a side profile of a shilouette of Tinkerbell. There’s no real explanation as to why this
Fantasyland character is hidden in the world of cowboys and fur traders, but with some
faith, trust and pixie dust anything can make sense at Magic Kingdom. Number 3
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of plunging down Chick a Pin Hill on Splash Mountain. The ride takes you into the world of the Bre’r
characters as Bre’r Rabbit tries to find his laughing place. In one of the first indoor show scenes on
the ride, you see Bre’r Rabbit leaving his home. It looks small and quaint, perfect for Bre’r
Rabbit. Throughout the attraction Bre’r Rabbit realizes
he wasn’t cut out for his adventure and in the very last scene of the ride he returns
home. Now have you ever thought about what Bre’r
Rabbit’s house would look like inside? Well if you ever have, then the answer sits
hidden in Frontierland. As you exit Splash Mountain, on the right
hand side there’s the Briar Patch gift shop. Inside, there’s an abundant amount of Splash
Mountain merchandise but at the back of the shop, hidden on the upper portion of the wall
illuminated by these blue lights sits Bre’r Rabbit’s house. On the left hand side there’s what looks
to be his dining room nicely decorated with some flowers on the table. Then to the right, there’s his bedroom that
has everything from a bed and rocking chair with a mini plush toy to an armour. You can really imagine a little Bre’r Rabbit
hoping through this space just going about his daily business. It’s a really fun little hidden secret that
many people miss especially considering where it’s placed in the shop. So next time you’re on Splash mountain and
see Ber’r Rabbit standing outside his house, you know exactly what he’s leaving behind
inside. Number 2
One of the most famous Frontiersmen is Davy Crockett
Davy, Davy Crockett King of the wild frontier. Davy Crockett is an American folk hero that
dates all the way back to the late 1700s and in the 1950s Disney released a Davy Crockett
mini series. This series heavily inspired the creation
of Frontielrand at Disneyland and the character also went on to inspire Magic Kingdom’s
Frontierland. From 1971 until 1994 you were able to paddle
along the rivers of America on the Davy Crocket Canoes. The footage you see here is taken from Disneyland
where the Canoes still operate today. Even though this is now an extinct attraction
at Magic Kingdom there are still references left that pay tribute to the king of the wild
frontier. Now Davy Crockett is known for wearing his
tan buckskin hunting suit with the iconic coonskin hat. If we take a look at the Frontier Trading
post, placed above you’ll notice some clothes on a clothes line. This tan buckskin suit could very well belong
to Davy Crocket and there also appears to be some boots placed on the right hand side. Now theres no way to knowif any of these actually
belong to Davey Crocket but he definitely left behind some other belongings that are
hidden in Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. Pecos Bill is a character featured in the
1948 film Melody Time. The restaurant’s backstory is that every
time a friend visited Pecos, they left something behind to remember them by. Well naturally Davy Crockett visited Pecos
Bill and here in this little section hidden on the back wall of the restaurant you’ll
find items that belong to by Davy Crockett. He left behind his leather bag, powder horn
and the iconic coon skin hat. So next time you’re grabbing a bite at Pecos
Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe keep an eye out for these Davy Crocket items hidden right
in the restaurant. Number 1- Walt Disney Initials. So we’ve talked about a hidden Tinker Bell
but what about a hidden Walt Disney? Now although Disneyland in California has
many direct references to Walt Disney himself, Magic Kingdom doesn’t have as many since
it built after Walt passed. He didn’t personally touch the park in the
same way that he did with Disneyland. But on Tom Sawyer Island there’s one secret
that pays tribute to Walt Disney and you need to look really hard to spot it. At the back of the Island you’ll find Fort
Langhorn which originally opened as Fort Sam Clemens. It was changed in 1997. The fort is a fun section of the island with
many places to climb and explore, one being the Escape tunnel. Once you’re inside this dimly lit corridor
it’s a lot of fun to walk through and when you reach the light at the end of the tunnel
well this is where you’ll find a hidden Walt Disney. Do you see it? Yea that’s a W and a D, Walt Disney’s
initials. Now obviously Walt Disney himself didn’t
engrave the initials since he had already passed away before the island was even built. But some imagineer out there hid this at the
end of the escape tunnel as a hidden tribute to man responsible for all the Disney magic. So have you ever noticed any of these hidden
secrets and details in Frontierlan?Whats your favourite hidden detail at the park? I’d love to know! Leave a comment down below to start a conversion
and don’t forget to hit that like button if you enjoyed the video.
