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| Photo via Disney Parks |
A day at Disneyland Park can leave a pardner hankerin’ for a “rootin’, tootin’, hip-hollerin’ good time.” The only place to satisfy that craving is at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon in Frontierland, where western flair is everywhere! Mounted steer horns and period chandeliers set the stage for this 1850s chuck wagon.
Kick the dust off yer boots and belly up to the quick-service bar for some frontier-style grub. You’ll yodel-ay-he-hoo for the chicken breast tenders, fish and chips, and chili-cheese fries. Mile High chocolate cake; mint chocolate, hot fudge, or strawberry sundaes; Golden Horseshoe Ice Cream Floats top off a bonanza of desserts, and it’s all available for less than $14.99 per person.
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| Photo via Disney Parks |
Y’all git more than just great grub here, you know? A live stage show entertains diners, sometimes interrupting their chow time to pull Guests into the fun onstage. The original show, Golden Horseshoe Revue, performed over 50,000 shows and was “the world’s longest-running live stage show,” according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The Golden Horseshoe Revue ran from July 17, 1955 until October 12, 1986, and featured saloon owner Slue Foot Sue and her dance hall girls as well as various skits. The current production is The Laughing Stock, featuring bluegrass music and comedy.
Today’s Takeaway:
The Golden Horseshoe Saloon is one of the original buildings dating back to the park’s opening. In fact, it officially opened four days before the park did, on July 13, 1955, when Walt hosted a celebrity-packed party to celebrate his and Lilian’s 30th wedding anniversary. Walt followed that up the night before opening day with a private party for the park’s corporate sponsors.
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| Photo via Imgineering Guide |
As mentioned above, period chandeliers adorn the hall, enhancing its “Old West” feel. Those lanterns, as well as others you’ll notice hanging throughout Frontierland, help set the mid-to-late 1800s date. According to The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland Park, the one shown here is “a cold-blast lantern, identified by the pipes recirculating air to the top of the lamp to feed the combustion.” Cold blast lanterns take in air through side tubes, producing a white flame with twice the volume of light. This was “new” technology in the 1800s. Onlinehome.com displays quite a collection. Modern versions burn safer fuels that can be used indoors or out.
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| Photo via Onlinehome.com |
Take your children camping and help them experience what it might have been like in the 1800s. If you’re not comfortable or are unable to go to the wilderness, camp out in your own backyard. Make sure it’s a clear night, and turn off all exterior lighting. Help them imagine how dark their surroundings would have been back then, when street lamps were extinguished by curfew and the only other light to guide their steps were the moon and stars. If you have a flame-lit lantern, let that be your only source. Play a scavenger hunt game with your kids to see how just how much they can see by lantern light. I think they’ll find a new appreciation of today’s illuminating technology!
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS with adult supervision should try to make their own hurricane (cold-blast) lantern by following this eHow tutorial.
SCHOOL SUBJECT: Luminosity, Chemistry
SKILL LEVEL: Elementary, High School
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