Team Wonder
Presents The Golden Prompt (Boats of the Far West)
Blending into the already elaborate backstory of Frontierland’s Thunder Mesa comes the re-imagineed riverboat of Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing.
Henry Ravenswood has struck it rich in Thunder Mesa, discovering gold deep within Big Thunder Mountain and founded the town of Thunder Mesa.
After building an elaborate Victorian Mansion a top Boot Hill, Ravenswood turned his attention to mining every last drop of gold from the mountain despite being warned of a curse on whatever gold is taken from the mountain.
Shortly thereafter, Ravenswood created Big Thunder Mountain Co. to dig ever increasing amounts of the precious mineral out of the rock, but as more and more gold was mined, the problem of how to get it back east plagued Ravenswood. He then commissioned a riverboat to carry his gold up the river to Rainbow Ridge to be transported by rail back east. However, this was not just any riverboat, but a vessel built to impress Ravenswood’s “friends” and business associates. The steamer was outfitted with the finest sitting room filled with plush chairs, fancy wallpaper, and even several small replicas of famous statues. Great care was taken to create a sense of awe and envy at Ravenwood’s wealth in every detail from the gilded gold trim to the deep purple of the accents (both colors were chosen by Henry Ravenswood himself as these were the colors of royalty to which he clearly saw himself as). This boat was christened La Fortune (The Fortune).
For many years, Ravenswood’s gold was transported in this way with Ravenswood sometimes making the trip as well to entertain other well to do members of Thunder Mesa (and not so subtly rub his good fortune in their faces). Other times he would retreat to his office on board and conduct business his purser, Thomas Hutton and the overseer of the mine, Abraham Willis. This continued until the birth of his daughter, Melanie.
In celebration of his daughter, another ship was commission to be made in the same finery as La Fortune, this time outfitted in gold trim and with accents to match Melanie’s favorite color, teal. This boat was aptly named Le Trésor de Ravenswood (Ravenswood’s Treasure) as little Melanie was the greatest treasure Ravenswood had. Ironically enough, as Melanie grew older, many would agree that name was weirdly appropriate as Ravenswood increasingly kept his daughter isolated in the mansion, jealously guarding her as a dragon would its treasure.
Now Henry Ravenswood had two boats to transport his gold even faster to Rainbow Ridge. As one boat would be returning from Rainbow Ridge, the other boat would just be leaving Thunder Mesa to deliver more gold. (Like the original Boats of the Far West, there will be two vessels to alternate out and allowing for refurbishment as needed).
Guests strolling through Forntierland/Thunder Mesa will pass by the loading dock for one of these boats surrounded by the necessary hauling equipment to get the gold on board. A large wooden crane seems to be frozen in the middle of loading with a pallet piled high with gold (this area should always look as if guests walked right into the middle of boat loading). Several citizens of Thunder Mesa will encourage guests to board the boat for a grand trip up to Rainbow Ridge (these will be streetmosphere characters that will also board the boat to entertain and interact with guests). Once the guests are aboard La Fortune, a couple of last minute characters will make the entrance, a well-dressed looking gentleman, a snooty clerk, and a slightly dusty miner wearing clothes that are in somewhat good condition. With these last additions, the boat will make way up the river.
Guests on board will be able to interact with several the streetmosphere characters while they make this 15-minute journey. Each character has their own unique backstory and tale to tell. Guests will need to come back several times to hear every story and meet every character; this will increase the attraction’s re-ride ability. Like the Adventurer’s Club, there can be several different characters that appear on different days and at different times. Below are just a few of the characters guests can meet.
There is Aurore Aube, the daughter of one of the older miners back at Thunder Mesa. She is as tough as any of the men working in the mine, and don’t think that she won’t prove it. Challenge her to game of luck or roping and see who comes out on top.
Andre Wizoux, is a Frenchman who emigrated to the west to find his own fortune. He dresses as a gentleman to fool everyone into thinking he is far more wealthy than he appears. In reality, he is getting by on his charming wit and good reputation. Every time he is asked about how he made his wealth, his story will change, hinting at the fraud that he actually is.
Next up is Amelie Chaplet, a showgirl with a habit of oversleeping on her way to perform at the saloon in Thunder Mesa. Guests will first see her as she runs to the railing mourning the fact that she once again missed her chance to get to the saloon on time. She is by far the funniest of these characters, always laughing and ready with a funny story. If asked, she will perform the saloon act she never gets to do for the guests which can include singing (sometimes more in tune than others) or dancing. Be prepared to join in if she picks you to help out.
Stephen Regret is the pianist who will occasionally perform on board. A very friendly man, always ready with a smile and a tune, provided a “tip” is given beforehand.
Abraham Willis is the overseer of the mine along to watch over gold and the miners assigned to transport the gold to Rainbow Ridge. A seedy man, Willis is quick to order everyone about and has little respect for the paper pusher, Thomas Hutton. Guests can find him boasting about his authority over the mine workers or having a heated conversation with Hutton.
The main show is featured in the sitting room where there are several chairs and tables available for guests to relax. There are bookshelves, bottles of expensive spirits and glasses, and over the mantle is a portrait of Ravenswood with his first piece of gold taken from Big Thunder Mountain.
Lolli Popsie, a serving girl with hopes of becoming a showgirl will usher guests in, giggling incessantly proving that she is more of a ditz than a performer.
She will start to sing (quite awfully) until Elias Escarbilles, a miner, wanders in and interrupts her. He stumbles around and remarks on all of the fancy trinkets. It’s obvious he’s not supposed to be here, but he seats himself down in front of the guests and asks if they want to hear a story.
Here, Elias begins the tale of the cursed gold of Big Thunder Mountain, but before he can get too far, Ravenswood's personal purser, Thomas Hutton barges in to put a stop to this tall tale.
Hutton is along to make sure Mr. Ravenswood's gold gets to Rainbow Ridge safely. As a no-nonsense kind of man, he has little patience for the steamer's superstitious crew.
Elias warns the guests and Hutton that the gold on board is cursed as well. Of course, Mr. Ravenswood's purser is unimpressed and demonstrates that the gold is fine by producing a piece from his pocket. As the gold is reveled, the lights flicker on and off, books slide off the bookshelves, drinking glasses levitate, and the eyes of several small statues glow red. Hutton is irritated at what he views as problem with the boat itself and runs off to find the captain to demand an explanation.
This story can be changed as often as needed, but the end result is the same: the boat has to return to the loading dock until this situation can be sorted out (this explains why the boat never gets to Rainbow Ridge and always returns to the same dock).
As with the pilot house on the steamboat at Disneyland, guests can ask to see Mr. Ravenswood's private office on board La Fortune to catch a glimpse of the man's inner workings.
Ledgers on Ravenwood’s desk show the steady decline of the mine’s production and several letters from Willis and other miners describe strange accidents that keep happening more frequently, even talking about small earthquakes.
The other vessel, Le Trésor de Ravenswood, offers the same experience only with different details. The sitting room on this boat has a portrait of Melanie hanging over the mantle.
Instead of Ravenswood’s office on La Fortune, a study is where guests can visit on Le Trésor de Ravenswood. On his desk, guests will dive even deeper into Phantom Manor’s back story as they look at several letters Ravenswood intercepted from Melanie to her fiancée, Jake Evans.
The letters detail how Melanie and Jake plan to steal away on the Le Trésor de Ravenswood and escape from Melanie’s father and Thunder Mesa.
For Halloween, along with the rest of Frontierland, the boat will become haunted with the ghosts of the cursed gold, including Mr. Ravenswood on certain occasions. There will be all new characters that will be reminiscent of the citizens of Phantom Manor.
Pamela Sanger and Carl Badlan, are the Bonnie and Clyde of the west. Pamela used to distract the local law enforcement with her “charms” while her lover robbed the bank. Both perished in the big quake.
Neige deBlanches, a showgirl who worked at The Lucky Nugget when the quake struck.
Harold King was the previous piano player from The Lucky Nugget still determined to finish his last song.
Henry Ravenswood (The Phantom) will appear in the boat’s mirrors (Leota effect) and menace guests from the top tier of the boat.
