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Hudson Creek, one of the last great frontier, and forgotten towns of the 19th century built at the far western reaches of Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom. Unlike its neighbor Tumbleweed, 3 days hard ride to the east, Hudson Creek managed to avoid some of the pitfalls that befell many other western towns of the day. Sure there were bandits and coyotes and all sort of other miscreants about, but the town had become fairly reputable, well as reputable as could be expected anyway.
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Built along the creek of the same name, guests into town are welcomed by the typical signage of the day indicating your arrival in town.
Unless you got an early appointment with the Sheriff (Fastpass), you'll need to take some time and check out the sights. Before entering Hudson Creek, there will be a small series of outdoor switchbacks intertwined among some trees, the town water pump and the rudimentary makings of the town cemetery.
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Your first stop in town will be the livery stables. Nice, right? Any frontiersman worth their weight has got a stead, so you can drop yours off here. As far as stables go, it's not too bad. You've likely smelled worse. Before you venture into town, this is where you'll enter the first of 2 showrooms where you'll meet a grizzled old prospector, Arnie (animatronic), the unofficial town greeter.
"Well hello folks and welcome to Hudson Creek. What brings you to our fine town?"
"Eh, not much of a talker are ye? No matter, we don't get many new faces on this part of the frontier. I seen the direction you coming from. You weren't poking around Tumbleweed or the falls were ya?"
"Strange business over at them places. People sayin they seen ghosts and talking animals in them parts, so if yer smart, you'll steer clear. Weird stuff I tell ya."
"oooohhhh. Dang nabbit that hurts. Sorry folks, my dern rheumatiz actin up on me again."
"No mind, well you can show yerself around. There's a right many fine establishments in town if yer game. Make sure you stop in to see the Sheriff though before you git too fer along. He likes to officially welcome any strangers to town."
"Well don't let me keep ya. I know you didn't come here to hear some old man ramble old. Mosey on!"
With that entertaining welcome to Hudson Creek, you'll make your way out of the stable and onto the covered porch that rings the structures on either side of the main road. {One side of town will be façade only for decoration purposes and will house the exit path, backstage, etc. while the other side will be interior queue for the attraction. Note that from the entry and town sign, the main road and structures appear to curve around a bend and continue on, when in reality, this is just done for setting purposes and the street actually ends shortly after where the large show building for the ride is situated.}
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You'll be wantin to get a few supplies while in town, so your next stop will be the General Store. At this point guests will leave the covered porch and make their way inside. If you can't find it here, you won't find it anywhere in Hudson Creek. Taters, tools, lady things, you name it, it's got it.
What's that noise I hear? Oh yes, they must be cranking up next door at the saloon. Lets go take a gander. Moving on from a side door in the store, you'll enter the No Name Saloon. Card playin, fightin, dancin and no shortage of characters in this place. That strange lookin fella in the corner sure is keepin a watchful eye on your group. Best be movin on to see the Sheriff.
Sheriff's Office Showroom
Guest file their way into the town jail, greeted by one of the deputies (castmember) outside. After making their way inside they are greeted by the large boom of the door slamming behind them. Taking in their surroundings, the 2 dank cells at the back of the room, one home to Willie the town drunk, wanted posters lining the walls, the old stove with 3 day old coffee warmed just to the Sheriff's liking and the mammoth old wood desk with the black leather chair; its back to the room.
The chair slowly turns, creaking ever so slightly and everyone gets their first look at the mountain of a man, Sheriff Jim Potter (full blown animatronic like the Shaman from NRJ).
"Who in tarnation are you?" he booms.
Suddenly the lifeless form in the corner (castmember) comes to life, well partially anyway. "these are those volunteers you wanted Sheriff" mumbles the half asleep deputy.
"These are the volunteers!" the Sherriff says incredulously. "I thought I said I wanted tough as nails cowhands. You bring me this group? Why that one in the back doesn't even look tall enough to ride a horse"
The Sheriff slumps back in his chair muttering to himself.
"No matter, you folks will have to do. We don't got time to be picky at this point." Slowly he rises out of his chair and addresses the room "Everyone raise your right and say, I will." Pauses briefly while the room reciprocates.
"Congratulations, you are all now official Hudson Creek deputies. That's about all the time we got for officialness we got as you've got a job to do"
"We've been having a tough time getting a coach through to Capital City with the town's receipts and gold for the central bank. We've lost a number of mighty good men and coaches the last 2 months. This shipment has to get through and apparently you are all we got. You sure aint no Pony Express"
"Be on the lookout. You might get visitors as soon as you hit the outskirts of town. Heck might be in town now. Word is 4 Finger Pete and his gang are the ones hitting the stage the last few months. there's some mighty rough terrain out there too so keep your heads up for man and beast."
"We don't have anymore coaches, so you're gonna have to take one of the wagons. Aint much to look at, but it should stay in one piece. One of my regular deputies will drive you."
"Any questions?" and without pausing for response "Good, then you better get going. It'll be getting dark soon and your ride is waiting for you out back."
With that the rear door to the Sheriff's office opens into the final queue and load area.
{note that in the event the Sheriff AA is not functioning properly, an alternate audio track will play in the showroom and the Sheriff will keep his back to the guests in the room with slight chair movement only. The Deputy castmember in these cases will have a few more lines to move the story along}
Ride Vehicle
As the Sheriff said, it aint much to look at, but for the purposes of the job and attraction it will do just fine. Built using EMV technology, the vehicle will be constructed to resemble an old frontier wagon. 3 rows of seating will accommodate up to 4 guests each.
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The shell of the wagon tent remains, but only tatters of the awning are left. Up in front, a small bench for the sheriff's deputy (Simple decorated mannequin) to serve as your driver and audio guide during the adventure.
Similar to Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, the height requirement will be 40". While the land could use a zero height restriction attraction, using this style system will help accomplish adding both an E ticket in the land, but also utilize a height requirement that still allows riders as young as 3-4 to potentially partake in the attraction with their family.
With the EMV wagon, the ride can also factor into the experience the bumpy terrain, start/stop action, and give the true sense of transportation in the frontier.
Ride Through and Scenes
Stepping into the "outdoors", guests will be funneled into one of two paths from the back alley behind the jail. There will be duel loading zones to help with capacity. Using the 2 paths, the loading zones, while next to each other will appear to be separate with only 1 wagon. Though riders will catch a brief glimpse of another wagon heading off behind them.
Building upon the sound work done on the Na'vi River Journey, many of the scenes will incorporate a blending of large set pieces with background screens, and the remainder set pieces with AA.
Scene 1
After leaving the boarding area, the wagon slowly rolls out of town and into the countryside. This will be the tamest part of the journey, so enjoy it while it lasts.
(track gradually gains elevation from Scenes 2-6 into the 2nd story of the show building but unbeknownst to guests)
Scene 2
You'll have time to take in the quiet surroundings including the creek the town is named after. A large herd of cattle grazes in the not too far distance. As the scene ends, a lone dark figure on horseback lurks beyond the cattle......A piercing gunshot breaks the silence.....
Scene 3
The lazing herd has suddenly become much more than scenery and the thundering of their hooves reverberates all around the wagon. Luckily your driver comes to his senses proclaiming "Tarnation, somebody riled up the cattle!. Yah! Yah!" he cries urging the wagon faster. The ride picks up pace considerably as you race through trees with the cattle stampeding on either side of you.
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Scene 4
"Up ahead, i'm going to make a run for that canyon!". While the driver exclaims this, large rock formations appear in the distance. As the wagon speeds on, it is steered adeptly into the canyon. The canyon quickly narrows and has formed into a cave as the riders find themselves in complete darkness. The wagon slows back down, safely out of danger from the herd.
Scene 5
"Hahaha. It seems you've found yourself in a tight spot" bellows a gruff voice from behind, the wagon slowly moving through the cave. "Me and my boys will be happy to assist you with your belongings if you know what's good for you". Your driver yells back "We aint stopping Pete, you'll have to catch us first" and with that your wagon moves on.
Scene 6
At the front of the wagon, the deputy has managed to get a lantern lit to provide some light to the situation. "We can't go back, we'll have to see where this goes and hope there's another way out" he says. As the wagon treks on, you start to notice a few extra pair of eyes have joined the darkness, accompanied by heavier and heavier panting. Out of nowhere several wolves immerge from the darkness.
Scene 7
Once again the wagon picks up the pace has the deputy weaves you through cavern, the wolves hot on your trail. "Up ahead, I see some light!" as a faint light ahead gathers your attention. Throwing caution to the wind the wagon speeds towards the light ahead.
Scene 8
As you burst out of the cave, your senses go haywire from the sudden blast of sunlight but you have little time to adjust as the wagon takes an immediate hard right, almost seeming as if it will tip over any second. In your haste you've wound up on mountain pass and nearly driven off the cliff. As the deputy fights hard to keep you up right, the wagon careens around the side of the mountain, the other side perched perilously above the steep ravine below.
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Scene 9
"I know this path" the deputy exclaims. "This is a pretty straight shot down the mountain". With that the wagon lurches forward, speeding down the mountain trail.
Scene 10
As the wagon nears the base of the mountain, riders quickly realize they are in an unenviable position. One way down has led them on this path with higher ground all around them. Bang! Bang! Gunfire rings out along the canyon floor. 4 Finger Pete and members of his gang pop up from the rocks all around.
Scene 11
The wagon weaves back and forth, looping around large boulders both out of necessity and for cover from the bandits above. The terrain quickly changes back to countryside as you've made it safely out of the canyon and maybe you're home free? A sign for Capital City 2 miles ahead pops up and a sense of relief washes over all aboard.
Scene 12
"Whew, that was close. You all did great" shouts the deputy the wagon rolling on. "I can only imagine how mad ol Pete and his gang are that we got away. Though he'd been mighty mad if he'd caught us and realized we weren't carryin nothing but corn. Haha. The other wagon should be safely in Capital City by now". Everyone looks around realizing they were merely bait but they don't have much time to sulk. Riders on horseback coming fast suddenly flash into view among the trees.
Scene 13
"Don't worry folks. We got a trap for ol Pete if we were to make it this far". As the wagon comes thundering into Capital City, the streets are eerily empty. The wagon is making a beeline for the bank ahead and an open doorway. Why isn't the driver slowing down? The wagon bursts through the bank's doors though riders quickly realize this is no bank. Inside is the innards of a large barn and lawmen are lined up everywhere. As the wagon rolls on out the back, you can hear the startled surprise of Pete and his gang to encounter all of these marshalls and deputies.
Scene 14
As the wagon slows concluding the ride, guests will ride through one final scene, the town jail. You finally come face to face with 4 finger Pete and his gang, looking much humbler now, all of them crammed into the cells. Sheriff Potter greets you thanking for your service and you are welcome to come back anytime to help on the Express.
