Wild west stunt show @ Magic Kingdom

[Animaniac93-98]

That was much cooler, I wouldnt wear any of it but still pretty cool

I believe that's why they got rid of all that stuff. Too much window shopping not enough actual buying.

 

[One Lil Spark]

Oh, the Vacation Hoedown...

I, too, wish they all could be California Girls...

 

[maggiegrace1]

They used to do the show in front of the FL train station..and they would fall off the roof of the train station..I loved it.

 

[oommggitskait]

I also remember this mini-show from when I was a kid. I actually think my family has old VHS footage of it on one of our many many WDW vacation videos.

I'm going to have to do some hunting.

 

[MarkTwain]

I guess I should also hate to be a stickler as well, but all of the WDW pictorial guides and Birnbaum's guides through the 70s, 80s, and 90s all list Diamond Horseshoe Revue as being a part of Frontierland, not Liberty Square.

As of right now the official WDW website also lists it as being in Frontierland, so I'm not entirely sure when or if the Diamond Horseshoe was ever a part of Libery Square.

From what I've read from WDW history sites, the land placement of the Diamond Horseshoe has alternated many times throughout its history. Architecturally, it was intended to represent early 18th-century Missouri design style, and considering that Missouri was seen as the "Gateway to the West," the theater therefore represented the transition from LS to Frontierland.

Although I've always seen it more in the spirit of Frontierland myself. :shrug: But considering the building is only ever used as an occasional sandwich shop these days, it's a pretty moot point IMO...

 

[voodoo321]

Remember it from a trip in '88

 

[wolf359]

From what I've read from WDW history sites, the land placement of the Diamond Horseshoe has alternated many times throughout its history. Architecturally, it was intended to represent early 18th-century Missouri design style, and considering that Missouri was seen as the "Gateway to the West," the theater therefore represented the transition from LS to Frontierland.

Although I've always seen it more in the spirit of Frontierland myself. :shrug: But considering the building is only ever used as an occasional sandwich shop these days, it's a pretty moot point IMO...

I don't doubt that the Diamond Horseshoe is something of a transitional attraction, both geographically and time-wise, but every printed reference I've ever seen coming from Disney has placed it in Frontierland. All I'm saying is that I've never seen the flip-flopping of location some have mentioned, not that it isn't possible. After all, the riverboat is just as chronologically misplaced as well, and that is officially in Liberty Square.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Disney is really missing stuff like this show. The streetmosphere in Disney Studios is so great, and most people don't even stop to notice.

Get the live entertainment back in here!

 

[wolf359]

I think you might have explained why Disney doesn't do these kinds of things anymore right in your own post; Many people do rush right past a lot of these smaller experiences trying to get to the next E ticket ride.

Most people today are so conditioned to believe that anything less than an E ticket isn't worth their time so they see a lot of the atmosphere and smaller attractions as distractions, or even worse, don't notice them at all.

I'd love to see more streetmosphere characters in all of the parks, and I'd love to see the Diamond Horseshoe get its stage show back. These are the kinds of things Disney offers that makes a visit unique and special, but when they go largely ignored I imagine it gets harder and harder to justify the effort on Disney's part.

 

[MarkTwain]

I don't doubt that the Diamond Horseshoe is something of a transitional attraction, both geographically and time-wise, but every printed reference I've ever seen coming from Disney has placed it in Frontierland. All I'm saying is that I've never seen the flip-flopping of location some have mentioned, not that it isn't possible. After all, the riverboat is just as chronologically misplaced as well, and that is officially in Liberty Square.

Sigh... making me bring out the heavy artillery, eh?

Here's part of a map from 1973. Notice the Diamond Horseshoe is located in Liberty Square:

But by 1981, the theatre was instead listed as being in Frontierland:

But in this map from 1997, the theatre is back in Liberty Square:

And then of course in more modern maps, like this one is from 2003, the theater is in Frontierland again:

Also note the variety of names the theatre and show take on.

This goes to show the identity confusion the theater goes through - it seems even the Imagineers can't decide where it belongs! I personally see it as belonging in Frontierland.

 

[wolf359]

Awesome! Thanks for posting those maps!

Since the guidemaps change so often, they offer a much more focused "window" into what is happening in the parks, much more so than the souvenir photobooks or travel books.

Its both humorous and rather odd Disney seems so unsure when to put the Diamond Horseshoe, and why it seems to fluctuate only on the guidemaps, yet not so much anywhere else.

Weird, yet interesting!