Westernland: Attractions (Part 1)

 

8 - Thunder Mesa Shootin' Gallery

Guests can come up to this booth and test their shooting skills. They hit targets in a ghost town, making things happen as they do. The more they shoot, the more points they get.

9 - Rolling Thunder Riverboat

Guests can come to the Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing and board a steamboat called the Rolling Thunder. Here, they will tour the Rivers of the Far West, circling Big Thunder Mountain and getting unique sights of Phantom Manor and Western River Expedition. Aside from this, they will see other things as well:

• Beavers building a dam
• A log cabin
• A Native American camp
• A moose
• Prospectors looking for gold
• Flooded remains of the mining facility
• A cougar
• Bison

10 - Nature Trails

Germans love hiking, so it's only fair that there are some nature trails to hike on. Here, guests can choose one of four trails to go through and discover the wonders of nature.

• Scenic Trail: For those who want a medium-level hike, they will go up a few hills to a lookout point, where they will have the best view of Westernland.
• Cave Trail: For those who want to hike a little, they will go up a hill to a cave. There, they will discover which spirit animal is theirs.
• Waterfall Trail: For those who want a more difficult hike, they will go up to a mountain and see a waterfall.
• Camp Trail: For those who want an easy hike, this is for them. They can simply walk through the forest as they go to a Native American camp. When they get there, they can explore the customs of the natives and learn how life is for them.

11 - Phantom Manor

Travel through the eerie Ravenwood estate on a spine-tingling tour. This is like the Haunted Mansion attraction found at other parks, but with a darker tone and a Wild West theme. This ride also has a storyline to it, loosely inspired by The Phantom of the Opera.

BACKSTORY:

A long time ago, there was a man named Henry Ravenwood. He was a friend to Bartemius W. Bullion and had traveled west with him during the Gold Rush. In fact, he had helped him establish the Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company and settle in Thunder Mesa.

With the gold found in the mountain, Henry became wealthy quickly. Using his riches, he built a Victorian Second Empire house on the hill, overlooking the town. There, he would start a family and have a daughter, whom he named Melanie.

But when Melanie grew into a woman, trouble arose. She found love with many men who came to Thunder Mesa, but Henry, and overprotective and hard-to-please man, wasn't satisfied with any of them. He didn't think they were good enough for his only child, and so he refused to let her marry them. Strangely enough, all of the men who dated Melanie died after he rejected them. Rumor has it that Henry himself may have played a role in their untimely deaths.

However, there was one man who loved Melanie so much that he wouldn't accept Henry's rejection. His name was Wilhelm Baus AKA Black-Eye Bill, a fearsome outlaw who had originally come to take the riches of the Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company but abandoned his plans after falling in love. Despite this, Henry saw this as the worst suitor his daughter had yet and refused to let him marry her. It was said that he had poisoned Bill's cup of cider to try to kill him, but he was immune to the poison and didn't die.

Angry that Henry wouldn't let him marry his daughter, Bill sought revenge. With several bits of dynamite, he went over to Big Thunder Mountain to put an end to the company and cripple Henry's wealth. Henry came to stop him, but before he could try to talk him out of it, one of the bombs went off. That same night, a flash flood came into the town, flooding the area around Big Thunder Mountain and killing both Henry and Bill. Their bodies were never found.

Unaware of her lover's demise yet aware of her father's, Melanie was certain to be married. A few days after the flood, there was a wedding in the manor, but Bill never showed up. Although the guests would eventually leave her, she refused to believe that her lover had abandoned her. She went wandering the house, hoping to find him.

Little did she know that at the same time, a mysterious phantom came into the mansion. He kept a close eye on her, watching over her and mocking her ambitions. Melanie became aware of the Phantom's presence, but she wouldn't listen to him. She knew that one day, she would be married.

Over time, more ghosts came into the house. This gave Melanie hope, making her think that Bill might be among them. The Phantom mocked this thought, but she hoped that he would be there. She believed that love didn't die.

It is unclear if this story is true or not. The spooky house remains on the hill, but it is unclear whether or not Melanie is still alive. However, the servants of the house are offering tours, and perhaps, the guests will learn the answer from there.

QUEUE:

The entrance to the manor grounds is hidden in the forest. Guests follow a lantern-lit path through it, going through an overgrown, neglected garden, a small cemetery, and past a stable with invisible horses, making noise even though nothing can be seen inside. Eventually, they will reach the front porch of the house, where they will wait for a macabre servant to let them in.

Soon, guests enter a dim-lit foyer with a cobweb-covered chandelier. A black footprint, the Phantom's Footprint, is in the tiles, referencing the Devil's footprint in the Munich cathedral (wind outside of the manor is also a reference to it.) On the left side is a mirror shaped like a skull. On the right side is a portrait of the Ravenwood family, which includes Henry, his wife, Sarah, and Melanie.

Suddenly, the lights go out and creepy piano music fills the room. In the mirror is the Phantom, who is depicted as a red-eyed skeleton in a suit. He greets the guests and then tells the backstory of the place. As he does, the portrait of the Ravenwoods moves to the left, revealing a blonde, mustached man. This man is Black-Eye Bill, whom the Phantom calls a "Rowdy, uncivilized little outlaw." At the end of the story, he reveals that he is Henry Ravenwood, making sure his daughter is still protected even after his death.

After this, one of two doors will open and the guests will go into the next room.

PRE-SHOW:

Guests move into the middle of a portrait chamber with ravens holding candles. Above them is an octagonal area where every other wall has a portrait of Melanie, with a different suitor. There is a miner, a railroad tycoon, a cowboy, and a lumberjack. Guests will move to the "dead center" of the room and the doors will close.

The Phantom explains why he was so protective of Melanie. Every suitor wanted to take her away from him, something he just couldn't bear. He didn't want them to try and elope with her, so he killed them off shortly after rejection. As he talks, the room stretches and reveals how he killed each man. The miner, who is proposing to Melanie, is sitting on a crate full of TNT. The railroad tycoon and Melanie are sitting at a table, but there is a rattlesnake under the tycoon's chair. The cowboy and Melanie are riding horses, while a shadowy figure is hiding nearby with a gun pointed at the cowboy. Finally, the lumberjack is watching Melanie walk away from him, unaware that he is standing on the edge of a cliff with a rope tied to his right leg.

The Phantom wonders if any of the guests would like to marry his daughter, saying how they would be a better fit than "those fools." Then, with a flash of lightning, the lights go out and the ceiling vanishes, revealing the Phantom on the floor above. He looks down at the guests and laughs maniacally. The ceiling then returns and the lights go back on as the guests are ushered out of the room.

Guests then walk down a hallway full of portraits, which transform following flashes of lightning. A portrait of Henry Ravenwood becomes the Phantom, a portrait of a knight and his horse become ghosts, a portrait of a ship at sea becomes a ghost ship, and a portrait of a hunchback man becomes a werewolf. At the end of the hall is a portrait of Melanie, which does not change when lightning flashes.

The guests then turn into the loading station and board their Doom Buggies, which are exactly the same as the Haunted Mansion ones. Once on, their lapbars come down and they continue into the darkness.

RIDE EXPERIENCE:

Guests move past a pair of busts with strict faces, who watch them as they move by. From there, they pass into a library, where a book is turning itself. As this happens, the disembodied voice of a spirit reads Edgar Alan Poe's The Raven. A portrait of Henry Ravenwood is in the back of the room, moving its eyes around.

The vehicles then move past a hallway where Melanie can be seen in a seemingly endless hallway, or so it seems. She is holding a candelabra, but her image disappears every few seconds and then reappears. On the sides of the hall is a knight and a chair with an abstract face.

The vehicles move through a small room where the Phantom is playing the piano. The song he is playing is no other than the Haunted Mansion theme song, "Grim, Grinning Ghosts." From there, the vehicles move into a conservatory filled with dead plants. In the center of the room is the ghost of Black-Eye Bill, who is trapped inside a coffin. He demands to be let out, but the lid closes on him every time he tries to open it, followed by the Phantom's laughter.

The vehicles pass by a portrait of Henry Ravenwood, Bartemius W. Bullion, and other members of the Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company. Suddenly, water comes down and fills the entire painting, representing the flash flood that killed Henry and Bill. They then pass through a hallway of locked doors. Behind them, sounds of screaming, evil laughter, knocking, and other unearthly noises are heard. One door is broken on the top with a skeletal arm trying to feel around for the doorknob. The vehicles pass a grandfather clock, which strikes midnight as the shadow of a claw passes over it.

The vehicles then move into a room of floating objects, where a man in a turban is seen inside a crystal ball. This is the ride's version of Madame Leota. As he says incantations, instruments make noise around him in response.

Then, the ride goes into a large ballroom, where ghosts are celebrating a wedding. Ghostly hands with no body are playing the organ, which spouts skull-shaped mist with every note. In the meantime, ghosts are dancing below and a table full of wedding gifts and a cake are seen. Nearby are two ghosts, a bride and a groom, who are happily looking at this. Sitting on the chandelier is the Phantom, who is watching over the party. In the meantime, Melanie stands on top of a staircase, sadly looking at the event. Little does she know that Black-Eye Bill is there, hiding behind a red-eyed statue of a Roman soldier.

The vehicles go up to a room, Melanie's bedroom. The woman is in bed, but a ghostly version of her looks down on it. This indicated that Melanie has passed away and her previous sightings was her as a ghost. In the mirror is Bill, who whispers to her.

The vehicles go out onto a balcony and move backwards down a ramp. They enter a cemetery where skeletons are dancing. In the meantime, a giant, black dog is nearby with the Phantom standing next to it. The vehicles then pass four singing busts, who sing "Grim, Grinning Ghosts." The vehicles then pass through a Western town full of ghostly people. A conductor announces a train departure to the Underworld, leaving at thirteen o'clock. In an alleyway, a bandit and a sheriff have a duel with Big Thunder Mountain in the background. After that is a saloon with a fallen wall. Ghosts dance to a fiddle rendition of the song while a poker game is seemingly playing itself. Near a city hall, the mayor greets guests as the 1000th happy haunt. He tips his hat, taking his head off in the process.

The vehicles then pass through a small abbey (inspired by the one in Salzburg, Austria) with the shadow of the manor up ahead. Bill is confronting the Phantom in a Western-style shootout. In the meantime, a group of ghostly nuns watch this, wondering who will win. The vehicles then enter some catacombs, inspired by the ones in Salzburg. Entering a vault, guests see Melanie and Bill happily reuniting with urns of the previous men whom Henry killed nearby. In the meantime, a black urn is shaking with the voice of the Phantom yelling from with in: "Fine!' I'm out of here!" The vehicles pass a bunch of mirrors, where the Phantom appears on the Doom Buggies, mumbling to himself.

After this, the vehicles return to the loading area. There, guests get off, but the Phantom warns that he will stay with them until they return. Guests walk past a place where a miniatures of Bill and Melanie are, telling guests to hurry back. Guests exit through a tunnel and go back towards the area the entered from, making it look like the horror never happened.