Please oh Please Bring back the Cascade falls!

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Bob ... that was a great post there .. accurately depicting the actual light sources .. just being the waters alone. Even in this day and age .. where new technologies flash in our faces in overload .... I can certainly picture in my imagination the beauty, the gentle ambiance, the colorful glow, the mood setting of the tranquil "Rainbow Caverns".

I wonder for those who rode it at night .. that their eyes were adjusted enough to the darkness to see the interiors of the caverns better.

To capture it faithfully again ..... this probably would not do good as a queue .. as it would have to be very dark .. and I can picture OSHA getting on Disney's back for not having a well enough light for a queue.

Though ... I'm sure there are many other ways to recreate this .. and be in compliance.

They should rebuild this somewhere, although it would be expensive and difficult, since it required 6 plumbing systems, one for each color.

6 plumbing systems expensive? LOL

The Rainbow Caverns were essentially fake rock, water, some strategically placed black lights, and some pumps. And not much else. I can't see this as "breaking the bank".

But now that there is talk of expanding Frontierland ... I would love nothing more than something new .. with a bit of "old" .. and that being Rainbow Caverns and Cascade Peek.

[Bob Weaver]

The first lift on Big Thunder may be a "nod" to Rainbow Caverns but it doesn't really look like it to me. There's way too much ambient light in it and not enough fluorescent water. Rainbow Caverns was much darker. They could have designed Big Thunder so that the trains went through Rainbow Caverns either at the beginning or the end of the trip. It would have worked no matter which direction the train went through it. It could have been that the Rainbow Caverns were deteriorating like Cascade Falls did, as they were built in 1956 and Big Thunder wasn't started until 1977. It's possible they could have Rainbow Caverns as the walk-through to get from Frontierland to Fantasyland. But today's society is less well-behaved than that of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and I would assume having it as a walk-through would mean people throwing stuff into the water, trying to climb over the railings, etc. And the fact that it has to be totally dark except for the fluorescent water would make it difficult to operate as a walk-through, unless there were tiny guide lights embedded in the walkway. Any ambient light reduces the effectiveness of the fluorescent water.















Though it would be a lot darker than the above photo. You would not see the blue walls, that would be all black.

[Tomorrowland_1967]

You know .. just those dark pink signs alone .. give an "eerie" but yet .. totally cool look about them. Against a black light ... those signs in the darkness have a certain mood about them.

[JungleCruiseFan]

Wow! I haven't even heard of it before. I agree, it looks great.

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Oh by the way ....
I"m sure Bob and Nautilus are already familiar with this .... but for other micechatters too young to remember or even know ............

Two certain singers from Downey, CA took a trip on Nature's Wonderland here (among other places in DL) ..............

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfddvbKb4w"]YouTube - Please Mr Postman- The Carpenters (1975)[/ame]

[Datameister]

I feel so certain I would have loved the Rainbow Caverns. Before my time, sadly, but I just love that kind of weird, quasi-abstract, visually intriguing vignette. The tribute in Big Thunder and the jumping fluorescent water in Splash Mountain have always fascinated me, and I'm sure the Rainbow Caverns would have made me feel the same way. I understand the removal of the attraction, including that scene, but it's always sad when an emotionally effective element has to go.

[Bob Weaver]

Rainbow Caverns was eerie, but not in a spooky way. It was more like you were discovering something beautiful that was previously unknown. If you look at those color photos and listen to this music, you can imagine yourself riding the train through the various rooms and past the pools and channels of glowing color, very close to the train. There was a lot of noise made by the falling water, but the music was also clearly heard. The music in this clip is the actual music that played continuously in the Rainbow Caverns. Start this clip and listen to it as you go back up and look at the color photos above.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr0jk48veZk"]YouTube - 1960z Disneyland 8mm family footage with Rainbow Caverns song[/ame]

[DisneyRicky]

When did they empty the river? Now there are no water shows going on...Poor Decision!

[Tomorrowland_1967]

uhhh .. wrong topic?
Besides ... the rivers of America has to go down at some point for refurbs. Can't expect Fantasmic shows 365 days a year.

Now .. back on topic.

[Uncle Bob]

I feel so certain I would have loved the Rainbow Caverns. Before my time, sadly, but I just love that kind of weird, quasi-abstract, visually intriguing vignette. The tribute in Big Thunder and the jumping fluorescent water in Splash Mountain have always fascinated me, and I'm sure the Rainbow Caverns would have made me feel the same way. I understand the removal of the attraction, including that scene, but it's always sad when an emotionally effective element has to go.

Ditto.

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Hey guys ... Bob .. Nautilus .. anyone else ......

How likely is it that the future of Frontierland could install a remake of Rainbow Caverns in some form?

I thought about it some more .. and Rainbow Caverns as a queue could still be a possibility. It's a matter of keeping the queue itself contained within "walls" that drop down to a point on each side ... with viewing points that work like a window. And walls come up from the floor .. to about 3 feet .. to keep as much ambient light from filtering into the caves.

Or part of another ride .. or a small attraction all it's own.

The idea just seems too perfect. Of course it would take certain imagineers to champion such an idea ... who have fond memories of their own of the ride. Perhaps Baxter and Lasseter.

Since the creation of Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad 30 years ago ... nothing like what we're talking about could have ever happen. Because it's not been a game plan to add more to Frontierland in the past 3 decades. But now ... the word is ... new ideas will be pushed in this new decade.

Whatever they got in mind ... seems this would work out nicely to "round out" or "complete" out a large scale ride they have in mind.

Seems to make good sense.

But of course ... there's always other reasoning to not do such a thing. I'd actually like to hear reasons against it.

Anyhow .... just some thoughts there.

[Bob Weaver]

Since Rainbow Caverns was contained within a building, it could be located almost anywhere, even outside the berm. If they built a new attraction in Frontierland, either a slow train ride, a fast train ride, or a combination of both, they could use the forested area west of Big Thunder and north of the river as the outdoor part, and build a new show building outside the berm for the indoor part. Or the Rainbow Caverns could be incorporated into a boat ride. If they ever use the old Western River Expedition idea they could use it in that. Or, Disney's California Adventure could have a Rainbow Caverns-like feature. Maybe they could build it around a slow section of the Grizzly River Run, or as a part of CarsLand or the Little Mermaid attraction. It could even be underground somewhere. Or if they ever do anything with the former Fantasyland Autopia area north of the Submarine lagoon, such as maybe a volcano-type attraction, it could be part of that as well. Whatever they do, I'd like to see them name it Claude Coats Caverns in honor of the Imagineer who designed it.

[Tomorrowland_1967]

Since the closure of Nature's Wonderland in 1977 .... I'm sure all major fans of it who've encountered various imagineers over the course of 3 decades have asked them several questions regarding any kind of comeback, in one form or another.

My question for those who have talked to imagineers over time ... What have been your reactions from them? "Never going to happen." "The company mantra has changed too much - If it's not associated to DVD or merchandise sales, forget it." "It's a possibility but there's too much politics within WDI to get something going". "We're thinking about it."

I would love to hear what kind of reactions some of you have had from your "Imagineer Encounters".

[Datameister]

Can't say I've ever asked an Imagineer about the Rainbow Caverns specifically, but I'm sure there are many who'd love to see them return in some form, but understand that it's just not going to happen unless Disney sees a way to do it...lucratively.

[Bob Weaver]

I have no answer to that, as I've never talked directly to any Imagineer, but Rainbow Caverns is a show element that could be integrated into an attraction that is built in the future, whether it is a thrill ride, a slow ride, a boat ride or a walk-through. They will probably never rebuild the Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland, but they could take the best elements of it (the narration, Cascade Peak, the bears swimming in a figure-8 with jumping fish, Balancing Rock Canyon, Rainbow Caverns) and integrate those show elements into new attractions. That way future guests can still experience the best aspects of the long-gone attractions.