 at Yesterland.com |
Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade Yester Magic Kingdom |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 |
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Do you fancy yourself as a sharpshooter of the Old West? Then Yester Frontierland has an attraction for you. |
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It’s daytime, but once you step under the roof of the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade you’ll be gazing into a nighttime 1850s Southwest Territory diorama. You might want to let your eyes get used to the lower light level. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Step right up |
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Choose one of the 22 genuine Hawken .54-caliber buffalo rifles, modified to shoot infrared beams instead of bullets. But first you need to pay. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 “35 shots for $1.00” |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Change machine… and a pressed penny machine to help you spend your coins |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Coin slot corresponding to your rifle |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2019 Rifles waiting on Pueblo-style blankets |
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Aim at any of the targets. The desert landscape has boulders, cacti, cattle skulls, local wildlife, and even a tiny wagon train. A little town has a bank, jail, assay office, hotel, and livery stable. The most prominent feature is a cemetery. Whenever you hit a target, something will happen. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Row of sharpshooters facing different parts of the diorama |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Tombstones of Boot Hill |
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Boot Hill cemetery has tombstones that spin, rock, rise, sink, or change their epitaphs when a corresponding target is hit. A skull pops out of the grave in response to the target on the gravedigger’s shovel. Successfully hitting a target on a cloud triggers a ghost rider in the sky. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Taking aim |
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A tombstone with heart reads:
NANCY’S DAN It seems Dan was a good guy. But hitting the target raises the tombstone, revealing more text:
YEAH, DEVOTED TO Maybe Nancy found out, and that’s why Dan is now in a grave at Boot Hill. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2009 Mighty saguaro cacti and dry bones |
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Whether you made the horns on a cattle skull spin, caused desert critters to react, or triggered shadows in lit windows of the little town, you have proven your skill as a sharpshooter. You’ve only scratched the surface. There are 97 targets. That will be one dollar for another 35 shots. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Playing checkers |
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If you find yourself running out of quarters, there’s something else you can do at the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade. The checker board doesn’t have a coin slot. |
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Frontierland Shootin’ Gallery opened at Magic Kingdom Park on October 1, 1971, the opening day of Walt Disney World. The cost was 25 cents or a “B” ticket. Other “B” ticket Magic Kingdom attractions at the time were the Main Street Cinema, Fantasyland’s Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Mad Tea Party, Liberty Square’s Mike Fink Keel Boats, and Adventureland’s Swiss Family Treehouse. When all-inclusive passports completely replaced separate general admissions and “A” through “E” tickets by June 1982, the Frontierland Shootin’ Gallery was the notable exception. Guests still had to pay. Originally, the Shootin’ Gallery relied on guns shooting lead pellets at targets that had to be repainted over and over. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2018 Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade in 2018, looking much as it did in 1984 |
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With a new name and guns shooting infrared light beams at sensors that triggered animated props, the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade opened in the same space on September 24, 1984. The price had been $1 for 35 shots prior to Magic Kingdom Park’s Covid-19 closure in 2020. When the park reopened July 11, 2020, with various precautions to limit the the spread of the virus, the Shootin’ Arcade remained closed, probably due to the high-touch nature of the guns. The Shootin’ Arcade finally reopened September 30, 2021. You might think Disney would have used the opportunity to change the price — perhaps to $2 for 35 shots. Yes, the price changed. It changed to… now get this… completely free for 35 shots. Guests were happy. Surprisingly, it was usually still easy to get a gun without a wait. However, the space occupied by the Shootin’ Arcade wasn’t producing revenue. Someone in management must have started thinking about a better use of the space. The final day of operation for Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade was June 23, 2024. The space is being converted to a Disney Vacation Club member in-park lounge, joining the one at the Imagination! pavilion at EPCOT. It remains to be seem if the lounge in Frontierland will have any tributes to the Shootin’ Arcade. Three other Disney parks continue to have frontier-themed shooting galleries. Paying guests at each one aim their infrared-beam rifles at targets for animated reactions from the scenery. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2022 Shooting Exposition at Disneyland Park in California |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2022 Targets at Shooting Exposition targets |
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The oldest park has the oldest frontier-themed shooting gallery. Originally opened as the Frontierland Shooting Gallery on July 12, 1957, it replaced Disneyland’s Miniature Horse Corral. As in Florida, a 1985 makeover replaced the pellet guns with infrared-beam guns. The attraction even took on the same name as its Florida cousin: Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade. With further enhancements in 1996, it took on its present name. The scenery and effects are similar to those that were at Magic Kingdom Park. It’s 50 cents to “empty the gun.” |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Westernland Shootin’ Gallery at Tokyo Disneyland |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Targets at Westernland Shootin’ Gallery |
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At Tokyo Disneyland, it’s ¥200 (equivalent to U.S. $1.34) to “empty the gun” (identified as 10 shots). Instead of shooting at desert town miniatures, tombstones, and cacti, guests shoot into a full-size Western saloon, knocking over bottles, spinning the reels of a slot machine, and causing other mischief. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Rustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery at Disneyland Paris |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Targets at Rustler Roundup Shootin’ Gallery |
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At Disneyland Paris, it’s €3 (equivalent to U.S. $3.24) for three minutes. Guests shoot as quickly as they can to trigger as many special effects as possible, including explosions and smoke. Although the scenery is based on a Southwestern desert landscape, the style is more cartoony. It remains to be seen how much longer the three shooting galleries continue to operate. Are they harmless, family-friendly fun, with clever effects? Or do they glorify guns and wanton gunfire at a time when realistic-looking guns have been largely eliminated from Disney parks? |
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© 2024 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated August 2, 2024 |
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