The Frontier, America, and the Great Beyond. (Magic Kingdom Finale: Frontierland and Liberty Square)

     In the past two months or so, I've tasked myself with taking you all around the Magic Kingdom, which I have said is my favorite place on Earth, but today, we will be completing that trip around the park with one final stretch of land. Frontierland and Liberty Square I'm covering together today, because the two areas of the park flow into each other, and are both built around the theme of "America" though it's America of two different times, and the reason for that quite simply goes back to Walt Disney himself. Walt was about as patriotic as someone could be, and he loved to show it. The whole idea for Disneyland came partially from a visit to a state fair if the legend is to be believed, and what could have instilled a feeling of Americana quite like that? It's from this "state fair" mentality that the fireworks show came from for the parks overall, but I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let's delve into the final two areas of the park, shall we?

Home on the Range!

    First up, we have Frontierland, potentially the area of the park with the fewest attractions. Set up like an old ghost town combined with a fort in the wilderness, Frontierland doesn't have any cowboy references other than a shooting gallery as well as Chip and Dale dressed up like the sheriff and deputy for photo ops, which is admittedly great theming even for just a "Meet and Greet" location. The two rides here are Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the soon-to-be-rethemed Splash Mountain. Big Thunder is a railroad-themed roller coaster, once again giving Walt a chance to put yet another train in his park. It's a good time, though I believe I've only ridden it once, it's a fun coaster with some impressive theming on the wild west town that is featured in the ride, complete with some animatronic animals like snakes and buzzards. You know how much I enjoy animatronics in coasters, so it's pretty cool, even though you only see them for a moment in passing. Much more obvious is the cavern that you ride through during one of the ramps on the ride, it's beautiful to look at, and honestly looks like you could be in a real cave, complete with water dripping off the stalactites. it's an impressive setting, especially considering you're in there for a few seconds waiting for the next drop. 

    The other ride is much more animatronics heavy as it takes you through the Uncle Remus stories of Br'er Rabbit from the film, Song of the South. That movie has been problematic for its themes of racial insensitivity and portrayal of slavery, and as such hasn't been rereleased anywhere since the year 2000, so it's amazing that Splash Mountain has been able to stay up for as long as it has. I've never actually ridden the ride, but from the ride throughs that i've seen, the animatronics look well made and obviously the drop is legendary, to the point where it's probably the most famous "log flume" ride on the planet. The theming of the drop into the briar patch is especially interesting to see from an observer perspective, as it looks like the log actually goes into the patch of thorns instead of under it to the waters below. The ride is thankfully being rethemed after much controversy and debate into a ride based on Princess and the Frog. I for one am very excited to see what they come up with, not just because I love new rides, but because the theming is perfect for a water ride, considering so much of that movie takes place in the Bayou of Louisiana. Nothing has come out about it yet other than a piece of concept art that you should really do yourselves a favor and look up, it looks fantastic. I'm really excited for this new attraction, but I can't really say anything for sure about a ride that hasn't begun construction yet, so let's move on.

    Just because those are the two rides in the area, there are a lot more things to do, including the Country Bear Jamboree. This is a strange attraction that is definitely not for everyone, it's a sort of honky-tonk variety show put on by a cast of anthropomorphic bears playing Country music. I will admit, this isn't exactly my cup of tea, but rumor has it that one of Walt Disney's last true laughs before he died in 1967 was at the Disneyland version of Country Bear Jamboree, so there is definitely some interesting history behind it. Frontierland also has one of my favorite restaurants in the park, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. This restaurant is a counter service place, but this serves some variety such as Mexican food, barbecue, etc. It's really good and not too bad for Disney prices (it has one dollar sign on the map, meaning that it's $15 or less per meal). Frontierland is a really cool and well themed area, but there's another land just around the corner!

Education and Entertainment in one!

    Liberty Square is an effective blend of learning a bit about American history and just trying to capture the feel of a New England town during colonial times. The main attraction from this area of the park is a weird deviation, as it's actually not a ride, it's an animatronic show focused on introducing the presidents as well as giving a quick lesson on the American people as a whole. That being said, this land is probably better known by its one actual ride which has nothing to do with American history, other than perhaps a grand tradition of haunted houses and ghost stories.

    Hall of the Presidents is a really interesting way to explain American history through a movie/animatronic presentation narrated by Morgan Freeman. This 20 minute long show begins in the early days of the country, before the revolution, going through the Civil War, complete with Animatronic Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address, and all the way until the modern day. Once it gets to modern day, you see the true draw of this attraction, as there is an animatronic representative for each of the presidents, soon to be 46, as the attraction is currently closed to add Joe Biden's wax figure to the stage. It's a really impressive display, and definitely the most patriotic attraction at Disney this side of The American Adventure over at Epcot. Just like that attraction, Hall of the Presidents probably isn't very interesting for little kids, as they for the most part don't understand the importance of all that they're watching until they reach a certain point (for me it was 7th grade or so), and then I think it's more enjoyable, though it's not going to be a favorite attraction for many. It definitely should be experienced at least once, for sure.

    The ride in this area is The Haunted Mansion of course, and it's one of the biggest cult classic rides in the park, though never seems to have too much of a line. all riders are  special guests in an old mansion as your ghost host traps you inside a chamber with no windows or doors, and invited to take his way out, which is in a doom buggy, of course. You ride through an old mansion that's been haunted by 999 spirits, ghouls, and ghosts, but they all constantly remind you, there's always room for one more if there are any takers. This is a great ride with some very fun and spooky special effects especially designed to immerse you in the supernatural world of the mansion. Keep an eye out for Madame Leota, as you may be able to attend one of her seances while inside... I've heard that they're simply... to die for! Perhaps the most memorable thing about this ride is the ending sequence when you're winding through the graveyard and the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts," the iconic song from this ride composed by Buddy Baker and written by X. Atencio. I dare you to not get it stuck in your head as you leave the ride. It's a fantastic time for kids and adults, and though it promises a bone chilling thrill, it's pretty tame unless you're afraid of everything like I used to be.

    I've said this a few times now, most recently earlier in this post, but Liberty Square is absolutely home to one of my favorite restaurants in the park, Columbia Harbor House. If you like seafood inside a theme park, this is the place to go. I think this is the restaurant I've been to the most out of any on Disney property, and it's because the food is actually very good and affordable, plus if you sit upstairs, you have a good view of the steamboat going by, as well as a little ways into fantasyland, specifically seeing Rapunzel's tower which is just across the way. It's not very expensive (again, only one dollar sign I'm pretty sure according to the park map), and especially as I'm a big fan of fried seafood, it's a great choice for dinner.

A Kiss Goodnight

    Well, friends, here we are at the end of our tour of Magic Kingdom, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride.... Oh wait, one more thing! It appears that I've finished just in time for us to all rush back to the hub of the park, Main Street USA and catch the nightly fireworks show, Happily Ever After. This is an incredible show, and though I do miss the previous show, Wishes, it was starting to show it's age, and this show does so much with the projections on the castle that it's more like a projection show than a fireworks one. Allow the themes of all different Disney movies to remind you of various trials and tribulations that the characters have faced, friends they've made, and new love that they've found. Just when you think that you're all done, Mufasa arrives to remind you, even the people reading this right now, that you are more than you think. You're capable of so much more than you can believe, and it's true for me as well. We're all looking for our happily ever after, after all, and though we all face difficulties and issues coming along through life, we can all reach out and find our Happily Ever After.

    Once the show is over and the fireworks have all died down, the guests who are staying on Disney property get to stay a bit later, but I'm afraid this is where our little tour ends. As we all stroll down the street back towards the entrance, don't forget about all the good times you've had, all of the lands that we've visited over the past few weeks, and take a moment to turn back and look at the castle before leaving. I have a tradition of looking back at Cinderella's castle when I get to the end of the street, just peeking between the buildings of Main Street, and saying, "See ya real soon." That's how I'd like to end this little series, friends. Walt Disney loved the idea of showmanship, magic, and creativity, and he always said that the fireworks at the end of the evening were like a kiss goodnight, leaving you with one final moment of joy before the day is over, and this is mine.

    I hope you've enjoyed this trip around the Magic Kingdom, and I hope that I've been able to convey to you all why I love this park so much. It truly is a magical place for me and so many others, and even though it is always crowded unless there's a global pandemic, I never mind the crowds all that much. I find that I'm my most confident and excited self when I'm in this park, and I hope you'll all feel the same if you go. Thank you all so much for reading this, it did end up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, but it also turned out being a lot better and more emotionally resonant than I thought it would be. I'm not sure what I'll do next for theme parks, but feel free to leave ideas in the comments, or let me know if there was a favorite area of the park for you. With all that said, I hope you're all doing well, and as I get my last glimpse of the castle for now, I'll see ya real soon.