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Frontierland is a land inside the [[Magic Kingdom]].
==History==
Frontierland opened with the rest of the [[Magic Kingdom]] on October 1, 1971. The land was is themed to represent a boom town in the American Old West. Located on the Magic Kingdom's Rivers of America, Frontierland originally consisted of three attractions: the [[Frontierland Shootin' Arcade]], [[Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes]], and the [[Country Bear Jamboree]] <ref> http://inacents.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/1971-WDW-Magic-Kingdom-Map.jpg </ref>. These attractions were joined by the Frontierland Station on the [[Walt Disney World Railroad]] on May 1, 1972 <ref> http://touringplans.com/magic-kingdom/attractions/opening-dates# </ref>.
[[Image:FrontierlandBuildings.jpg|400px|thumb| A few of the buildings found in Frontierland]]
Although it seemed sparse on opening day, Disney had big plans for Frontierland. Chief among these were their plans , was a plan to build Marc Davis' Western River Expedition. This large expansion of Frontierland would have consisted of numerous attractions for guests including: a Pueblo Village, hiking trails, and a "runaway mine train" attraction. Most importantly however, there was also to be a boat ride through the Old West attraction, that was designed to top the immensely popular [[Pirates of the Caribbean]]<ref> http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2000/12/31/why-quot-western-river-quot-went-south-part-3.aspx </ref>.
Although Marc Davis' Western River Expedition never became a reality for numerous reasons (see [[Big Thunder Mountain Railroad]]), on May 20, 1973 [[Tom Sawyer Island]] opened on the Rivers of America <ref> http://thisdayindisneyhistory.homestead.com/may20.html </ref>. Based on the Mark Twain novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, the island is an “outdoor playground” where guests can explore caves, cross wobbly bridges, and even follow rugged jungle trails. To get to the island , guests climb aboard large wooden rafts in Frontierland and set sail across the river.
Following the opening of Tom Sawyer Island, Frontierland remained mostly unchanged until November 15, 1980 when [[Big Thunder Mountain Railroad]] opened. The new roller coaster took its inspiration from the runaway mine car attraction that was to be a part of the Western River Expedition. Created by Imagineer Tony Baxter, Thunder Mountain also occupied the space near the back of Frontierland that was originally earmarked for the Western River Expedition expansion <Ref> http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2001/01/01/276.aspx </ref>.
Following the construction of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Frontierland remained essentially the same until the Frontierland Train Station was closed in 1990, and moved in order to make room for Disney's newest thrill ride- [[Splash Mountain ]] <ref> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/frlrs1.htm </ref>. Based on the 1946 Disney Movie "Song of the South", on Splash Mountain guests follow the adventures of Brer Rabbit as he is chased and eventually captured by Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The climax of the attraction comes when guests plummet 52.5 feet down Chick-A-Pin-Hill and into the briar patch. Besides once again changing Frontierland's layout, Splash Mountain also expanded the land's theme <ref name="jack"> http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2010/06/splash_mountain_part_one_1.html </ref>. Unlike Big Thunder Mountain and the rest of Frontierland, Splash Mountain was set in the American South. In order to help bridge the thematic gap between Splash and Thunder Mountain, Imagineers used the newly relocated Frontierland Railroad Station (which reopened in 1991) to serve as transition between the two <ref name= "jack"/>. Finally, on July 17, 1992 Splash opened to guests, although it was officially dedicated on October 2<ref> http://allears.net/tp/mk/mk_splash.htm </ref>.
In 1994 one of Frontierland's original attractions, the Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes closed to guests <ref> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/dcec.htm </ref>.
