By Jim Fanning
One of the grandest but often overlooked attractions at Disneyland® Park is the Grand Canyon Diorama. Part of the scenic route of the Disneyland Railroad, this unique adventure has been offering guests impressive views of an artful simulation of the Grand Canyon as viewed from the South Rim for 60 years. As Walt Disney explained, in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A, “you will find the depot for the Disneyland Railroad. Here, 1890 trains depart for a grand circle tour of the Magic Kingdom, climaxed by the breathtaking Grand Canyon Diorama and Primeval World.” The Grand Canyon Diorama, as noted by Disneyland Park publicity upon its opening on March 31, 1958, “will give viewers the sensation of actually looking down into the famed Grand Canyon of Arizona.” This spectacular diorama uses an immense background painting and a variety of foreground elements, including rocks, trees, ancient human ruins and indigenous wildlife, to take train passengers from a snow-capped region through a storm to a climatic sunset. To commemorate six decades of diorama grandeur, here are eight dynamic facts about this dimensional Disneyland experience.
1. Walt Disney on the Brink of his Canyon’s Creation
Known as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the mile-deep, 13-mile-long chasm forged by the Colorado River in the Arizona Plateau known as the Grand Canyon has fascinated many nature lovers, including Walt Disney. In 1958, the master showman produced Grand Canyon, featuring magnificent Disney nature photography shot on location in the widescreen CinemaScope® process. It was this featurette, the 1958 Academy Award®-winner for Best Live-Action Short Subject, that inspired Walt to create the diorama. From Opening Day, Walt felt the only thing missing from the Disneyland Railroad was a “grand finale,” and he envisioned a trip along the world’s largest and most breathtaking ravine as a fitting climax to the railway tour of his Magic Kingdom.
2. Imagineer Claude Coats Takes a Field Trip
In order to create the diorama as authentically as he imagined it, Walt assigned Imagineer Claude Coats to research the natural wonder in Arizona. This Disney Legend had lent his artistic flair and cinematic storytelling to such Disney animated classics as Fantasia (1940) and Peter Pan (1953) before joining WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering) in 1955. After returning from the Grand Canyon with hundreds of photographs, sketches, and other research materials, this show designer—known as a “gentle giant” for his humble demeanor and his 6-feet, 6-inches-tall frame—created storyboards and concept art for the in-development diorama.
3. Painting Nature’s Splendor on a Grand Scale
To realize the diorama, based on Claude Coats’ concept illustrations, Walt turned to artist Delmer J. Yoakum, a Hollywood scenic painter who went on to paint full-scale backgrounds for parts of Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, as well as Primeval World. The 306-foot-long-by-34-feet-high background took more than 300 gallons of paint in 14 colors and reportedly more than 4,000 labor hours to create the canyon vista in true perspective. At the time of its unveiling, the seamless, handwoven canvas was the largest diorama of its kind in the world. Today, it is still one of the largest.
4. Fascinating Fauna: The Grand Canyon Animals
Thanks to Coats’ painstaking research, Disneyland Railroad passengers see porcupines, skunks, rattlesnakes, rabbits, deer, crows, wild turkeys, big horn sheep, a mountain lion, a golden eagle, and a hard-to-spot armadillo as they pass through the canyon simulation. Each of the Grand Canyon Diorama animals is authentic, created through taxidermy and seen in various vignettes throughout the diorama. Though Walt accepted the authenticity of Coats’ research, he was skeptical about the inclusion of the turkeys, even loudly calling out, “Are you sure about these turkeys?” while displaying the diorama storyboards to visitors. But Coats had double-checked with a Grand Canyon park ranger, and the Imagineer assured Walt that turkeys were not only among the actual canyon wildlife population, but their flocks were increasing. The turkeys roost in the Grand Canyon Diorama to this day.
5. Fantastic Flora: The Grand Canyon Trees
Authentic trees enhance the Grand Canyon setting, for while the leaves are plastic, the trunks of the Ponderosa, Jumper, Piñon Pines, and Aspens are genuine. “The real pine branches and Aspen trees used in the attraction had to be preserved, flame proofed, and painted,” explained Imagineer Bob Sewell, who worked on the creation of the diorama with Coats. “Then, they were hung upside down for a year while they cured, so as not to droop when installed in the exhibit, and have a natural look for years and years.”
6. A Grand Score for the Diorama
In addition to the sounds of birds and other wildlife, diorama guests hear the show’s musical score consisting of the famous “On the Trail” movement from the famed “Grand Canyon Suite.” The entire classical musical piece, composed by Ferde Grofé in the early 1930s after many inspirational visits to the natural wonder, was showcased in the Grand Canyon featurette that was Walt’s original inspiration for the attraction.
7. The Grand Canyon Diorama Debuts
For the official March 3, 1958, unveiling of the Grand Canyon Diorama, executives of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (original sponsors of the Disneyland railway attraction) were actually picked up at the Anaheim train station by the Main Street Omnibus vehicles. These VIPs were then transported via city streets to Disneyland and the Main Street Station, where they boarded the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad (as the attraction was then known) to ride the rails to the diorama entrance. As part of the Grand Canyon Diorama’s premiere ceremony, a 96-year-old Native American, Chief Nevangnewa, a member of the Hopi tribe, performed a ritual blessing. Following the official dedication, Walt personally piloted the new Fred G. Gurley locomotive, No. 3, on its first trip through the elaborate diorama and on the grand circle tour of the park. Accompanying Walt in the cab of the rebuilt 1894 narrow gauge Forney-style engine was its namesake, Santa Fe Railroad chairman of the board Fred G. Gurley. The opening of the diorama necessitated a change in all the Disneyland Railroad passenger cars so that instead of facing forward, the new benches now faced outward so that guests could better enjoy the diorama’s sights.
8. Sixty Years Later, the Grand Canyon Diorama Continues To Astound
In summer 2017, when the Disneyland Railroad reopened on July 29 after being closed for 18 months due to construction, the legendary dioramas of the Grand Canyon and Primeval World (which was added to the train’s route in 1966) were lovingly restored to their original splendor. In addition, new effects now enhance the Grand Canyon Diorama, including soaring eagles, sun illuminating the ruins of the Native American cliffside dwelling, and flashing lightening in the storm scene, making Walt Disney’s Grand Canyon adventure more awe-inspiring than ever for its 60th anniversary.
