The Stagecoach Ride opened at Disneyland in 1955 as part of the original roster of Frontierland attractions. In 1956, with the addition of the Living Desert and other new scenery, the ride became the Rainbow Mountain Stagecoach ride although most Disneyland guidebooks and brochures from 1956 through 1959 continued to call it the Stagecoach Ride or just Stagecoaches. Though it must have seemed like a good idea at the time the stagecoach proved to be one of Disneyland's most problematic and dangerous attractions.
The three "C" ticket coaches were beautiful wooden vehicles with large yellow wheels gaudy yellow flourishes along the sides the name Disneyland Stage Lines painted above the doors and seating for about a dozen guests Half of them inside and half of them on top with even a shotgun space available next to the coachman.
These were Concorde style stages that is they echoed the luxurious design created for the famous overland stagecoaches of the mid 1800's by the Abott Downing Company of Concorde, New Hampshire When Frontierland wilderness territory was remodeled and the neighboring Mule Pack was rechristened the Rainbow Ridge Mule Pack the stage was also renamed in the summer of 1956 as the Rainbow Mountain Stagecoaches
Teams of 4 horses from the Pony Farm pulled the stages through the same area traversed by the mules and the Conestoga Wagons all three attractions loaded their passengers in the vicinity of what is today the Big Thunder Mountain boarding area
The operation was certainly photogenic Disneyland's hard cover books included a picture of vice president Nixon smiling from a window and Walt Disney wore a cowboy hat when he posed next to the stage. Unfortunately, the Stagecoaches were prone to tipping over. Breakaway harnesses did not solve the problem instead it caused many a guest to be stranded while the horses proceeded on the journey. Low guest capacity and high overhead were the reasons the coaches were eliminated the last journey of the Stagecoach was September 13, 1959.
Names of Coaches: California, Arizona, Colorado. The lines for the stagecoach were massive. The slow-moving vehicles could only carry a few guests at a time, so lines often stretched far beyond the loading area. Required a "C" ticket in 1955 and a "D" ticket in 1956. Each coach could hold 6 guests
The stage coaches were removed because the horses were spooked by the Disneyland Railroad trains that traveled nearby.The stage coach was pulled out of retirement in 1980 for Disneyland's 25th anniversary
