Thunder Mesa

Thunder Mesa is the setting of Frontierland in Disneyland Paris, and is a location central to the backstories of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Phantom Manor.

Description[]

Thunder Mesa was a 19th century mining-town situated along Big Thunder Island on the Rivers of the Far West in the Western River Valley of Arizona, and is within "Frontierland Territory". The town made on stolen Shoshone lands and was used by the greedy Big Thunder Mining Company to take gold from Big Thunder Mountain. Due to this amoral activity, the Spirit of Big Thunder would cause accidents and natural disasters around the region. Outside of the town's walls was the village of Indigenous peoples, seemingly belonging to a Powhatan tribe.

Thunder Mesa was ruled over by a mayor, along with a town council. The town was a hotspot for steamboats used by the Western River Line to access towns such as Rainbow Ridge, Tumbleweed, Stillwater Junction and Grizzly Gulch in California.

Features[]

Big Thunder Island: Big Thunder Island had a peak of the Big Thunder Mountain Range and was surrounded by the Rivers of the Far West. The island was used by the Big Thunder Mining Company as their primary mining location in Thunder Mesa.
Big Thunder Mining Company offices: A base for the Big Thunder Mining Company, located along the river and using Underground Railroad passages to access Big Thunder Island.
Big Thunder Photographer:
Boot Hill: Boot Hill was the town cemetery, located adjacent to Ravenswood Manor.
Boots shop: This business supplied boots, and was established in 1861.
Eureka Mining Supplies: This was a mining supplies shop established in the year 1852.
Fort Comstock: Fort Comstock was a fort constructed by the people of Thunder Mesa to keep out the Indigenous Shoshone tribe whom they stole the town's land from.
Frontierland Train Depot:
Fuente del Oro Restaurante:
Huntington Mill: A mill established in 1872 and run by Big Thunder Mining Company foreman "Big Jack" O'Ferges.
J. Nutterville Undertaker & Cabinet Maker: This was base of the town mortician, adjacent to the Silver Spur Steakhouse. The building was located nearby Ravenswood Manor and Boot Hill, where he was often active.
The Last Chance Café: The Last Chance Café was a café attended by old west outlaws with the insides decorated with wanted posters. Famed gunslinger/dentist Doc Holliday ran his bone setting business nearby, and conducted business from the café.^[1]
The Lucky Nugget Saloon: The Lucky Nugget was established in 1858 as a saloon serving miners of the Big Thunder Mining Company. The saloon was most notably run by one Miss Diamond Lil.
Overland Trail Cafe: This was an office for the US Mail and Telegraph Office while also serving as a "Stage Coach Station" for food and drink.
Ravenswood Manor: Ravenswood Manor was a manor overlooking the town and rivers which was home to the family of town founding father, Henry Ravenswood. Since the family's death, the mansion became haunted by many spirits.
Rose's Blacksmithing: This was the place of business for blacksmith Lavinia Rose, who inherited it from her father Jedediah Rose who died in 1859.^[2]
The Silver Spur Steakhouse:
Thunder Mesa Apothecary:
Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger: This was headquarters for the town newspaper, the Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger.
Thunder Mesa Mercantile Building: This was a mercantile building used for the business Bonanza Outfitters, and next-door to Tobias Norton & Sons Frontier Traders. The second floor was used by photographer James Collins, and the building also contained office for land agents, "Ulman and Snerly".
Thunder Mesa Riverboat Landing: The riverboat landing was predominately used by The Western River Line of steamboats. The boats included The Molly Brown, and The Mark Twain.
Tobias Norton & Sons Frontier Traders: This was a trading outpost, established by one Tobias Norton who was once a soldier for US president Andrew Jackson.

Cottonwood Creek[]

Thunder Mesa was connected to the Disneyland Railroad. Just outside of Thunder Mesa was the community of Cottonwood Creek, though it is unknown if Cottonwood Creek was an official part of Thunder Mesa or not.^[3]

The Chaparral Theatre:
Cottonwood Creek Ranch: A ranch and communal restaurant. One Angus T. Bone was known to be a chef, and the Cactus Country Band would perform.^[4]
Water-Tower:

Phantom Canyon[]

Phantom Canyon was a portion of the town, collapsed behind Ravenswood Manor in an earthquake. This portion of the town was inhabited by many ghosts and undead townsfolk. The canyon was most prominently connected to the rest of the town via haunted tunnels under Ravenswood Manor, accessing a stable-house adjacent to the Boot Hill cemetery.

Apothecary:
Assay:
Bank:
City Hall:
Gallows Tree:
General Store:
Hotel:
Railroad booth:
Saloon:

History[]

Background[]

Origins[]

Thunder Mesa was once a trading-post between American settlers and the native Shoshone peoples. The earliest known citizen of the town was one, "Beacon Joe". In 1849, an evil prospector named Henry Ravenswood found gold in Big Thunder Mountain. Ravenswood established the Big Thunder Mining Company and was amongst the founding-fathers of Thunder Mesa, forcing out the Shoshone to create the town. Beacon Joe would move outside of the town, on a house along the river.

In this town, he had his family's home of Ravenswood Manor built overlooking the river, where he kept his daughter Mélanie locked away from the world. Using his wealth and influence, Henry became a serial-killer who murdered a man outside his manor in a rigged duel, and four men in the 1850s who courted his daughter; these consisted of Mark Twain steamboat Captain Rowan D. Falls who he sent off a waterfall, lumber-mill owner Sawyer Bottom whom he sawed in half with a buzz-saw on a log, oil-field owner Barry Claude who Henry brought into the woods to have him fed to grizzly bears, and Big Thunder Mining Company explosives provider Ignatius "Iggy" Knight whom Henry left in a cavern of the mountain rigged to explode.

All the while, the Big Thunder Mining Company's exploitation of Big Thunder's stolen land angered the Spirit of Big Thunder. In 1858, Miss Diamond Lil happened upon a large gold nugget and used it to open the Lucky Nugget Saloon which served Thunder Mesa's many miners.

Earthquake[]

In the year 1860, the Spirit of Big Thunder caused a massive earthquake to hit Thunder Mesa. This earthquake collapsed a portion of the town into a canyon, killing everyone within; including Henry Ravenswood and his wife Martha along with the town's mayor and sheriff. However, those who died within the earthquake became undead, with Henry's ghost returning to Ravenswood Manor to murder her newest lover in the rafters and trap her within the house where she herself died. In the years to come, the mansion became nicknamed, "Phantom Manor", and the collapsed portion of the town, "Phantom Canyon".

Later history[]

Over the years, the town's population would grow from 257, to 815, to 2,215 residents.

In 1884, a group of River Rogues robbed a Silver City bound riverboat for the Western River Line. Agent I.I. Capton issued a reward on the November 30th of that year, promising one fourth of the stolen treasure along with 200 dollars for the arrest of each rogue.^[5]

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Appearances[]

Disneyland[]

Frontierland[]

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad[]

Outside of Rainbow Ridge, there is a sign pointing to Thunder Mesa.

Rivers of America[]

Along the rivers is a mural advertising excursions on the Mark Twain Riverboat. The mural depicts Disneyland Paris' Mark Twain passing by Fort Comstock.

Disneyland Paris[]

Frontierland[]

Thunder Mesa is the primary setting of Frontierland in Disneyland Paris.

Main Street, U.S.A.[]

Murals along Main Street depict the Mark Twain Riverboat passing by Fort Comstock. A sign above mentioned bookings being made through the, "Thunder Mesa River Packet & Steam Navigation Co.".^[6] This advertisement was later replaced by one for the United States Steamship Company.

Walt Disney World[]

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad[]

A poster for the Butterfly Stage Line mentions the line connecting to Thunder Mesa.^[7]

Trivia[]

Various notable characters from other properties or history appear in Thunder Mesa:
- Madame Leota appears in Phantom Manor.
- Zorro appeared live in the park and is in the Lucky Nugget Saloon's mural.
- Tobias Norton is a minor-character from the Davy Crockett TV series. Davy Crockett is shown canoeing around the town in the Lucky Nugget Saloon's mural.
- Historic gunslinger Doc Holliday is mentioned as a town bonesetter, and has his likeness framed in Phantom Manor.
- The Thunder Mesa Daily Messenger refers to, "intrepid explorers and adventurers" going missing in the mansion, implying that members of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers investigated Ravenswood Manor only to be killed by the spirits within.
- Slue-Foot Sue is mentioned having been part of a group of rebellious gold-diggers, coquettes, and mooches.^[8]
The beheaded mayor of Thunder Mesa reused the animatronic figure of the Dreamfinder from Journey Into Imagination and voice of the Ghost Host from the Haunted Mansion. This has lead to some fans speculating the characters are related.
It is unclear if Casa de Coco – Restaurante de Familia is set in Thunder Mesa or not. If so, that would mean that Thunder Mesa continued existing into the 2010s-2020s, and had the Rivera family from Coco travel to it. If not, that may make the restaurant the first attraction in Disneyland Paris' Frontierland, not set in Thunder Mesa.