7 ‘Must Do’ Rides and Attractions in Frontierland And Liberty Square – Magic Kingdom 101, Part 3

Frontierland and Liberty Square are celebrations of American freedom and the idomitable human spirit. Your family will find many things to explore, discover and experience. Here are 8 ‘must do’ rides and attractions in Frontierland and Liberty Square.

Liberty Square

7. The Haunted Mansion

Where can you encounter 999 “grim grinning ghosts”? The answer is the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square. This is where these happy haunts reside, and by the appearance of this massive dreary looking mansion, they have haunted here for quite some time, just waiting for some unsuspecting visitors to join them for a ghoulish good time.

On your way to the front door, you can enjoy an interactive area where you can see, hear, and touch gravestones and push musical notes on a haunted crypt. This helps pass the time while the line moves along, sometimes slowly on a really crowded day. When you arrive at the entrance, a “ghost host” invites you into the parlor where your ghostly tour begins. After a brief look at some “stretching” portraits, you are directed into a dark passageway where you board a “doom buggy”(which can fit two adults) for your excursion into the depths of this “haunted mansion”.

This ride is a spirit-filled, scream-filled, musical journey through the halls, dining room, attic, and cemetery of the 999 ghostly apparitions who are happy to make your acquaintance. If you decide to remain here, you’ll be the 1000th resident. But alas, if you decide to depart these haunted halls, watch out for three particularly pesky ghosts who will try their best to hitch a ride with you. Fast Pass is available for this ride. There is no height requirement.

6. The Hall of Presidents

This is an indoor theater presentation. As you enter the lobby of this beautiful theater, you are surrounded by portraits of all the Presidents, real articles owned by previous Presidents, a display of First Lady dresses, and other presidential memorabilia.

Once you are seated in the elegant hall, the lights go dim, followed by a film depicting the struggles our country faced in the midst of the Civil War, eloquently narrated by Morgan Freeman. After the film, an audioanimatronic Abraham Lincoln rises from his chair and delivers his famous “Gettysburg Address”, then another film continues with highlights of America’s struggles and triumphs after the Civil War until the present. Through the ingenuity of the Disney imagineers and advancements in even more sophisticated audioanimatronics, all 44 of America’s Presidents appear on stage at the same time, either sitting or standing, moving back and forth, motioning with their arms, turning their heads, moving their lips, etc. President George Washington speaks to the audience, followed by a speech by Barrack Obama. This attraction is truly a celebration of the American dream! Fast Pass is not available for this attraction.

5. Liberty Square Riverboat

The Liberty Square Riverboat, the Liberty Belle, is an authentic replica of an old steam-powered paddle wheel riverboat. Step on board for a leisurely trip on the Rivers of America while circling Tom Sawyer’s Island. There are three decks on the Liberty Belle with a few seats, but most areas are standing room only. The round trip takes less than 20 minutes, and you get an awesome, unobstructed view of Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Adventureland. Fast Pass is not available for this attraction.

Frontierland

4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

“Hang onto your hats, cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!”, and with those words, you take off in an old-fashioned railroad around a Southwestern landscape complete with caves, waterfalls, spiral shaped buttes, big horned sheep, sulphur pools, and even dinosaur bones. It’s a roller coaster ride with dips through caverns, sharp turns around mountains, an avalanche, a flood, and many other startling surprises. Even the queque area is filled with items reminiscent of the “Old West”, and the Big Thunder Mining Company. There are cranks to turn and plungers that detonate blasting caps, creating explosions
you can watch as you look out onto the mountain.

This is definitely a thrill ride, and as you round those turns, you will get pulled from one side to the next, and the dips will absolutely put some air between you and your seat, so hold on tight! Fast Pass is available for this ride. There is a height requirement of 40”.

3. Splash Mountain

This delightful log ride based on Disney’s classic film, “Song of the South”, will take you on a whimsical journey to the Briar Patch, and through the magic of Disney audioanimatronics, bring to life the laughable characters of Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Brer Rabbit along with all their comical antics. On your way to the briar patch you will meet many other “critters” in the “Laughing Place” who entertain the riders with their twirling, jumping, splashing and singing and croaking. The action here is jovial, fun, and makes everyone feel like laughing.

Most of this ride is fairly tame with three short drops at the beginning, but just when you think the trip is over, your log travels up a steep incline, and when you reach the top, you rapidly plunge 52 feet through the briar patch and usually get a “little” wet from the large splash at the end, hence the name, Splash Mountain. This is a ride filled with laughter, musical numbers (“Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, “How Do You Do”, “Everybody Has A Laughing Place”), and a thrilling drop at the end. Fast Pass is available for this ride. There is a height requirement of 40”.

2. Tom Sawyer’s Island

Tom Sawyer’s Island is a giant playground for children and adults. Accessible only by motorized rafts, this walk through attraction is a place where everyone can be a child again, and relive the days of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. You can climb rocks, explore caves with secret passageways, or follow a winding path through an old mine. There are two old fashioned bridges to cross, one made of barrels and one made of rope. It is a real challenge to make it across to the other side. When you’re through exploring, just catch a ride on the next available raft headed back to Frontierland.

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1. Country Bear Jamboree

Grizzly Hall in Frontierland is the home of one of the most famous stage productions in the history of Walt Disney World, where this extraordinary show made its debut on opening day in October, 1971. This old fashioned jamboree features 20 audio animatronic bears, of all shapes, sizes, and talent. The Master of Ceremonies is a 7 foot tall bear named Henry, who introduces some “beary” talented entertainers, such as Teddi Berra, a trio of delightful darlings, Bubbles, Bunny and Beulah, Liverlips McGrowl, the Five Bear Rugs band, and of course Big Al. This old-fashioned hoedown will make you want to “clap your hands, and stomp your feet, and try to keep right with em’, cause one sure thing the bear band’s got is good old fashioned rhythm”! It would be simply “unbearable” if you missed out on the Country Bear Jamboree!

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