This article is about the Disneyland attraction. For the attraction located at Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, see The Diamond Horseshoe.
The Golden Horseshoe Saloon (referred to as Pecos Bill's Golden Horseshoe Saloon during construction) is a restaurant and attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Over the years, the venue has housed multiple stage shows; it currently shows "Showdown at the Golden Horseshoe!" seven days a week. The "saloon" is located in Frontierland with a picturesque view of the Rivers of America, New Orleans Square and a part of Critter Country.
History[]
The Golden Horseshoe Stage unofficially opened on July 13, 1955, as the Golden Horseshoe Saloon, when Walt and his wife Lillian Disney, along with dozens of guests, celebrated their 30th anniversary with a private party and the premiere showing of the original Golden Horseshoe Revue.
On July 16, 1955, the Golden Horseshoe opened a day early for a private party of corporate sponsors. This show marked Wally Boag's first official performance as Pecos Bill/Traveling Salesman at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon.
The first show to open on the stage was Slue Foot Sue's Golden Horseshoe Revue (mistakenly spelled "Review") on the park's opening on July 17, 1955. The revue's music was written by Charles LaVere, who served as the show's pianist, and used lyrics by Tom Adair. The script for the production was co-authored by two of its stars, Donald Novis and Boag. The variety show ran a record of 39,000 times and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running musical of all time. One of the features of the show was to have children from the audience and sing and dance on stage. "Davy Crockett" was a favorite song performed by the guests.
In 1962, Ron W. Miller, son-in-law of Walt Disney, directed a made-for-television movie by the same title, serving as a commemoration of the 10,000th performance and featuring special guest star acts in addition to the traditional program. The film starred Annette Funicello, Ed Wynn, Betty Taylor, Gene Sheldon, Boag and even Walt Disney himself.
Today, the Golden Horseshoe Stage is still popular inside and out. For years, Disneyland served chili at the bar as well as drinks and dessert. Outside on the front balcony, there is a periodic, comedic wild west shoot-em'-up show performed by Laughing Stock and Company that always draws a crowd.
Productions[]
Golden Horseshoe Revue[]
The Golden Horseshoe Revue was the original and longest running show at the saloon, playing from the opening of the park on July 17, 1955 to October 12, 1986. Over the years, it starred Boag, Taylor, Novis, Fulton Burley, Dick Hardwick, Frankie Wylie, Jack Watson, Judy Marsh, Burt Henry, Dana Daniels, Jay Meyer, Kirk Wall, Jimmy Adams, Don Payne, and many others.
The stage show features saloon owner Slue Foot Sue and her dance hall girls who welcomed the audience with "Hello Everybody", followed by a flirtarious interactive song like "A Lady Has to Mind Her P's and Q's" or "Riverboat Blues". The show's MC (Master of Ceremonies) introduced various skits featuring a traveling salesman, played by Boag, and later Dick Hardwick.
The show would be interrupted by Pecos Bill himself, who would sing his self-titled signature song.
Golden Horseshoe Jamboree Show[]
This show ran from November 1, 1986 to December 18, 1994. Over the years, it has starred Judi Wallace, Judy Bell, Heather Paige Kent, John Eaden, Don Payne, Gil Christner, E. E. Bell, Joe Jacoby, Eric Gunhus, Kerry Giese, Amanda Hudson and many others.
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies[]
A comedy bluegrass band, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies began its run at the Golden Horseshoe on December 22, 1994 and ran until June 17, 2012. Over the years, it has starred Kirk Wall, Dennis Fetchet, John Marshall, Even Marshall, John Eaden, Duane Michaels, Rick Storey, Anders Swanson and many others.
Prior to their run at the Golden Horseshoe, they performed in Critter Country, and when not at the Saloon, would usually perform at the Big Thunder Ranch stage. When their contract with Disney ended in 2014, they relocated to Knott's Berry Farm and became "Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies"
Golden Horseshoe Variety Show[]
This show featured the comedy and magic talents of Dana Daniels. It ran from June 13, 1995 to October 8, 2003. It starred Dana Daniels, Richard Allen, Hal Ratliff and many others over the years.
Woody's Roundup[]
This child friendly show ran from November 21, 1999 to July 17, 2000 and featured characters from the 1995 Disney Pixar film Toy Story.
To emulate the Woody's Roundup television show, costumes and sets were all in black and white and the show was presented as if it were a live shooting of an episode of the show, with prompts for applause. The show's story had Woody and Bullseye rescuing Jessie after an avalanche traps her in a cave.
The Golden Horseshoe Saloon was also where the Woody's Roundup medley music video starring Riders in the Sky and Devon Dawson was filmed to promote the Toy Story 2 album Woody's Roundup: A Rootin' Tootin' Collection of Woody's Favorite Songs.
Frontierland: The Little Town That Could[]
This comedy/melodrama ran occasionally from 2001 to 2003 and featured a supposed history of the founding of Frontierland. It starred players from Laughing Stock and Company, including John Eaden, Kevin Gregg, Ken Parks, Danny Roque, and Cory Rouse.
Various other evening entertainments have appeared there over the years, including Alabama, Louis Armstrong, various jazz and gospel groups, and special events. It was also used during the 1950s as a venue for dancing couples during Disneyland's "Date Nite" promotion.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- With over 50,000 performances logged since then, the Golden Horseshoe Revue was at one time "the world's longest-running live stage show," according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Golden Horseshoe Saloon. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |
