The Frontierland Shootin' Arcade offers a place for local lawmen and other citizens to practice their sharpshooting skills. Step up onto the porch, though, and you'll find that the arcade actually looks out across Boot Hill cemetery toward a distant ghost town, complete with jail, hotel, and bank.
The Shootin' Arcade employs a row of replica .54-caliber Hawken rifles, a kind commonly used on the frontier in the early to mid-1800s. When the attraction opened in 1971, the rifles actually shot pellets at their targets. For reasons of both safety and maintenance, they were converted in 1982 to the infrared beam versions seen today.
Throughout the Arcade, there are nearly 100 targets, each of which triggers a bit of animation. Buzzards flap. Coyotes howl. A ghost rider floats through the sky, and invisible footprints creak across an old bridge.
The epitaphs on the tombstones in Boot Hill, some of which change or are further revealed when targeted, are written in a humorous style much like those at the Haunted Mansion. Each one gives an indication of just how the poor soul landed six feet under:
"He loved to dance / He drank his fill /
He drinks no more / He dances still"
"Six Gun Tex lies in this grave /
used his gun for a closer shave"
"A carpenter trapped /
when in his coffin he napped"
"Ol Tom Hubbard died with a frown /
but a grave can't keep a good man down"
"Butch was nervous / his hand did shake /
He drew on Luke / his last mistake"
I know Disneyland like the back of my hand but I've only been to WDW once (and then only for one day!). There are a lot of similarities but I love seeing the differences between the parks. Keep up the great work! Your blog is on my frequent visit list.
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