OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Walt Disney (1901-1966) hoped to build several theme parks following the extraordinary success of Disneyland, which opened in 1955. One of these was his Mineral King Ski Resort, planned for a tract near Sequoia National Park in Sierra Nevada and Tulare Counties. Disney was an avid skier, who was an early investor in the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe in the late 1930s. Disney's interest in skiing was fired by his direction of the opening ceremonies at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics in 1960; he also became enamored of the Sierra Nevada's beauty and potential as a resort backdrop. Land began to be assembled adjacent to Sequoia National Park in 1964, and plans initially received wide political and business support, particularly with the charismatic Disney leading the development. The Mineral King plan was derailed by Disney's death on 12/15/1966 and by naturalists, who sought to preserve the landscape and incorporate the acreage into existing park lands. One attraction that was meant to be included in this resort was the Country Bear Jamboree, which was opened instead in the new Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, FL, in 1971. An immediate popular success, a replica attraction opened at Disneyland in 1972. The Country Bear Jamboree lasted until it was dismantled in 2001.

PCAD id: 18046