early renderings of Mineral King
Back in the 1960’s, the U.S. government opened a small area of the Sierra Nevada mountain range for development. The site was called Mineral King, and it got its name because silver was found near the site in the 1870’s. This land was bordered by Sequoia National Park and had a very small road leading to it. It was originally the Sierra Club that recommended Mineral King for development of a ski resort. They realized that the valley, with its three bowls surrounded by mountains that could provide five mile runs, would be a perfect location for a resort.
description of Mineral King
Walt Disney had tried other mountains for his ski resort plans, like Mt. San Gorgonio and Mammoth Mountain, both in California, but deals couldn’t be reached on either. When an oppurtunity at Mineral King opened up, Walt pounced on it. Disney bought the rights of local forest service leaseholders, he got the forest service to agree to lease him the land, the state of California agreed to a $35 million road improvement project, and plans began to shape up for the resort. It was to be fashioned after one of Walt’s favorite places, the Swiss village of Zermatt. Low rise buildings with steep roofs and wide balconies, all facing a central “main street”, which would serve to supply year round entertainment. In the summer months, the ski lifts would transport people up to hiking trails, and there would be activities for children year round as well. It would be a true family destination.
Things began to unravel for three main reasons. First, Walt’s death in 1966 had the imagineers questioning if they could follow through with any of Walt’s future visions. Second, the announcement that Disney planned on building a huge theme park resort in Orlando in 1965 and had already purchased thousands of acres of land gave further reason not to spend much money elsewhere. Finally, the Sierra Club, the same club that originally proposed Mineral King as a perfect site for a ski resort, decided not to support Disney’s decision to build there, and lawsuits followed that ultimately led the state of California to back out of its funding for the road improvements. The land was eventually annexed into the Sequoia National Park in 1978.
Disney would see their dream of a family oriented resort other than a theme park down the road, but not in a traditional manner. The Disney Cruise Lines realize those same beliefs that a vacation should be a destination for the entire family, not just some of the family. They now operate several cruise ships that depart for trips from ports on both sides of the United States.
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