Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort, Unrealized ski resort project in Sequoia National Park, California.
Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort was a planned ski resort and vacation center in the Mineral King Valley, just southwest of what is now Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Walt Disney envisioned two hotels, ten restaurants, a chapel, an ice rink, two theaters, a musical theater, a prototype Country Bear Jamboree venue, and ski slopes with chairlifts. Access was to be by monorail from a parking area, keeping cars out of the valley.
In December 1965, the U.S. Forest Service approved Walt Disney Productions' plan for a recreational facility in Mineral King Valley. The proposal ultimately failed due to growing opposition from environmental groups determined to prevent damage to the natural area.
The valley's name comes from the Mineral King Mine, and the land Disney assembled reached 5,099 hectares. After the 1978 purchase by the National Park Service, the site was absorbed into Sequoia National Park and left wild. The Country Bear Jamboree, planned for a theatre here, opened at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in 1971 and at Disneyland in 1972.
The valley is reached by a mountain road that was to be widened and extended by the state highway commission under a seven-year funding plan approved in 1967. The route lies near Sequoia National Park, where roads are restricted, and the land was incorporated into the park in 1978.
The Country Bear Jamboree, a musical theater show, was originally designed for this project. After the cancellation, the attraction was built instead at Walt Disney World in Florida, where it still entertains guests today.
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