Description

Fire Mountain is a name that has been used for two never built Disney rides; one an Adventureland ride through a volcano, which is described here, the other being a villain rollercoaster for Fantasyland, the description of which can be found under the name Bald Mountain. The confusion for this stems back to the closing of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, leaving a large area of Fantasyland ready for development. Micheal Eisner, in typical Imagineering practice, organised two different teams to design a replacement ride - a strategy that fosters a friendly rivalry between the teams, each hoping to top the other. This time, however, Eisner loved both concepts, and started making plans to build both - Bald Mountain taking the designated Fantasyland site, and Fire Mountain being moved to Adventureland.

Fire Mountain was to have been built in one of two locations in Adventureland - between Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain, or south of Pirates of the Caribbean, for which a new path would have been built, requiring the rerouting of the Jungle Cruise.

The ride was going to be a flying rollercoaster - which meant that guests would start the ride sitting down just as they would on an inverted rollercoaster, but leaving the station the seats would swing back leaving the riders practically lying face down, the rollercoaster track above them. The ride have been themed to be an active, south seas volcano, with lava filled chasms, fiery explosions and smoky passageways.

Why Wasn't It Built?

Routinely, rumours kept coming up that Fire Mountain was to have been built, then that Bald Mountain would be constructed, and even that Journey to the Center of the Earth, a clone of the Tokyo DisneySea attraction, would be built. Unfortunately, none of them came to be... and we're not really sure why.