WOW! To walk in the footsteps of John Wayne and other famous cowboy actors was awesome! I grew up on the old Saturday morning westerns. Old Tucson Studios is a movie studio and theme park adjacent to the Tucson Mountains and close to the western portion of Saguaro National Park. Built in 1939 for the movie ‘Arizona’, it has been used for the filming of several movies and television westerns since then, such as Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. It was opened to the public in 1960, and historical tours are offered about the movies filmed there, along with live cast entertainment featuring stunt shows and shootouts. Old Tucson Studios was originally built on a Pima County-owned site as a replica of 1860s Tucson. Workers built more than 50 buildings in 40 days. Many of those structures are still standing. Many colorful characters wear period dress and roam the streets.
In 1959, entrepreneur Robert Shelton leased the property from Pima County and began to restore the aging facility. Old Tucson Studios re-opened in 1960, as both a film studio and a theme park. The park grew building by building with each movie filmed on its dusty streets. John Wayne starred in four movies at Old Tucson Studios. In 1968, a 13,000 square foot soundstage was built to give Old Tucson Studios greater movie-making versatility. The park also began adding tours, rides and shows for the entertainment of visitors, most notably gunfights staged in the "streets" by stunt performers.
The town is really pretty with the mountains and views as the backdrop. One of the rides is a 2 foot narrow gauge railroad which encircles most of the property. The first thing we did was to take a stagecoach ride on a replica of those used in the old west and movies. Of course, I had to pet the horses! And what is a western town without Rosa’s Cantina!?
A popular attraction are the girls that sing and dance in the saloon. They also serve food and drinks, but like most theme parks, the prices are very high. The show was very entertaining and lively. Not on the scale of Las Vegas but the audience had a good time.
A visit to the stable as we walked around town was in order. Plus, it was time for this old cowboy to wander through town. He fit the character of the Old West perfectly, even down to the handle bar mustache. Doug was getting rowdy so I asked the Sheriff to lock him up awhile while I visited some of the shops!
Oh, boy! Time for a good old stunt show and shootout! These ‘cowboys’ were hilarious with their comedic comments to the audience before the show. I love the setting of the old mission against the blue sky.
Then the show took off and it was entertaining with various stunts and funny story line. It looked like these guys were having way too much fun. But then in the end came the shootout with guns and smoke blazing. Ugh….got me! One by one each guy was shot. But by some miracle he was able to rise again, only to be shot again later! There were a couple of good stunts and even 2 cowboys were supposedly blown up as they tried to escape the mission. Funny antics all during the show made it interesting and funny for everyone.
But somehow I got tangled up with the bank robbers and wound up with a sack of gold! Uh..Oh.., here comes the Sheriff!
It was a nice day’s entertainment and the thing to do when in Tucson.
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