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| Big Thunder Mountain Railroad |
Theme:
Although the details of the backstory vary from park to park, all follow the same general story arcs. Some time in the
late 1800s, gold was discovered on Big Thunder Mountain in the American southwest. Overnight, the small mining
town of Rainbow Ridges (at Disneyland), Tumbleweed (at the Magic Kingdom), or Thunder Mesa (at Disneyland
Paris) became a thriving mining town. Mining was prosperous, and an extensive line of mine trains was set up to
transport the ore. Unknown to the settlers, the Mountain was a sacred spot to local Native Americans and was
cursed.
Before long, the settlers' desecration of the mountain caused a great tragedy, which, depending on the park, is
usually depicted to be an earthquake (Disneyland Paris, Disneyland) or a flash flood (Magic Kingdom), which befell
the mines and town, and the town was abandoned. Some time later, the locomotives were found to be racing around
the mountain on their own, without engineers or a crew. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was founded in the old
mining camp to allow tourists to take rides on the possessed trains.
Keeping in time with the theme, the station buildings on all four versions of the ride are designed to look as though
they are the abandoned offices of a mining company from the mid to late 19th century. The mountains themselves
are themed to the red rock formations of the American Southwest. The rock work designs on Disneyland's Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad are based on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
In the Magic Kingdom version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and in the Tokyo and Paris versions, the rockwork
designs are based on the rising buttes that are located in Utah and Arizona's Monument Valley. Special care was
taken by the Imagineers to make it appear that the rocks were there originally, and the track was built around the
rocks, unlike a number of earlier mine rides, which were built the other way around (by sculpting the rocks around
the tracks).[2] The action of the ride takes place completely in the sagging, rotting tunnels of the mountain. In contrast
to most steel roller coasters, where the thrills come from the perception of flying through open air, the thrills on Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad are meant to come from the perceived instability of the mine and its threats of collapse.
Sound effects of a typical locomotive operation are piped into the surrounding scenery to add realism to guests
viewing the ride from observation platforms, including the steam whistle sounding, even though there is no whistle
displayed on the locomotives.
History:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. The
concept came from Baxter's work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis's concept for the Western River Expedition, a
western-themed pavilion at the Magic Kingdom, designed to look like an enormous plateau and contain many rides,
including a runaway mine train roller coaster. However, because the pavilion as a whole, was deemed too expensive
in light of the 1973 construction and opening of Pirates of the Caribbean, Baxter proposed severing the mine train
and building it as a separate attraction.
The Ride:
The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was put on hold again in 1974 as resources and personnel were being
diverted to work on constructing Space Mountain over in Tomorrowland, but this delay may have ultimately produced
a smoother ride as the use of computers in attraction design was just beginning when the project was resumed. Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the first Disney rides to utilize computer-aided design. The attraction first
opened at Disneyland in 1979, with the Magic Kingdom's larger version in Florida opening in 1980. Tokyo
Disneyland added its own version in 1987 and in 1992, Euro Disneyland (now named Disneyland Park) opened with
Big Thunder Mountain as an opening day attraction.
At the Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is almost a mirror image of the Disneyland version. The only
differences are an enclosed loading station on a hillside, the replacement of Big Thunder with Tumbleweed, and an
altered section of layout before the second lift hill.
In this version, upon entering the queue, guests make their way up the hillside past old mining equipment to the
station building. Once inside, the queue snakes through the upper level of the two level station where guests can
view a panorama of the ride. The queue then travels down a gradual ramp, switches back, and reaches the loading
station. After a wait, guests enter the 30-45 passenger trains. On the signal of a flashing green lantern at the head
end of the platform, the train is clear to leave the station.
Leaving the station, the trains immediately enter a dark tunnel and make a tight left hand turn. After a short
straightaway during which the sounds of bats can be heard, the trains make a slight right hand turn and climb the
first lift hill. A series of caverns can be seen on the right hand side of the lift hill track. At the top, once again, it slows
down and riders make a drop away to the left, before making a right hand turn and going over two hops while
passing under the second lift hill and second lift hill drop. It is typical to make a flyby with another train during this
section.
After going under the second lift hill drop (which is a point where it may be possible to see the riders on another
train), the trains make a tight downwind spiral to the right into a short tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel, riders find
themselves in the abandoned town of Tumbleweed. The Walt Disney World Railroad's track can be seen to the right
of the guests. While passing through Tumbleweed, the track goes through several bunny hops, and the train seems
to sway from side to side. The swaying is achieved by banking the track slightly. On the left, riders see the wagon of
Professor Cumulus Isobar, whose rainmaking machine works too well, and a party being held on the second floor of
the flooded saloon. On the right, one sees a remaining resident spinning around in a floating bathtub. In the early
years of the ride, the floodwaters in Tumbleweed were much more torrential than they are today.
After Tumbleweed, the trains pass through a short tunnel called Dave V Jones Mine, make a left hand turn, and climb
the second lift hill. At the top, the train slows down and the riders drop away to the left and cross back under the lift
hill as the trains rise up into a 540 degree downhill helix to the left, before going over another airtime hill before
dropping back down. The trains make a right hand turn into a tunnel, and climb the third lift hill. An earthquake is in
progress and the rocks seem ready to crush and bury the train. In the early years of the ride, the tunnel exit seemed
to collapse with falling rocks. Cresting the lift hill, the trains slow down and exit out into the daylight, and drop away to
the left heading for the Rivers of America, before they make a left hand turn through a short tunnel, crossing back
over the drop, and then drop away to the right through the boneyard and geysers before hitting the final brake run and
returning to the station.
Although the details of the backstory vary from park to park, all follow the same general story arcs. Some time in the
late 1800s, gold was discovered on Big Thunder Mountain in the American southwest. Overnight, the small mining
town of Rainbow Ridges (at Disneyland), Tumbleweed (at the Magic Kingdom), or Thunder Mesa (at Disneyland
Paris) became a thriving mining town. Mining was prosperous, and an extensive line of mine trains was set up to
transport the ore. Unknown to the settlers, the Mountain was a sacred spot to local Native Americans and was
cursed.
Before long, the settlers' desecration of the mountain caused a great tragedy, which, depending on the park, is
usually depicted to be an earthquake (Disneyland Paris, Disneyland) or a flash flood (Magic Kingdom), which befell
the mines and town, and the town was abandoned. Some time later, the locomotives were found to be racing around
the mountain on their own, without engineers or a crew. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was founded in the old
mining camp to allow tourists to take rides on the possessed trains.
Keeping in time with the theme, the station buildings on all four versions of the ride are designed to look as though
they are the abandoned offices of a mining company from the mid to late 19th century. The mountains themselves
are themed to the red rock formations of the American Southwest. The rock work designs on Disneyland's Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad are based on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
In the Magic Kingdom version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and in the Tokyo and Paris versions, the rockwork
designs are based on the rising buttes that are located in Utah and Arizona's Monument Valley. Special care was
taken by the Imagineers to make it appear that the rocks were there originally, and the track was built around the
rocks, unlike a number of earlier mine rides, which were built the other way around (by sculpting the rocks around
the tracks).[2] The action of the ride takes place completely in the sagging, rotting tunnels of the mountain. In contrast
to most steel roller coasters, where the thrills come from the perception of flying through open air, the thrills on Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad are meant to come from the perceived instability of the mine and its threats of collapse.
Sound effects of a typical locomotive operation are piped into the surrounding scenery to add realism to guests
viewing the ride from observation platforms, including the steam whistle sounding, even though there is no whistle
displayed on the locomotives.
History:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. The
concept came from Baxter's work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis's concept for the Western River Expedition, a
western-themed pavilion at the Magic Kingdom, designed to look like an enormous plateau and contain many rides,
including a runaway mine train roller coaster. However, because the pavilion as a whole, was deemed too expensive
in light of the 1973 construction and opening of Pirates of the Caribbean, Baxter proposed severing the mine train
and building it as a separate attraction.
The Ride:
The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was put on hold again in 1974 as resources and personnel were being
diverted to work on constructing Space Mountain over in Tomorrowland, but this delay may have ultimately produced
a smoother ride as the use of computers in attraction design was just beginning when the project was resumed. Big
Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the first Disney rides to utilize computer-aided design. The attraction first
opened at Disneyland in 1979, with the Magic Kingdom's larger version in Florida opening in 1980. Tokyo
Disneyland added its own version in 1987 and in 1992, Euro Disneyland (now named Disneyland Park) opened with
Big Thunder Mountain as an opening day attraction.
At the Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is almost a mirror image of the Disneyland version. The only
differences are an enclosed loading station on a hillside, the replacement of Big Thunder with Tumbleweed, and an
altered section of layout before the second lift hill.
In this version, upon entering the queue, guests make their way up the hillside past old mining equipment to the
station building. Once inside, the queue snakes through the upper level of the two level station where guests can
view a panorama of the ride. The queue then travels down a gradual ramp, switches back, and reaches the loading
station. After a wait, guests enter the 30-45 passenger trains. On the signal of a flashing green lantern at the head
end of the platform, the train is clear to leave the station.
Leaving the station, the trains immediately enter a dark tunnel and make a tight left hand turn. After a short
straightaway during which the sounds of bats can be heard, the trains make a slight right hand turn and climb the
first lift hill. A series of caverns can be seen on the right hand side of the lift hill track. At the top, once again, it slows
down and riders make a drop away to the left, before making a right hand turn and going over two hops while
passing under the second lift hill and second lift hill drop. It is typical to make a flyby with another train during this
section.
After going under the second lift hill drop (which is a point where it may be possible to see the riders on another
train), the trains make a tight downwind spiral to the right into a short tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel, riders find
themselves in the abandoned town of Tumbleweed. The Walt Disney World Railroad's track can be seen to the right
of the guests. While passing through Tumbleweed, the track goes through several bunny hops, and the train seems
to sway from side to side. The swaying is achieved by banking the track slightly. On the left, riders see the wagon of
Professor Cumulus Isobar, whose rainmaking machine works too well, and a party being held on the second floor of
the flooded saloon. On the right, one sees a remaining resident spinning around in a floating bathtub. In the early
years of the ride, the floodwaters in Tumbleweed were much more torrential than they are today.
After Tumbleweed, the trains pass through a short tunnel called Dave V Jones Mine, make a left hand turn, and climb
the second lift hill. At the top, the train slows down and the riders drop away to the left and cross back under the lift
hill as the trains rise up into a 540 degree downhill helix to the left, before going over another airtime hill before
dropping back down. The trains make a right hand turn into a tunnel, and climb the third lift hill. An earthquake is in
progress and the rocks seem ready to crush and bury the train. In the early years of the ride, the tunnel exit seemed
to collapse with falling rocks. Cresting the lift hill, the trains slow down and exit out into the daylight, and drop away to
the left heading for the Rivers of America, before they make a left hand turn through a short tunnel, crossing back
over the drop, and then drop away to the right through the boneyard and geysers before hitting the final brake run and
returning to the station.