Changes
The concept of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad goes back to the Thunder Mesa expansion that was going to be added to Frontierland in the early 1970s. When Walt Disney World opened, it did not include a [[Pirates of the Caribbean]] attraction, because Disney thought that people in Florida would not be interested in pirates, because there was already much pirate lore in the Florida culture. Instead, it was assumed that the American West would be a more interesting subject, and the concept of the Thunder Mesa expansion was born. Designed by Imagineer Marc Davis over the course of many years, the Thunder Mesa expansion would have taken place in Frontierland, in the form of a mountain called Thunder Mesa Mountain. The Thunder Mesa expansion would have included a dark boat ride (like Pirates of the Caribbean) called the Western River Expedition. The new attraction would have taken guests through various Old West scenes, and featured an astonishing 150 Audio Animatronic. Also included in the expansion, were plans for hiking trails, a mule ride, and a runaway train attraction. Due to high guest demand however, Disney decided it needed to build a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in Disney World in 1973. With the addition of Pirates, the Western River Expedition was no longer needed.
Even as Marc Davis tried to keep his project alive, it was clear that the project would be too expensive. Disney was already using its funds to build [[Space Mountain]], the [[Carousel of Progress]], the [[WEDway People Mover]] and the [[Star Jets]] in [[Tomorrowland]] and there was not enough money to construct another large expansion. The final strike against the construction of Thunder Mesa came in 1973 when Imagineer Tony Baxter showed his plans for mine train, thrill ride, called Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The new attraction took some the best elements of the Thunder Mesa mine train ride, but without the expensive show building. Although Baxter suggested that the ride could be built next to the Western River Expansion building, only Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ever saw the light of day.
Although Disney liked the idea, the planned Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was put on hold until the completion of [[Tomorrowland]]. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was the first attraction in Disney World to be designed by a computer, which allowed Imagineers to create a much smoother ride. Imagineers however had a different problem, although . Although they knew how to make the attraction look appealing, the computer did not. In fact, it took Imagineers nine different designs before the computer accepted one without making changes. Construction eventually began on the attraction in 1979 and it opened to the public on September 23, 1980. On January 9, 2012, Big Thunder Mountain was closed for its first refurbishment. During the refurbishment, every single piece of track was redone and the entire attraction was repainted. Furthermore, many of the attraction’s special effects that had become non-operational were fixed. Disney also announced that in 2013, Thunder Mountain would be getting a new “interactive” queue.
==Official Backstory and Queue==
On November 19, 2012 Disney announced a new backstory for Big Thunder Mountain. According to Disney:
{{Quotation| Barnabas T. Bullion is the founder and president of the Big Thunder Mining Company. The longtime mining magnate comes from a powerful East Coast family and considers gold to be his very birthright by virtue of his oddly appropriate name; in fact, he considers the ultimate gold strike to be his destiny. And that is why he is having so much trouble with Big Thunder Mountain. According to superstitious locals, Big Thunder Mountain is very protective of the gold it holds within, and the unfortunate soul who attempts to mine its riches is destined to fail. And so far that prophecy is coming to pass. The mine has been plagued by mysterious forces and natural disasters ever since. And yet the Big Thunder Mining Co. is still in operation. In fact, Bullion is discovering new veins of gold and digging new shafts every day, offering a closer look at the Big Thunder mining operation than ever before. But a word to the wise for anyone attempting to visit the mountain: watch out for runaway trains.”| Disney Parks Blog}}
In the queue, guest climb up the hill before reaching the station building. As they climb, guests will notice old mining equipment all around them, because the station building was at one time the offices of a mining company.In the building, guests can also see a portproate pf portrait of Barnabas T. Bullion, the president of Big Thunder Mining Company. After winding through the station building guests finally reach the loading area. After getting into the trains they are warned by The Prospector to keep their arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, "Because this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness!"
===Music played in the Queue===
