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| caption='''The exterior of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.|alt= Big Thunder Mountain'''

| opened= November 15, 1980(some sources state November 8)

|custom_label_2= FastPass Disney Genie +

The history of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad actually begins with the story of the Western River Expedition. In the late 1960s Imagineer Marc Davis was tasked with creating a Frontierland alternative to Disneyland's [[Pirates of the Caribbean ]] attraction <ref name="hill1">http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2000/12/31/why-quot-western-river-quot-went-south-part-3.aspx </ref>. Although the ride had proved to be extremely popular, Disney felt that guests in Florida would not be interested in the attraction due to the preponderance of pirates in Florida's cultural lore <ref name="dated"> http://www.omniluxe.net/wyw/wre.htm </ref>. Instead of pirates, Davis and his team pitched the Western River Expedition. This massive Frontierland expansion would have featured a boat ride similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, which would have taken guests through various scenes in the American Old West. Also included in the expansion, would be hiking trails, a mule ride, and finally an attraction aboard a runaway train which was pitched to give the project a thrill component<ref> http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2015/01/all-about-western-river-expedition-part.html </ref>. When pitching his project Davis suggested:

[[Image:MickeythunderMickeythunder2.jpg|thumb|350px400px|Mickey and Goofy outside of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 1980.|alt= Mickey and Goofy Thunder Mountain]]

The final strike against the construction of the Western River Expedition came in 1973 when Imagineer Tony Baxter (who had been tasked with fleshing out the Western River Expedition) showed his plans for a standalone 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 <ref> https://www.mouseplanet.com/guide/251/Walt-Disney-World/Magic-Kingdom/Frontierland/Big-Thunder-Mountain-Railroad </ref>. 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. After seeing the proposal , Disney green lit Big Thunder Mountain for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Thunder Mountain eventually opened to the public on September 23, 1980, although its Grand Opening was officially on November 8 <ref> https://d23. com/this-day/big-thunder-mountain-railroad-officially-opens-in-the-magic-kingdom-at-walt-disney-world/ </ref> (some sources list the date as November 15)

On January 9, 2012, Big Thunder Mountain was closed for a major refurbishment <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/big-thunder-mountain-railroad/news/06oct2011-big-thunder-mountain-railroad-set-for-lengthy-refurbishment-in-early-2012.htm </ref>. During the refurbishmentrenovations, 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 <ref> http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/big-thunder-mountain-railroad/news/26may2012-video---take-a-walk-through-the-queue-and-onboard-ride-at-the-newly-refurbished-big-thunder-mountain-railroad.htm </ref>. In March 2013 Thunder Mountain received a new “interactive” queue <ref> http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/02/first-look-an-imagineer-tour-through-the-big-thunder-mountain-railroad-interactive-queue-at-magic-kingdom-park/ </ref>. At this time, the attraction also received a new backstory.

In the queue, guest climb up the a hill before reaching the station building. As they climb, guests will notice old mining equipment all around them, . This is because the station building was at one time the offices of a mining company. In the building, guests can also see a portrait of Barnabas T. Bullion (who has a suspiciously strong resemblance to Imagineer Tony Baxter), the president of Big Thunder Mining Company. After winding through the station building , guests finally reach the loading area. After As they are 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!"

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad begins with guests leaving the loading load station. The train immediately enters a dark tunnel and makes a left hand turn. While in the tunnel the sound of bats screeching can be heard. Inside the tunnel, the train makes a right hand turn and then begins to go up the attractions attraction's first hill. On guest’s right, a series of caverns can be seeseen, before the train makes its way to the top of another hill. After another drop, the train turns right and goes up two small hills. At this time it is possible to see another runaway train pass by. The trains train then enter enters the town of Tumbleweed.

[[Image:CousinElrodThunderMountain.jpg|thumb|300px400px|Cousin Elrod, one of the last inhabitants of Tumbleweed.|alt= Cousin Elron Tumbleweed Thunder Mountain]]

When guests enter Tumbleweed they will notice that town has been flooded. On the left hand side of the town, riders will see the Dry Good Store and the Gold Dust Saloon , which seems to be having a party on the second floor. On the right side of the tracks, a Tumbleweed sign says that they population went from 8015 to 247 to 15, before now reading "dried out". Next to the sign, guests can see one of the few remaining residents of Tumbleweed, Cousin Elrod, who floats along in his bathtub. Also in Tumbleweed on the riders left hand side is the rain man, Professor Cumulus Isobar, whose rain making machine seems to have worked a little too well. As the train passes through Tumbleweed riders will notice that the train seems to be sway swaying from side to side.

As guests exit Tumbleweed and head towards the boneyard, the train passes through another tunnel called the Dave V Jones Mine. As riders continue on, they go up another hill and eventually down a 540 degree helix to the left. At this time, there is a lot of scenery to see including: Audio Animatronic mules, a billy goat, a road runner and a snake , which all populate the mountain landscape. After passing the animals, the train enters another tunnel, when suddenly an earthquake hits. As the rock rumble and shake, it seems that they will soon crush and bury guests, however The train makes it out just in nick of time. Now in daylight, the train drops away to the left towards the Rivers of America, before making another short turn and entering another tunnel. The train then enters the boneyard scene.

In the boneyard scene, guests pass the bones of a dinosaur in the side of the mountain. As the train rolls on, it passes through geysers which shoot up on either side of them. The trains train then hit hits a final break run and return returns to the station.

[[Image:Barnabas.jpg|thumb|210px300px|Barnabas T. Bullion, the president of the Big Thunder Mining Company looks suspiciously like Imagineer Tony Baxter.|alt= Thunder Mountain Barnabas T. Bullion Tony Baxter]]

*The track length of the attraction is 2,780 feet <ref name= "bythenumbers"/>. * In the Big Thunder Mountain queue, guests can find a plaque that reads "Joshua Hendry Machine Works, S.F. Cal." Not only did the Joshua Hendry Machine Works make real mining equipment in the 19th Century, but Arrow Development founders Andy Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman and Ed Morgan also worked at the company. Arrow Development would be instrumental in the creation of many of Disneyland's early attractions <ref> http://thinkingofdesign.blogspot.com/2017/02/hendy-homage-at-big-thunder-mountain.html </ref>  * According to Imagineer Frank Mezzatesta, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was the first attraction to have a "lamp test" button on the dispatch controls. This was due to the fact that the lamps did not use LED lights and burnt out from time to time <ref> https://twitter.com/FrankMezzatesta/status/1547824230833672192 </ref>.