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{{Template:Infobox Disney ride |
| image=ThunderMountainDay.jpg
| caption='''The exterior of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.'''
| land=Frontierland
| cost=17 million
| site_area=108,900
| park= Magic Kingdom
| duration=3:25
| audio-animatronics=20
| fastpass=Yes
| opened= November 15, 1980
| height_requirement=40
}}
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an attraction located in [[Frontierland]]
== Attraction History ==
The concept of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad goes back to the Thunder Mesa expansion that was going to be added to Fronteirland. When Walt Disney World opened, it did not include a [[Pirates of the Caribbean]] attraction. Disney thought that 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 intersting subject, and the concept of the Thunder Mesa expansion was born.
Imganeer Marc Davis, designed the expansion which would have been built in the form of a mountain in Fronteirland called Thunder Mesa Mountain. Davis had been working on the idea for years. The Thunder Mesa expansion would have included a dark boat ride (like Pirates) called the Western River Expedition. The new attraction would have taken guests through various Old West scenes, and featured an astonishing 150 Audio Anamatronic. Also included in the expansion, were plans for hiking trails, a mule ride, and a runaway train attraction. Due to high demand however, Disney decided it needed to build a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction in Disney World in 1973. With the addition of Pirates, it was decided that 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 it's 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 build a large expansion. The final strike against the construction of Thunder Mesa came in 1973 when Imganineer Tony Baxter showed his plans for mine train, thrill ride, called Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The new attraction took 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.
The plan was put on hold until the completion of [[Tomorrowland]], but eventually Big Thunder Mountain was green lit for construction. Construction began in 1979 and it opened September 23, 1980. The mountain that housed the attraction was modeled after Monument Valley in Arizona. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was the first attraction in Disney World to be designed by a computer. Having a computer design the attraction allowed for a much smoother ride. Imganineers however had a problem, although they new how to make the attraction look appealing, the computer did not. It took Imganineers nine different designs before the computer accepted one without making changes.
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{{Template:Infobox Disney ride |
