Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an attraction located in Fronteirland

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 Western River 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. 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 taking 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 the plan was put on hold until the completion of Tommorowland. Construction began on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 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.

Back story and Queue

The back story for Big Thunder Mountain takes place in the small mining town of Tumbleweed. In the late 1800s, gold was discovered on Big Thunder Mountain and Tumbleweed soon boomed. Thunder Mountain however, was home to an ancient Indian burial ground, an Indian legend warned that disaster would strike if anyone tried to remove the gold from the mountain. Ignoring the warning, minors build a railway into the mountain and mined the gold. While deep in the mines, Indian spirits took control of the mine cars. The miners were never heard from again, and the boomtown was quickly abandoned. Sometime later, the cars were found running without a conductor or crew, and a tourist attraction Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built to allow guest to ride the possessed trains.

In the queue, guest climb up the hill before reaching that 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. After winding through the station building guests will finally reach the loading area. After getting into the trains, guests 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!"

Jason Surrell Backstory

According Jason Surrell in his book The Disney Mountains: Imagineering at its peak Tony Baxter came up with a back story

"In the Disney version, gold was discovered in Big Thunder country in the 1850s, shortly after the Gold Rush began near John A. Sutter's Mill in California, leading to the formation of the BTM Mining Company. But the locals believed Big Thunder Mountain and the land around it to be sacred, and a protective supernatural force dwelt deep within the mountain to protect it from anyone who might deface it in the pursuit of profit. At first, the mining operation went along without incident, but as the miners began using explosives to blast deeper and deeper into the unforgiving rock and laying tracks for the mine train they'd use to retrieve its golden bounty, the mountain's ancient fury was unleashed. Strange noises emanated from a newly opened mineshaft. The spirits of long-dead miners could be heard tapping on the boarded walls of abandoned tunnels. Cave-ins became common occurrences. And then the narrow-gauge engines began rolling out of the station with no human hands at the controls. Entire trains, most times packed with unsuspecting passengers, would race driverless, at breakneck speed, along the spiraling steel and wooden track. The miners began to concede that perhaps the locals were right all along. Maybe the mountain --and their mine -- was cursed. They abandoned their posts, the BTM Mining Company went bust, and soon Big Thunder became just another ghost town dotting the Old West."

This back story was given with the opening of the Disneyland version of the attraction in 1979 and may or may not be the back story for the Walt Disney World version.

Music played in the Queue

The musical loop played inside the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is approximitly 20 minutes long and features 14 songs. The songs included are:

• West of the Wide Missouri
• All Aboard the Mine Train
• California Gold
• Rock Candy Mountain
• Saloon Willy
• Old Yeller
• Pecos Bill
• Old Betsy
• Tavern in the Town
• Roamin' the Lawless West
• Buffalo Gals
• Rock Candy Mountain
• Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
• There's No Place (Like Home)

Ride Plot

The ride begins with guests leaving the loading station. The train immediately enters a a dark tunnel and makes a left hand turn. In the tunnel the sound of bats can be heard. The train makes a right hand turn and then begins to go up the attractions first hill. On the guests right, a series of caverns can be see, before the train makes its way to the top of another hill. After another drop the train turns right and goes up to small hills. At this time it is possible to see another runaway train pass by.

Tumbleweed

When guests under Tumbleweed they will notice that town has been flooded. On the left hand side of the town guests will see the Dry Good Store, the Gold Dust Saloon and a barbershop. On the right side, a Tumbleweed sign says that they population went from 8015 to 247 to 15 before now reading "dried out"