Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Encyclopedia - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is an attraction at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris theme parks.

The attraction first opened at Disneyland in 1979, with the Magic Kingdom's larger version opening in 1980. The other two versions are simply called Big Thunder Mountain: Tokyo Disneyland's version opened in 1987, and Disneyland Paris's opened in 1992. Hong Kong Disneyland does not have a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction, or a Frontierland, for that matter.

The ride is a short, relatively mild indoor/outdoor roller coaster based on the concept of a runaway train careening through an abandoned mine complex. In contrast to Space Mountain, where the tracks are largely hidden from view, the thrills are meant to come from the perceived instability of the mine and its threats to collapse.

Big Thunder Mountain's design is based on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter. The concept comes from Baxter's work on the runaway mine train segment of Marc Davis' Western River Expedition showroom, Thunder Mesa.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Attraction facts

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Disneyland

• Grand opening: September 2, 1979
• Designers: WED Enterprises, Vekoma
• Vehicles: 7
  • Cars per train: 5
  • Guests per train: 30
  • Train names:
    • U.B. Bold
    • U.R. Daring
    • U.R. Courageous
    • I.M. Brave
    • I.B. Hearty
    • I.M. Fearless
    • I.M. Loco
• Length: 2671 ft (814 m)
• Height: 50 ft (15 m)
• Highest rock: 104 ft (32 m)
• Top speed: 28 mph (45 km/h)
• Ride duration: 3:15
• Height requirement: 40 in (1.02 m)
• Ride system: Roller Coaster

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Magic Kingdom

• Grand opening: November 15, 1980
  • Soft Opening: September 23, 1980
• Designers: WED Enterprises, Vekoma
• Area: 2.5 acres (10,000 m²)
• Vehicles: 6
  • U.B. Bold
  • U.R. Daring
  • U.R. Courageous
  • I.M. Brave
  • I.B. Hearty
  • I.M. Fearless
• Length: 2780 ft (847 m)
• Height: 197 ft (60 m) above sea level
• Top speed: 36 mph (60 km/h)
• Audio-animatronics: 20
• Ride duration: 3:25
• Height requirement: 40 in (1.02 m)
• Ride system: Roller Coaster

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Tokyo Disneyland

• Grand opening: July 4, 1987
• Designers: Walt Disney Imagineering, Vekoma
• Ride duration: 3:40
• Height requirement: 102 cm
• Ride system: Roller Coaster

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Disneyland Paris

• Grand opening: April 12, 1992
• Designers: Walt Disney Imagineering, Vekoma
• Ride System: Roller Coaster
• Ride Model: Vekoma Custom MK-900 M
• Capacity: 2424 riders per hour (RPH)
• Length: 4921' 3"
• Height: 72' 2"
• Top Speed: 40.4 mph
• Ride Duration: 3:56
• Number of Trains: 5 trains with 5 cars per train
• Height requirement: 39 in (0.99 m)

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Trivia

• The sound effects of the actual ride train going on the tracks were used in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for the Minecar scene.
• This attraction replaced the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. The town you pass through at the end of the ride was a part of that old attraction.
• A guest was killed on the Disneyland incarnation in 2003, purportedly as a result of neglecting ride maintenance. The blame was passed to Paul Pressler, the Disneyland Resort head of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division at the time, who was notorious for enforcing tough budget cuts. The court case surrounding this was settled out of court in 2005 and a scholarship fund was set up in the name of the young man killed at a Southern California university.

Categories: Disney parks and attractions | Disneyland Resort | Walt Disney World Resort | Roller coasters

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki