Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a steel, mine train roller coaster that darts in and around mountain ranges that resemble the rock work found in Monument Valley in Utah and Arizona, designed by the famous Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter. The idea for the attraction came from the infamous abandoned attraction idea for the Western River Expedition that was originally conceived by one of Walt’s Nine Old Men, Marc Davis.
The first Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in Disneyland on September 2, 1979, to be followed soon by a similar version in Walt Disney World in 1980, Tokyo Disneyland in 1987, and Disneyland Paris in 1992. Each version has design elements that make it unique but all are similar in idea, design, and ride system. In short, no matter where you are, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a rollicking roller coaster ride, good enough for the whole family, that features beautiful rock work, exhilarating adventure, delightful music and a fully immersive experience.
You may have enjoyed a ride or two on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so you may know all of that already … but do you know the intricate backstory weaved into every detail of the attraction?
While some details may change from park to park, the basic story arc of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad remains consistent across all the variations of the attraction.
The setting is the late 1800s during the gold rush. Gold seekers and dreamers alike are all flocking to the American Southwest to find a small mining town nestled in around the base of Big Thunder Mountain. This mining town goes by many names. In Disneyland, it’s known as Rainbow Ridge, in Florida it’s called Tumbleweed, and in Paris it goes by the ominous name of Thunder Mesa. Why is everyone flocking to this small mining town? Why of course, it’s because gold has been discovered in Big Thunder Mountain.
Nearly overnight, the small mining town grows into a prosperous community, as more and more people descend upon the town. The Big Thunder Mining Company is formed by Barnabas T. Bullion. He erects an extensive line of mine trains set up to transport ore around and down the mountain. Their business was gold and business was gold … I mean good.
The people continued to toil away at their gold mining business and the town continued to grow. However, the town’s people were unaware that Big Thunder Mountain was a sacred place to a local tribe of Native Americans. The Native American chiefs upon learning of the mining of the mountain issued a stern warning to the town’s people. Leave the mountain or be cursed.
The town’s people did not heed the warnings of the Native Americans and continued to mine the mountain. They continued day and night to dig tunnels, carve out large portions, and eventually defile the entire mountain making the very structure of the area unstable. Unfortunately for the town’s people, the Native Americans were right. The desecration of the mountain had ecological effects that no one could have ever imagined and a great natural disaster is unleashed upon on the small town. In the Disneyland and Paris versions the mining damages the tectonic plates upon which the mountain sits and causes a massive earthquake, in Florida a flash flood sweeps through the town, and in Tokyo a tsunami devastates the entire area.
Many people died, and those who didn’t remembered the Native Americans warnings and assuming the town was cursed, fled for their lives. The town was abandoned in an instant, people leaving behind all their treasures, belongings, and dreams. The shops were left with supplies still on the shelves, horse carriages still in the streets, and the mine trains were left, still running, to endlessly loop around the mountains completely empty, an ostensible ghost train, evidence of the lives that must have inhabited those parts but now are just a memory.
Sometime later, in the early 1900s, a man, who was said to be quite bold, wanders the remaining frontier areas of America searching for meaning, searching for answers, or perhaps just searching to for truth. He stumbles upon the little mining town, a ghost town for many years now. He marvels at the town and makes his way to Big Thunder Mountain, the rumbling sounds of trains beckoning him. He is entranced by the trains barreling up and down the mountains. He gets closer, close enough to reach out and touch one if he so chose. He was in awe of the beauty around him, as nature had rebuilt itself and healed its wounds over the years. He was absorbed by the majesty of the mine trains. He had to ride one. It did not take much for him to muster up the courage to jump on the next train that came flying by – and he was off! He held on tight as the train darted in and out of the mountain, flew through canyons and valleys, and gave him the wildest ride in the wilderness!
He rode it again and again and with each ride discovered new things. One especially exciting discovery he made was … gold! He was able to collects mounds and mounds of gold on each ride through the mountain. He was rich overnight.
What did he do with some of his money? Well, this young man had such a great time riding these mine trains that he founded the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the old mining town and set it up as an attraction to allow other people from all over to take the ride on the conductor-less trains that he loved so much and that rewarded him with his vast fortune. He owed those trains so much, the best way he could give back to them, was to share them with all of us.
And now you know the backstory behind one of Disney’s most popular attractions. The next time you ride big Thunder Mountain Railroad take the time to look for details in the queue and ride itself that connect to this story. You’ll find many examples and when you do, no doubt, it will provide a new perspective and enrich your ride experience like never before. Remember though, to hold on to your hats and glasses because it is the wildest ride in the wilderness.