Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

From The Unofficial DisneyWiki

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a roller coaster attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, opened 1979; Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, opened 1980; Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, opened 1987; and at Disneyland Resort Paris' Disneyland Park in Marne-la-Vallée, France, opened 1992. The only park not to recieve one yet is Hong Kong Disneyland.

[edit] Premise

Each verison of the attraction focuses on the idea you're on a runaway mine train running through the peaks of a fictional mountain called Big Thunder Mountain. Each version of the ride is different in the way the roller coaster is layed out and the way Big Thunder Mountain is designed. One example is the Disneyland verison is designed by ideas from Bryce Canyon.

[edit] History

The first verison of the attraction opened in 1979 in Disneyland after Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland closed. It is widely believed the roller coaster trains were reused from Nature's Wonderland. It is also well known that the Western Town at the end of the ride and the animal Audio-Animatronics were recycled from Nature's Wonderland.

The second version opened in Walt Disney World in 1980. The WDW verison is based around Red Rock Canyon and provides a less tame experience. This time, it centers around a haunted mine in Big Thunder Mountain.

Both the Euro Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland verisons use the same Bryce Canyon setting as Disneyland but have different track layouts.

[edit] Trivia

• The Disneyland verison of BTMR replaced Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, a sedate train ride through different animal habitats.