Disney Mountain Rides :: Walt Disney World :: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Description Top

Hop on this rollicking mine train through an Old West mining town for a rip-roarin', rootin'-tootin' thrill-a-minute ride. If you're "mining" for a good time consider the "prospects" as you're warned: "Hang on to your hats and glasses 'cause this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness."

Basic Information

Location: Magic Kingdom- Frontierland
Type: Runaway Mine Train
Opened: September 23, 1980
Manufacturer: Mapo
Mountain Height: 197.5 ft.
Speed: 30 mph
Length: 2,780 ft.
Duration: 3:30
Number of Lift Hills: 3
Trains: 5
Cars Per Train: 5
Riders Per Car: 6
Restraint: Lap Bar
Fastpass: Yes
Single Rider: Yes
On Ride Photo: No

Detailed Information / Secrets

Disney's Imagineers modeled Big Thunder Mountain after Bryce Canyon in Utah.

Description of Ride Experience: (Spoiler Alert!) Top

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a wonderfully themed roller-coaster with turns and dips through caverns, mountains, avalanches and floods reminiscent of the Old West.

The queue area takes you into the headquarters of the Big Thunder Mining Co. You enter converted ore cars for your journey....but wait, there is NO conductor! Too late, you are off for a 3 minutes and a half minute ride into the wilderness!

The theming is a Southwestern landscape, reminiscent of the wind swept features found in Arizona's Monument Valley. Caves, grottos, a waterfall, big horned sheep, a spiral butte, dinosaur bones and sulfur pools are just part of the scenery you will encounter on your ride.

Speeds can reach 24-30 miles per hour so the centrifugal force as you round the turns will pull you from one side to the next.

There are no serious drops on this ride (nothing like Splash Mountain) but there are 3 good dips that can put some air between you and your seat.

The main butte is 197.6 feet above sea level and 100 feet above ground.

Enjoy the music of the old west with songs like: Big Rock Candy Mountain (1885), Blue Tail Fly, (1846), Red River Valley (1896) , Oh My Darling Clementine (1884) and more.
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