Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Land	Frontierland
Theme Parks	Walt Disney Parks
Locations and Opening Dates
Disneyland	September 2, 1979
Magic Kingdom	September 23, 1980
Tokyo Disneyland	July 4, 1987
Disneyland Paris	April 12, 1992

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a roller-coaster attraction at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks.

[edit] History

The Bryce Canyon inspired Hoodoos of Big Thunder in Disneyland as seen from the Big Thunder Trail that passed behind Big Thunder Mountain.

The attraction first opened at Disneyland in 1979, with the Magic Kingdom's larger version opening in 1980. The other two versions are called simply 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 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.

Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain's design is based on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. All the other parks' versions are based on the rising buttes that are located in Utah/Arizona's Monument Valley.

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

[edit] Attraction facts

[edit] Disneyland

Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain passes through a village reused from Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, the attraction that previously occupied the location.

• Grand opening: September 2, 1979
• Designers: WED Enterprises Tony Baxter
• Manufacturer: WED Enterprises
• Build Type: Steel Tube Tri-Rail Design
• Propulsion Method: 3 Main Lift Hills with LIM boosters in the station and brake areas
• Vehicles: 6. Only 5 trains can be used on Big Thunder Mountain at a time.
  • Cars per train: 5
  • Guests per train: 30
  • Train names:
    • U.B. Bold
    • U.R. Daring
    • U.R. Courageous
    • I.M. Brave (since replaced by I.M. Loco)
    • I.B. Hearty
    • I.M. Fearless
• Length: 2671 ft (814 m)
• Height: 50 ft (15 m)
• Highest rock: 104 ft (32 m)
• Top speed: 36 mph (45 km/h)
• Ride duration: 3:14
• Height requirement: 40 in (1.02 m)
• Total site area: 2.5 acres
• Total track length: 2,780 linear feet
• Lifts: 3 train lifts - two indoor and one outdoors
• Maximum Train Dispatch Interval: Varies upon how many trains are running. with one train 99.0 seconds with five trains 46.0 seconds
• Minimium Train Dispatch Interval: 42 Seconds
• Ride system: Steel - Sit Down
• Ride Control System: Custom PLC Controlled (See also Allen-Bradley)
• Extra options:

[edit] Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at the Magic Kingdom, December 2004.

• Soft opening: September 23, 1980
• Grand Opening November 15, 1980
• Designers: WED Enterprises
• Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics
• Ride duration: 3:25
• Ride system: Steel - Sit Down
• Category: Mine Train
• Length: 2780'
• Speed: 36 mph
• Elements: 3 Lift hills
• Trains: 6 trains with 5 cars per train. Only 5 trains may be operated at a time. Riders are arranged 2 or 3 across in 3 rows for a maximum of 45 riders per train.
• Extra options:

[edit] Tokyo Disneyland

Big Thunder Mountain Entrance at Tokyo Disneyland

• Grand opening: July 4, 1987
• Designers: Walt Disney Imagineering
• Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics
• Sponsor: The Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Company
• Ride duration: 3:40
• Height requirement: 102 cm
• Ride system: Roller Coaster
• Extra options:

[edit] Disneyland Paris

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Paris showing the Monument Valley inspired scenery.

• Grand opening: April 12, 1992
• Designers: Walt Disney Imagineering
• Manufacturer: 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: 6 trains with 5 cars per train
• Height requirement: 39 in (1.02 m)
• Extra options:

[edit] Accidents

Main article: Incidents at Disney parks

• A guest, Marcelo Torres, was killed on the Disneyland incarnation in a derailment on September 5, 2003, purportedly as a result of neglected ride maintenance. ^[1] The court case surrounding this was settled out of court in 2005 and a scholarship fund was set up at Brooks College, a Southern California university, in Torres' name for aspiring animators as Torres was seeking a career in animation.^[2]

[edit] Trivia

• The attraction is said to have been inspired by Thunder Mesa, an element of the Western River Expedition, a canceled attraction that was to have been built at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in the mid-1970s. Disneyland Paris' Frontierland has a sub-area known as Thunder Mesa.
• The sound effects of the actual ride train going on the tracks were used in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) for the mine cart sequence.
• At Disneyland, 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, and many of the animal animatronics throughout the attraction were originally from Nature's Wonderland.
• In Disneyland's queue is a train locomotive supposedly used in Hot Lead and Cold Feet.
• The Disneyland Paris version of Big Thunder Mountain is significantly larger than the American and Japanese versions. The ride is located on its own island in that park's Rivers of the Far West.
• The mock steam locomotives that head each train originally had four large wheels (two on each side) followed two smaller trailing wheels, making them 0-4-2s in locomotive termology. In 2004 the second sets of large wheels were removed on all incarnations of the ride around the world, possibly as a result of the 2003 accident involving the Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland.
• In 2006, artist Banksy placed an inflatable doll dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood and handcuffs) beside the tracks.

[edit] References

1. ^ themeparkinsider. ""Our own analysis found that the accident was caused by incorrectly performed maintenance tasks required by Disneyland policy and procedures that resulted in a mechanical failure," park spokesperson Leslie Goodman told the L.A. Times." http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=1389
2. ^ Brooks College. "In the statement, Torres' parents, Jaime and Carmen Torres, announced the establishment of an art scholarship at Brooks College, from which their son, who studied graphic design, graduated in 2003." http://www.nbc4.tv/news/5453261/detail.html

[edit] See also

• List of current Disneyland attractions
• List of current Magic Kingdom attractions

[edit] External links

[edit] Official links

• Disneyland - Attraction Profile
• Magic Kingdom - Attraction Profile
• Tokyo Disneyland - Attraction Profile
• Disneyland Paris - Attraction Profile

[edit] Additional links

• MousePlanet's Investigation over Disneyland's accidents on Big Thunder Mountain
• Disney Mountain Rides - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad