The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster attraction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is one of the true modern classics. It bridges the best whimsy and detail of classic imagineering with the talents and technology of the modern era. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is… Read More »Take a virtual ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from Walt Disney World
Hey partners, you won’t have to hang on to those hats and glasses for a few more months. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom has closed for refurbishment for the next 90+ days with an estimated reopening of November 18th. According to… Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closes for refurbishment
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of the most iconic Disney roller coasters (appearing at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland) and the Tom BrickProject wants it to be an iconic LEGO Set that you can build at home. This set contains the… Read More »Big Thunder Mountain LEGO set needs your vote
It was 35 years ago today that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad brought new adventure to the wild Frontierland of Disneyland. Since then the roller coaster has hosted over 225 million guests on the wildest ride in the wilderness. The beautiful nature inspired mountain owes its… Read More »Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Turns 35
It’s been a long time Disneyland fans, but your patience is about to pay off. A much needed, very thorough, refurbishment to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is almost over. The well-known wildest ride in the wilderness reopens March 17 with an upgraded track, restoration of the historic Rainbow Ridge Mining Town, new paint on portions of the mountain, and updates to the train vehicles. Disney has thrown in a few new surprises, too.
While you wait for March 17 to roll around, here’s a POV on-ride video to enjoy and a list of fun facts:
The Magic Kingdom’s popular western themed roller coaster reopened today after a months long rehabilitation process. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had extensive work done to its track, show scenes, primary queue, and lighting.
Where the queue was a tightly formed switchback that was seldom fully utilized, the new queue is better themed but shorter. It still has switchbacks, but the queue is wider and there are added show scenes. Also new to the queue is air conditioning. The new wider queue seems to be a conscious decision to accommodate American’s new wider body shapes.
I’m a little concerned about some of the new railings in the queue, they seem designed to cause welts on the heads of young children at the right height. Additionally, there are random boxes in the queue that have already become defacto benches. Without fastpass a full length queue was a wait of less than 30 minutes. Adding in Fastpass and the standby queue could be very long.
In the ride itself, many safety rails, paths, and lights have been added. The new LED safety lights really stood out as we rode, but I’m sure that over time they’ll fade into the background like other safety features. With the exception of some lighting a good attempt was made to theme the added safety features. Most show elements got a general makeover and many effects that haven’t worked in a long time are now functioning fine, even the geyser in the exit queue:
Big Thunder is supposed to return to regular operation on Monday and is not guaranteed to be open between now and then.
Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Opens for Test After Rehab
The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster attraction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is one of the true modern classics. It bridges the best whimsy and detail of classic Imagineering with the talents and technology of the modern era. Now that I have a… Read More »Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster On Ride POV Video