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Hang on to your hats, cowboys (and cowgirls), aboard this
runaway train through the Old West on Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad at Walt Disney World Resort.
The landmark attraction in the heart of Frontierland
transports Magic Kingdom guests on a harrowing journey through
an abandoned gold mine, with red stone slopes, mysterious
caverns, spiraling buttes and fun-filled adventures along the
way.
The storyline:
- Set during the gold rush era in the flooded mining town
of Tumbleweed, the 2.5-acre mountain is chock full of gold
-- as the legend goes.
- Guests enter the ram-shackled headquarters of the Big
Thunder Mining Co. and board converted ore cars through a
deserted mine shaft. As the train winds around the
majestic mountain, passengers experience an adventure
during which they brave rushing waterfalls, rumbling
earthquakes, crashing landslides and hairpin turns.
- Some 20 Audio-Animatronics®
figures including donkeys, goats, chickens, opossums and
the "rainmaker" himself, Professor Cumulus
Isobar, can be spotted along the rustic landscape.
- The landmark attraction opened at Walt Disney World
Resort in 1980, following the Frontierland opening at
Disneyland in 1979. The attraction also can be found in
Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland (since 1987) while a
version opened in Disneyland Paris in 1992.
Facts:
- Set in a Southwestern landscape, reminiscent of the
brilliantly colored wind-swept scenery found in Arizona's
Monument Valley, the attraction is punctuated by narrow
gorges, tunnels, caverns and dry river beds.
- Imagineers scoured ghost towns out west in search of
antique cogwheels, buckets, ore carts and mining gear to
add to its authenticity.
- Passengers climb aboard a 15-row train that ventures to
the mountain's peak. At 197 feet above sea level, Big
Thunder is currently the tallest mountain at Walt Disney
World Resort.
- It took years of planning, hundreds of rock makers, tons
of steel and concrete, 4,000 gallons of paint and 900,000
gallons of water to create realistic red rock buttes and
mine buildings.
- Favorite western melodies can be heard throughout the
ride, including "Oh, My Darling Clementine,"
"Home on the Range," "Little Brown
Jug," "Red River Valley" and "Turkey
in the Straw."
Tips:
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of the attractions
at Walt Disney World Resort featuring Disney's FASTPASS,
the system that gives guests an alternative to standard
"lines" at popular attractions.
- This family favorite ride is geared to please
thrill-seekers of all ages, but you must be 40 inches tall
to ride.
- Insiders recommend riders sit in the caboose for a
wilder experience.
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