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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad entrance at Walt Disney World
Disneyland
Park sectionFrontierland
Coordinates33°48′47″N 117°55′13″W / 33.8130°N 117.9204°W / 33.8130; -117.9204
StatusOperating
Opening dateSeptember 2, 1979 (1979-09-02)
ReplacedMine Train Through Nature's Wonderland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland at RCDB
Magic Kingdom
Park sectionFrontierland
Coordinates28°25′14″N 81°35′05″W / 28.4205°N 81.5848°W / 28.4205; -81.5848
StatusOperating
Opening dateNovember 15, 1980; 44 years ago (November 15, 1980)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom at RCDB
Tokyo Disneyland
Park sectionWesternland
Coordinates35°37′57″N 139°53′02″E / 35.6326°N 139.8839°E / 35.6326; 139.8839
StatusOperating
Opening dateJuly 4, 1987 (1987-07-04)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Tokyo Disneyland at RCDB
Disneyland Park (Paris)
Park sectionFrontierland
Coordinates48°52′15″N 2°46′32″E / 48.8707°N 2.7756°E / 48.8707; 2.7756
StatusOperating
Opening dateApril 12, 1992 (1992-04-12)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Park (Paris) at RCDB
General statistics
TypeSteel – Mine train
DesignerWalt Disney Imagineering
ModelMine train
Track layoutCustom
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height104 ft (32 m)
Speed35 mph (56 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration~3:00
Height restriction40 in (102 cm)
Trains5 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train.
ManufacturerArrow Development (California)
Dynamic Structures (2014 California rebuild)
Vekoma (Florida, Paris, Tokyo)
RestraintsSingle lap bar
SponsorDai-ichi Life (Tokyo Disneyland)
Lightning Lane available at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom
Disney Premier Access available at Disneyland Park Paris
Single rider line not available
Must transfer from wheelchair

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a mine train roller coaster located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park (Paris). In Tokyo and Paris, the attraction is named Big Thunder Mountain. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is also the name of the fictional rail line the roller coaster depicts.

Theme

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Inspired by real-life Bryce Canyon, the Hoodoos of Big Thunder in Disneyland as seen from the Big Thunder Trail that passes behind the ride.

Although the details of the backstory vary from park to park, all follow the same general story arc. Sometime in the late 1800s, gold was discovered on Big Thunder Mountain in the American Southwest. Overnight, a small mining town became a thriving one (Rainbow Ridge in Disneyland; Tumbleweed in Florida; Thunder Mesa in Disneyland Paris) under the thumb of the greedy mining company owner (Barnabas T. Bullion in the American versions, Henry Ravenswood in Disneyland Paris). Mining was prosperous, and an extensive line of mine trains was set up to transport the ore. Unknown to the settlers, the mountain was a sacred spot to local Native Americans and was cursed.[1]

Before long, the settlers' desecration of the mountain caused a great tragedy, which, depending on the park, is usually depicted to be an earthquake (Disneyland and Disneyland Paris), a tsunami (Tokyo Disneyland), or a flash flood (Walt Disney World), which befell the mines and town, and the town was abandoned. Some time later, the locomotives were found to be racing around the mountain on their own, without engineers or a crew. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was founded in the old mining camp to allow wanderers to take rides on the possessed trains.

The detailed backstory, while present in park literature and training materials, is not communicated to park guests directly. The station buildings on all four versions of the ride are themed to the appearance of a mining company office from the mid to late 19th century. In the Disneyland park, there is music and laughing in one of the saloons of Rainbow Ridge, and a typewriter is heard from a newspaper office. The mountains themselves are themed to the red rock formations of the American Southwest. The rock work designs in the Disneyland version are based on the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. In the Florida, Tokyo and Paris versions of the ride, the rockwork designs are based on the rising buttes that are located in Arizona and at Monument Valley in Utah. Walt Disney Imagineering designed the attraction to make it appear that the rocks were there originally, and the track was built around the rocks, unlike a number of earlier mine rides, which were built the other way around (by sculpting the rocks around the tracks). There is also a dinosaur skeleton that the train passes by in all versions of the ride except the Paris version. A cracked eggshell is nearby, and there is a lake with water that is shot up while the train passes on the warmer days.[2] Sound effects of a typical locomotive operation are piped into the surrounding scenery to add realism to guests viewing the ride from observation platforms, including the steam whistle sounding, even though there is no whistle displayed on the locomotives.

History

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter[3] and ride design engineer Bill Watkins. The concept came from Baxter's work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis's concept for the Western River Expedition, a western-themed pavilion at the Magic Kingdom, designed to look like an enormous plateau and contain many rides, including a runaway mine train roller coaster. However, because the pavilion as a whole was deemed too expensive in light of the construction and 1973 opening of Pirates of the Caribbean, Baxter proposed severing the mine train and building it as a separate attraction.

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project was put on hold again in 1974 as resources and personnel were being diverted to work on constructing Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, but this delay may have ultimately produced a smoother ride as the use of computers in attraction design was just beginning when the project was resumed. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of the first Disney rides to utilize computer-aided design.[2] Four of Disney's parks feature the attraction. It first opened at Disneyland in 1979, and then a larger version debuted at Magic Kingdom in Florida in 1980. Tokyo Disneyland's version opened in 1987. Disneyland Paris opened with its version in 1992, of which its layout and structure is primarily based on the Florida version of the ride. The Disneyland Paris installation is also the only Big Thunder Mountain to have been an opening-day attraction at its park.

In August 2018, the Paris location got a single rider line. Guests take the normal line and a cast member directs them either towards the single rider entrance or the normal pathway at the level of the panel located a little before the covered line.[4] Less than two years later, a single rider line was also added to the Tokyo location in January 2020.[5] In 2024, the Walt Disney Company announced that the Magic Kingdom location was planned to close for a year-long renovation beginning on January 6, 2025.[6][7]

Tributes to predecessor

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At Disneyland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built on the land the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland used to occupy. Several tributes to the former attraction are present in the Disneyland version. A scaled-down Western town sits adjacent to the queuing lines and tracks near the station. A Western saloon, hotel, assayer's office and mercantile appear among the buildings. This is the village of Rainbow Ridge, which used to overlook the loading platform of the sedate Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland. Many of the animal animatronics throughout the attraction were reused from the previous attraction. Other allusions to the Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland include the Rainbow Caverns (glowing pools of water by the first lift hill) and precariously balanced rocks in the third lift hill tunnel.

The name of the ride itself, "Big Thunder", was originally the name of a large waterfall the old mine train passed on its tour. "Little Thunder" was located nearby.

Name

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At the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland, the ride is known by its full name of "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad". The Tokyo and Paris versions drop the word "Railroad", although the full name is still present on the trains. Tokyo Disneyland's Big Thunder, which is almost identical to the Magic Kingdom's, opened in 1987, five years after the park opened. At Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, the name of the ride is sometimes shortened to "Big Thunder Mountain", "Big Thunder", "Thunder Mountain Railroad" or "Thunder Mountain".

Kidney stones

[edit]

In the October 2016 Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a paper entitled "Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster" was published.[8] The paper's author, Dr. Wartinger, found that patients of his had passed kidney stones after riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World on vacation, including one who passed three stones on three separate occasions. The doctor then tested this result, with the permission of Disney, with a 3D model of a kidney by riding the ride over 20 times. The study found nearly 70% of the time, the kidney stone was passed, with results varying depending on which row they were in.[8][9] The study also found that Space Mountain and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith failed to cause this result.[10]

Ride experience

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Disneyland version

[edit]
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Rainbow Ridge used as the loading area and a tribute to Rainbow Caverns exists within the attraction Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland

While the design of the Walt Disney World version of the ride was done first, Disneyland's version was the first one to open.[11] The track layout was mirrored, placing the attraction to the right of Rivers of America, if viewed from the central hub. (In Walt Disney World, the attraction is located to the left of Rivers of America.) To better fit with the adjacent Fantasyland areas of the theme park, the original Walt Disney World design had to be replaced with something more appropriate for Disneyland. The Florida, Tokyo and Paris versions of the ride use sharp-edged mountains and the vibrant colors of Monument Valley, Arizona, while Disneyland's version was developed with more rounded features and muted colors resembling the Bryce Canyon hoodoos in Utah.[12]

Upon entering the attraction, the queue winds through a narrow rock wall and passing by the tracks. The surrounding walls were originally created from 100 tons of gold ore from Rosamond.[13]

Leaving the outdoor station, trains enter a bat-infested tunnel, make a right hand turn, then a left hand turn before climbing the first lift hill, which takes trains through a cavern full of stalactites. Leaving the lift hill, the train drops away to the right, then levels out and makes a left hand turn. The track then crosses under the second lift hill drop before making a right hand turn. The sounds of coyotes can be heard howling at the train as it dives into a cave. The train then rises uphill and hits a trim brake, makes a right turn out of the tunnel, and climbs the second lift hill. At the top of the lift, an animatronic goat with a stick of dynamite in its mouth bleats at passing guests as the train drops away to the right, crosses under the lift hill, and rises up into a downward spiraling clockwise helix. Leaving the helix, the train shoots through a small canyon, then drops down into a mining camp, where it hits another trim brake. The train then makes a left hand turn, enters another tunnel, and climbs the third lift hill. As the train climbs the lift, the tunnel is dynamited, and artificial smoke is blasted in guests' faces as the train crests the lift and exits the tunnel. The train then drops to the right, towards the river, then makes a right hand turn and passes through a short tunnel. After crossing over the drop, the trains make a left hand turn as they pass through the ribcage of a T-rex skeleton, hit a trim brake, then make a right hand turn into the final brakes. The train then travels past the buildings of Rainbow Ridge and returns to the station.

California's version of the ride is the only version of the ride to feature an outdoor station. All of the other versions feature an indoor station.

On January 7, 2013, the ride was closed for an extensive refurbishment that included a new track, trains, scenery, and new effects on the third lift hill. The attraction reopened on March 17, 2014.[14] The new track was fabricated by Dynamic Structures, the company that had previously rehauled the coaster track in Space Mountain.[15]

Magic Kingdom version

[edit]
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom

The track layout of the Magic Kingdom's version is a nearly identical mirrored layout of the Disneyland attraction.

Riders board the trains in an enclosed loading station on a hillside. Leaving the station, trains make a left hand turn into a bat-infested tunnel, make a slight right turn, and climb the first lift hill. At the top of the lift hill, trains pass under a waterfall and drop to the left. This is followed by a right hand turn, after which the track crosses under the second lift hill and drop. After crossing under the second lift hill drop, the track goes through a 270 degree clockwise spiral and passes through a short tunnel. Trains emerge from the tunnel and pass through the flooded town of Tumbleweed, running parallel to the Walt Disney World Railroad. The train passes over a decaying trestle (where the track is slightly banked from side to side), before entering Davy Jones Mine, where it hits a trim brake. Trains then make a left hand turn and climb the second lift hill.

At the top of the second lift hill, trains drop to the left and cross under the lift hill, before rising into a 540 degree downhill counterclockwise helix, passing over a broken trestle. Leaving the helix, trains shoot up across a small hill, make a slight right turn, then drop through another tunnel and hit a trim brake. The trains then make a right hand turn into a tunnel and climb the third lift hill. As the train climbs the lift, an earthquake hits and makes the train cars sway from side to side (the effect achieved by slightly banking the track). Leaving the lift, trains emerge from the tunnel, crest a small rise, and drop to the left towards the Rivers of America. After traveling along a short section of straight track, the ride then makes a left hand turn through a short tunnel and crosses a short bridge. The train then makes a right hand turn, and passes through the ribcage of a T-Rex skeleton as it hits the final trim brake, makes a left hand turn past some geysers and hot springs, and rises into the final brakes. The train then makes a left turn back into the station.

The Florida version was allocated more space in the park, and so the Monument Valley-inspired ride structure assumes 2.5 acres, 25 percent larger than the Disneyland version. Due to the ride being surrounded by the Rivers of America on the east and the Walt Disney World Railroad on the west, the maintenance facility for the trains is on the opposite side of the Railroad's track from the ride, with a swing bridge being used where the transfer track crosses the Railroad, just past the Frontierland station.[16]

On October 14, 2024, it was announced that Magic Kingdom version of the ride will be temporarily closed for refurbishment on January 5, 2025.[17][18] The attraction will be reopen in 2026, with new magic, as part of Walt Disney World Resort's 55th anniversary celebration.[19][20]

Tokyo Disneyland version

[edit]
Big Thunder Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland

Big Thunder Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland is similar to the Florida version, but there are some differences in the ride layout. Instead of Tumbleweed, the track makes a left turn and dives into a cave, mirroring the California version of the ride. More significantly, the final segment of the ride is different. Instead of crossing back over the drop from the third lift hill, the track makes a 180 degree turn to the right before dropping out of a tunnel, through the Boneyard/geyser scene, into a short tunnel. The track then makes a right hand turn into the final brakes. The trains pass in front of the station building, and then turn back into the loading area.

Disneyland Paris version

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Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris
Big Thunder Mountain, Paris

The Paris version of the ride is unique as it is situated on an island in the middle of the Rivers of the Far West, where Tom Sawyer's Island would normally sit. It is also the only version of the ride to be an opening day attraction and the largest installment at any Disney park. Also unlike the other versions, the trains at the Paris version are painted to look weathered and aged.

Guests board the trains at a station on the mainland. Immediately upon leaving the station, trains dive into a tunnel that transports them under the Rivers of the Far West to the island where the ride is located. The train makes a right hand turn, and makes a quick steep rise before starting up the first lift hill. As trains climb out of the darkness of the underwater tunnel, stalactites and stalagmites can be seen growing next to the track, along with several rainbow colored pools of water. The sounds of bats swooping up above can also be heard. During warmer months, a waterfall parts around the track at the top of the hill. Trains pop out of the tunnel, leave the lift hill, and drop around a left hand turn, pass through a small cave, then make a swooping right turn. If the trains are being dispatched timely, when the train goes through this curve, it will appear to make a near miss with a train in the 540 degree helix.

After this turn, the trains pass under the second lift hill and its drop, making a slight hop, before making a left hand turn onto a trestle. The trains run along the Rivers of the Far West, across the water from Phantom Manor, then make a slight right hand turn and suddenly fall through a washed out section of the trestle. The trestle drop also contains an on-ride camera. After dropping down to the water level (with water jets on the sides of the track simulating a splashdown), the trains go around a left turn, enter a mill camp, and begin climbing the second lift hill.

As trains start up the lift hill, two tied down donkeys can be seen to the right side of the track, braying at passing trains, with an empty watering pail in front of them. A goat can be seen pulling on a shirt hanging on a clothesline to the riders' left, as the trains pass a parked steamroller and mine elevator, and travel under a water tower.

At the top of the lift, the trains drop to the left and cross back under the lift hill. Coming out of the drop, the trains go over another rise, hitting a magnetic trim brake, and enter a 540 degree counterclockwise helix, passing over a broken trestle.

Exiting the helix, the trains pass through a short cave and go over a quick airtime hill as they shoot down a canyon. As the trains drop through the tunnel and pass over a trim brake, a loud gust of wind is heard. Trains then make a right hand turn on another trestle, enter a tunnel with signs warning of blasting over the portal, and climb the third lift hill.

As the train starts up the third hill, the tunnel is dynamited, and artificial smoke is blasted in guests' faces as the train crests the lift and exits the tunnel. The train crests a small hill, then drops to the left onto a straightaway alongside the river, speeding up as it enters the return tunnel. The train encounters a swarm of bats in the tunnel as it makes another sharp counter-clockwise turnaround and goes down a steep drop to cross under the water. The trains continue to accelerate through the dark until it pops out of the exit portal on the mainland. An additional chain lift is located here to assist the train in leaving the tunnel. The train then coasts past the station, through the loading dock, and then makes a left turn to reenter the station.

The Paris version underwent a year long refurbishment from November 2015 to December 2016. As part of the renovation, the brakes were overhauled, some of the scenery was repainted, and a few elements from the California version were added (rainbow pools of water on the first lift hill cave, new sound effects for the mine elevator on the second lift hill, new mapping effects for the blasting scene on the third lift hill). Interactive games were also installed in the queue.[21]

In other media

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In film

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The sounds of Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad trains were recorded and used as sound effects for the mine cart chase sequence in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' 1984 film, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.[22] Disneyland would later get its own Indiana Jones attraction in 1995, and the Walt Disney Company would go on to acquire the Indiana Jones franchise with its purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012.

In August 2022, it was announced that a film adaptation of the ride was in development. Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood, collectively known as "Bert & Bertie", will serve as co-directors after the pair impressed studio executives with their pitched approach to the property. The script is being co-written by Michele and Kieran Mulroney. The project will be a joint-venture production between LuckyChap Entertainment, and Scott Free Productions.[23]

In 2022, Disney Television Animation short series Chibi Tiny Tales featured a crossover short with The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder characters visiting the ride.[24]

In television

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In January 2013, ABC ordered a pilot based on the ride titled Big Thunder Mountain, but the idea was scrapped sometime after.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

In the Modern Family episode "Disneyland", Phil (Ty Burrell) and his son Luke (Nolan Gould) ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad together during a family trip to Disneyland in Anaheim. Phil, who self-proclaims to be king of the roller coasters, begins to feel even more queasy when riding Big Thunder, after he and Luke had exited Indiana Jones Adventure prior.

[edit]

In October 2014, Marvel Comics announced a five-issue series based on the attraction, which eventually debuted in early 2015.[31] Part of Marvel's "Disney Kingdoms" line, the series elaborated on the story behind the attraction and featured input from Walt Disney Imagineering, including numerous nods to elements of the ride.[31] The story would focus around Abigail Bullion, the spirited daughter of Big Thunder Mining Company founder Barnabas T. Bullion. She falls in with a group of bandits seeking to undermine the authority of Barnabas and his corrupt foreman Willikers and put stolen wealth from the mountain to good use helping the townspeople of Rainbow Ridge.

Incidents

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See also: Incidents at Disney parks
  • March 10, 1998, Disneyland: A 5-year-old boy was seriously injured when his foot became wedged between the passenger car's running board and the edge of the exterior platform after the train temporarily paused before pulling into the unloading area. All of the toes on his left foot required amputation. This led to improvements to the ride, although the family maintains the park would not acknowledge this injury as the reason.[32]
  • September 5, 2003, Disneyland: A 22-year-old man died after suffering severe blunt trauma and extensive internal bleeding in a derailment that also injured 10 other riders.[33] The cause of the accident was determined to be improper maintenance.[34] Investigation reports and discovery by the victim's attorney confirmed the fatal injuries occurred when the first passenger car collided with the underside of the locomotive. The derailment was the result of a mechanical failure which occurred due to omissions during a maintenance procedure. Fasteners on the left side upstop/guide wheel on the floating axle of the locomotive were not tightened and safetied in accordance with specifications. As the train entered a tunnel the axle came loose and jammed against a brake section, causing the locomotive to become airborne and hit the ceiling of the tunnel. The locomotive then fell on top of the first passenger car, crushing the victim.[35] After the investigation to this incident was complete, the ride was reopened on March 11, 2004.[36]
  • April 25, 2011, Disneyland Paris: Five guests were injured when a piece of scenery fell onto a passing train. One guest, a 38-year-old man, was seriously injured and transported to a Paris hospital, while the other four were treated at the scene.[37]
  • October 27, 2011, Disneyland Paris: Two cars derailed as one of the ride's trains passed slowly over a flat section of track. Two guests were slightly injured, and the ride was subsequently closed for inspections.[38]
  • February 2017, a 54-year-old man died after riding Magic Kingdom's attraction at Walt Disney World. The cause of his death is believed to be from natural causes due to a pre-existing medical condition. A Disney spokesperson said the ride was operating as normal.[39][40]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort Official Guide 2003, pg. 65, (c) 2003 Disney Editions
  2. ^ a b "Interview with Imagineer Tony Baxter". Archived from the original on February 6, 2012.
  3. ^ Strodder, Chris (2017). The Disneyland Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). Santa Monica Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-1595800909.
  4. ^ "File Single Rider en test sur Big Thunder Mountain". August 26, 2018. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. ^ "Single Rider Coming Next Month to Big Thunder Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland". December 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Bea (October 15, 2024). "Walt Disney World closing attractions for refurbishment and new land". Blooloop. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Yu, Yi-Jin (October 15, 2024). "Disney World's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to close for at least 1 year". ABC News. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Mitchell, Marc A.; Wartinger, David D. (October 1, 2016). "Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster". The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. 116 (10): 647–52. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2016.128. ISSN 0098-6151. PMID 27669068. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  9. ^ Willingham, AJ (September 28, 2016). "Little kidney stone? Ride a roller coaster, says study". CNN. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  10. ^ Michigan State University. "Got kidney stones? Ride a roller coaster". MSUToday. Michigan State University. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  11. ^ Surrell, Jason. The Disney Mountains Imagineering at Its Peak, Disney Editions, New York, 2007. pp. 60-75.
  12. ^ Surrell, Jason. The Disney Mountains Imagineering at Its Peak, Disney Editions, New York, 2007. pp. 67-69.
  13. ^ Jim Fanning (2009). Disneyland Challenge. Disney Editions. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-4231-0675-3.
  14. ^ Glover, Erin (March 7, 2014). "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to Reopen March 17 at Disneyland Park". DisneyParks Blog. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  15. ^ "Products". Dynamic Attractions. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
  16. ^ Surrell, Jason. The Disney Mountains Imagineering at Its Peak, Disney Editions, New York, 2007. p. 72.
  17. ^ "Walt Disney World Teases More Announcements to Come for Frontierland in Magic Kingdom - WDW News Today". wdwnt.com. January 9, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  18. ^ "RUMOR: Big Thunder Mountain Closing for Major Refurbishment As Part Of Magic Kingdom Expansion Project - WDW News Today". wdwnt.com. June 14, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "BREAKING: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom Closing for At Least a Year - WDW News Today". wdwnt.com. October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Mike (October 14, 2024). "BREAKING: Big Thunder Mountain Closing for Multi-Year Refurbishment, Will Reopen in 2026 With "New Magic"". BlogMickey.com - Disney World News, Photos, and Info. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  21. ^ "Closures & Refurbishments". December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  22. ^ Slater, Tyler. "Five Things You Might Have Missed Aboard Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Park". Disney Parks Blog. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  23. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 16, 2022). "'Hawkeye' Directors Bert & Bertie To Direct Big Thunder Mountain Movie For Disney, LuckyChap and Scott Free". Deadline. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  24. ^ Big Thunder Mountain x The Proud Family | Chibi Tiny Tales | Disney Channel Animation, retrieved November 11, 2023
  25. ^ Nellie Andreeva (January 30, 2013). "UPDATE: Big Thunder Mountain Drama, Projects From Mark Gordon, Ryan Reynolds & Martin Campbell Get ABC Pilot Orders". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  26. ^ Nellie Andreeva (February 20, 2013). "Melissa Rosenberg To Run ABC's 'Big Thunder' Drama Pilot". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Nellie Andreeva (February 27, 2013). "Jay Hernandez Joins Fox's 'Gang Related', Ana De La Reguera In ABC's 'Big Thunder'". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  28. ^ Nellie Andreeva (March 2, 2013). "ABC Pilot Castings: Andrea Savage Boards John Leguizamo Comedy, Matt Oberg Joins 'Pulling', Zahn McClarnon In 'Big Thunder'". Deadline.
  29. ^ Nellie Andreeva (March 6, 2013). "Scott Bakula Joins TNT's Bounty Hunter Pilot, ABC's 'Big Thunder' Casts A Lead". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  30. ^ Nellie Andreeva (March 9, 2013). "ABC Pilot 'Big Thunder' Finds Lead, CW's 'Oxygen' & ABC's 'Influence' Add To Casts". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Russ Burlingame (October 18, 2014). "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Comic Coming From Marvel's Disney Kingdoms Line". comicbook.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  32. ^ Saffian, Sarah (May 2000). "The Hidden Danger of Amusement Parks". Redbook. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  33. ^ "Theme Park Accident, 11 Injured". KABC-TV. September 7, 2003. Archived from the original on September 6, 2003.
  34. ^ "Big Thunder Railroad Death Brings Big Admission From Disney". Legal Examiner. December 4, 2005. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  35. ^ "Verdict settlement for BTMRR". Archived from the original on March 15, 2009.
  36. ^ David Haldane; Kimi Yoshino (March 11, 2004). "Disneyland Rail Ride Is Reopened". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  37. ^ "Five injured on Disneyland Paris ride". MyFoxOrlando.com. April 25, 2011. Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  38. ^ "Second accident at Disney train ride". The Connexion. Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  39. ^ "Man dies after riding Disney World's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad". Orlando Sentinel. April 21, 2017. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  40. ^ "Man dies after riding Thunder Mountain in Disney World". KRON4. April 22, 2017. Archived from the original on April 24, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
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