September 2 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

September 2 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

On this day, in 1979, guests in Disneyland's Frontierland began boarding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

When Walt Disney World opened in Florida in 1971, it did not include a Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Imagineers felt it would be more exciting for Floridian guests to experience a cowboy theme because evidence of real pirates was all over the state. They proposed an area in Frontierland called the Western River Expedition that would have a river boat ride and a mine train roller coaster, with extensive plans and concepts committed to paper by Marc Davis. The fact that it would have been the most expensive attraction to date, coupled with the number one complaint of guests being "Where are the pirates?", meant it never got built.

After a Pirates ride opened in Florida in 1973, an Imagineer by the name of Tony Baxter proposed building just the mine train portion of the WRE. That plan got approval but it would be pushed back by the development of Space Mountain, a delay that would benefit the attraction. By the time Big Thunder went into actual production, computers were starting to be used in ride design and this probably gave the coaster a smoother ride.

Although it came from a plan meant for the Florida project, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was first built in California. Built on the land previously occupied by the Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland, there are all kinds of homages to it predecessor incorporated into the attraction.  The coaster itself is named after the waterfall the older mine train traveled by. Several of the animatronic animals from the previous ride can be seen along Big Thunder's track. The Rainbow Caverns on the first lift hill echo an old area and the mini Western town in the queue area should look familiar as well.

There are two major differences between the attractions in American parks. One, the track used in Disneyland's version is a mirror image of that used in Florida. Two, the landscape in California is rounder while Disney World's is much more angular.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad would make its way around the world. The Florida version would open in 1982. A version that is kind of a hybrid between California and Florida would open in Tokyo Disneyland in 1987. Disneyland Paris' version, basically a copy of Florida's, would be the only one that existed on its park's opening day in 1992. Both the Tokyo and Paris rides do not officially have the word Railroad in their name.

The last thing to note about Big Thunder is its medical benefits. A study came out in 2016 showing that riding the mine train coaster could help someone pass a kidney stone nearly 70% of the time. The study also noted that riding Space Mountain or Rock 'n' Roller Coaster did not have the same benefits, so if you're suffering from stones, head over to the Railroad first.