The History of Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

On September 2, 1979, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in Frontierland at Disneyland Park. The ride’s predecessor, the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train, ran from 1956 to 1959 and then became Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland, which ran from 1960 to 1977. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was based on Walt Disney’s love of the American Southwest and was developed by Imagineer Tony Baxter. Interestingly, the new ride utilized some of the set pieces from Walt’s original western mining town of Rainbow Ridge. The scenery for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was inspired by Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and the rocks, including the famous spires or hoodoos, were all carefully manufactured to look realistic using cement and paint. The ride also utilized forced perspective for the reduced-scale old western town. The ride took five years of planning and another two years of building before it was ready to take its place as the third of four “mountains” at Disneyland. (Matterhorn Bobsleds and Space Mountain predated Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, while Splash Mountain came later.) In the years after Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Disneyland Paris each received a unique version of the attraction. The rockwork and design elements of each are based on Monument Valley, Sedona Arizona, and Yellowstone National Park, respectively. Today, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad remains a classic and beloved attraction at all of these Disney Parks.