One of the Disney mountain attractions at Magic Kingdom park, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, is a classic Disney attraction that is very popular with park guests. Designed to resemble a runaway mine train, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad takes guests on a "wild ride through the wilderness" with mine shafts, dark caverns, bat caves and water features. Walt Disney Imagineering custom designed this mine train roller coaster with three sections, separated by three lift hills. While similar to the one at Disneyland Park, the track layout here is a mirror image of the original with a slightly extended section before the second lift hill that features the abandoned town of Tumbleweed. One more difference is that the park allocated 2.5 acres of space for this attraction making the mountain 25% larger than the Disneyland Park version.
See related: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Pictures
| Year | Track | Type | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Steel | Mine Train | Walt Disney Imagineering, Arrow Dynamics |
Features: Three Lift Hills, Dual Station Loading
Big Thunder Mountain is designed to operate with a maximum of five trains on the circuit.
Rows are designed for two riders, but three smaller riders may be seated in a single row.
2012 – Shut down from January to June for a major renovations, including the replacement of significant portions of steel track.
Opening date: November 15, 1980
Train has five cars with three rows each, seating two abreast per row.
Height requirement: Riders must be at least 40 inches tall
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