MK Big Thunder Mountain to receive full retrack

[LSLS]

i'm still curious why the track is black and not brown

Maybe something to do with the Florida sun?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Probably didn't want to spend the extra money on a painted track.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Probably didn't want to spend the extra money on a painted track.

Was the track ever actually brown?

 

[Fox&Hound]

Any hints on when this is opening? Should be soon(ish). We are going in early Jun, and I hope it is running by then as it’s my wife’s favorite.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Was the track ever actually brown?

Yeah the original track was a matte aged looking rust color. And it wasn't because of actual rust presumably, it can be seen here from early construction where the steel was just starting to go up and the track was still being installed.

 

[jmuboy]

When the wood ties are all in place around it the track structure won’t be that noticeable. I can give them a pass here. The last lift hill remaining unchanged will be pathetic

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Yeah the original track was a matte aged looking rust color. And it wasn't because of actual rust presumably, it can be seen here from early construction where the steel was just starting to go up and the track was still being installed.

View attachment 902940

Now that is an amazing and fascinating picture! Where did you find it? I didn't realize they built the mountain around the track. Are there more pictures from this time?

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Now that is an amazing and fascinating picture! Where did you find it? I didn't realize they built the mountain around the track. Are there more pictures from this time?

I got it off google images, not sure if this page is the original source (says someone named Dan Hiller took them) but it has a ton of construction photos-

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Construction- Magic Kingdom - Imagineering Disney -

It's January 20, 1980. Let's hop aboard the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat to see the the const...

www.imagineeringdisney.com

Coaster track is often one of the earlier things to be built during construction on these types of themed mountain coasters, alongside other basic steel framework. Makes sense to tackle that earlier, and keep it as separate as possible from the scenery elements.

 

[Delta-7]

Just realized I forgot that the tracks of Expedition Everest and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are also brown. Guess that rules out the Florida sun?

 

[MisterPenguin]

Just realized I forgot that the tracks of Expedition Everest and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are also brown. Guess that rules out the Florida sun?

Cocoa butter.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

I got it off google images, not sure if this page is the original source (says someone named Dan Hiller took them) but it has a ton of construction photos-

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Construction- Magic Kingdom - Imagineering Disney -

It's January 20, 1980. Let's hop aboard the Admiral Joe Fowler Riverboat to see the the const...

www.imagineeringdisney.com

Coaster track is often one of the earlier things to be built during construction on these types of themed mountain coasters, alongside other basic steel framework. Makes sense to tackle that earlier, and keep it as separate as possible from the scenery elements.

Ok so, help me out here. What exactly is the difference in layout? I see the straightaway through the town is missing from Disneyland, and an additional helix at the top end. But I can't fill in the blanks.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

Ok so, help me out here. What exactly is the difference in layout? I see the straightaway through the town is missing from Disneyland, and an additional helix at the top end. But I can't fill in the blanks.

The only difference is the stretch of track right before and through the flooded town at MK. There's a helix right before the town (it's just a curve at DL) and the track itself is slightly more straight as it goes through the town, though it have that "wobbling" sequence as it goes through it (something I wonder if they're actually going to keep fully intact). Otherwise it's a mirror image with variations to the scenery.

Interestingly, California's is the only version of BTM that uses that mirrored track orientation. MK, Paris and Tokyo all follow the same orientation as one another. MK however is the only version with that extra helix and wobbling section before lift 2. Paris and Tokyo just reuse Disneyland's simple non-helix curve (and of course lack a town scene entirely there). Though Paris does have its own unique track layout around the load/unload station since it has to travel a ways underneath the river to get to the island (it's also quite fast in those sections). I'm not as familiar with Tokyo's, but the station is also positioned a bit differently and the track connecting it is altered a bit to compensate.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Though Paris does have its own unique track layout around the load/unload station since it has to travel a ways underneath the river to get to the island (it's also quite fast in those sections).

Paris also has the splashdown into the river before the 2nd lift, which looks great from Phantom Manor's front porch

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

They were going to re-install the falling objects, but they were afraid that it would cause too much stress on the structure of the ride, so they just put stationary boulders in place with the strobe, and b-mode was enabled.

Not to mention, the refurbishment of the rocks would require part of the mountain to be demolished and rebuilt!