Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Question

sanaj2000

Member
Original Poster
Call me crazy, but when I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a few years ago, wasn't there some spiel on the ride about the mountain being haunted?
I just got back and there was no spiel. Does anyone remember any talking in the ride, or am I nuts?
 

sshindel

The Epcot Manifesto
Call me crazy, but when I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a few years ago, wasn't there some spiel on the ride about the mountain being haunted?
I just got back and there was no spiel. Does anyone remember any talking in the ride, or am I nuts?
Nothing like that I've ever heard. Did you perhaps ride during the Halloween season, or during MNSSHP (I think that's the acronym)? I just know it as the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!
 

Bravo 229

Member
Maybe you're thinking of 'this is the wildest ride in the wilderness'?

Haunted mountain? That gave me an idea: instead of Haunted Galaxy in Space Mountain, why not a Night on Big Thunder Mountain overlay? That would be something unique they could throw in there during the holiday!
 

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
Call me crazy, but when I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a few years ago, wasn't there some spiel on the ride about the mountain being haunted?
I just got back and there was no spiel. Does anyone remember any talking in the ride, or am I nuts?


I think you might be nuts. :lol: j/k

The storyline for the attraction has never reflected anything being haunted, so I think it's a safe bet to say the safety spiel has never reflected it either.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Don't think I've ever actually heard it in the park, but there *is* the "Ballad of Thunder Mountain" which I have on MP3 from somewhere...
Here is the song on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXmb59YLRUs

And here's the lyrics (as best as I and a few other people have been able to transcribe it):

At Big Thunder Mountain station there’s a frightened, trembling man,
His body’s weak and feeble, and his skin has lost its tan.
When I asked him for a ticket he turned and shook his head.
He grabbed me by the shoulder, and this is what he said:
“Before you get on-board this train there’s something you should know.
When I finish with this tale, you might not want to go.”
I listened with amazement at what he said was true,
And now my friend the time has come to tell this tale to you.

Hear the legend of Thunder Mountain,
If you’re weak of heart then stay away
From Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad, run away.

He said “As legend has it on one foggy night in June,
The train and crew pulled out at twelve beneath a darkened moon.
The boiler full of water, and the tender full of coal.
The whistle screamed a warning as the wheels began to roll.
Then like a b__________g bronco with a cougar on its back,
The train began to run away down miles and miles of track.
What happened to the crew that night no one has ever learned.
The train pulled in all by itself, the men did not return.”

Hear the legend of Thunder Mountain,
If you’re weak of heart then stay away
From Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad, run away.

The history of Big Thunder continues to unfold.
The stories of its danger continue to be told.
With avalanches, rattlesnakes and earthquakes in the night,
And voices of that phantom crew that chill your blood with fright.
“So please forgive me, Mister, if I’m standing in your way.
But before you buy your ticket, there’s one thing I have to say:”

Hear the legend of Thunder Mountain,
If you’re weak of heart then stay away
From Big Thunder Mountain Railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad, run away.
(2 more times.....)
 
You might be thinking of the spiel they do about Big Thunder Mountain on the Liberty Belle (or is it the park train?)

Something along the lines of:
------------------
The name big thunder was originally attributed to the sound of flash floods by the natives who lived there, and not really the miners who caused a thunder with their search for gold.
Now days, you hear the sound of the haunted mine trains roaring through the mountain.
------------------

The mine trains are possessed after all - there is no engineer in the front.

I did a quick search and was surprised I couldn't find the spiel. Anyone know?
 

Master Gracey 5

Active Member
You might be thinking of the spiel they do about Big Thunder Mountain on the Liberty Belle (or is it the park train?)

Something along the lines of:
------------------
The name big thunder was originally attributed to the sound of flash floods by the natives who lived there, and not really the miners who caused a thunder with their search for gold.
Now days, you hear the sound of the haunted mine trains roaring through the mountain.
------------------

The mine trains are possessed after all - there is no engineer in the front.

I did a quick search and was surprised I couldn't find the spiel. Anyone know?


Don't know the spiel, but I think you're on the right track (no pun intended) - its something along the lines of indian legends of the mountain that might be making you think its haunted. Technically the mine cars are just runaway trains.
 

nolatron

Well-Known Member
Wikipedia says (So it must be true, heh):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Thunder_Mountain_Railroad

Although the details of the backstory vary from park to park, all follow the same general story arcs. Some time in the late 1800s, gold was discovered on Big Thunder Mountain in the American southwest. Overnight, the small mining town of Rainbow Ridge (at Disneyland), Tumbleweed (at the Magic Kingdom), or Thunder Mesa (at Disneyland Paris) became a thriving mining town. Mining was prosperous, and an extensive line of mine trains was set up to transported the ore. Unknown to the settlers, the Mountain was a sacred spot to local Native Americansand 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 anearthquake (Disneyland Paris, Disneyland) or aflash flood (Magic Kingdom), 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 tourists to take rides on the possessed trains.


Footnote 1: # ^ Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort Official Guide 2003, pg. 65, (c) 2003 Disney Editions
 

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
You might be thinking of the spiel they do about Big Thunder Mountain on the Liberty Belle (or is it the park train?)

Something along the lines of:
------------------
The name big thunder was originally attributed to the sound of flash floods by the natives who lived there, and not really the miners who caused a thunder with their search for gold.
Now days, you hear the sound of the haunted mine trains roaring through the mountain.
------------------

The mine trains are possessed after all - there is no engineer in the front.

I did a quick search and was surprised I couldn't find the spiel. Anyone know?

I'm going to have to check my "Disney Mountains" book tonight and see what it says. I've always been under the impression it was a runaway mine train through a flooded town. :shrug:
 

sanaj2000

Member
Original Poster
Thanks guys. Maybe I was thinking of the Liberty Bell Spiel.
I could've sworn that there was something said about the time you fly past that train station though.
 

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