Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Backstory:
As the explorers and travelers of the new American frontier begin to traverse further west into the mountains, settlers begin to settle along the bases of these mountains for the scenic views as well as for what lies inside. One of these settlers being Jason Chandler, a member of the Society of Explorers and Imagineers. Old fables were passed down among the travelers that riches beyond your wildest dreams are buried inside the mountains of the west, which prompted interest in mining and drilling as occupations to try and discover these treasures.
After years of searching though, the initial settlers were out of luck, and the towns of the frontier began to wither away as Chandler and others decided to pack up and head further west for more hopeful tomorrows.
Though most people believe that the settlers left the town because of the shortage of treasures in the mountains, other oral traditions believe that they left due to the mountains being haunted. The reason the settlers called the tallest mountain "Big Thunder" was due to the earthquakes that would level anyone who dared to enter the mountain base. Other stories claim that the prospectors built a mining train within the mountains, which the spirits didn't like at all, and caused the train to go careening through the mountains, spooking the miners as they left the town for good.
For decades people have been conflicted as to which stories are true, and you the guests get to find out once and for all the truth behind Big Thunder Mountain
Queue:
As guests approach the basin of the mountain on their journey west through Frontierland, they enter through the small, abandoned town of Baxter, Utah. In the town of Baxter you could see the shops and small quaint areas that the townspeople built when the area was populated. Now it is worn down and you hear the faint sound of a train whistle off in the distance as you approach what looks to be a mining facility. As you go deeper into the ground, you see the mining railroad approaching the station and you board the train for "the wildest ride in the wilderness!"
Attraction Ride-Through:
The new Big Thunder Mountain is very much a family roller coaster type experience that combines together a lot of the aspects that made the other versions memorable. This version begins underground much like the WDW version and lurches forward into a darkened tunnel of the mine. You see glowing diamonds on the sides and feel the train going faster and faster as it approaches the first lift hill and begins a steep ascent.
You open up again to the outdoors and are sent swerving around the outside of the mountain, into a drop, and around a sharp right turn. The ride then goes through 2 more lift hills, the 2nd being the steepest and most exhilarating as you face south and get a view of all of the Disneyland park before you drop yet again into a hairpin turn.
The finale of the ride sends you straight through the town before you dive down again into the mine and come to a slow deceleration back into the station to disembark the train.
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...it's almost over though!
