Tomorrow, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens after a 16-month refurbishment. During the closure, teams not only replaced the entire length of roller coaster track, but they also added some new magic. While we’ve covered a lot of what’s new and what to expect when The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness reopens, Disney offered a refresher on the lore and backstory of the classic attraction. Let’s mine for a deeper appreciation of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
Backstory of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The legend of Big Thunder at Walt Disney World traces back to the old days of the American frontier, when prospectors from across the country flocked west during the early days of America’s first major gold rush.
Glitter was discovered in the Big Thunder Mountain region, and at the time, it was thought to be one of the richest strikes that they would find beyond the west of the Mississippi.
Many say that fortune favors the bold, but unsuspecting passengers who are ready to board the runaway trains will soon be reminded just how wild the wilderness can get, and what secrets lie within the might and mystery of Big Thunder Mountain.
Our story dates back to the Olden Times, or rather, the Golden Times with Barnabas T. Bullion, the eldest son of a wealthy and powerful mining family. Bullion is a key member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers (S.E.A.), a group that was established in the early 1500s to conduct research for the advancement of navigation and exploration. The group quickly grew to become an organization that traveled the world in search of knowledge, adventure, art, and precious cultural artifacts, and includes other members such as Lord Henry Mystic, Harrison Hightower III, and Dr. Albert Falls.
Years ago, Bullion received a land grant from the United States government, giving him ironclad land rights to the Western River Valley (including Thunder Mesa and Big Thunder Mountain) in the Great American Southwest. According to the land grant found in the queue (pictured below), Bullion received 340 acres of land from the government. The land was granted for Bullion’s “service to the country”, and signed by President James K. Polk.
Upon receiving the land, Bullion was determined to extract every ounce of gold hidden deep within the mountain, motivated to relentlessly mine the mountain until he had yielded all its treasure. Alas, the Big Thunder Mining Company was officially founded in 1850, sparking Bullion’s never-ending quest for gold and launching an ambitious operation driven by his unrelenting belief that future fortunes lay buried beneath the red rock. Of course, dreams of mining for gold don’t come with other costs in the struggle, and Bullion found himself in an epic battle with nature.
Big Thunder Mountain stood for centuries in a docile, desolate land, but the local lore spoke of protective forces that were deep within this mountain. Those who ventured too close found themselves in a heap of trouble.
At first, the gold flowed freely. But as nature began to push back and frustrations began to mount, the easy pickings started to dwindle day after day. Miners were forced to dig deeper and deeper into the mountainside, even laying tracks into the very heart of the mountain.
While no longer part of the official backstory, the former Liberty Square Riverboat had a pre-recorded script about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as it passed by. We’ll include it below for posterity:
Indians ’round here used to tell me these geysers were actually unfriendly spirits, upset by uninvited trespassers traipsin’ all over their sacred huntin’ grounds. Be that as it may, that’s Big Thunder Mountain pokin’ up in the sky over there. The Indians named it that because of the sound the falls used to make when the big rains came. Then the miners and prospectors and get-rich-quick speculators showed up — and the name stuck because of the sound of blastin’ powder goin’ off every few minutes. There’s not so much blastin’ these days — just ghost stories about a runaway mine train loaded down with simple-hearted, terror-filled folks like you.
Yet strange, unexplainable things quickly started happening. Despite Bullion’s efforts to continue to push forward at full speed, machines and equipment began to fail. Cave-ins shut miners out of rich strikes, and rumbles of thunder came from deep inside the angry mountain. The forces of Big Thunder Mountain seemed to be fighting back!
As Bullion’s grand operation crumbles beneath the weight of the protective forces of the mountain, a substantial vein of gold hasn’t been found in months inside the mines, and very few miners (outside a few, brave seekers) remain based in the area. But keep your eyes out on your next train ride: there’s plenty of gold to be found around the mountain!
If you’re brave enough to test Big Thunder Mountain, you’ll arrive at the legendary Big Thunder Mining Company. From there, you’ll descend into an active mine shaft and board your runaway train. After dispatching from the station, trains rattle their way underground to spectacular natural caverns full of phosphorescent pools, shimmering and illuminating iridescent stalagmites (the ones on the floor) and stalactites (the ones on the ceiling).
The Rainbow Caverns certainly are beautiful… but they ain’t as friendly as they first appear. In fact, that menacing rumble from deep within the mountain may be a sign that we ain’t welcome. After a narrow escape, the engine speeds up along the rickety track, then swoops around turns, drops into canyons, and darts through the town of Tumbleweed.
Once a flourishing boomtown working hand in hand with the prosperous lifestyle of a miner, the town of Tumbleweed was the beating heart of the region’s Wild West ambitions. Complete with a boarding house, a company store, a saloon, a jail, and several other establishments, Tumbleweed was once a soaring town full of high hopes and spirited dreams, accompanied by Big Thunder’s early success.
But as the mines fell silent, Tumbleweed began to dwindle. The steady flow of fortune dried up, and hardship and an unforgiving drought have stacked the odds against its favor; the town has now grown as lifeless as the surrounding desert, with its once-bustling streets now coated in dust and despair.
Yet the people of Tumbleweed cling to hope whenever it can be found on the horizon. Enter Professor Cumulus Isobar, “Rainmaker Extraordinaire and Purveyor of Magical Elixirs,” a scholar who has recently gained local popularity as someone who guarantees that his paying customers would not go dry for long.
His arrival has brought slight optimism among locals, as his mere presence has sometimes brought rain into the forecast with an eventual flash flood result if the nearby ground had baked too long in the sun. Whether he is a miracle worker or a master showman of the Wild West remains to be seen, but Isobar has become the town’s latest gamble in its quest to return to its former glory.
Fast forward to the present day. It’s the late 1800s, and the forces of Big Thunder Mountain are at an all-time high. Miners are worrying about mischievous spirits (some think they are beginning to hear whisperings of cautionary messages), and with cave-ins happening more often than ever.
Yet the most troubling aspect of all? The narrow-gauge engines are rolling out of the makeshift station (buried down inside a sloping, cactus-sprouting hill) with no human hand at the controls, racing driverless at high speeds along the spiraling steel and wooden track leading deep into the mountain.
Before you board the runaway mine car, you’ll enter the Big Thunder Mining Offices on the second level before winding your way down into a large open shaft where the trains are being kept.
Passing by a memorable “No Drinking, No Fighting, No Whistling, No Kidding” sign, a blown open safe, Bullion’s land grant as signed by James K. Polk, and a slightly-sinister portrait of the company’s looming founder surrounds you in the lore of the mining company, while the sweeping landscape across the hills of Big Thunder Mountain put you in the middle of theallure, mystery, and romance of the Old West.
Passing by the Foreman’s Post (operated by the domineering watcher of the mine, G. Willikers), the Fusing Cage, the blasting machines, and the ventilation services lead you to the heart of the mining operation below, where flickering lanterns, busy miners, and railway workers bustle about.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World features several open-air trains, including “U.B. Bold,” “U.R. Daring,” “U.R. Courageous,” “I.M. Brave,” “I.B. Hearty,” and “I.M. Fearless.”
As a train pulls into the station, the time is almost near, and the clock is already ticking: you’ll soon be ready for a dive into the depths of Big Thunder Mountain, plunging you into the thrilling chaos of the wildest ride in the wilderness.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!