Big Thunder Mountain
Railroad
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At A Glance |
Runaway train themed roller
coaster - no loops, an dnot particularly fast, but some very
tight curves make this a great attraction that's well worth
riding depsite the long queues. |
Along with Splash Mountain, also in Frontierland, and Space Mountain
in Tomorrowland, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of The
Magic Kingdom's big crowd pullers, so again be prepared to queue.
Big Thunder Mountain is a runaway mine train style rollercoaster,
though it's not particularly fast or frightening. There's no inverted
loops, no corkscrews, no large drops, and no particularly violent
corners, tending to derive it's thrill factor more from it's undulations
and twists rather than it's sheer fright factor as with many coasters.
In total the ride is 2,780 feet long from start to finish, and
covers 2 and a half acres of land. Along it's length are 20 audio
animatronic figures, including bats, donkeys, chickens, goats
and people. The ride also has a few waterfalls, and even and old
flooded minimg town called Tumbleweed.
The 4 minute long ride is littered throughout with genuine items
of minimg equipment from the times of the Klondike Gold Rush,
though the dinosaur bones that stick out of the walls in the loading
area definitely aren't real. It's also a ride that should be visited
at least twice, with one of the visits after dark, when the lighting
definitely adds to the atmosphere.
On the whole it's a great fun ride, and definitely one that should
be done, though as with Space and Splash Mountains, various ride
restrictions are adhered to, so avoid the ride if you have a heart
condition, or either back of neck problems. Again there's a minimm
ride height restriction of 40 inches which may prevent small children
from being able to ride Big Thunder Mountain.
Note that in total Big Thunder Mountain cost somewhere around
$17 million to build, which is close to the figure it cost to
build all of the Californian Disneyland in 1955!
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