Pop Culture Flashback: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (September 2)

Hardcore fans and Disney adults often struggle when an older favorite attraction is replaced with something new. But that wasn’t really the case in the late 70s when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rose in place of one of Walt’s first attractions in Disneyland.

1979 – The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

Big Thunder Mountain Railway attraction at Disneyland. — Big Thunder Mountain Railway at Disneyland. *(Tyler/Wikimedia Commons)*

Depending on how old you are, you may not know that Big Thunder Mountain wasn’t always a fixture in Disneyland. In the early days, the space was occupied by the more sedate Rainbow Caverns Mine Train.

Rainbow Caverns Mine Train opened on July 2, 1956, as part of the Living Desert area of Frontierland. Guests could spot animatronic animals along the route to Rainbow Caverns aboard the gentle train ride. While beautiful, the ride was a little dull. Sort of like the Jungle Cruise without the jokes. After a few years, Walt Disney asked Imagineer Marc Davis to see if he could bring some humor to the ride like he had done for the jungle boat ride.

After a lengthy rebuilding and re-imaging, the ride re-opened as Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland on June 12, 1960. It was meant to be reminiscent to Disney’s True-Life Adventures film series. Now the train took guests to new areas such as Cascade Peak, Bear Country and Beaver Valley.

Mine train images from Disneyland — Left Image: A scene from Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland (Cpo57/Wikimedia Commons).
Right Image: The remains of the train now used as scenery. (Tom Arthur/Wikimedia Commons)

Where’s the Thrill?

By the 1970’s thrill rides were becoming more popular, and Disneyland needed a new one to compete with the other amusement parks. On January 2, 1977, the mine train made its last loop around the attraction, and a majestic mountain rose in its place.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in Disneyland on this day in 1979. Designed by Tony Baxter, it features some of the favorite elements from the previous attraction including the town of Rainbow Ridge, animatronic animals (don’t miss the dynamite-chewing goat!) and the caverns. There is even one former train sitting in the weeds nearby used as a tribute to the former attraction.

The real draw is the updated train ride which became the “wildest ride in the wilderness”. The thrill ride takes guests up the mountain and down into dark caverns and abandoned mines within four minutes.

One Ride, Four Versions

Initially, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was supposed to open at Walt Disney World first, but ultimately it was decided that Disneyland was the better fit for the ride’s first edition. It integrated nicely with the existing Rainbow Ridge mining town scenery. The boost in ticket sales didn’t hurt either.

Copycat versions of Big Thunder Railroad have been built at the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

Indiana Jones' bullwhip and hat — *(Gary Stewart / Wikimedia Commons)*

Fun Fact:

The sound effects used in Disneyland’s version of Big Thunder Railroad were recorded and were repurposed in 1984. They were used for the mine car chase scenes in the movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

2013 – The World’s Widest Bridge

San Francisco Bay Bridge — The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge *(Wikimedia Commons)*

The original San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened on November 12, 1936 – six months before the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge features two sections: the Western section, a double suspension bridge which connects Yerba Buena Island and the newer eastern section which connects the island to Oakland.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake caused a section of the Eastern section’s upper deck to collapse onto the lower one and was closed for a month. Reconstruction of that section of the bridge began in 2002 and it was reopened on this day in 2013.

The cost for this project ran about $6.5 billion and was given the title of the “world’s widest bridge” according to Guinness World Records.

1969 – USA’s First ATM’s

“On September 2, our bank will open at 9:00 and never close” read an ad for the Rockville Centre Chemical Bank in 1969. The bank had the distinction of becoming the very first institution in the U.S. to install a “Docuteller” better known as an Automatic Teller Machine or ATM. It was created by Donald Wetzel’s company, Docutel.

While executives were unsure if customers would feel comfortable using such a device, in a vote of confidence, the bank installed three more machines at three other branches. Today, you would be hard-pressed to find a bank without one. Not only were customers willing to use them, but they also happily paid a fee for the honor of the privilege.