Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens today at Magic Kingdom

New magic arrived at the Magic Kingdom today when the popular Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened after a long refurbishment with new scenes. It’s the wildest ride in the wilderness, or at least on the east coast! And folks lined up for an 85 minute wait for most of the day to experience the attraction once again!

Barnabas T Bullion at Big Thunder Mountain — Photo credit: Disney Parks Blog

Big Thunder Mountain Story

The story of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad dates back to Olden Times, or rather, Golden Times, during the early days of America’s first major gold rush. When Barnabas T. Bullion struck gold in the Big Thunder region, he saw a future full of riches and hustled to start the Big Thunder Mountain Company.

However, them shiny dreams rarely come without a cost, and Bullion quickly found himself in a battle with the forces of nature and in a whole heap of trouble. One day, strange and unexplainable things started happening. Machines failed. Cave-ins shut mines down.

No matter how deep the miners dug into the heart of the mountain, the forces of Big Thunder fought back. And now that the attraction has reopened at the Magic Kingdom, the unsuspectin’ passengers who board the runaway trains will learn just how wild the wilderness can get.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom — Photo credit: Disney Parks Blog

About Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

The attraction originally opened at the Walt Disney World Resort in the Magic Kingdom on November 15, 1980.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom closed on January 6, 2025 for a lengthy refurbishment. A key part of the refurbishment was installing a new track and refreshed passenger trains. These updates were carefully planned to preserve the attraction’s classic storytelling and trademark hootin’ an’ hollerin’ energy, while adding new life, movement, and detail to the experience guests know so well.

One key update is a lowered height requirement of 38” for shorter guests ready to explore the gold mine.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Reopens — Photo credit: Disney Parks Blog

In addition to the refurbishment of the attraction, new magic was added to The Rainbow Caverns. The caverns are beautiful but they ain’t as friendly as they first appear. When you hear that menacing rumble from deep within the mountain, it may be a sign that we ain’t welcome.

When the runaway mine trains rattle their way underground to The Rainbow Caverns, guest will discover spectacular natural caverns full of phosphorescent pools, shimmering and illuminating iridescent stalagmites and stalactites.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Around the World

The attraction first opened at the Disneyland Resort on September 2, 1979. Big Thunder Mountain had been in development for many years. The concept came from Tony Baxter’s work on fellow Imagineer Marc Davis’s concept for the Western River Expedition which was going to take the place of Pirate of the Caribbean at the Magic Kingdom. But, the Disney Imagineers quickly learned that Walt Disney World guests were disappointed that the popular Pirates of the Caribbean Disneyland attraction was not an option at the Magic Kingdom. So, because of guest demand as well as an expensive budget for the Western River Expedition, the project was scrapped.

However, when Disneyland was looking to revive an outdated area of the park, Tony Baxter proposed a runaway mine train attraction that was a part of the Western River Expedition concept. In addition to the Disneyland construction project, Disney executive decided to build the attraction both coasts with the Disneyland version of the attraction opening first and the Walt Disney World version opening a year later.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is not only an attraction at the United States Disney Parks. The attraction s also located at Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. In Tokyo and Paris, the attraction is named Big Thunder Mountain. The Tokyo version is very similar to the Disneyland Park attraction in Anaheim, CA, but the Paris version has a little extra magic. In Paris, the attraction was built on an island inside the theme park. Once guests board the mine trains inside the park, they blast through tunnels under water that emerge on the island for the wild twists and turns around the mountain before returning back to the mainland.