Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World and Disneyland may rank really high in Disney ride reviews, but how scary might it be – and what exactly might you be afraid of?
This classic Disney attraction takes you through a haunted gold mine aboard a speeding train. It's featured in 4 Disney theme parks around the world: Disneyland Park, Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. With it's popularity, it's on the “must-do” list of Disney rides for many guests.
But what exactly might make it a scary ride? We've ridden Big Thunder Mountain countless times in the domestic Disney parks and understand the ins and outs of it like the back of our hands.
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Both versions of Big Thunder Mountain have nearly identical ride tracks, but mirrored to each other.
As your train leaves the train station, you enter a bat-infested tunnel before making a series of turns and climb the first lift hill. You'll ascend through a cavern full of stalactites, then drop before making another series of turns. On the way down from your second drop, you'll sweep around an animatronic goat as it bleats at passing guests. You'll then make another series of turns before entering your final lift hill inside another cave.
The final lift at each Disney park is slightly different. At Disneyland, it's full of dynamite ready to blow up, with smoke filling the cave and dynamite blasting as you pass it. At Magic Kingdom, there is no exploding dynamite.
You'll then drop, make yet another series of turns, pass through the ribcage of a T-rex skeleton before passing the buildings of the small mining town and returning to the train station.
This is why we at MickeyVisit put together this comprehensive ride review of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so you have a clear idea of what to expect when riding it.
In an effort to clearly define just how scary a ride is, we developed an ultra-scientific backed-by-research rating system. We call it the Mickey Visit Ride Rating System – MVRRS for short (pretty clever, huh?) The MVRRS goes as follows:
Despite the 2 different versions of this ride in the United States, the ride on both coasts offer identical thrills.
On Big Thunder Mountain, you go on a wild journey on a runaway mine rain roller coaster. Along the way, you go through a haunted gold mining town and the abandoned mines of Big Thunder Mountain. And although the backstory for each ride varies between the 2 domestic Disney theme parks, they follow the same general story:
Sometime in the lat 1800s, miners discovered gold on Big Thunder Mountain. Overnight, what was once a small mining town quickly became a thriving town under control by a greedy mining company owner. To exploit the mines, an extensive line of mine trains were set up to transport the ore.
However, what miners didn't know was that this same mountain was sacred to local Native Americans – and that it was cursed.
Before long, the settlers' mining caused great tragedy: an earthquake in Disneyland Park and a flash flood at Walt Disney World. As a result, the town – and the mines – were abandoned. Some time later, the locomotives were found racing around the mountain on their own, without engineers or crew.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was then founded in the old mining camp to allow wanderers to take rides on these haunted mine trains.
Here’s some important information to review before riding Big Thunder Mountain:
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Disney Ride Review
In an effort to clearly define just how scary a ride is, we developed an ultra-scientific backed-by-research rating system. We call it the Mickey Visit Ride Rating System – MVRRS for short (pretty clever, huh?) The MVRRS goes as follows:
- Wimp Proof: Not scary at all
- Wimp Proof-ish: Seems scary at first, but after, you feel it's nothing to worry about
- Scary but Survivable: Moderately scary
- Scary: Definitely scary, but you'll be able to sleep at night
- Bravest Riders Only: The scariest ride you'll find in a theme park
Big Thunder Mountain Overview
Despite the 2 different versions of this ride in the United States, the ride on both coasts offer identical thrills.
On Big Thunder Mountain, you go on a wild journey on a runaway mine rain roller coaster. Along the way, you go through a haunted gold mining town and the abandoned mines of Big Thunder Mountain. And although the backstory for each ride varies between the 2 domestic Disney theme parks, they follow the same general story:
Sometime in the lat 1800s, miners discovered gold on Big Thunder Mountain. Overnight, what was once a small mining town quickly became a thriving town under control by a greedy mining company owner. To exploit the mines, an extensive line of mine trains were set up to transport the ore.
However, what miners didn't know was that this same mountain was sacred to local Native Americans – and that it was cursed.
Before long, the settlers' mining caused great tragedy: an earthquake in Disneyland Park and a flash flood at Walt Disney World. As a result, the town – and the mines – were abandoned. Some time later, the locomotives were found racing around the mountain on their own, without engineers or crew.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was then founded in the old mining camp to allow wanderers to take rides on these haunted mine trains.
Here’s some important information to review before riding Big Thunder Mountain:
- Access: Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Rider Switch
- Height Requirements: Guests must be at least 40″ (102)
- Highest Speed: 36mph (58kph)
- Length: 3 minutes
- Tallest Height: 104ft (32m)
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At both Disney parks, both the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue for Big Thunder Mountain start right at the ride’s signage.
The merge point for both queues happens right before being directed toward the boarding area. Although their entrances and merge points are the same, the queues at both Disneyland Park and Disney World are slightly different.
At Disneyland Park, both the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue winds through a narrow outdoor rock wall, passing around the ride tracks. Parts of this queue are exposed to the California heat and other parts are somewhat shaded. You then walk up a set of stairs to an outdoor train station with a covered boarding area.
At Magic Kingdom, the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue slowly take you up into an abandoned mining office before arriving at the indoor train station. Along the way, you'll find interactive queue elements. This includes a fun dummy explosive device that requires you to turn a crank at the right time, then lift and push down on a plunger. The result: the sound of dynamite exploding!
Note that although the covered or indoor portions of the queues are dimly lit, the outdoor portions of the queues aren't lit at all. This means that at night, the outdoor portions of each queue are quite dark.
Lastly, it's important to note that there are 2 chicken exits available should you choose to skip the ride. The first is at the boarding area, where you can ask a Cast Member to walk straight through to the exit. The second isn't the most convenient: if you decide to sit this ride out while in the queue, you can simply turn around and walk back out the way you entered.
The ride vehicles for Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are identical.
Once you make your way to the front of the queue, a Cast Member will direct you to your designated seating area. You'll be seated in a traditional roller coaster vehicle with your feet touching the ground, the sides enclosed, and a handrail in front of you to hold onto.
Your mine train has a total of 5 cars. Riders sit 2 across in 3 rows per car for a total of 30 riders per train. Once you arrive at the front of the queue, a Cast Member will direct you to your designated seating area.
With your ride being a mine train, each train has its own train engine – with nobody controlling it!
Big Thunder Mountain Queue: What You Need to Know
At both Disney parks, both the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue for Big Thunder Mountain start right at the ride’s signage.
The merge point for both queues happens right before being directed toward the boarding area. Although their entrances and merge points are the same, the queues at both Disneyland Park and Disney World are slightly different.
At Disneyland Park, both the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue winds through a narrow outdoor rock wall, passing around the ride tracks. Parts of this queue are exposed to the California heat and other parts are somewhat shaded. You then walk up a set of stairs to an outdoor train station with a covered boarding area.
At Magic Kingdom, the standby queue and Lightning Lane queue slowly take you up into an abandoned mining office before arriving at the indoor train station. Along the way, you'll find interactive queue elements. This includes a fun dummy explosive device that requires you to turn a crank at the right time, then lift and push down on a plunger. The result: the sound of dynamite exploding!
Note that although the covered or indoor portions of the queues are dimly lit, the outdoor portions of the queues aren't lit at all. This means that at night, the outdoor portions of each queue are quite dark.
Lastly, it's important to note that there are 2 chicken exits available should you choose to skip the ride. The first is at the boarding area, where you can ask a Cast Member to walk straight through to the exit. The second isn't the most convenient: if you decide to sit this ride out while in the queue, you can simply turn around and walk back out the way you entered.
Big Thunder Mountain Vehicle Information
The ride vehicles for Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are identical.
Once you make your way to the front of the queue, a Cast Member will direct you to your designated seating area. You'll be seated in a traditional roller coaster vehicle with your feet touching the ground, the sides enclosed, and a handrail in front of you to hold onto.
Your mine train has a total of 5 cars. Riders sit 2 across in 3 rows per car for a total of 30 riders per train. Once you arrive at the front of the queue, a Cast Member will direct you to your designated seating area.
With your ride being a mine train, each train has its own train engine – with nobody controlling it!
Big Thunder Mountain: Ride Experience
Both versions of Big Thunder Mountain have nearly identical ride tracks, but mirrored to each other.
As your train leaves the train station, you enter a bat-infested tunnel before making a series of turns and climb the first lift hill. You'll ascend through a cavern full of stalactites, then drop before making another series of turns. On the way down from your second drop, you'll sweep around an animatronic goat as it bleats at passing guests. You'll then make another series of turns before entering your final lift hill inside another cave.
The final lift at each Disney park is slightly different. At Disneyland, it's full of dynamite ready to blow up, with smoke filling the cave and dynamite blasting as you pass it. At Magic Kingdom, there is no exploding dynamite.
You'll then drop, make yet another series of turns, pass through the ribcage of a T-rex skeleton before passing the buildings of the small mining town and returning to the train station.
While the ride tracks for both rides are mirror images of each other, there are differences in the rockwork you ride through. In Disneyland Park in California, your mine train goes passes through more rounded rocks and muted colors resembling Bryce Canyon in Utah. In Magic Kingdom in Disney World, your mine train passes through sharp-edged mountains and vibrant colors resembling Monument Valley in Arizona.
Let's review the aspects of the ride that that make Big Thunder Mountain thrilling and add to its MVRRS rating:
Here's why you need to ride Big Thunder Mountain.
As a pre-teen, I was absolutely not into riding roller coasters – or any thrill ride for that matter. As I warmed up to thrill rides, I remember first riding Big Thunder Mountain because I still refused to ride California Screamin' (now known as Incredicoaster). However, I was open to a roller coaster ride that bridged the gap between Disneyland's smooth Space Mountain and Disney California Adventure's thrilling California Screamin'.
Big Thunder Mountain fit the bill.
For me, Big Thunder Mountain was a great stepping stone to bigger and more thrilling roller coasters at Disney. It bridged the gap for me being more open to higher speeds, sharper turns, and bigger drops.
That's why my favorite moment of Big Thunder Mountain are the “bunny hops,” the series of small ups and downs toward the end of the ride. To me, this was the extra ride element that added extra thrill to the ride that I had never experienced before. To this day, it's still my favorite part of the ride.
Big Thunder Mountain is one of the perfect roller coasters to help you venture out into the world of thrill rides.
So, how does our ride review of Big Thunder Mountain stack up against our MVRRS?
- Sweeping Turns: Big Thunder Mountain has several sweeping turns throughout the ride that give it the illusion of speed. Several turns feel sharper than the sweeping banks of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but not as sharp as Matterhorn Bobsleds
- Bunny Hops: Toward the end of the ride, your mine train goes through several “bunny hops,” which tend to catch guests off guard and make the ride experience feel more rough
- Drops: Each of the drops on Big Thunder Mountain are significantly less steep than roller coasters like Expedition Everest or Incredicoaster
- Dark Portions: Each dark portion of the ride happens on the lift hills. Additionally, other than the last lift hill that features brightly lit dynamite, each dark portion is dimly lit, which may not be appropriate for those who are afraid of the dark
- Ride Vehicle: Your ride vehicle is a much more traditional roller coaster vehicle, with your feet touching the ground, the sides enclosed, and a handrail in front of you to hold onto – a much tamer ride vehicle compared to other Disney roller coasters
- Speed: Big Thunder Mountain reaches a top speed of 36 mph, making it slightly faster than Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and significantly faster than Space Mountain
- Height: The highest height of this ride is 104 ft, with its tallest drop being much shorter than that. And unlike a ride like Slinky Dog Dash whose ride track isn't covered, much of the surrounding ride track on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is covered. This makes you feel even closer to the ground than you really are
- Audio Effects: While you can hear the sound of exploding dynamite on the final lift hill, there are no sound effects throughout the ride
- Length: At 3 minutes, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is slightly quicker than Peter Pan's Flight at Magic Kingdom, 1 minute slower than Alice in Wonderland at Disneyland Park, and about the same length as Space Mountain
- Night-Time Experience: Much like Incredicoaster at Disney California Adventure, at night, this ride is a whole different experience from start to finish. This is especially true if you time your ride at the same time the nighttime spectacular fireworks go off!
Favorite Moment of Big Thunder Mountain
Here's why you need to ride Big Thunder Mountain.
As a pre-teen, I was absolutely not into riding roller coasters – or any thrill ride for that matter. As I warmed up to thrill rides, I remember first riding Big Thunder Mountain because I still refused to ride California Screamin' (now known as Incredicoaster). However, I was open to a roller coaster ride that bridged the gap between Disneyland's smooth Space Mountain and Disney California Adventure's thrilling California Screamin'.
Big Thunder Mountain fit the bill.
For me, Big Thunder Mountain was a great stepping stone to bigger and more thrilling roller coasters at Disney. It bridged the gap for me being more open to higher speeds, sharper turns, and bigger drops.
That's why my favorite moment of Big Thunder Mountain are the “bunny hops,” the series of small ups and downs toward the end of the ride. To me, this was the extra ride element that added extra thrill to the ride that I had never experienced before. To this day, it's still my favorite part of the ride.
Big Thunder Mountain is one of the perfect roller coasters to help you venture out into the world of thrill rides.
Big Thunder Mountain: Scary Verdict
So, how does our ride review of Big Thunder Mountain stack up against our MVRRS?
MVRRS VERDICT: Wimp Proof-ish: Seems scary at first, but after, you feel it's nothing to worry about
Big Thunder Mountain is a great ride that bridges the gap from a more gentle roller coaster to an outright thrill ride. Many guests would even say that it's a great introductory thrill ride for the kiddos. While it's not as thrilling as Incredicoaster or Expedition Everest, it's still thrilling on its own right. Its combination of sweeping turns, tight turns, drops, and “bunny hops” give it the illusion of speed making you feel like you're going faster than you really are. Personally, Big Thunder Mountain gives you just enough thrill to make you look forward to riding it again. Unlike rides like Incredicoaster or Expedition Everest that are full of much bigger drops, launch sequences, and backward drops, Big Thunder Mountain's turns and drops are nothing in comparison. But they're enough to give you a big smile as you ride – and maybe even scream a little. In the end, I highly recommend riding Big Thunder Mountain every single time I visit Disneyland Park or Magic Kingdom.Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation
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Is Thunder Mountain good for beginners?
Big Thunder Mountain is a great roller coaster for beginners or for guests looking to bridge the gap between very gentle roller coasters and more thrilling roller coasters. It's full of sweeping turns, some sharper turns, and “bunny hops.” However, these ride elements make you feel like you're riding faster than you really are. Its top speed is only 36mph.
Is Big Thunder Mountain worth it?
With its combination of sweeping turns, some sharper turns, “bunny hops,” and moderate top speed, Big Thunder Mountain is certainly worth it. It gives you just enough thrill to make you look forward to riding it again.
How intense is Big Thunder Mountain?
Big Thunder Mountain is moderately intense. It's full of sweeping turns, some sharper turns, “bunny hops,” and a moderate top speed. However, compared to rides like Incredicoaster or Expedition Everest, it doesn't have nearly as high of a drop, top speed, or thrilling ride elements as these much more intense rides.
Is Big Thunder Mountain a scary ride?
Big Thunder Mountain may seem like a scary ride at first, but after, you'll feel like it's nothing to worry about. Big Thunder Mountain is full of ride elements that add to its overall thrill rating. And although it's moderately intense, its top speed is much slower and its drops are significantly less steep than rides like Incredicoaster or Expedition Everest
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