The Backstories and Magical Secrets of Walt Disney World

by Christopher E Smith

  STORYTELLING ELEMENTS

  The Mountain Façade

  You approach Big Thunder Mountain Railroad either from Liberty Square or Adventureland, as Frontierland is the only Magic Kingdom land where direct access is not afforded from the central hub. Regardless of how you get there, the incredible skyline of Big Thunder Mountain is unmistakable. It is a stunning Monument Valley-style mountain rising approximately one hundred ninety-seven feet in height. You can hear the loud creaks and bangs of the coaster racing over, under, and through the mountain, and the corresponding screams of thrilled guests.

  The exterior of Walt Disney World’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is based on Arizona’s Monument Valley. This stands in stark contrast to Disneyland’s version which is based off of Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park. The Imagineers explained this thematic decision:

  Bryce Canyon is striated, heavily eroded, and magenta in color. Monument Valley is angular and is rendered in earthy tones. Why was this choice made? Location, location, location. Disneyland’s Thunder Mountain lies on the east side of the Rivers of America rather than west, making it visible from Fantasyland. So, the Bryce rockwork is used as something of a candy mountain backdrop. No such visual intrusion exists in Florida. Our intent was for our mountain to carry on the geographic progression from the Haunted Mansion to Big Thunder.

  The Exterior Queue

  You begin your journey to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by entering through the gates of an ore processing plant. This is where you first begin to see the multitude of props and hidden details that help support the backstory of the attraction.

  Pay close attention to the sign for Big Thunder Mountain, which features lanterns hanging from old, broken wagon-wheel rims. The FastPass clock is explosive…literally…as it is strapped to several sticks of dynamite, appearing to be the timer for the explosive bundle. As you pass underneath the attraction sign, you ascend a small hill past numerous mining equipment props, many of which are authentic. In fact, Disney Imagineers spent approximately $300,000 on authentic mining equipment to add further credence to the story of Big Thunder Mountain.

  The landscaping of the exterior queue is filled with cactus plants and rocks, emphasizing that this is a desert landscape. A nearby “Clarksdale” wagon is loaded with barrels, sacks, and crates, and labeled “feed and grain,” “dry goods,” and “mining supplies.” The labels on the numerous crates in the exterior queue provide chuckles for guests who take the time to read them:

  “Lytum and Hyde Explosives Company.” Lytum and Hyde is based in Sparks, Nevada. They are clearly one of Big Thunder’s most explosive vendors.

  “Widowmaker Explosives.”

  “O’verdigums Irish Blend” (on a whiskey crate). Get it? Over the gums…

  The Interior Queue and the Apple Dumpling Gang

  Upon reaching the top of the hill, you enter the headquarters of the Big Thunder Mining Company. Prior to a substantial queue renovation in 2013, these offices were themed to be abandoned. Admittedly, this structure used to be one of the worst-themed in all of Walt Disney World. The building was essentially a large space full of change-back lines that frustrated even the most die-hard Big Thunder Mountain fan. A renovation in 2013 provided a complete revamp of the interior portion of the Big Thunder queue.

  One over-arching intellectual property franchise was incorporated into the queue during the 2013 renovation: The Apple Dumpling Gang, a comedy film released in 1975 that starred Bill Bixby as gambler Russell Donovan, who finds himself caring for a group of orphans during the California Gold Rush. Bixby had a long career in television and film, including roles on the television series My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, and (as Dr. David Banner) The Incredible Hulk.

  Tim Conway and Don Knotts co-starred as Amos Tucker and Theodore Ogelvie, a pair of inept stickup men. Conway is best known for his roles on the television series McHale’s Navy and The Carol Burnett Show, while Knotts is famous for his portrayal of Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.

  The Apple Dumpling Gang was a runaway hit for Disney, becoming its most successful film of the 1970s. Given its Western theme and setting during the California Gold Rush, it is also serves as a perfect tie-in for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Imagineers took full advantage of this connection when updating the attraction’s queue.

  The interior portion of the Big Thunder Mountain queue is composed of worn, aged timbers reflecting the frontier era. The rafters are filled with various barrels, boxes, and crates. The periodic flickering of the lamps helps to emphasize the theme of a working mine operation.

  As you make your way through the interior portion of the queue, you will see that it is filled from floor to rafters with a multitude of thematic storytelling elements and props.

  A sign informs workers that there will be “No Drinking, Fighting or Whistling. No Kidding!” Another sign instructs that all miners are required to bunk on the premises at the Big Thunder Boarding House. No exceptions. Yet another sign mandates that miners buy all of their supplies from the B.T. Bullion General Store. “All sales are mandatory” and “All sales are final.” What else would you expect from a store with a manager named “Costas A. Lott”?

  One of the funniest lines in the entire queue is the note that meals are provided daily, baths provided weekly. Mining is a dirty and, I suppose, a stinky business. Mrs. Liddy Stockley is the proprietor of the miners’ boardinghouse, another reference to The Apple Dumpling Gang, as she was the proprietress of the boardinghouse featured in the film.

  The Big Thunder Mining Company vault reveals why Mr. Bullion and others have dared to challenge the mountain spirits, as it is packed with gold bars and other valuable minerals that actually “sparkle” upon detonation by the remote blasting machines discussed below.

  An assay report includes some interesting conditions, like “guano,” “Bone Dry,” and “Tommy Knockers.” A land grant to Barnabas T. Bullion is also displayed. In total, Bullion received 340 acres near the “Western River Valley,” which is one of my favorite tributes in the entire attraction, as it honors Thunder Mesa and the Western River Expedition, the predecessor concepts to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Further tribute is paid to the Western River Expedition with a box sitting on a shelf and labeled “Western River Explosives: 40% strength.”

  A note from “G. Willikers,” the foreman of the Big Thunder Mining Company, is displayed on a bulletin board and warns: “All miners caught taking an early lunch will be put on the graveyard shift, permanently.” A notice cautions miners about deceitful prospectors claiming to be metallurgists. The notice includes a sketch of these two crooks, which clearly reflect Theodore Ogelvie and Amos Tucker from The Apple Dumpling Gang. Another bulletin board note is from “E.Z. Marks,” and is addressed to Professor Cumulus Isobar, a character you will encounter later. Isobar is a “Rainmaker and Purveyor of Medicines and Elixirs.” As is apparent from the letter, Mr. Marks has a bunion problem and asks for additional help from the Professor, as the first medication prescribed worsened his condition. Even funnier is Mr. Marks’ address: “1313 Gullible Way.”

  An additional Apple Dumpling Gang tribute is found on another bulletin board, in the form of a telegram sent to the Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company by the Tumbleweed Sherriff, “Mr. Chase M. Downs”:

  A word to the wise. Theodore Ogelvie and Amos Tucker may be headed your way. They used to ride with the Stillwell gang but call themselves the Hash Knife outfit. I wouldn’t say they were dangerous, but if brains were dynamite…

  According to a wanted poster, the Hash Knife Outfit is wanted for “attempted bank robbery, chicanery, skullduggery, tomfoolery and habitual bungling.” Amos Tucker, played by Tim Conway in the film, is described as “fleet of foot, slow of wit.” Theodore Ogelvie, played by Don Knotts in the film, is described as having “bulging eyes, sweaty brow, nervous disposition.”

  A detailed note from Mr. Jason Chandler to Barnabas T. Bullion, president of the Big Thunder Mining Company, is
attached to a bulletin board:

  Dear Barney, I am indeed sorry to hear of the recent disturbances within Big Thunder Mountain, but I did warn you that you were prospecting at your peril when I sold you that drilling machine. I took the liberty of consulting with Madame Larhou at the Museum of the Weird, and it is her considered opinion that you should consider abandoning this entire enterprise at once...some forces are not to be trifled with. I do hope to see you around the club a bit more often!

  Chandler is the founder and president of the Society of Adventurers and Explorers, a not-so-subtle reference to the Adventurer’s Club, an extinct location that was previously located in Disney’s equally extinct Pleasure Island. The Adventurer’s Club provided a unique, interactive guest experience, and was themed as a private club from the 1930s for adventurers and explorers.

  A nearby bulletin board holds designs from a patent application for “Subterrascopes.” So what is a Subterrascope? Don’t worry…you will get to see several in action later in the queue.

  A fun advertisement by the Tumbleweed Casket and Cabinet Company (owned by “U.B. Underhill”) reminds prospectors that mining is a dangerous business: “Cave-Ins? Flash Floods? Bad Beans? Life of a Miner is Fraught with Perils. Don’t be Caught Unprepared. Boot Hill Layaway.” All customers have to bring are a suit, boots and body…and the appropriate fee, of course! Speaking of fees, Tumblewood Casket offers various pricing options: $10 for speedy funerals, $30 for proper ones, and $42 for a plot with a view.

  An ad for the Butterfly Stage Line Company touts its “Gateway to the West” with trips from St. Louis to San Francisco in just three weeks. Rates include a trip from Thunder Mesa to Rainbow Ridge (the name of the town in Disneyland’s version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) and Quake City (another reference to The Apple Dumpling Gang). The president of the Butterfly Stage Line is “Colonel T.R. Clydesdale,” which is also the name of the stage line owner in The Apple Dumpling Gang. Finally, the ride includes a connection with the Carolwood Pacific, the name of the miniature railroad that Walt Disney operated in his backyard.

  A fusing cage includes an advertisement for “Chandler’s Magnificent Drilling Machine,” the same machine referenced in Jason Chandler’s letter to Barnabas T. Bullion. It also pays tribute to many Imagineers who were instrumental in bringing Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to life with several names listed on the cage’s door, including:

  “Matchstick Marc” pays tribute to Marc Davis, Walt Disney’s “Renaissance Man.” His original concept for a massive area known as Thunder Mesa is where the idea for a runaway mine-train coaster first originated.

  “Little Big Gibson” pays tribute to Blaine Gibson who sculpted the audio-animatronic figures for the attraction, the figures in the Hall of Presidents, the Partners Statue in the central hub, and many other characters throughout Walt Disney World.

  “Wild Wolf Joerger” pays tribute to Fred Joerger, a Disney Imagineer who worked on the rockwork elements.

  “Calamity Clem” pays tribute to Clem Hall, an artist and designer on the project.

  One of the most interactive portions of the new Big Thunder queue is an area with several “Remote Distance Blasting Machines” that give prospectors the ability to participate in the explosive fun. You can spin a wheel to prime the explosive, and then press a button that actually causes interactive explosions in the Big Thunder Mountain landscape. This is one of the best effects in any Walt Disney World queue. You can also find “Ol’ Faithful blasting caps,” which come with a warning of “Do Not Store With Any Explosives.” As you probably guessed, the blasting caps are surrounded by dynamite and gunpowder.

  Perhaps the most visually stunning aspect of the queue is the series of subterrascopes that line the walkways (we saw the patent applications earlier) and allow you to view a number of different scenes of miners…generally not working too hard!

  A log by “G. Willikers,” foreman of the Big Thunder Mining Company, is adjacent to the subterrascopes. This log is filled with funny entries that expose the extremely suspicious nature of Willikers. His continuous “spying” on the miners reveals a multitude of discoveries, including:

  Strange shadows in one of the mine shafts, and ore carts being mysteriously tipped over.

  A new vein of gold discovered by the miners on a Tuesday, and later “hid by miners.”

  The theft by miners of some of that newly discovered gold, and an ominous entry that a “bullet destroyed new lens.”

  Signage makes clear that Bullion, Willikers, and Big Thunder Mining Company have no tolerance for miners missing work, regardless of the circumstances. It notes that “wounds, illness or missing limbs are not acceptable excuses to miss a work shift.”

  Another sign pays homage to noted cowboy folk hero and Frontierland neighbor Pecos Bill:

  “All friends, come celebrate my marriage to the prettiest lady in Tumbleweed, my wife Sue, at the Gold Dust Saloon. Drinks are on you!”

  The “Sue” in the note is of course Slue Foot Sue.

  A primitive, yet ingenious mechanism lets you test the air quality in the mineshafts using canaries. By turning cranks, guests can see the air quality in the shafts by seeing how the canaries respond. If you look up, you’ll see empty birdcages above. These are either the current homes of canaries that are conducting tests … or the former homes of canaries who were in shafts with bad air quality. One birdcage pays homage to Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and is labeled “Rosita.” In the Tiki Room, a role call of “the girls” is taken, with Jose, the red, white, and green macaw, asking, “I wonder what happened to Rosita.” The Big Thunder queue finally answers this question. Rosita was used to test the air purity in the mine. Birdseed labeled “Cheep Cheep Cheep” can also be seen nearby, as well as a large metal trunk labeled “CANARY TROLLEY.”

  Other notes displayed in the queue read:

  “Missing: One gold tooth and one non-gold tooth.” The tooth was last seen in the Gold Dust Saloon, a location you will soon encounter. A handsome reward of five cents is offered.

  “Looking for a new roommate who doesn’t snore or eat beans.”

  The Big Thunder Mining Company does not trust its miners, as a sign warns them to empty pockets, boots, and “so forth” prior to exiting the premises.

  Working hard for an oppressive company and dealing with recurring natural disasters sure can work up an appetite. Therefore, it makes sense that we see an advertisement for the “Hard Times Cafe.” The sign’s references to “Quake City” and the specialty being apple dumplings are yet more tributes to The Apple Dumpling Gang. There is also a sign for the neighboring Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, which includes a nostalgic reference to the “mile long bar.” The advertisement states that “Every order is a tall order!,” another not-so-subtle reference to the “Tall Tale Inn.” An advertisement for the Gold Dust Saloon says that it is open rain “ore” shine.

  And finally, high above in the rafters is a painting of the proprietor of the camp, Barnabus T. Bullion. The likeness on the painting is actually that of Tony Baxter, the lead designer for the project. Baxter is also honored in a patent document that identifies the inventor of the train’s brake system as “T.W. Baxter.”

  The Attraction

  As you wind your way downstairs to the bottom floor of the Big Thunder Mining Company headquarters, a dual loading platform allows access to the attraction ride vehicles, mine-train carts. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continues the storytelling that began with both the backstory and the queue by virtue of many Imagineering props and effects spread throughout the attraction itself.

  While boarding the ride vehicles, guests hear a funny safety warning voiced by Dallas McKennon, whose credits include Gumby, Archie Andrews from the Archie series, Buzz Buzzard from the Woody Woodpecker cartoons, and Ben Franklin from the American Adventure in Epcot:

  Howdy partners! For your safety, remain seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the train—and be sure to watch your kids. If any of you folk
s are wearin’ hats or glasses, best remove ’em—’cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!

  The trains roll out of the station and climb the first of three lift hills leading into a dark bat cave with stalactites and stalagmites extruding from all directions. As the train reaches the summit of the first lift hill, it passes underneath a split waterfall. Don’t worry, you’ll stay dry…for the most part.

  The trains soon enter my favorite part of the attraction, the town of Tumbleweed. Despite the fact that you only see Tumbleweed for a split second, it is an extremely detailed area with plenty of magical secrets to discover. Look up as you approach the town and you’ll see two possums hanging from a withered tree branch. The town is completely flooded as a result of the natural disaster referenced in the backstory. A sign lists the population of Tumbleweed as “dried out.”

  The Gold Dust Saloon is at the heart of the discontent of the mountain spirits, as miners would party at this watering hole for hours on end. This portion of the attraction is very different during the day than at night. During the day, the saloon looks like a simple building that has flooded. Once the sun sets, however, the perspective changes and becomes much more exciting. At night, patrons of the Gold Dust Saloon can be seen dancing, partying, laughing, boozing, and having all manner of rowdy fun in the upstairs windows. Next door is Tumbleweed’s dry goods store, run by D. Hydrate and U. Wither.