Walt Disney World Big Thunder Mountain Railroad complete ride through video

Walt Disney World likes mountains, it's got 4, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was #2 it opened November 15, 1980.  As far as back story goes The town of Tumbleweed, once a booming gold rush mine town, has been flooded and is now abandoned.  It was later discovered that the old mine trains were possessed and were racing around on their own. So Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was formed to give tourists a thrill ride through the old mine town.

     An interesting fact that helps Disney pass through so many people as quick as they do on This ride is the fact that there are 2 loading stations and 6 trains running all the time. There are track switches to divert the trains to the 2 loading stations to unload and a set of switches to reconnect the 2 loading stations back to the single track after loading. Each train holds 30 riders. The ride last 3 minutes 25 seconds. I believe there is at most 3 trains at any one time out on the track and 3 in the station either loading or unloading.  So theoretically 1,800 people an hour can ride which will move a line pretty fast. So next time you go and it says you got a 45 minute wait you'll know there are probably 1,350 people in line in front of you!  The names of the 6 trains: U.B. Bold, U.R. Daring, U.R. Courageous, I.M. Brave, I.B. Hearty, I.M. Fearless.

     Of interesting note this attraction was one of the first Walt Disney World rides to utilize computer aided design. FAA requires any structure 200 feet tall or taller to have a red beacon on top.  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad tallest structure is 197 feet tall,  in order to not ruin the theming with a bright red flashing beacon. Disney uses a lot of forced prospective in almost everything to give illusions to height and distance.

     I shot this video in October 2009: