All Aboard at Thunder Mesa

The Big Thunder Mountain attraction in Disneyland Paris is, perhaps, one of the best themed of all the Railroad attractions. Set in the town of Thunder Mesa, the entire attraction is a joy to experience.

Even just entering the queue for the Mountain is detailed enough for every Disney geek!

Beware The Dead End

One of the worst things about journeying through unknown territory is the possibility of reaching a point of no return, or a dead end. Of course, the Big Thunder Mining Company must have many dead ends, due to the wide reach of their mining opportunities.

But be careful when you experience Big Thunder Mountain, just in case you do happen to take a wrong turn and reach a dead end.

This one might give you a wet landing into the Rivers of America!

Welcome to Mesa

When you are travelling on the Rivers of America, in Disneyland Paris, you see plenty of the Thunder Mesa mining area, where Big Thunder Mountain sits. We also see the welcome sign, letting us know where we are entering.

Sitting alongside the entrance to the mine itself, this light-tower welcomes us all to Thunder Mesa itself.

And if you look closely, you will see some miners leaving the area, and perhaps a runaway train or two.

Mine-r Details

When you travel along the Rivers of America, you pass by Big Thunder Mountain, the biggest mining area in all of Thunder Mesa. From the River, you will see the area where the trains exit, heading towards the Mountain itself.

And we pass along, we will also see some of the loading docks and areas of mining that keep Eureka Mining Supplies and Thunder Mesa ticking over just nicely!

Eureka Moment!

Heading through Frontierland in Disneyland Paris we pass the queuing area for Big Thunder Mountain. But what is this?
It's a trailer for the Eureka Mining Solutions, the mining company that owns Big Thunder Mountain here in Thunder Mesa. As you can see, the mine car is a John Deere car. Deere and Company is a world famous American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment. John Deere founded this company, and was originally an American blacksmith.

But as you can also see from the photograph, the car is situated at the Big Thunder Mountain Company Loading Platform. But we are in luck! Deliveries are permitted today - but not on Saturdays!

Tips for the Rail Road

One of my favourite attractions in Disneyland Parc, Paris, is the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's probably one of the most popular attractions in the park too - the queues can get quite long at times throughout the day, so I thought I would share a couple of tips from the Royal Family!

If you get to the park for opening, and rope drop, head to the hub and the entrance for Frontierland, as it is the quickest way to get to Thunder Mountain. Once the park opens officially for park guests, head straight to Big Thunder and jump on the ride. The wait shouldn't be too long at this point, as a lot of people will head to Space Mountain first or Peter Pan's Flight.

Another tip is to try and ride the Mountain at least two or three times - there is so much happening during the attraction that it's easy to miss things on the first, or second, go. Especially as Big Thunder mostly takes place on the island, it's not easy to see what's happening without experiencing the ride.

So, to make sure to ride it again, you can either grab a Fastpass as soon as you finish riding the first time, which may make your return within a couple of hours. Or, you can come back later for another Fastpass which may have a later return time. As Big Thunder is a rollercoaster, the track warms up throughout the day and can get really fast in the evening!

Bring Your Horse Next Time

Throughout Frontierland and the area around Big Thunder Mountain - Thunder Mesa - there are many different services that we may need at some point. And I don't know about you, but when I'm visiting Disneyland Paris I really need someone to re shoe my horses.

And whaddyaknow, I managed to find one right here, in Thunder Mesa! Yes, next time you visit Parc Disneyland, don't forget to bring your horse and pop into Rosy's Blacksmithing.

When You're Done With Horsepower

We've spoken before here on DF'82 about the massive amounts of detail the Imagineers have gone to in order to bring us the most interesting and beautiful Disney Park possible. Another of these details, which I like to call a Hidden Treasure, sits in Frontierland, directly across from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

It is this beautiful locomotive engine named The Minneapolis. Part of the reason I find this such a treasure, is because it is a chance to have an up-close look at a what the beautiful steam trains from the turn of the 20th Century looked like. This is a great item for both adults and children alike!

Although I am not sure if it is a replica, The Minneapolis has the following inscription on it:

Minneapolis Engine No. 7070

Woolf Valve Gear

Pat. July 30 1889

Doing my research for this post, I found that this type of locomotive was created by the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company. The 'Woolf Valve Gear', which was a unique part of the double cylinder engine of the Minneapolis, allows for a more efficient use of the engine and the increase of power. These engines were used for a variety of things, such as ploughing, but in this case, the train is used specifically for the Mining Company.

Further More...

As you all probably know, the Imagineers work very hard creating images and stories for us within the Disney theme parks. And I've mentioned plenty of times how much work had been put into Disneyland Paris to bring magic to life. When Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was created, it wasn't as simple as sticking together some rocks and making a mountain. Oh no! Much more thought, and detail, went into the planning and designing of the exterior of the attraction.

Here's another snippet from the Berlitz Pocket Guide to EuroDisney:

The silhouette of Big Thunder Mountain draws its inspiration directly from the dramatic mesa plateaux, sandstone pinnacles, canyons and natural arched bridges of Arizona and Utah. True to their Hollywood allegiances, Disney's landscapers 'borrowed' the Monument Valley landscape made famous by the Western films of director John Ford - 'Stagecoach' and 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon'.

The 33m (108ft) high mountain is made from a concrete mix poured over a wire-meshed frame and covered with a ruddy-hued plaster to give it the distinctive rough sandstone texture of the American South West. Its slopes are dotted with characteristic cacti, sagebrush and pine.

p46, Berlitz Pocket Guide: EuroDisney (Picture from Wikipedia, of Monument Valley)

And another fun fact, fact lovers - over 22,700 litres of paint were used to make the Mountain the Big Thunder Mountain we know and love.

Wildest Ride In The Wilderness

As promised, today we're going to take a brief break from our tour along the Rivers of the West and pop on a different kind of transportation - the Railroad! Yes, we're going to jump on board the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and experience the rivers from a different point of view.

The one thing that makes Big Thunder Mountain different to its counterparts across the world, is that the main part of the attraction takes place on an island. The only way to get to this island, is through an underground tunnel in the attraction.

But, wait a minute, let's look inside the way-back-machine and read an excerpt from the Berlitz Pocket Guide to EuroDisney (and don't forget to hold onto all chapeaux, verres and petits enfant!).

[Big Thunder Mountain] starts off downhill into a gloomy mine well under the Rivers of the West, rising again past scores of bats' eyes glowing in the dark phosphorescent whirlpools, stalactites and stalagmites. At the top of the rise a waterfall nearly drenches the passengers.

Now you're on the Big Thunder Mountain itself and the ride begins in earnest, plunging through tunnels and swerving around corners at dizzying speeds. At Foreboding Gorge, the train picks up speed past cactus plants and twisted trees into a dense pine forest where a family of opossum is swinging from the branches. Then it splashes past Mill Landing where an ore wagon from a busted branch line dangles perilously over the raging waters of Mill Creek. At Mill Camp a goat is trying to tug a prospector's overalls from a clothes line, watched by a laughing pack of mules.

Mind your head in Coyote Canyon. Two howling coyotes, flashing danger lights and an overturned ore wagon warn passengers to duck as they pass into Head-Knocker Tunnel. Amid rumbles at the approach to Big Thunder Mine, the train begins to shake. Sticks of dynamite litter the track and a miner shouts: "Fire in the hole!" Suddenly an explosion shakes the cave walls, timber shafts crash down and fire flashes light up veins of gold in the rock face while gold dust sprinkles down. Again the train narrowly escapes as the mine shaft collapses behind you.

Just when you think you're out of danger, the train plunges once more - into a cave full of bats. The wagons are about to sink into the flood, but everyone is pulled to safety, back at the Big Thunder Mining Co headquarters, for disembarkation.

[Berlitz, EuroDisney Pocket Guide, p46-48]

Phew! I hope you all survived that wild, wild ride! Now, how about we go, grab a fastpass, and come back on the ride later?

Exit From The Mountain

Yet again showing the detail that Imagineers go into, our cruise along the River on the Riverboat allows us to see some of the beauty of the exit to Big Thunder Mountain.

Most people overlook these pieces of 'added' detail upon exiting the attraction - and who can blame them? They're probably rushing to go ride it again! But as you can see here, from the lookout post of sorts and the oil driller, everything has been created with the intent of continuing the story of Thunder Mesa. Some more examples of why Parc Disneyland is one of the most beautiful parks Disney have ever created!

Maybe tomorrow we'll take a brief escape from the Riverboats and have a look at the Mountain itself...

It's the Little Things

While I'm away, I thought it would be nice to have a look at some of the more 'interesting' sites of the Disneyland Resort, Paris.

First up is the small safety sign found in the Big Thunder Mountain ride. Disney is always looking out for our safety in their theme parks, and - of course - have to do so in a way that all nationalities and languages will understand. The easiest way is through stick figures.

This is my favourite - we all know that it means 'Please keep your hands, legs, arms and feet inside the vehicle at all times', but it can also be translated as 'Please do not dance wildly during this ride'.