About this ride
The mine train weaves through desert canyons, past goats chewing on the tracks, through caverns filled with glowing gems. The island location means the track circles an actual body of water, giving outdoor sections a panoramic quality you won't find at other parks. Multiple lifts and drops keep the pacing lively without ever becoming genuinely frightening.
Best time to ride
Multi Pass or early evening when Frontierland crowds thin. Avoid midday — Big Thunder's line routinely hits 60+ minutes from 11 AM to 3 PM on busy days.
Insider tips
- Sit in the very last car of the train — it whips around corners faster than the front.
- Look for a chicken sitting in a window during one of the outdoor canyon sections.
- This is an excellent first real coaster for kids who have outgrown the Toontown coasters.
- The queue has fun mining-town theming including an operational scale-model mining drill.
What to know before you ride
- Moderate speed.
- Sudden dips and turns.
- Mild vibration.
- Brief dark tunnels.
- Much gentler than Space Mountain or Matterhorn.
- No major drops.
Good for
Mateo's Take
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is my favorite coaster in the entire Disneyland resort, and I will defend that position. The Disneyland version has something the other Big Thunder Mountains don't have: it's built on an actual island surrounded by water, so the outdoor sections have a panoramic quality where you can see the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island framing the canyon walls. The queue theming is excellent, the coaster flows beautifully from section to section, and the pacing never stops being fun even on your tenth ride. The single change that improves your experience the most: sit in the last car. The rear of a train on a mine coaster whips around corners with significantly more force than the front, and Big Thunder has enough sharp turns to make that difference dramatic. This is the perfect gateway coaster for kids ready to step up from Gadget's Go Coaster. Sit in the back. It's not even close.
— Mateo, Lead Disney Parks Specialist
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