The experience: reinvigorating the story with a spectacular line queue

The trick: creating a new line queue that plusses the ride anew

A few years ago, Disney plussed the Magic Kingdom version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, modernizing the line queue with more immersive features. In the process, they enhanced the backstory of the ride, emphasizing Barnabas T. Bullion. A painting on one of the walls depicts the gold magnate as a Tony Baxter clone, a fitting tribute to the Imagineer responsible for the attraction.

In the line queue, you’ll notice several elements that enhance your appreciation of the mountain. Perhaps the most exciting one involves a plunger and a lot of dynamite. You’ll see crates with explosive warnings at several intervals.

Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can turn a crank. Once you’ve done so for an appropriate length of time, you can do something that you’ve only seen in the movies. You can push down a plunger and trigger an explosion! You can verify that you’ve done everything correctly by looking outside. Disney’s set up a clever bit of Imagineering outside. When you hit the detonator, a puff of dusty smoke will explode into the sky, just like in so many Westerns!

Image: DisneyOther line elements that add to the theming include a bank teller and an open safety vault that has stacks of gold bullions. There’s even a painting of the fateful storm that triggered the flash flood that wiped out Tumbleweed.

Another much-appreciated touch is the ventilation system, which you know as the giant fans that cool you down during a hot park day. These are an integral part of the mining infrastructure, as a town blueprint verifies. You can examine all of the places where the ventilation shafts are in place, all while relishing in the welcome breeze.

Finally, alert guests will see one of the least appreciated portions of the new line queue. One of the displays hides an interior monitor. On this monitor, several silent movies are available to watch in succession. I must admit that I had to go through the line several times before I paid any attention to the Subterrascope. It’s these special touches that have turned an already-spectacular ride into a modern miracle of Imagineering.

Image: Disney