Aug 19, 2026 · 52 min · 16 segments
In Part 2 of our **Big Thunder Mountain Treasured Attractions** series, we’re going behind the scenes to uncover what makes this attraction so much more than a roller coaster. We’re talking…
So Dad, why does Big Thunder feel so different from riding something like a Six Flags mine train coaster? They're both steel roller coasters with trains and mountains, but somehow one feels like an adventure and the other feels just like a ride.
Why do you think that is?
I know there's a lot of, uh, theme parks that are out there, amusement parks, I guess, that, uh, have, uh, taken the mine train idea.
Even Dollywood has one, uh, that I rode on a few years ago, and it was good but, um, it's...
Uh, Universal is, [chuckles] um, uh, also, uh, at another level with, with their, some of their attractions.
But, um, I think that's why-
Sure
...
Um, the people that work there, not saying the people that work at other amusement parks are bad people or anything.
It's just a different vibe.
They're trained a little bit differently.
Um, they have a little more pride, uh, working at the park, uh, the people that, you know, the cast members that are there.
Uh, it's all those things, you take it-- I take all that into consideration.
Uh, the Imagineers that developed that, I know we're gonna talk a little bit about that, developed that, uh, Disney attractions and that attraction, uh, especially.
So yeah, I just think it's just a different, uh, uh...
Let's face it, it's just, they just have more money to do bigger and better things, and they do.
Yeah.
The money is definitely a part of it, and the Imagineers and their talent, and like you said, just the people that they train, the way they train them, the way that they ingrain the storytelling into the training of all the cast members.
Anyone I know that's worked at Disney as an Imagineer, as a, you know, college student, anyone has always said that they were trained with, you know, so much precision, precision storytelling, customer service in mind, and I think all of that really weighs into the themes of these coasters and, like, this one isn't just a typical mining coaster, that's for sure.
One of Tony Baxter's biggest goals wasn't designing a coaster, it was designing a believable mountain.
Most amusement parks work like this: engineer builds coaster, then designers add rocks.
Instead, Imagineers imagined where miners dug, where rivers flowed, where explosions happened, where the railroad naturally fit.
So Dad, why does Big Thunder feel so different from riding something like a Six Flags mine train coaster? They're both steel roller coasters with trains and mountains, but somehow one feels like an adventure and the other feels just like a ride.
Why do you think that is?
I know there's a lot of, uh, theme parks that are out there, amusement parks, I guess, that, uh, have, uh, taken the mine train idea.
Even Dollywood has one, uh, that I rode on a few years ago, and it was good but, um, it's...
Uh, Universal is, [chuckles] um, uh, also, uh, at another level with, with their, some of their attractions.
But, um, I think that's why-
Sure
...
Um, the people that work there, not saying the people that work at other amusement parks are bad people or anything.
It's just a different vibe.
They're trained a little bit differently.
Um, they have a little more pride, uh, working at the park, uh, the people that, you know, the cast members that are there.
Uh, it's all those things, you take it-- I take all that into consideration.
Uh, the Imagineers that developed that, I know we're gonna talk a little bit about that, developed that, uh, Disney attractions and that attraction, uh, especially.
So yeah, I just think it's just a different, uh, uh...
Let's face it, it's just, they just have more money to do bigger and better things, and they do.
Yeah.
The money is definitely a part of it, and the Imagineers and their talent, and like you said, just the people that they train, the way they train them, the way that they ingrain the storytelling into the training of all the cast members.
Anyone I know that's worked at Disney as an Imagineer, as a, you know, college student, anyone has always said that they were trained with, you know, so much precision, precision storytelling, customer service in mind, and I think all of that really weighs into the themes of these coasters and, like, this one isn't just a typical mining coaster, that's for sure.
One of Tony Baxter's biggest goals wasn't designing a coaster, it was designing a believable mountain.
Most amusement parks work like this: engineer builds coaster, then designers add rocks.
Instead, Imagineers imagined where miners dug, where rivers flowed, where explosions happened, where the railroad naturally fit.
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