Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Frontier old westgoats and dynamite along the way Fun for kids and adults

Disneyland, Anaheim, California

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

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POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
very close to the rockwork of the mountain
What riders love
  • From the goat trick to the ride queue to the dynamite effects, it has so much character.
  • Seeing all the prop animals in the beautiful landscaping makes for a very fun ride, with a fair bit of re-rideability to catch anything you might have missed.
  • The theming is top notch. It's the frontier old west vibe.
  • I've been riding this for years now and I have fun riding it every time I come.
  • Another ride at Disneyland that I have a soft spot for - it's been one of my favorites since I was very young.
  • There is also an excellent near miss that gets me every time.
  • great family coaster, the coaster is really long and the theming is great.
  • Doesn't really pack a punch but it does tell a story and it is a good length with some fun elements (specifically the helix after the second lift hill).
  • The whole ride is pretty fun as you just get to cruise through different scenes and all of the different tunnels throughout the ride.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning

Watch POVs and more

[FRONT ROW] Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 4K POV - Disneyland Rides June 2026

youtube.com › Theme Park Steve

[4K] FULL Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 2023 at Disneyland Park! - Back Row POV!

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on-ride 5K POV @60fps Disneyland

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Off-Ride Footage, Disneyland Mine Train Coaster | Non-Copyright

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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Review (Disneyland CA)

youtube.com › RCE Town

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Disneyland

The only problem with this ride is the lack of airtime and intensity which isn’t surprising as it is a family oriented ride.

HockeyNinja

Much smoother then Florida’s but doesn’t have as much of that arrow jank or airtime.

Jack Jack J.

It’s comfortable compared to Matterhorn, although there are some turns where you may be sliding against your friend or whoever you are riding with.

Kevin H

This is a decent ride with pretty good theming and a long smooth ride.

HockeyNinja

Now it’s really REALLY smooth, there’s some things that have been refurbished/slightly altered, and there’s one really big awesome thing added at the end....I won’t spoil it, but I can’t wait until...

@detronyx

Additionally, this ride is glass smooth and very comfortable to ride.

RCE Town

It’s such a small rollercoaster, but the intensity levels are skyrocketing when you’re actually riding it.

@IcyXD

While Thunder Mountain is a classic Disney coaster, you should go on with the expectation of a family coaster rather than a thrill coaster.

Erik C.

It’s fun for adults and thrilling for kids, it’s not the most intense coaster in the world but it’s perfect for its target audience.

Emery S.

No drops but maybe some hills but like not really, not super dark, it is fast I may say and it lasts for atleast 1/2 minutes and is totally worth it!

@ohokcauseavy

The layout has a few dead spots, but it also has some amazing elements like the 540-degree helix that gets very close to the rockwork of the mountain.

Gabe S

If I had to point out some flaws, the ride’s first lift is insanely loud even with the beautiful theming, and the second lift is a bit of a dead spot.

Emery S.

The capacity of this ride is also very solid and makes the wait one of the most manageable ones at Disneyland.

Gabe S

The only con is sometimes the line for this is atrocious, but I guess that’s most Disneyland rides depending on how crowded the park is.

Kevin H

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

50 ftHeight
80 MatterhornBobsleds 50 BigThunderMountain
28 mphTop speed
Big ThunderMountain Rail…28 MatterhornBobsleds27 028 mph
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

Great themingFunRider favouriteLong rideLess scary than it looks

Criticised for

Slowed by trims

Big Thunder Mountain is my personal favorite ride at the main DisneyLand park.

joe m, Captain Coaster review

It is a family coaster nothing special but the theming is good and there’s lots to look at.

Eric Clash, Captain Coaster review

It’s a tame Disney family coaster, you can’t really expect intensity and big drops.

Ryan Hanna, Captain Coaster review

Another ride at Disneyland that I have a soft spot for - it’s been one of my favorites since I was very young.

Kellen Grady, Captain Coaster review

This ride is a classic, it gives some good laterals and it’s pretty well themed.

Preston S., Captain Coaster review

great family coaster, the coaster is really long and the theming is great.

smacd, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
SolarSurfer, Public domain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Dquai, CC BY-SA 4.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Rob Young from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
ARICAD, CC BY-SA 3.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Bryan Suen, CC BY 2.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Jun Ohwada, CC BY 2.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Saqib Qayyum, CC BY-SA 3.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Burail1, CC BY-SA 3.0
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland
Burail1, CC BY-SA 3.0

10 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. From the park and maker: Disneyland guide. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, youtube.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Rob Young from United Kingdom (CC BY 2.0), SolarSurfer (Public domain), Jeremy Thompson (CC BY 2.0), Dquai (CC BY-SA 4.0), ARICAD (CC BY-SA 3.0), Bryan Suen (CC BY 2.0), Jun Ohwada (CC BY 2.0), Saqib Qayyum (CC BY-SA 3.0), Burail1 (CC BY-SA 3.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

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What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Erik C., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The best part of the ride is the amazing…”; Reed Dutton, rider review on Captain Coaster: “From the goat trick to the ride queue to…”; Evangelion Martini, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Seeing all the prop animals in the beautiful landscaping…”; Kevin H, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The theming is top notch. It's the frontier old…”; Emery S., rider review on Captain Coaster: “It's fun for adults and thrilling for kids, it's…”; joe m, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I've been riding this for years now and I…”; Kellen Grady, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Another ride at Disneyland that I have a soft…”; Eli Lassiter Michael, rider review on Captain Coaster: “There is also an excellent near miss that gets…”; Erik C., rider review on Captain Coaster: “This is a long ride with three lift hills,…”; smacd, rider review on Captain Coaster: “great family coaster, the coaster is really long and…”; Alexia Englund, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Doesn't really pack a punch but it does tell…”; HockeyNinja, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The whole ride is pretty fun as you just…”; Gabe S, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The layout has a few dead spots, but it…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Inside Disney's back row POV, [4K] FULL Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 2023 at Disneyland Park! - Back Row POV! (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.