Disney entered the roller coaster business in 1959 with the opening of the Matterhorn Bobsled at Disneyland. See, Disney created the modern roller coaster industry when they opened the Matterhorn in 1959.
The Matterhorn is the world's first tubular steel crawler roller coaster, co-created by Arrow Development, a design innovation that allows the coaster to twist and turn in a variety of new directions. But Disney stood by as the roller coaster revolution it launched began. It wasn't until 1975 that Disney launched the Space Mountain roller coaster at Walt Disney World. It wasn't until 1979 that another outdoor roller coaster opened at Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
It was the first of four Thunder Mountains that Disney opened around the world, followed from 1979 to 1992 by the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Since then, Disney has opened two dozen other roller coasters around the world, with a variety of themes and designs. Disney has even created other themes for its Mine Train coasters, including the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Angry Souls coasters in Paris and Tokyo, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Orlando and Shanghai, and the Expedition Everest coaster at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Disney's “Big Thunder's Minecart,” which opened at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2012, returns to Big Thunder's minecart concept, a minecart set in the American West. This custom-built Vekoma coaster takes the Big Thunder concept, adds animatronics to the show, and adds a “cable snap” backwards drop feature during the ride. This is my favorite of all the Big Thunder coasters and my favorite Disney family coaster.
What about the rest of Big Thunder Mountain? Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris is a fan favorite, and deservedly so. Thunder Mountain in Paris sits on an island in the middle of a river in the Far West Frontier region, offering great views of the river and surrounding town of Thunder Mesa. The start and end points of the high-speed tunnel allow guests to take a boat ride down the river to and from the island, extending their adventure.
After Paris, I loved the original installation at Disneyland California. Thunder was originally designed as part of the River West Adventure experience at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. When Disney canceled the project in favor of building another Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Florida, plans for the West River coaster portion became Big Thunder in Anaheim. The two coasters are mirror images of each other, but with subtle changes. An earthquake devastated the town of Rainbow Ridge in Anaheim, while a flash flood devastated Tumbleweed, Florida.
Disneyland also has an enhanced show scene in its final mountain tunnel, although Walt Disney World promises that “new magic” will be restored to Thunder Mountain this spring after a lengthy rebuild. But the Florida installation will lose views of the Rivers of America that Disney enjoyed before it drained and bulldozed the attraction this year.
So for now, give the Walt Disney World installation a star and put it at the bottom of the list. That leaves only the facilities at Tokyo Disneyland, which largely follow Florida's layout with the addition of a high-speed tunnel after the final elevator. Ultimately, the better one between Anaheim and Tokyo is the one I'm in right now, but until Florida reopens, I'll rank those three cities as Anaheim, Tokyo, and Orlando.
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