The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

By: Jeff Stillwagon

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World is one of my family's favorite roller coasters on property. One of the many reasons why we love to ride this attraction so many times over the coarse of a trip is the theming, which fits perfectly in Frontierland.
The backdrop of the canyon mountains is stunning to look at from a distance, and makes for amazing photos up close with family.

I enjoy the concept it was based on, that of an old abandoned gold mining town, which is called Tumbleweed in the Walt Disney World version. The name of the town is different at other Disney parks.

This ride is a fast loader which helps move the line along but it can still get really crowded at times, because, after all, who doesn't want to ride “The Wildest Ride In The Wilderness?” It never gets old saying that every time I ride this crazy train. I love the fact the cast members wave to everybody when the train heads out on this adventurous ride.

 We enjoy several parts of the ride, such as climbing up the hill into a bat cave underneath a waterfall where you can feel a little sprinkle sometimes, followed by the roller coaster shooting down the hill, bringing you outside and around stunning canyon mountains through Tumbleweed town. If you ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night time you can see the windows lit up with little gold miners shadows in them.

If you are traveling with someone that isn't on the ride, they can catch a great photo of you on the train from the exit ramp area that is located right next to a small geyser.

That's just a couple reasons why my family, as well as so many other people, can't get enough of riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

If you are passionate about this ride and want to experience it as much has you can, my tip is to make rope drop. When the parks opens almost everybody these days heads to the back of the park, so you could perhaps ride a good 3 or 4 times in a row (or more!) before having a wait.

Now go have fun on “The Wildest Ride in The Wilderness” and don't forget to wave back to the Cast Member with a smile! YeeeeHawwww!!

This article was originally posted on the Disney Exchange Blog, the official blog of The Disney Exchange Podcast, which is hosted by David Hodges, Lisa Green, and Nicholas Maglio.