Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Articles
Give Em Hill Huffing The Fairy Dust At Disneyland
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The morning after President Barack Obama interrupted "The Simpsons" to inform the country about the death of Osama bin Laden, my husband and I drove down to Disneyland. Now this was not a spur-of-the-moment, Munchkin-style "the wicked old witch at last is dead" kind of celebration. That would just be wrong. Instead, we'd had this excursion planned for a couple of months, and not just for the sake of ...
The Majestic History Of Matterhorn Bobsleds
Disneyland Park opened its gates for the first time ever on July 17, 1955. Since that notable date in history, Disneyland has grown, expanded, and renovated countless times making it the enticing vacation point that it is today. For some people, however, Disneyland is not just a vacation spot. The rich history that Disneyland holds along with the captivating attractions within its gates is why we, the ...
Disneyland Memories
Two months ago, I was warned that my article for the July issue would be about my first memories of Disneyland. I knew from the outset how hard this would be. If I had been asked about my first visit to Florida's Magic Kingdom this would be easy. It was November 18th 1988, which was Mickey's 60th birthday. I could write reams about my memories: the parades; my first trip on a monorail; finding ...
Making Kinect Disneyland Adventures
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Disneyland has remained one of the world's most popular attractions ever since it was built on a 160-acre site near Anaheim, California, in 1955. Love it or loathe it, there is no denying that nearly 16 million people eagerly flock every year to gawp open-mouthed at the Technicolor playground inhabited by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other famous characters. Frontier Developments, the Cambridge-based ...
New Disneyland Attractions Provide Endless Summer Fun
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Say the word "Disneyland" to any child and you're sure to get a smile. KSL got an inside look at some of the new attractions at one of the world's famous amusement parks. If Minnie Mouse doesn't get you moving, then maybe Pluto, or Goofy, or Donald Duck or Mickey himself will get you all revved up for Disneyland's Soundsational Summer. "The Soundsational Summer is two new attractions and a ...
California vs. Blackpool: General
Earlier in the year, I wrote an article for DLDHistory.com comparing the Alice in Wonderland ride in Disneyland to Alice's Wonderland at Pleasure Beach Blackpool (the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom). As I have recently come back from a week's vacation in Blackpool (and seeing as my main article this month was shorter than usual) I thought I would compare Anaheim's Disneyland Resort as a ...
Disneyland Resort Offers Plenty Of New Attractions
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The self-proclaimed "happiest place on Earth" is about to become a whole lot happier. When Disneyland Resort's new 12-acre Cars Land opens in time for next summer's tourist blitz, it will represent the latest achievement in the world of "imagineering" a word that was coined to emphasize the imagination of Disney engineers. Presently under construction in the Disney California Adventure park, ...
Wonderful Weekend Trip To The Magic Kingdom
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There is nothing quite like experiencing Disneyland through a four year-old or soon to be four-year old I should say! The entire family got to share in grandson Samuel's amazing birthday celebration at the happiest place on earth. From the moment of arrival at the hotel when the staff presented him with birthday balloons and a distinguishing "birthday" button to wear to the time that "Terk" the ...
All Aboard Disney's Fort Wilderness Railroad
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It's no secret that Walt Disney had a special place in his heart for railroads. Years before Disneyland opened, he built a model railroad in his backyard which he dubbed the Carolwood Pacific Railroad and spent countless hours riding it, tinkering with it and giving his family and friends much-coveted rides. When Disneyland opened in 1955, the narrow-gauge Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad circled ...
Disneylands Mine Train Still Runs In Their Memories
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Disneyland's Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland is fondly remembered by the men who ran it. Before there was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a roller coaster that hustles about, there was a battery-powered mine train that rolled along in that same stretch of Disneyland, an attraction that its former operators fondly remember. Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland was the first major attraction ...
Going Kid Free At Disneyland
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The thing that surprised me about Disneyland is how much fun I had without my kid. No, we didn't go by ourselves we brought our daughter. And we all had a blast. It was a couple days of fairies and magic and 5,000-calorie meals dipped in sugar and then glazed. Just like Walt envisioned. But there were a couple moments when the kid couldn't or had absolutely no desire at all to go on a few ...
Five Things Disneyland Has Over Disney World
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When Walt Disney World opened its gates in Florida in 1971, Disneyland started taking the proverbial backseat to its younger (and much larger) sibling. Disneyland was just a theme park. Disney World was a destination. Of course, since then Disneyland has made great strides in making its resort a vacation destination as well, but Disney World has also continued to grow. With four theme parks, two ...
Tips For Taking The Kids To Disneyland During The Holidays
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Every year, Disneyland magically transforms into a winter wonderland for families to enjoy. There are almost 700 festively-decorated trees located throughout the park, including the popular one at the beginning of Main Street. Guests can enjoy visiting Santa Claus and even get a rare opportunity to see live reindeer in Frontierland. The holiday times at Disneyland are sure to whisk you and your ...
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
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Having grown up in Southern California, I can't remember a time when I wasn't aware of Disneyland. I've loved the amusement park and all things Disney since I was itty bitty. I can remember being carried out to the car while it was still dark out when I was a little girl only to wake up again at Disneyland in awe. Now as an adult, I still find the "Happiest Place on Earth" just that. There's no ...
3 Reasons Disney Is More Valuable Than You Think
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Few businesses ever strive for excellence. Advantages, yes. Profits, undoubtedly. But excellence? Not so much. Thanks to a Christmas-break trip to Disneyland in California (not China), I now believe Walt Disney is a notable exception to this rule, and I'm backing my thesis with a CAPScall. Three things I learned on our winter vacation When it comes to Disneyland, I don't surprise easily. I'd been ...
Disney's Do's And Don'ts
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Disneyland is often called "The Happiest Place on Earth". When you break it down, this claim has a lot of validity. Magic comes to life when your favorite childhood characters begin dancing in front of you. Suddenly Belle, Prince Charming and Mickey Mouse come alive in one location, forcing you to discover your pupils aren't big enough to take in the entire scene all at once. You can fly around in a ...
7 Tips For Tackling Disneyland In A Day
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I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways ...
Grown-Up Gals Have Fun Like Kids But Without Kids At Disneyland
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Disneyland is not just for sugar-soaked kids. Consider, all you grown-up women out there, going for a gals' day out. That's exactly what my childhood friend Joanna and I, both of us in our 30s, recently did instead of heading to the beach or shopping. Did we channel our inner princesses? Nope. Did we regress to a state of childlike delight and strategically map out rides to conquer? Oh yes. That ...
A Grandmother's Magical Return To Disneyland
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If you live in North America, indeed much of the world, you are unlikely to have avoided the spell that has been cast over modern culture since the day Walt Disney opened the gates to his Disneyland theme park in California in 1955. If you were a lucky child, your parents loaded up the station wagon and headed to Anaheim at least once during your childhood, cramming the family into a little offsite ...
Learning To Love Disneyland Again
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As we walked across the broad, brick-paved plaza, a burst of music swelled, the strings rising to cinematic heights amid a pounding of kettle drums. A man in a crisp white shirt waved and beamed. Perfectly manicured flowers swayed in the breeze. It felt, for a moment, that we had accomplished something greater than simply walking out the gates at Disneyland in Southern California. But that is the ...
Five Rides You Won't See In Disneyland
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Magic Kingdom Transpo - Perhaps it's the "transportation nerd" in me, but when I was at an otherwise-delightful weekend at Disneyland with my family (boy, do they do things up for Halloween!), I couldn't help but notice that there are some exciting new rides, and some innovatively-redone old rides, at Disneyland's Magic Kingdom and California Adventure theme parks. After doing a bit of research, it became ...
Memories From The Mansion
It was August 1969 and I had just turned 9 the month before. Summer was rapidly coming to an end so, as a treat, my Dad let me go with my summer camp group on a day trip to the Magic Kingdom. We were scheduled to leave early the morning of the 12th which was a Tuesday. We would spend the entire day at the park and return early the morning of the 13th. Little did I know that this would be the most ...
Disneyland To Close Big Thunder Mountain Railroad For Overhaul
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Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closing Jan. 7 to get new tracks, vehicles and paint. It will be the third major overhaul of a major Disneyland ride in as many years. The railroad in the Frontierland section of the Anaheim park has been operating since 1979 and portrays a runaway train that speeds through a barren Old West landscape. The ride is expected to reopen in fall ...
Disney Begins 4 Million Dollar Big Thunder Overhaul
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Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will undergo its biggest project in more than three decades when the ride closes Monday for at least nine months. The Frontierland ride, which mimics a runaway mine train through an Old West canyon, will close so crews can begin a makeover that will last until fall. A reopening date has yet to be announced. The renovation will cost $4 million, according ...
Disneyland Day Every Day For This Couple
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At 8 a.m. today, Tonya Mickesh and Jeff Reitz were to go through the entrance turnstiles to Disneyland for the 366th day in a row. It's a journey that's seen them spend 24 hours in the park for the 24-hour Leap Day, watch baby ducks grow up, and go from unemployed to full-time jobs while becoming nationally known as the "everyday Disneyland couple." "It was a way to keep ourselves occupied because ...
ABC Orders Big Thunder Pilot Based On Disneyland Ride
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Pilot season is now going strong at the networks, and Variety reports that ABC ordered four new drama pilots today, including Big Thunder, based on Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain ride. Written by Jason Fuchs (Ice Age: Continental Drift) and executive produced by Chris Morgan (writer of most of The Fast and the Furious films), Big Thunder is described by Variety as involving "a 19th century New ...
Is Tomorrowland Movie Tied To Disneyland Area
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An upcoming George Clooney movie is called "Tomorrowland" but is it tied to that famous, futuristic area of Disneyland? Walt Disney Studios announced Monday that it was producing the live-action movie in which Clooney will star; the film was written by Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and Brad Bird of "The Incredibles." While the studio is secretive about the details, Walt Disney himself is at the ...
Super Bowl Sunday A Goofy Notion Of Smaller Crowds At Disneyland
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Is Super Bowl Sunday the least busy day to visit the Happiest Place on Earth? According to persistent online chatter and practically anyone with a Disney annual pass that doesn't black out on weekends (sorry Southern California passholders, this doesn't include you), the day of the Big Game is regarded by many Mickey-ophiles as an all-day extension of magic morning hours shorter lines for marquee ...
Top Disneyland Ride Creator Steps Down
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Tony Baxter began scooping ice cream at Disneyland in 1965 as a college job and rose up to spearhead the creation of some of the park's biggest rides, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Star Tours. Now, 47 years later, Baxter is stepping down from overseeing Disneyland attractions. Baxter, who lives in Anaheim Hills, announced Friday that he was leaving his job as senior vice president ...
Disney Couple Seal The Deal With Pirates Gold
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They worked, met, had their first date, and got engaged at Disneyland, with proposal coming in a dreamy location. Ride operator Andrew Salter met Alyssa Allinson on her first day on the job at Disneyland. Five months later, Salter asked her out for a first date at Disneyland. Four years after that, Salter bent down on one knee to propose marriage to Allinson at Disneyland. "I ...
Fastpass Service At Disneyland Resort
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Free to all guests Available for 13 attractions Spend less time standing in line The FASTPASS attraction entrances are separate, with much shorter lines Park admission passport goes into the machine A ticket prints out with a window of time to return Simple to use Saves time for more fun Follow these 3 easy steps to learn how to use Disney's FASTPASS Service at ...
