Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Re-Opens Today!

May 28th 2012 at 8:00

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Big Thunder Mountain today re-opens after a 5 month refurbishment. The ride closed on January 9th, after notice was given in early October 2011, this was something Disney had long been planning as the ride was in desperate need of work, with multiple effects missing for some time and areas of the ride showing its age with general wear and tear.

Over the last week, the ride has opened several times for a 'soft opening' launch, and the general consensus has been positive. 

Here's a rundown of what we know has already been done as part of the maintenance:

• Queue area shortened, with queue lines made wider
• The undercover queue area is now air conditioned
• Complete paint overhaul both on the ride and in the surrounding areas
• Almost all the wood work was rebuilt
• Replacements to some track rails and track supports
• Geysers at the exit have been repaired, along with the sound effects.
• Water features at the front of the station and mountain now work.

One fix that has not been performed is the moving rock scene. Whilst there is a possibility that it was just switched off during the soft opening, it does seem as though there may have been a deeper issue there. 

As part of the queue changes, the standby and fastpass lines have been switched around. It does also appear that there will be an interactive queue system, however it was not running during the soft-opening.

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