Tony Baxter’s first major ride design for Disney was Big Thunder Mountain, a roller coaster cleverly disguised as a runaway train set in the rootin’, tootin’ American wild West.
Although the ride debuted in Disneyland in 1979, its genesis can be traced to Walt Disney World and an attraction that never made it out of the concept stages.
The main section of Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland Paris is located on an island.
That attraction was to be called Thunder Mesa; it was Disney Legend Marc Davis’ brainchild. If it had come to fruition in WDW, Thunder Mesa would have taken up a massive amount of real estate, encompassing the land where Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain now stand in the Magic Kingdom. […]
