Disneyland While the design of the Walt Disney World version of the ride was done first, Disneyland's version was the first one to open. The track layout was mirrored, placing the attraction to the right of the
Rivers of America, if viewed from the central hub. (In Magic Kingdom, the attraction was located to the left of the Rivers of America, which closed at that park in 2025.) To better fit with the adjacent Fantasyland areas of the theme park, the original Walt Disney World design had to be replaced with something more appropriate for Disneyland. The Florida, Tokyo and Paris versions of the ride use sharp-edged mountains and the vibrant colors of Monument Valley, Arizona, while Disneyland's version was developed with more rounded features and muted colors resembling the Bryce Canyon hoodoos in Utah. Upon entering the attraction, the queue winds through a narrow rock wall and passing by the tracks. The surrounding walls were originally created from 100 tons of gold ore from
Rosamond. Leaving the outdoor station, trains enter a bat-infested tunnel, make a right hand turn, then a left hand turn before climbing the first lift hill, which takes trains through a cavern full of stalactites. Leaving the lift hill, the train drops away to the right, then levels out and makes a left hand turn. The track then crosses under the second lift hill drop before making a right hand turn. The sounds of coyotes can be heard howling at the train as it dives into a cave. The train then rises uphill and hits a trim brake, makes a right turn out of the tunnel, and climbs the second lift hill. At the top of the lift, an animatronic goat with a stick of dynamite in its mouth bleats at passing guests as the train drops away to the right, crosses under the lift hill, and rises up into a downward spiraling clockwise helix. Leaving the helix, the train shoots through a small canyon, then drops down into a mining camp, where it hits another trim brake. The train then makes a left hand turn, enters another tunnel, and climbs the third lift hill. As the train climbs the lift, the tunnel is dynamited, and artificial smoke is blasted in guests' faces as the train crests the lift and exits the tunnel. The train then drops to the right, towards the river, then makes a right hand turn and passes through a short tunnel. After crossing over the drop, the trains make a left hand turn as they pass through the ribcage of a T-rex skeleton, hit a trim brake, then make a right hand turn into the final brakes. The train then travels past the buildings of Rainbow Ridge and returns to the station. California's version of the ride is the only version of the ride to feature an outdoor station. All of the other versions feature an indoor station. On January 7, 2013, the ride was closed for an extensive refurbishment that included a new track, trains, scenery, and new effects on the third lift hill. The attraction reopened on March 17, 2014. The new track was fabricated by
Dynamic Structures, the company that had previously rehauled the coaster track in
Space Mountain.
Magic Kingdom The track layout of the Magic Kingdom's version is a nearly identical mirrored layout of the Disneyland attraction. Riders board the trains in an enclosed loading station on a hillside. Leaving the station, trains make a left hand turn into a bat-infested tunnel, make a slight right turn, and climb the first lift hill. At the top of the lift hill, trains pass under a waterfall and drop to the left. This is followed by a right hand turn, after which the track crosses under the second lift hill and drop. After crossing under the second lift hill drop, the track goes through a 270 degree clockwise spiral and passes through a short tunnel. Trains emerge from the tunnel and pass through the flooded town of Tumbleweed, running parallel to the
Walt Disney World Railroad. The train passes over a decaying trestle (where the track is slightly banked from side to side), before entering Davy Jones Mine, where it hits a trim brake. Trains then make a left hand turn and climb the second lift hill. At the top of the second lift hill, trains drop to the left and cross under the lift hill, before rising into a 540 degree downhill counterclockwise helix, passing over a broken trestle. Leaving the helix, trains shoot up across a small hill, make a slight right turn, then drop through another tunnel and hit a trim brake. The trains then make a right hand turn into a tunnel and climb the third lift hill. As the train climbs the lift, an earthquake hits and makes the train cars sway from side to side (the effect achieved by slightly banking the track). Leaving the lift, trains emerge from the tunnel, crest a small rise, and drop to the left towards the Rivers of America. After traveling along a short section of straight track, the ride then makes a left hand turn through a short tunnel and crosses a short bridge. The train then makes a right hand turn, and passes through the ribcage of a
T-Rex skeleton as it hits the final trim brake, makes a left hand turn past some geysers and hot springs, and rises into the final brakes. The train then makes a left turn back into the station. The Florida version was allocated more space in the park, and so the Monument Valley-inspired ride structure assumes 2.5 acres, 25 percent larger than the Disneyland version. Due to the ride being surrounded by the former Rivers of America on the east and the Walt Disney World Railroad on the west, the maintenance facility for the trains is on the opposite side of the Railroad's track from the ride, with a swing bridge being used where the transfer track crosses the Railroad, just past the Frontierland station. In January 2025, the Magic Kingdom version of the ride was temporarily closed for a complete refurbishment and installation of new track, with a planned reopening in early May 2026. The opening scene was updated and the ride includes refreshed Rainbow Caverns, Audio-Anamatronics and gold props. Additionally, the height limit for the ride was lowered from to and the maintenance shed was removed to accommodate the new Villains Land. On April 8, 2026, it was announced that the updated version of the attraction will be reopen on May 3, 2026 in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom.
Tokyo Disneyland Big Thunder Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland is similar to the Florida version, but there are some differences in the ride layout. Instead of Tumbleweed, the track makes a left turn and dives into a cave, mirroring the California version of the ride. More significantly, the final segment of the ride is different. Instead of crossing back over the drop from the third lift hill, the track makes a 180 degree turn to the right before dropping out of a tunnel, through the Boneyard/geyser scene, into a short tunnel. The track then makes a right hand turn into the final brakes. The trains pass in front of the station building, and then turn back into the loading area.
Disneyland Paris The Paris version of the ride is unique as it is situated on an island in the middle of the
Rivers of the Far West, where
Tom Sawyer's Island would normally sit. It is also the only version of the ride to be an opening day attraction and the largest installment at any Disney park. Also unlike the other versions, the trains at the Paris version are painted to look weathered and aged. Guests board the trains at a station on the mainland. Immediately upon leaving the station, trains dive into a tunnel that transports them under the Rivers of the Far West to the island where the ride is located. The train makes a right hand turn, and makes a quick steep rise before starting up the first lift hill. As trains climb out of the darkness of the underwater tunnel, stalactites and stalagmites can be seen growing next to the track, along with several rainbow colored pools of water. The sounds of bats swooping up above can also be heard. During warmer months, a waterfall parts around the track at the top of the hill. Trains pop out of the tunnel, leave the lift hill, and drop around a left hand turn, pass through a small cave, then make a swooping right turn. If the trains are being dispatched timely, when the train goes through this curve, it will appear to make a near miss with a train in the 540 degree helix. After this turn, the trains pass under the second lift hill and its drop, making a slight hop, before making a left hand turn onto a trestle. The trains run along the Rivers of the Far West, across the water from
Phantom Manor (the park's version of
The Haunted Mansion), then make a slight right hand turn and suddenly fall through a washed out section of the trestle. The trestle drop also contains an
on-ride camera. After dropping down to the water level (with water jets on the sides of the track simulating a splashdown), the trains go around a left turn, enter a mill camp, and begin climbing the second lift hill. As trains start up the lift hill, two tied down donkeys can be seen to the right side of the track, braying at passing trains, with an empty watering pail in front of them. A goat can be seen pulling on a shirt hanging on a clothesline to the riders' left, as the trains pass a parked steamroller and mine elevator, and travel under a water tower. At the top of the lift, the trains drop to the left and cross back under the lift hill. Coming out of the drop, the trains go over another rise, hitting a magnetic trim brake, and enter a 540 degree counterclockwise helix, passing over a broken trestle. Exiting the helix, the trains pass through a short cave and go over a quick airtime hill as they shoot down a canyon. As the trains drop through the tunnel and pass over a trim brake, a loud gust of wind is heard. Trains then make a right hand turn on another trestle, enter a tunnel with signs warning of blasting over the portal, and climb the third lift hill. As the train starts up the third hill, the tunnel is dynamited, and artificial smoke is blasted in guests' faces as the train crests the lift and exits the tunnel. The train crests a small hill, then drops to the left onto a straightaway alongside the river, speeding up as it enters the return tunnel. The train encounters a swarm of bats in the tunnel as it makes another sharp counter-clockwise turnaround and goes down a steep drop to cross under the water. The trains continue to accelerate through the dark until it pops out of the exit portal on the mainland. An additional chain lift is located here to assist the train in leaving the tunnel. The train then coasts past the station, through the loading dock, and then makes a left turn to reenter the station. The Paris version underwent a year long refurbishment from November 2015 to December 2016. As part of the renovation, the brakes were overhauled, some of the scenery was repainted, and a few elements from the California version were added (rainbow pools of water on the first lift hill cave, new sound effects for the mine elevator on the second lift hill, new mapping effects for the blasting scene on the third lift hill). Interactive games were also installed in the queue. ==In other media==