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ABC Developing Series Based on Disney's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

November 13, 2012

ABC is developing a series based on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction at Disney Parks worldwide, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The drama, to be titled "Big Thunder Mountain," will be co-written by Fast & Furious' Chris Morgan and Ice Age: Continental Drift's Jason Fuchs. The site says that other details about the project are being kept under wraps.

Here's how Disney Parks describes the attraction:

Thunder aboard a runaway mine train on a fast-paced thrill ride through the barren landscape of the Old West. Get ready for the time of your life, because Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is "the wildest ride in the wilderness"!

The Adventure

Twist through desert canyons, dash under creaking mine shafts and venture deep into pitch-black caverns overrun with screeching bats. Rumble past falling boulders, gushing waterfalls, playful wildlife and abandoned mining settlements, as you weave through burnt orange rock spires, arches, canyons and windswept gorges. Just when you think your adventure is at an end, an unseen force seems to push you forward up and over the next hill.

The Legend of Big Thunder Mountain

While you wait to board your train, your surroundings appear tranquil and picturesque, but you sense that something otherworldly is amiss.

Folklore tells of mysterious rumblings and strange noises emanating from the depths of the 104-foot-tall Big Thunder Mountain. Iridescent stalagmites and stalactites pulsate with eerie light deep below ground. Native American tales claim that supernatural forces will unleash the power of thunder upon those who dare to remove gold from the mountain

Undaunted, the Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company has begun to mine the site. Reports claim that mine trains sometimes mysteriously depart the station without an engineer at the throttle — driven by unseen forces.

The next train is departing now. Dare to test the legend?

Inspiration

Based on Bryce Canyon in Utah, the scenery captures the thrill, excitement and beauty of the rugged and untamed landscape of the American West.

Town of Big Thunder

The miniature town of Big Thunder that you roll past at the end of the attraction predates Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Originally named Rainbow Ridge, the town is one of several repurposed elements from the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train (later called Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland) that transported Guests around Frontierland from 1956 to 1977.

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