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Disneyland Resort

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Disneyland's mine train in Frontierland. RCDB and Coasterpedia say 28 mph. A shared Wikipedia infobox of 35 mph is the family of rides, not this installation.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reaches 28 mph (45.1 km/h), a verified measurement.

Also known as Big Thunder Mountain, Disneyland
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Ride speed

Published as 28 mphPublished as 28 mphPublished as 28 mph

Operating speed of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, Frontierland. RCDB says 28 mph and a length of 2,671 ft. Coasterpedia says 28 mph, 50 feet tall, and three chain lifts. The figure is 28 mph. Wikipedia's Big Thunder page says one 35 mph infobox for the four installations together. That shared number is not this park's speed.

VerifiedRCDB (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 1.2× Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 43% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 7.3 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reaches 28 mph (45.1 km/h), a verified measurement.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is labeled Verified. Independently measured and published, for example in a peer-reviewed study or with certified timing.

What is the source?

The figure cites RCDB, “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disneyland.”

Where does Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rank?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is 6th of 10 on Fastest Rides in Disneyland Resort.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reaches 28 mph from three chain lifts on a 50-foot mine train.

Speed
28 mph
Height
50 ft
Lift
Three chain lifts

  1. Three lifts

    RCDB says 28 mph and 2,671 feet of track for the Anaheim coaster. Coasterpedia says 28 mph, a height of 50 feet, and three chain lifts. The speed is the fastest of those lifts and drops, not a launch.

  2. Not the 35 mph infobox

    A Wikipedia family line of 35 mph covers more than one Big Thunder Mountain. It is not used for Anaheim. Paris's coaster is 40.4 mph on its own row.

The faster Anaheim coaster is Space Mountain.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 45.1km/h28mph12.5m/s24.3knRanked figure

    Operating speed of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, Frontierland. RCDB says 28 mph and a length of 2,671 ft. Coasterpedia says 28 mph, 50 feet tall, and three chain lifts. The figure is 28 mph. Wikipedia's Big Thunder page says one 35 mph infobox for the four installations together. That shared number is not this park's speed.

    Coasterpedia says 28 mph and 50 feet. The 35 mph family infobox does not count.

    Verified
    RCDB (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Resort
Disneyland Resort
Park
Disneyland
Ride type
Roller coaster
Speed
28 mph
Height
50 ft
Lift
Three chain lifts

Context

Background

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland is the mine train in Frontierland. RCDB says 28 mph and 2,671 feet of track. Coasterpedia says 28 mph, 50 feet tall, and three chain lifts. The figure is 28 mph, qualifier verified.

Wikipedia's article on the attraction says a single 35 mph line for the ride as a family. Anaheim's two coaster databases agree on 28, so 35 is not a separate figure. Paris's Big Thunder is a different layout at 40.4 mph and has its own row.

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.