Tuesday Trivia - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

After nearly 10 years of planning, and 18 months of construction, the Magic Kingdom's version of the Frontierland classic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in 1980.  Designed to resemble the look of Utah's Monument Valley, more than 650 tons of steel, 4.675 tons of specially formulated "mud", and more than 9,000 gallons of paint brought "the wildest ride in the wilderness" to life in Central Florida. Construction costs for the attraction came in at about $17 million, the cost to build Disneyland back in 1955. To lend an air of authenticity in set designs, the Imagineers spent more than $300,000 alone on decor items such as the ore-hauling wagon, double-stamp ore crusher, old mill ball and wooden mining flume.