September 02: Hang On To Them Hats & Glasses

On this day in 1979, Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction opened. The very first Big Thunder Mountain to open in any Disney park, the attraction is located in Frontierland on the spot once occupied by Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland (which first opened in 1956).

Designed by Imagineer Tony Baxter and ride design engineer Bill Watkins, the idea originated from work Baxter had done years earlier on a Marc Davis concept called Western River Expedition (originally meant to be built in Disney World's Magic Kingdom).

Big Thunder Mountain features runaway mine trains that twist through desert canyons, creaking mine shafts, and pitch-black bat caverns. "The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness" is still a favorite among park guests.

A Big Thunder Mountain later opened at WDW in November 1980, followed by versions in Tokyo Disneyland in 1987 and finally Disneyland Park in Paris in 1992.

Click HERE for much more September 02 Disney history.