Disneyland Commercial 1979-BIG THUNDER MOUNTAIN RR

[BarelyDeadProduction]

I got a self inflicted sprained neck from the urge to duck on this ride. LOL

[GoalHornDJ]

This ride is awesome even today.

[TerryT1976]

@GoalHornDJ Yes, especially at night!

[n2legos]

@TerryT1976 yea its really fun at nght

[TheHaloRed]

Open Wed. thru Sun.!

[Smoo42]

I'm so glad I found this video! I was one of the people on that train and I wanted my kids to see it. Thanks!

[fitnessgeek09]

LOL. Open Wed thru Sun? Things sure have changed since the late 70s. I wasn't even around back then lol

[GRM7]

I was the cameraman for this spot.

[999Phineas]

@GRM7 That is so cool! did you do any other Disneyland videos?

[bloofan06]

Wow, I didn't realize that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was that old! I LOVE that ride! Thanks for sharing the commercial!

[fivebearrugs]

@bloofan06 Yup, in 2009, three of the Disneyland Mountains celebrated anniversaries: Matterhorn (50, 1959), Big Thunder (30, 1979) and Splash (20, 1989). Space Mountain opened in 1977...hmm...that sure was the year for sci-fi and space, no? :)

[Kingdange141]

I've always wanted to ride Big thunder mountain. Sadly I have never rode it once in my life.

[MrClassicAds]

They should have commercials like this again...The screaming alone is more terrifying and chilling than any CGI crap they use today. This makes me want to go to Disneyland today!

[disneyclint]

I've never seen Thunder Mtn. portrayed this way before. Usually it's made out to be a fun ride, part of the rootin' tootin' wild west, out in the desert sun. This commercial has it cloudy and eerie, with the riders screaming as if they're frightened. The company was definitely going for a different mood during this time in their history...if you've ever seen the movie "The Watcher in the Woods" (released just around the same time), you'll know what I mean.

[MrJuly1990ish]

@disneyclint

"I've never seen Thunder Mtn. portrayed this way before."

This is the original commercial from 1979 when the ride first open up during the summer of that year.

[disneygeekvideos]

Strange video

[grapesofwraith1066]

Big Thunder STRIKES!! Wow, that's amazing to think of it as a brand new ride - interesting that they were closed Monday-Tuesday...

[deathbyillusion]

wait at the end it says open wednesday thru thrusday so does that mean that disneyland wasent open monday and tuesday back then?

[Disneydanny]

@deathbyillusion that's correct.

[229095]

Oh, I DEFINITELY remember this ad!!! (Ugh, the comments here make me feel OLD!!! I was NINE!!)

[TheGreatBooster]

Anyone notice how sparse the vegetation is? It looked a lot more like the dusty Old West back when it first opened. Since then, the plants have grown in more and it looks more forested. Just something I noticed. ^^

[estopsteve74]

It's kinda a brain twist to think that at one time Big Thunder was brand new! It just seems like it has always been there...and I guess in a way for me...it has been since it pretty much predates me.

[DisneyClips]

That was so cool i loved it!! Haaa...so old looking

[skellington15]

Open Wednesday through Sunday? Man the 20th century is complicated...

[savanasue]

Disneyland was closed Mon and Tues and Knotts was closed Wed and Thurs. I am from Anaheim btw and grew up going to Disneyland and Knotts.

[ejay1118]

Disneyland opened in 1955. Big Thunder wasn't part of the original park.

[SnowflakeTH]

This is the first time I've seen those trains actually have a shine on them. >:

[ttztotdca50]

They're not supposed to have a "shine" on them. Disney literally de-shines it to make the trains seem as though they were old and worn out. (An example of this can be found on Miceage where a new train was brought in and compared to an older train. The newer train a week later looked as the older train does).

[SnowflakeTH]

Got a link to that? I'd like to see it.

[ttztotdca50]

Try e-mailing Al Lutz, the editor and the writer of that column. After a certain period of time they take older articles offline.

[keyboard1234567890]

i went on this ride 2wice 4 time last summer

[missconceptions]

Big Thunder opened on September 2, 1979.

And it actually is open on Christmas.

[bkalathi]

Ths was a cool little clip of Disney Land a long time ago

[broadwayhoney]

I thought Disneyland had never been closed, except for 2 days - when JFK was assassinated, and May 4th in 2005 for the big 50th prep. Wha?

[Setheo1CP]

@broadwayhoney Also 9/11

[skot66]

OMG!! I grew up in Anaheim..I remember this commercial ..THANKS so much for bringing back my childhood.

[Littlescienceguy]

Wow! This is so neat! This was WAY before I was born. lol! I'm amazed at the quality of the video, as if it was shot yesterday. Really cool. Thanks for sharing this video. It's always great to be able to look back, and beyond even (for me anyways. lol.), at the Disneyland of the past.

[filmfreak11]

Open wed thru sun??

[TerryT1976]

Yep, until 1985, Disneyland was open 5 days a week during the off season and 7 days on busy holiday periods! Those days are gone, though.

[Littlescienceguy]

Whoa! That's amazing! So Mondays and Tuesdays they would be closed. That was back when Disneyland was relatively smaller and more humble like Knott's Berry Farm, where they could have schedules like that. Now, it's all about making money and being a 24/7 Resort. Oh, well. It's also interesting to note that 1985 was the year that they stayed open for 30 hours straight in celebration of Disneyland's 30th birthday. Maybe that broke the habit. lol.

[benkindelstudios]

@TerryT1976 Thank goodness too!

[paperscout]

thank you very much for sharing this!! i've been looking for this!

[TerryT1976]

My pleasure!  thank you for the compliment!