Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain debut September, 1979

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride made its Disneyland debut in September of 1979. As you might imagine the ride was advertised aggressively on TV sets – at least in Southern California. I can remember the excitement surrounding the opening and waiting in very long lines once I eventually made it to the park and had a chance to hop on. You’ll also notice that in the 70s Disneyland was generally only open Wednesday through Sunday during the off-season.

Check out a 30 second spot from ’79 below.