Missing since November, the beloved dynamite-chewing goat on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster is expected to wander back to his exposed butte in the next few weeks, according to Disneyland officials.
The extended and unexplained disappearance fueled speculation on Internet chat rooms about the bleating goat’s demise and led to more than a few instances of baa-baa-bad humor.
Officially, the nameless, genderless goat is “on vacation.” Unofficially, the audio-animatronic animal is getting a new fur coat in the Anaheim theme park’s maintenance department after years of exposure to the wind, sun and rain.
Disney fans fondly recall the legendary “goat trick” — where riders at the crest of the second lift hill train their eyes on the goat throughout the subsequent sharp turn to greatly increase the sideways G-forces (watch the video).
My 7-year-old daughter, Hannah, worries about the death-defying creature’s fate as she waits impatiently for the “goat ride” (as she calls it) to return to its full and explosive glory. In the meantime, Hannah bides her time on the “a-bob-di-bull snowman” ride (a.k.a. Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster).
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the
Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
[Image: Disney]
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February 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Hey! Rollercoasters are F-U-N! No wonder one is battered with disclaimers the moment you step inside the park…
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=1389
February 15th, 2008 at 10:37 am
When the kids where little Big Thunder was the Goat with Dynamite ride.We noticed the goat missing in Dec and happy to hear of the goats return!
February 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
But what about the howling dog in POTC? He’s been gone for since before December!
February 18th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I noticed the goat was missing on New Year’s Day. My daughter is now 10 and she was about 5 or 6 when was first able to go on Big Thunder. She named the goat Sarah and we will welcome its return.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:59 am
[...] From latimes.com: [...]
March 10th, 2008 at 11:03 am
The dynamite-gnawing goat has returned to Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain after an extended “grooming,” according to MousePlanet’s omnipresent Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.
A MiceChat thread proclaims “The Goat is back!!!!” and links to a Flickr photo of the fatter and spottier animatronic animal.