If a rumor in the Hollywood Reporter turns out to be true, we may see an ABC show based on the theme park ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
The wildest ride in the wilderness is being adapted for a television pilot by Chris Morgan (“Wanted,” “Fast Five”) and Jason Fuchs (“Ice Age: Continental Drift). Very few TV pilots make it to prime time and of those, even fewer actually make it past the first few episodes. But here’s hoping that this ride adapts to film like Pirates of the Caribbean did (and not like the Haunted Mansion worked out).
At this stage in the rumor mill, we don’t have any word on what the show will have in common with the ride. But if it sticks with the ride’s story line, it should have something to do with a mining town being destroyed by a natural disaster after settlers desecrate sacred Native American land.
The Disneyland version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is slated to close for an extended refurbishment from January through October 2013. If ABC does make plans to air the show, this should give Disney plenty of time to enhance the ride in time for its prime time debut.
[…] Although the refurbishment will cost the same as building an entirely new ride (Disney is basically replacing the entire ride system and vehicles), it will be hard for Disney to market this as a new experience when it eventually reopens. To help show that the experience has been refreshed, we can expect to see some new additions to the ride, like an interactive queue (similar to what is being added in Walt Disney World) and new story elements that will tie the ride to the TV show in development. […]