Billy sat atop the same cliff in the prospecting town of Rainbow Ridge as he always did. Chewing the same stick of dynamite he always did.
He had his role, which was to exist on that cliff, chewing dynamite, so guests would notice him and get disoriented on the roller coaster.
He was well aware of his Floridian counterpart and his "Free the Goat" campaign. But this Billy was not the same Billy.
This Billy was Californian Billy. And Californian Billy was all too happy to stay in the same spot, chewing on dynamite.
Provided he didn't explode, of course.
All the Big Thunder Mountains in all the park have a shared story. They aren't the same mountain though, they're actually a range!
The Disneyland mountain is set in a town called Rainbow Ridge, Disney World's is in Tumbleweed, Disneyland Paris's is in Thunder Mesa, and Hong Kong Disneyland's is actually named Big Grizzly Mountain and is in Grizzly Gulch. I dunno. I guess Tokyo Disneyland's is out there doing its own thing. Good for it.
That's why in Disney World, Billy is atop a shack, in Paris, Billy is chewing on some clothes, and in Disneyland, Billy is atop a cliff. Hong Kong has some bears instead - Rocky, Nugget, and Mother Lode. And Tokyo… I don't know what it's doing.