A new update has surfaced regarding the indefinite closure of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney Experiences is ushering in what feels like one of the most transformative periods for the theme park and cruise line business in recent years. The aggressive wave of updates on land and sea came after the House of Mouse teased various new concepts across multiple D23 events.
When it comes to the Walt Disney World Resort, it was in 2022 that Disney Experiences chairman Josh D’Amaro alerted guests to major new concepts coming to the parks. From rethemes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to expansions at Magic Kingdom, it quickly became clear that Disney wanted to inject some newness into its 50-year-old flagship resort.
With Universal’s Epic Universe casting a large shadow over the theme park landscape of Central Florida, many Disney fans are expecting Disney to respond with their own announcement of a fifth theme park gate sometime in the near future. While that is yet to happen, the Mouse House will begin injecting brand-new experiences into Disney World, starting effective immediately.
In time, DinoLand U.S.A. at Animal Kingdom will become a new land themed to the Tropical Americas. Soon to be known as the Pueblo Esperanza, DinoLand’s replacement will feature two signature attractions from the Encanto and Indiana Jones franchises. The first ride and merchandise location closures in the area will begin in January 2025.
Magic Kingdom Park, home to the iconic Cinderella Castle, will see the Cars franchise take over Frontierland, replacing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in the process–much to the chagrin of many Disney park fans. The update to Frontierland comes after Disney World debuted Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which replaced Splash Mountain earlier this year.
As Josh D’Amaro clarified at D23 Expo 2024, all the plans are in “active development,” confirming that plans are drawn and dirt is moving. Before the bigger Magic Kingdom development gets underway, Disney is shuttering Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—its historic Frontierland coaster—for an indefinite period of time.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will cease operations on January 6, 2025, and will not reopen until sometime in 2026. “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will temporarily close for refurbishment on January 6, 2025,” confirms the official Walt Disney World Resort website. The attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.”
It is not clear what work will commence on Big Thunder Mountain, but many have theorized it could be an update similar to the one Disney executed at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Resort over a decade ago. There, Big Thunder was updated with a new track and a modernized ending, which included projection mapping and light effects.
Now, a new update has surfaced, showing construction developments at the Big Thunder Mountain site. Per WDWMagic, a large green scrim can be seen surrounding part of the famous attraction, which will likely cover the whole thing by January. Other images show small cranes present on the site, signaling a heavy construction process is to come.
The closure of Big Thunder Mountain in Frotnierland marks the beginning of Magic Kingdom Park’s major transformation and expansion. In what will seemingly be the park’s biggest expansion project, Disney will set in motion its “Beyond Big Thunder” concept with the addition of the Disney Villains.
Alongside the Cars-themed land replacing the Rivers of America, which itself will feature multiple attractions for all the family, Disney is finally bringing some form of “Dark Kingdom” to the Walt Disney World Resort by implementing the beloved villains of the Disney canon. Nothing regarding the concept or the attractions is known about this new land, and it can seemingly be expected after Disney World launches its take on Radiator Springs at the park.
It’s an immense time of evolution at Walt Disney World, but as prices keep going higher, will enough fans get to see these major new developments at the resort? With recent backlash, including the price tag on the recently launched Lightning Lane Premier Pass and the cost of a meal at BoardWalk’s Cake Bake Shop, Disney is hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
That said, as Josh D’Amaro told crowds at Boston’s INBOUND Festival earlier this month, Disney will not always please everyone, and while it may seem the company is altering guests’ personal history with the parks, they are committed to creating and providing experiences for the next generation.
How do you feel about all the changes happening at Walt Disney World Resort? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
