Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has officially closed for its lengthy refurbishment at the Magic Kingdom, and with that, construction walls have gone up and the Walt Disney World Railroad spiel has been updated to reflect the closure.
What’s Happening:
- Yesterday, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom closed for what is likely to be over a year-long (and arguably much needed) refurbishment.
- The attraction will be closed for the entire year, and is planned to reopen in 2026 with “a little bit of new magic.”
- That new magic is what the conductor of the Walt Disney World Railroad talks about in the newly updated spiel referencing the closure.
- “Now normally, folks around here have a one track mind for gold, but mining seems to have been derailed. They’ve been working on that railroad all the live-long day, and they’ll full-steam ahead in no time – hopefully with some new bells and whistles.”
- As of today, there’s no change to the spiel aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat.
- Just what this new magic will be remains to be seen, nor specifically what will be taking place during the refurbishment.
- Over a decade ago in 2013, the Disneyland version of the ride was closed for a similar year-long refurbishment that saw the track replaced and a new finale scene installed.
- It’s possible, although far from confirmed, that we could be seeing something similar happening with the Walt Disney World version.
- Outside the attraction, there’s not much noticeable change – only small construction walls placed directly around the entrance and exit to the attraction.
- You can see more of the area in our Live Walk & Talk from today below (at the 39:10 mark).
- We spotted construction workers already at work in the mountain, which has a large crane set behind it to help with track removal.
- The refurbishment is only one part of a number of projects coming to this area of the Magic Kingdom. Last year, it was announced that new experiences based on Cars would be coming to Frontierland, filling in the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Beyond Big Thunder, a much-anticipated new land based on the Disney Villains was announced for this corner of the park. No opening timeline has been announced for any of these projects.
Laughing Place recommends MouseFanTravel.com for all your Walt Disney World travel planning
Fill out the form below for a free,
no obligation quote from MouseFanTravel.com