On January 6th, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom is scheduled to close for a lengthy refurbishment.
The popular attraction will remain closed for at least a year. Disney hasn’t announced a specific end date for the refurbishment, although they did say that the ride will “reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.” But we may have just spotted a hint that gives us a more specific idea of when the iconic roller coaster could reopen.
On January 3rd, 2025, Disney filed a new Notice of Commencement for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
The notice is for general construction and lists Coastal Steel Inc. of Lake Buena Vista, Florida, as the contractor. However, the most interesting detail we spotted in the document was the expiration date.
The expiration date listed on the Notice of Commencement is March 13th, 2026. Typically, these permits have an expiration date of one year after they are recorded unless a different date is specified. Since this does list a specific date, rather than the standard one year, that gives us a hint that the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closure may last until spring 2026.
We’re not sure what all the “new magic” that Disney referenced will entail, but it’s possible that the lengthy closure may also be partially due to construction around the attraction on top of the refurbishment itself. There will be a ton of work happening around Frontierland in the future, between the new Cars attractions taking the place of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, and the new Villains Land being built behind Big Thunder Mountain.
When TRON Lightcycle / Run was being built, the Walt Disney World Railroad remained closed for four years due to construction in the area, so it’s possible that the extended Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closure might be a similar situation.
We’ll continue to keep a close eye out for any additional updates on the construction projects in Magic Kingdom, so stay tuned to AllEars for the latest news!
7 Things We’re BEGGING Disney To Bring to the NEW Villains Land at Magic Kingdom
What’s your favorite Magic Kingdom roller coaster? Share with us in the comments!
I hope the refurbishment includes a return of the inside-the-mountain earthquake with boulders-falling effect. It’s always a letdown when that no longer occurs….which has been a long, long time. Decades, maybe?