What's Happening Behind the Scenes at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom has been closed since January 6th for a lengthy refurbishment.

Construction on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

The popular attraction will remain closed for at least a year, and while Disney hasn’t announced a specific end date for the refurbishment, they did say that the ride will “reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.” Now that the ride has been closed for a bit, we’re taking a look at the construction progress!

We’ve been without our beloved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for over a month now, and to say we’re sad is an understatement. But, it’s not all bad news because this lengthy refurbishment just means that eventually, a shiny updated ride will open up in its place!

Disney hasn’t officially announced much about what they’re doing during this refurb, but we have seen them using a massive crane to remove parts of the ride track, so it’s possible they’re finally replacing that rickety old track. So far, we’ve spotted quite a bit of scaffolding and temporary walkways all around the ride.

The ride is hardly recognizable like this! If it weren’t for that big ol’ mountain in the background of this photo, we might have a hard time making it out.

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.

There’s that large crane we mentioned earlier—it’s seriously massive. So when will the ride reopen? Currently, Disney has provided the vague answer of “2026.” However, we found a permit for the coaster that expires on March 13th, 2026. Based on that, we may not be able to experience the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness until next spring!