Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Is One Step CLOSER TO Reopening in Disney World

Magic Kingdom is a bit of a mess right now, thanks to all the construction. Not only is a new Cars expansion being built in Frontierland, but a new Villains land is also being built behind Frontierland.

Two rides have also received big updates, including Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, which will officially reopen on April 8th. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has received a massive update, too, and is expected to reopen in May. Now, we’re seeing signs of progress over at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: ride testing is underway.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been closed for over a year now while it gets some massive updates. We’ve seen everything happening over at the ride’s construction site, including a complete replacement of the roller coaster’s track. Disney has also confirmed other big changes, including changes to the exterior to help it blend into the new Cars expansion, Piston Peak. A new scene has also been added to the ride.

We recently visited the construction site to see any updates, and we noticed that the ride was currently being tested. The ride vehicles were on the tracks and running. We’ve seen some testing before, but this is the next step in the update process and a good sign that the ride will be reopening soon. As you can see, there are some weighted objects in the ride vehicle’s seats to simulate the weight of passengers. The next step will be for actual people, aka Cast Members, riding the attraction.

There is still plenty of work being done around the ride, though. Construction continues around it, which is probably part of the additions that will be made to blend the ride’s exterior into the new Cars-themed land. However, ride testing is always a good sign that things are coming right along, and we may even have an official reopening date and early preview dates for select Disney World visitors coming soon.