Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disney World is currently closed and will be that way for at least a year.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is currently closed
Yeah, we know. That’s a BIG bummer, especially if you’re visiting Disney World this year. However, this is the first big refurbishment that the Magic Kingdom ride has had in a while, so Disney obviously has big plans for updating it a bit. Now, we’ve already noticed quite a bit of work happening on the ride, and we even have a hint of when we think it might reopen in 2026, but what will have changed with the ride then? Well, it turns out the answer to that is…A LOT.
Yes, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is going to be VERY different when it reopens. Here’s how.
Smoother track
Okay, so it was no secret that riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was a bit rough, enough to help some people pass kidney stones. OUCH. Well, we’ve already seen that Disney is removing the track, which means that track will be getting replaced with something that’s probably new.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s new track will be smoother
Disney has even filed a permit for work by Coastal Steel, a company that has experience constructing the steel for roller coaster tracks, suggesting that this is likely the case. So when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens, it will probably feel a lot smoother.
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A new view
The roller coaster will also have a new view because a lot of Frontierland and BEHIND the coaster is changing. First, a Cars expansion is replacing Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, so Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will have a great view of that.
©Disney
However, a new Villains land will be going BEHIND the ride, so when you ride it, you’re either going to get a changed view to hide the new land or you’re going to get to see the land from a unique perspective when you ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
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New magic
Disney has said that “the attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic.” We have no idea what that means, but it could mean that Disney has plans to add new effects, lighting, and enhancements.
Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland
What we’re hoping for is that Disney adds the cool projection effects you can see in the Disneyland version of the ride. But we won’t know for sure until something is announced.
No One Knows This Secret About Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom
So the truth is we don’t know about EVERYTHING that will be different about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad when it reopens in 2026, but we do know that it will be different, nonetheless. We’ll be keeping an eye out for announcements about the ride from Disney, so until then, stay tuned to DFB for more.
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So it’s not like there’s a whole bunch of stuff changing to the ride.It’s just that the last refurbishment World didn’t get the esthetics like Land has.
For those of you that have visited Disneyland and know what Disney World’s version is like.You would know that, like when you’re going up the mineshaft climb the fuses lit and explosions that were added close to a decade if not more for Disneyland now. I can’t remember somewhere 2013-2015 before I stopped buying passes in 2015 the newer immersion stuff was added for the mine shaft portion.
I’ve seen folks comment that weather in Florida is worse than California and why they replace track there more often that land.
None the less they are doing a complete retail or the track. The break runs and this will help for a more modern, smooth updated mine shift section like Disneyland version once complete.