This is HUGE news coming out of Disney!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom, will be closing on January 6, 2025 for refurbishment. According to Disney, “The attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.” That means this fun roller coaster will be closed for at least a year.
There is speculation that the closure of BTMR is tied to the construction of the new Cars land that is being developed in Frontierland. We do know that Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America are both closing to make room for the Cars expansion. Both of these attractions are near Big Thunder Mountain.
We assume that the closing of this attractions will force some increased wait times to other popular rides – just like we saw with Splash Mountain closed to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We will keep an eye on the Lightning Lane tiers to see if the closer of Big Thunder changes anything for those choosing to buy Lightning Lanes.
The temporary closure of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad brings its it a lot of unknowns. What we do know is that Magic Kingdom in Florida is undergoing some huge changes. We have hopeful anticipation that these changes will bring about positive changes to the park we know and love!