Magic Kingdom is about to go through some serious changes.
To start off, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed for at least a year for an update. Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America are also about to be completely reimagined into a new Cars expansion in Frontierland. But wait…there’s more! That’s because a new Villains-themed land is coming to the area behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Magic Kingdom is even getting a new nighttime parade! In the meantime, let’s just say Magic Kingdom is going to look VERY different over the next few years.
We’ve looked at some maps and figured out what Magic Kingdom is going to look like during some of these changes. So first, let’s take a look at the new nighttime parade, Disney Starlight, which is scheduled to debut in summer 2025. Based on other Magic Kingdom parades, we can estimate that the parade route will be the same one used for existing parades. So here’s what we think the route will look like.
Now, if it does keep to this route, we can recommend some great viewing locations. We usually stake out a spot in either Frontierland or Liberty Square, preferably on the Country Bear Jamboree, Liberty Tree Tavern, or Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe side of the route. The parade starts in Frontierland, so if you view it there, you’ll be among the first to see it. Then, if you want to watch it again, make your way to Main Street, U.S.A. because YOLO!
Our second map shows just how big of an area is going to be taken over by the Cars expansion. It’s a HUGE area!
For comparison, here’s a map of Magic Kingdom from the My Disney Experience app without all that area filled in with the Cars expansion. Yes, it’s a HUGE area.
To get an idea of just how big this new expansion will be, here’s the concept art Disney released showing the area and its two new attractions.
We also created a third map predicting where we think the construction walls for this project will be (hint: it’s most of Frontierland). We think we might even see Big Thunder Mountain Railroad blocked off since it will also be under construction for at least a year. We also think they might block off the area by Haunted Mansion to keep prying eyes from seeing any of the constructon progress. Granted, this is our best guess, but we think it could be fairly accurate.
If this IS accurate, at least the construction walls might not create TOO much of a situation where you have to do a lot of backtracking to get around the park. A lot of the area that will be under construction is currently mostly water, so that makes a difference.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for updates on these projects, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
The One Frustrating Reason You Should SKIP Magic Kingdom in 2025
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