In just a few days, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom is scheduled to finally reopen after over a year of being closed to get a MASSIVE update.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

We have literally been counting down the days until we could take a ride on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness, and it’s almost here! Ahead of its reopening, construction walls are FINALLY starting to come down from around the ride, and today, we finally got a good look at the ride’s entrance for the first time since construction on it started. YES!

Today, the construction walls in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s entrance are officially GONE. Instead, there are some hedges to block off the entrance. But this is the best view of the new ride we’ve seen yet. It’s almost time, people!

The walls are DOWN

Now, there are still some construction walls up around much of the rest of the ride, so we’re still not getting a good look at THAT yet, but those will have to come down pretty soon with the ride’s reopening SO close. Oh, did we mention we noticed running water in the queue? ALMOST THERE.

Some walls are still up

So what’s changing at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? Well, for starters, the ride has an entirely new track, meaning that it might be a LOT smoother than previously (let’s face it…this ride would knock you around a bit before). However, Disney also added a brand new scene based on the Rainbow Caverns (which Disney history buffs will know from Disneyland history because the Rainbow Caverns Mine Train was sort of the precursor to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad).

©Disney

Disney World also completely updated the ride vehicles, and the ride’s exterior got a bit of a glow-up to make it blend in better with the upcoming Cars-themed expansion coming to Frontierland, Piston Peak. Even better? Some of the changes made to the ride helped Disney lower the height restriction to 38″, so younger riders can now enjoy the attraction. Disney also took the opportunity to fix some elements of the ride that hadn’t worked in years.

Ride testing for Big Thunder Mountain

We’re sure there are some more magical surprises in store for riders when the ride reopens on May 3rd. Note that it will be part of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, so you’ll want to book those Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Lightning Lanes as soon as you can! This ride is going to be VERY popular after it reopens.

We’ll be standing in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on May 3rd, so stay tuned to DFB for more coverage! Want the updates delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter here!

Disney World Shares Behind-The-Scenes Look at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Changes

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Are you excited to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again? What changes are you excited to see? Share with us in the comments!