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Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closed
This popular ride in Disney World will be closed for at least a year, reopening sometime in 2026 with a “little bit of new magic.” If you wanted to ride it one last time, you were able to do so on Sunday, January 5th, but now you will have to wait at least a year before hopping on “The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness” once again. With the closure, we noticed Disney made another small but impactful change at Magic Kingdom!
It’s a sad, sad day, friends. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has officially CLOSED for a lengthy refurbishment in Magic Kingdom.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
We spent the ride’s final day keeping an eye on crowds and wait times, and now that the ride has officially closed we’re back in the park to see if anything has changed at the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. While we don’t have many details on the ride’s refurbishment so far, we can’t wait to see what Disney has planned!
A lot of BIG things are happening in Disney World in 2025.
Frontierland sign
Dinoland, U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom will begin its phased closure to make way for a NEW land, Pueblo Esperanza. We expect to see construction start SOON at the Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios, which will be converted into a Monsters, Inc. land. In Magic Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America will soon be under construction for a new Cars expansion in Frontierland. However, something BIG is happening TOMORROW in Magic Kingdom, too: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closing for at least a year. So we’re checking it out today to see what crowds are like.
January 6th is a BIG day for Disney World.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Unfortunately, we’re not looking forward to this day for anything opening, but the exact opposite. THREE popular Disney World rides will be closing for varying amounts of time for refurbishments. We’ll be getting a bit of new magic on one, while the other two will likely just see routine maintenance during their closures.
Every week, we report the average Disney World wait times in every park so that you can be prepared for your next trip to Orlando!
Magic Kingdom
Disney World’s saw MASSIVE average wait timed this week, with 5 rides averaging waits in the triple digits, including a whopping 144 minute wait for the ever-dependable Avatar: Flight of Passage.
We are nearing the closing date of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for its extended refurbishment closure at Magic Kingdom!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the massive construction crane
The popular roller coaster will close on January 6th and is set to reopen again in 2026. Disney hasn’t provided an official opening date but has only stated, “The attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.” However, we may have found a clue about a more concrete timeline.
Every week, we report the average Disney World wait times in every park so that you can be prepared for your next trip to Orlando!
Magic Kingdom
Disney World’s average wait times took some MASSIVE jumps as Christmas week crowds descended on the resort. As usual, Flight of Passage and TRON topped the list of the resort’s busiest rides, though one was a clear and decisive winner…
Crowds are certainly HIGH around Disney World right now, thanks to holiday vacationers and people preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Disney World. We don’t foresee that changing any time soon.
Magic Kingdom Crowds
This is typically one of, if not THE busiest time of year in Disney World. Many attractions reach hours-long waits that we don’t see any other time of year. You’re shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of strangers, and stress levels are at an all-time high. However, even as these crowds start to dissipate at the end of next week, we know wait times for this one attraction will stay high — here’s why.
Are you already planning out your 2025 trip to Disney World?
Magic Kingdom
As we all know, Magic Kingdom is usually the crown jewel of a Disney vacation, but I’m here to drop some truth that might make you rethink your park priorities next year. There’s one major, frustrating reason you might want to skip Magic Kingdom altogether in 2025. Let’s talk about it!
Well, it’s official — Magic Kingdom is about to become a big ‘ole mess of construction.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
You’d think we’d be used to so much construction after the LOOONNG EPCOT transformation, but we’re really worried about what that means for Magic Kingdom. It’s going to be bad enough seeing all that construction where Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island is to make way for the Frontierland Cars expansion, and we know there are going to be a lot of construction walls to walk around. However, we’re noticing a trend in some construction happening already behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad that’s setting an unsightly trend.
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