The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment is full steam ahead at Magic Kingdom, and we made it out to Walt Disney World’s original theme park to get an updated and detailed look at the roller coaster track removal progress. The removal of the roller coaster track confirms a rumor that dated back to the first half of last year when word first surfaced that a track replacement project was on the horizon. A number of pieces of track have been removed from the roller coaster as part of a refurbishment that will last into 2026. Let’s take a look!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Track Removal at Magic Kingdom
We’ll start with a view from the Liberty Square Riverboat, which offers a good view of the large piece of track that was removed yesterday afternoon. These early photos also offer one of the better in-park perspectives of how tall the crane is that will be doing the work. The fact that it was able to reach one of the furthest pieces of track should bode well for only having a single crane for the project.
From the riverboat, we get our first hint that there is some work taking place on the back side of the attraction as well. We’ll get a much better look from the Walt Disney World Railroad in a minute.
The top of the first lift hill has a number of chains, likely to help lift some of the interior track or mechanisms out of the mountain.
Ok, time to head over and ride the Walt Disney World Railroad, which has a new bit of audio when driving past the Big Thunder Mountain construction site. The first thing we can see is that there were some crews doing survey work near the vehicle storage area. It’s possible that the barn will get some updates as well as part of the lengthy refurbishment.
Note that the Walt Disney World Railroad is able to continue operations at this time thanks to some ever-present spotters, both from the construction team and the Railroad team that ensure the crane and payload don’t compromise the safety of guests when traveling from one side of the railroad tracks to the other side.
Traveling past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, we can see that there has been some significant work on the back side of the attraction to remove an entire length of track. First, here’s a look back at what the track looks like prior to its removal, both from the Railroad and from on the Big Thunder Mountain attraction.
In addition to the removal of the roller coaster track, some props have also been removed, likely for safe-keeping during the work.
For the latest on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad track replacement project, check out our project tracker page below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
