We’re three months into a lengthy refurbishment of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction at Magic Kingdom, and crews appear to be doing a wonderful job so far. The extensive work will include a full roller coaster track replacement, as well as some new magic added to the ride when it reopens in 2026. We made it out to Magic Kingdom recently to find that even more new roller coaster track has been installed. Here’s a look around!
More New Track Installed at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom
In order to see the latest track additions, we have to hop aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat (while we still can) to check out a section of the ride that passes along the banks of the Rivers of America (while it’s still here).
We’ll start with a look over at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from new the Haunted Mansion attraction. Although we’ve been watching track pieces fly through the air for nearly four months now, it never gets old!
Hopping aboard the Liberty Square Riverboat, we can see some new pieces of track and some changes taking place. First up is a cut into the rocky facade near lift hill #2. This specific piece of track has been in place for a while now, but the cut into the rock is new since our last photo update.
The biggest change is new track coming out of the finale lift hill, turning down toward the banks of the Rivers of America before making a u-turn for the homestretch.
We can also see some new(ish) scaffolding surrounding a goat perched on the rockwork.
Finally, we take a peek into the finale scene, where there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of new work besides some roller coaster track pieces in place. In fact, there are still some props that are tagged “DEMO” that have yet to be removed. We imagine that the first phase of this project will be the full track replacement, followed by scenic changes as we make our way through the Summer and into Fall.
Another significant change that is best seen from aboard the Walt Disney World Railroad is the construction of a new backstage support building for the attraction. In our earlier article, we speculated that the building is a new vehicle barn for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
