Following a successful early permitting process, early work is now underway behind Magic Kingdom for the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland (FronTIREland), and an all-new Villains-themed land. Both themed areas are taking over land currently occupied by the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, which will be drained and demolished to make way for what Walt Disney World is describing as the largest expansion of Magic Kingdom in the park’s history. Recently, work began in areas north of Magic Kingdom to support the expansion efforts. Here’s the latest.
Land Clearing Underway Northwest of Magic Kingdom
As you can see in the photos below, land clearing is taking place in an area northwest of Magic Kingdom. This movement represents the earliest documented physical work taking place for the expansion of Frontierland and the all-new Villains-themed land. The land clearing is the first step necessary to create construction laydown yards, or staging areas, for the work that will take place in the Magic Kingdom theme park. With these construction staging areas in place, crews can begin the demolition of the Rivers of America and the construction of these two expansion plans. To better understand the area where the work is taking place, let’s take a look at some permits that were given the green light by the state earlier this year.
As you can see on the left side of the permit below, Walt Disney World will be building three laydown yards to the north and west of Magic Kingdom. Right now, they appear to be doing work related to two of the three laydown yards, with land clearing underway at one of the laydown yards. From what we understand, early survey work is taking place at the “L407-2 Gravel Laydown Yard” in the upper left corner of the permit screenshot below. Land clearing just began for the “Pilot 2-3 Gravel Laydown Yard” on the west side of a canal that feeds the Rivers of America.
Here’s a look at the “Pilot 2-3” laydown yard area, with silt barriers now in place, and the first few trees demolished.
With land clearing signaling the early start of construction in the area to support the projects, we should start the clock on the closure of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. While this work represented in the photos above shouldn’t have an impact on the Magic Kingdom theme park proper, it does set the entire construction schedule into motion.
We expect that the “L407A-11 & 12 Gravel Laydown Yard” will be last on Disney’s TODO list before moving construction vehicles into Magic Kingdom. As a matter of fact, portions of that laydown yard will abut the Walt Disney World Railroad, so it’s possible that work on that laydown yard would come after the closure of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. It is also expected that the Walt Disney World Railroad will have to close for a lengthy amount of time during the construction.
In terms of when, we’re not sure. It wouldn’t make a ton of sense for Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America to remain open into 2026 if Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Disney CEO Bob Iger want to continue to use the word “turbocharged”. Yes, there are other projects underway around Walt Disney World with land clearing in DinoLand USA for a Tropical Americas-themed reimagining, and the Muppets Courtyard area will close soon for a Monsters Inc. retheme of the area, but Magic Kingdom continues to need help with crowds as the most popular theme park in the world.
Even so, we expect that we won’t see the Cars-themed expansion to Frontierland open until 2029, and Villains land likely won’t open until 2030 or 2031, so the Rivers of America may remain flowing until 2026 – we’ll have to wait and see.
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!
