Well, it looks like the “explosive” Big Thunder Mountain finale that Disneyland introduced in 2014 is finally coming to Walt Disney World…
Big Thunder Moutain at the Magic Kingdom will be closed April 4th, 2016 until an unspecified date in July 2016 to install the new scene. One would imagine they would like to have it open by the busy 4th of July weekend, but they are just not sure if it will make it by that date yet.
If you would like to see the rather sad state of the finale scene since the 2012 refurbishment, you can watch it here:
The moving boulders were made stationary around that time, with the scene remaining stagnant until WDI could test and install the new scene during the 2014 refurbishment at Disneyland.
While it is a shame to see the ride go down again so soon, the new finale scene at Disneyland is absolutely fantastic and will be a welcome addition to the classic attraction.
UPDATE 3/1/16 – Disney has since removed this refurbishment from the schedule, possible delaying it until after the busy Summer season.
So excited!!
So you know, as a frontierland cast member, nothing is confirmed about the refurb adding any explosive elements. The ride is actually going down for a whIle due to deal with track issues that have revealed themselves over the last year. Not saying that they won’t do this, but it is not a definite at all.
I hope they do add the finale like Disneyland. After riding again after being in Disneyland in August, the finale seemed very dull.
Maybe WDW can get the finale to operate as designed more reliably. It fully works only a fraction of the time here in California.
I’ve read comments from 2 people who claim to be BTMRR CMs, that the refurb is August 8th to Nov. 18th now. Anyone else aware of these dates?
I have fast passes booked for the end of April. The refurb has been postponed until late summer.