A dumpster is flying over Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again as construction continues on the Magic Kingdom ride.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Construction
The dumpster, suspended from a crane, was visible all the way in Adventureland.
Some materials were tied down in the dumpster, but we couldn’t get a good view.
Meanwhile, on the ground, there are clear and green tarps in front of the queue building.
The tarps appeared to be covering a piece of themed mine machinery and the surrounding rockwork. Visible under the green tarp are some brown metal poles — possibly scaffolding.
The tarps are connected to a nearby roof, just under the “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” sign.
Much of the Big Thunder coaster track was removed and scaffolding has gone up in its place. We saw crew members on some of this scaffolding down by the water.
Some of the rockwork in this area was torn away. This is an extensive refurbishment for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which won’t reopen until 2026. It looks like there is now fresh concrete below the scaffolding.
After rockwork is rebuilt, crew members will paint it to blend in with the reddish-brown rocks of the “mountain.”
Around the mountain is a tunnel with scaffolding leading out of it. Chains hang from a hook at the top of the tunnel. This is where we saw a new piece of track laid last month.
Several crew members were in this area at the back of the attraction. There are new yellow tarps hanging over the scaffolding. More rockwork was torn out of this area so crew members can work on the inner structure.
Several waved at us and made hand hearts.
From another angle, we could see a large metal panel against a wall of rock. This may be covering a hole in the rockwork.
More scaffolding has gone up in Tumbleweed, the western mining town behind Big Thunder Mountain that faces the Walt Disney World Railroad, around a high stretch of track. There is also scaffolding around a nearby wagon and next to the Dry Goods store.
We checked on the gnarled tree at one end of the town and noticed the possums are gone.
There are usually a few possum figures hanging by their tails from the tree’s branches. But they have been removed and the tree was cut open.
More props were removed from the barn. Props were tagged early on — some in red and some in green, presumably to mark them as either remove or keep. Their removal might not mean they’re gone for good but that they need cleaning or repairs.
When we next passed by the barn, several crew members were gathered there.
Watch our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad POV video:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen with a “little bit of new magic” next year. Construction seems to be in part to prepare the area for construction of a new Disney Villains land behind Big Thunder Mountain. A new “Cars”-themed area will also be added to Frontierland, where Tom Sawyer Island is located. A permit for demolition of the Rivers of America was recently approved.
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