The refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom Park continues with more track pieces being lowered, a new seating area, and another flying dumpster with a patriotic color scheme.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Construction
The first major change by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has taken place outside the main attraction, on the pathway near what is usually the ride’s entrance.
Over to the right side of the walkway facing toward the Rivers of America, multiple wooden tables and benches have been set up for guests.
The tables are all plain brown wood and set up with four individual benches next to a folding orange umbrella.
Closer to the construction walls blocking the ride’s exit, some a few more benches are sitting without tables. While this pathway is usually a bit crowded when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is operating, this corner of the park has been much quieter since the beginning of the refurbishment. It is possible Disney decided to take advantage of the lack of crowds to set up a little additional seating space.
Since our last update, the white plastic covering on the front of the building has now been folded beneath a larger green tarp.
The white plastic is still visible around the queue building holding the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad sign, but the green covering has now been attached over the top. The green tarp is much thicker and does not allow any guests to see the work taking place inside.
Through the treetops, it is possible to spot more new track pieces being lowered using the crane. The new track pieces have been arriving since late January and have been seen quite often in the past few weeks.
While the pieces originally being lowered into place were on the smaller side, it now appears the track work has moved to much bigger sections.
One of the new track sections we photographed being lowered toward the rocks is a large, curve-shaped piece likely used for one of the attraction’s many sharp turns.
Over by the town of Tumbleweed, no major changes have been made since our last update. The stagecoach is still wrapped in metal scaffolding, as are the rocks behind the scene.
One of the many dumpsters being used for all of the construction waste is located by the track just past Tumbleweed. More wooden planks and tools have also been piled nearby.
The larger curved track piece was saw being lowered belongs to this outdoor section of the ride, right before the trains go into the Big Thunder Mining Co. barn. Several workers were in place to guide the track to the right spot and get it installed properly.
Close to the water, this second large curve still has no metal track pieces to be seen. The whole curve is still only made of wood planks wrapped in metal scaffolding.
As seen during our previous update, the holes inside one of the many cave sections are still uncovered. The plywood sheets for covering the holes are nearby.
Looking across the middle of the attraction, there is now so much scaffolding that it is difficult to even see the original track layout. More of the concrete beams have been exposed in the trenches below the walkways, and a red plastic tarp is now being used to block power tools from the elements.
As we were watching, one crew member was lowering a blue pole into one of the torn-up tranches. This section has been left completely uncovered, so it appears more work is still being completed before it can also receive some new track.
Moving around the corner, another new piece of track can be seen placed on this curved section going into a barn-like structure.
The new track appears shinier than the old Big Thunder Mountain Railroad track, and the silver color of the metal is more noticeable. Two construction crew members were sitting around the new piece, which was also surrounded by orange cones.
Only three of the tagged props remain inside the barn. The lantern hanging from the ceiling has a red removal tag, but the other two props on the right have green tags.
Construction cones also lead up the furthest right corner of the mountain and around the back. These cones and striped orange rails are all new since our last update.
This section has also received one of the recently-added track pieces, which perhaps explains why the cones are present. Like the other new track, this section is black and bright silver, so it stands out against the brown mountain facade.
Finally, our reporter photographed another sighting of flying dumpster being lowered to a spot behind the tall rocks.
This time, the flying dumpster was pretty easy to spot thanks to its American Flag color scheme.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is expected to remain closed until early 2026. While the ride is receiving a “little bit of new magic,” the nearby Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be permanently closing to make way for a rugged new “Cars”-themed land.
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