Crews continue to work on the track of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom and additional scaffolding has been installed.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Construction
In the town of Tumbleweed, there is now scaffolding around the water tower, windmill, Gold Dust Saloon, and Dry Goods store. The scaffolding around the wagon has been up for most of the refurbishment period. So far, there is little visible change to the structures, but the top of the windmill appears to be turned around since our last update.
More scaffolding is also back up around this fake tree. In February, branches and possums were removed from the tree. Most scaffolding then came down.
Crew members were working along the track going into the tunnel on the right. Some of the rockwork around this track was torn away.
On the opposite side of the town, a hexagonal framework is inside the other tunnel.
Above, there is now a tunnel of scaffolding reaching up to the bighorn sheep on a ridge. Like the possums, the sheep may be removed for refurbishment elsewhere.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closed for this extensive refurbishment in January. The project is set to take at least a year. The most recent permit related to construction expires in April 2026. Disney said the ride will have “a little bit of new magic” when it reopens in 2026.
The original Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened in 1979 at Disneyland. The Magic Kingdom version opened just a few years later in 1980. Versions simply called Big Thunder Mountain later opened at Tokyo Disneyland in 1987 and Disneyland Paris in 1992.
Watch our 4K multi-cam POV of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before it closed for refurbishment below:
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