Construction continues on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom, with what appear to be the final pieces of track installed and more repainting work in the town of Tumbleweed.
Big Thunder Mountain Construction Update
Our latest Big Thunder Mountain Railroad construction update begins with a view from the Liberty Square Riverboat. As before, both the main queue and the path leading to the exit of the attraction are still blocked by construction walls.
More construction tools are staged in the covered queue area, as it appears most of these buildings are getting repainted.
Behind some of the queue buildings, the white generator that has been seen in various areas around the mountain has been parked on top of this curved track section.
The largest queue building with the main Big Thunder Mountain Railroad sign is still covered with brown plastic tarps supported with wood planks.
Over on the right curve of track by the water, the yellow device is still sitting near the entrance to the cave, as seen during our last update.
This device has wheels that run along the completed track sections to ensure they are smooth and properly installed. Similar equipment will likely be used to test all of the new track pieces before we see the actual train ride vehicles return.
Going around the next corner, the track piece coming out of this barn structure appears to be complete. This was one of the final sections of the new track that was missing, so most, if not all, of the new track installation work may now be complete. Since we can’t see all of the interior track for ourselves, we can only speculate.
The path leading up to the building is still wrapped in scaffolding, but the connection point between the two track sections is no longer visible.
Moving a little further to the left, construction crew members were still actively working on the finishing touches for this track piece.
As with the other new track sections, it is easy to find the updated pieces because they are a much darker shade of black compared to the nearby scaffolding and wood railing. The black may not be the final color for the updated track, but we will have to wait and see.
Beneath this newly installed section, there is still a large metal walkway perched on top of the scaffolding. The walkway is still being used to stage additional parts and tools, so it appears the track may have a few more steps before the scaffolding is removed.
Scaffolding is also still present around this wider curve leading into the lower section of the attraction.
Taking one more look at this area from a wide angle, we can see the scale of the scaffolding against the size of the mountain.
Inside the barn structure, a few tagged props still remain. However, the white semicircle to the right of the barn is new.
This white piece is believed to be another testing device used to see the size of the ride vehicles and make sure guests cannot accidentally get hurt because the track is too close to the walls.
Moving to the ground near the attraction, the mystery structure now has two sides of completed exterior walls.
We previously saw the exterior panels installed on the left side of the building, but the front facing into Magic Kingdom also now has matching walls. While the back and right sides of the mystery structure are not visible from within the park, we expect they look the same.
Our final view of Big Thunder Mountain comes courtesy of the Walt Disney World Railroad. The entire town of Tumbleweed is still completely covered in scaffolding as the repainting work continues.
The Gold Dust Saloon Building appears to be nearly complete on the front side. This building, which was previously a darker shade of teal, is now all light blue. Another crew member was touching up the standing windmill on the right.
Construction crew members are now working on adding a painted sign to the left side of the saloon. The square area is marked off with tape and has the outline of a name between the yellow paint.
While the first paint work began on the saloon, most of the other structures in Tumbleweed are also getting repainted. The short building on the left used to be a dark shade of brown, but it is now painted bright yellow.
Up on the scaffolding section above the town, crew members appear to be adding some new structural elements. There are some new wooden posts attached to the side of the track that were not present previously.
These wooden posts are a bit too close to the actual ride track to become permanent, so they are likely a temporary measure while work on this side continues.
The final structure in Tumbleweed to need a repaint is the abandoned stagecoach on the far left. The stagecoach is currently covered in blue sections of tape, so it will likely be repainted soon.
We have been keeping an eye on the construction around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad since the attraction closed for an extended refurbishment in January. The project is anticipated to take at least a year, though no official reopening date has been announced yet. The most recent permit update for the attraction has an ending date of April 2026. Disney has also confirmed the attraction will return with “a little bit of new magic.”
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