Aerial photographer @bioreconstruct has shared series of new photos highlighting the current construction projects at Magic Kingdom, particularly the progress on the Rivers of America transformation and the refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Magic Kingdom Construction

The first photo shared is a wide shot of the current Rivers of America demolition. This area is set to become Piston Peak National Park for the Cars-themed expansion. Recently, the first piece of track from Rivers of America was removed as the area was drained of water. 

Metal scaffolding also recently began going vertical in the former Rivers of America, leading us to believe that more construction walls and fencing will likely go up soon. While no visible demolition of Tom Sawyer Island has begun, several construction vehicles have arrived in the former riverbed.

From this view, we can see progress on both the future Piston Peak area (at the bottom left) and dirt work for the unnamed Villains Land near the top right.

The Disney Villains land will be located beyond Big Thunder Mountain; however, not much is know about the expansion. The Evil Queen and Maleficent are expected to be represented in the land, along with other popular villains. We also learned that the land will draw inspiration from  the “Art Nouveau” style of architecture from Paris, France, and Barcelona, Spain.

Moving to a closer view, two things are noticeable in this photo. At the yellow number one, sections of the Walt Disney World Railroad track have been removed. It is possible that this means the track will be rerouted around the expansion, or that this area was in the way of some upcoming construction work. At the number two, the access bridge between Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and its service building has been lowered.

We recently saw the refreshed Thunder Mountain trains in the new service barn, so Disney is likely getting closer to moving those trains to test on the new track.

It also appears that silt removal has begun in several areas of the former Rivers of America. Silt is a granular material composed of very small, fine particles of earth that forms sediment in water, giving it a murky appearance.

Land clearing and construction staging continues on the expansion and toward the West side of Magic Kingdom, where Walt Disney Imagineering office trailers were recently installed.

Are you excited to see so much progress on the two large areas of Magic Kingdom expansion? Let us know in the comments and on social media.

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