Vertical construction has begun on Piston Peak National Park, a new Cars-themed area coming to Frontierland at Magic Kingdom. It replaces the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.

Piston Peak National Park

A tall crane was visible throughout Frontierland and Liberty Square.

It’s positioned near the center of the construction zone, where we’ve previously seen concrete pouring and other development work. A new white wall now peeks over the construction walls.

Crew members were working on the wall during our Wednesday trip. It’s actually multiple walls — a tall vertical section, a short vertical section, and a wide horizontal section.

The crew members were working on the back of the tallest part, which has triangular support elements.

It’s too early to be sure what exactly this structure will be used for. Below is the “fun map” for Piston Peak.

There are several buildings in the area, but the structure could also be for a mountain element or something else. We’ll keep watch on the structure as it develops.

Past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are more piles of dirt, part of continued groundwork that may be part of Piston Peak or possibly the Disney Villains Land. These are near the future site of geysers as well as a walkway connecting Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and The Haunted Mansion.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Crew members at the front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad appeared to be painting. Some scaffolding remains on the queue building.

The metal beams installed last week are now covered in chainlink fence. This could be a semi-permanent fence to separate Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — which reopens this spring — from the ongoing Piston Peak construction.

Pavement and More Construction

Near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Disney has also been refurbishing pavement. Black panels with yellow safety borders cover one spot.

Next to the pavement work, some scrim is over the wooden posts of themed fencing, indicating these are also being refurbished or replaced.

Closer to Big Thunder and Critter Co-Op, a cast member was stationed in front of a roped-off section of pavement.

It looks like some new brown pavement had been laid and other pavement was scored for removal.

There are new construction walls around the boardwalk not far from The Diamond Horseshoe. Beige scrim also runs along one side of this space. Behind the walls and scrim are props like barrels and crates.

Westward Ho and Big Al’s will close permanently soon and construction walls will continue shifting forward.

We also saw a construction vehicle moving plywood near the Liberty Square Riverboat landing, which will be reused as part of Piston Peak National Park.

Are you excited for Piston Peak? Let us know on social media.

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