FIRST LOOK at Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Roller Coaster Trains at Magic Kingdom

Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Train Spotted
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment Testing
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment Continues
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Full Ride POV

A refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad train has been uncovered as construction continues throughout the Magic Kingdom attraction.

Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Train Spotted

A train-themed roller coaster speeds along tracks set against a backdrop of reddish rock formations and a clear, blue sky. Passengers are visible in the ride cars. Trees and water are seen in the background. — January 2023

For reference, above is an older photo of a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad train. Note that the cars had an orange-ish finish while the engine was green, red, and black.

View through a wooden fence of refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride vehicles, trees, and cones at Magic Kingdom.

A colorful train on the refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad passes behind a picket fence with lush Magic Kingdom greenery.

WDWNT spotted the U.R. Courageous engine and train cars during our Wednesday trip on the Walt Disney World Railroad. The engine was previously in this area near the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad loading area, but covered by tarps. The engine’s design appears to be the same, but the cars are more of a brown wood color than before.

Construction equipment and orange cones surround Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's refurbished ride vehicles on a rocky landscape.

Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad construction equipment sits on artificial red rocks at Magic Kingdom.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment Testing

Though the train is uncovered, it has yet to be tested on the new track. Disney has been testing with a clearance envelope and small carts. Right now, the envelope is on a section of track near the center of the mountain.

Scaffolding and construction equipment beside the refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom.

A test cart has also been sitting at this curve of the track for a few weeks. It was removed from the track but still sits in the same area. Meanwhile, the steel inside a nearby hole in the rockwork has been painted white.

Reddish rock formations with ride vehicles and construction materials; green trees behind Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Refurbishment Continues

Another section of rockwork that was torn away just this month has been filled back in. The concrete cover is sculpted to match the rock around it, but hasn’t been painted yet.

Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad under construction at Magic Kingdom, surrounded by rocky landscape and trees.

A refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad wooden coaster under construction at Magic Kingdom, surrounded by scaffolding and rocks.

This bridge around a section of track has been mostly reconstructed. It was torn down and rebuilt over the past several weeks, with railings recently installed on the side facing Rivers of America.

Rocky, Western-themed Magic Kingdom area with cacti, wooden buildings, and refurbished ride vehicles under a blue sky.

A cage is lifted by a crane above pine trees as Refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad shines under the blue sky.

A crane was transporting debris out of the ride’s queue.

A rustic wooden building and fence near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, with trees, rocks, and refurbished ride vehicles.

The queue is where we saw the most activity, although it was hard to photograph. There were several crew members there, seemingly removing debris and supplies from the area.

A refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rises at Magic Kingdom, with scaffolding, rocks, and workers in safety vests.

We also saw a few crew members working in Tumbleweed. The refurbishment of the town’s buildings isn’t complete, but these crew members were on the ground around the track.

A woman stands near a wooden fence and trees, with refurbished ride vehicles in the background.

Scaffolding is up around the attraction’s new vehicle barn, likely for the installation of track leading from the barn to the roller coaster.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Full Ride POV

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen in 2026 with “a little bit of new magic,” Disney said. Watch our 4K multicam POV video of the ride from before its January closure: