Recent aerial photos from @bioreconstruct on X show the first concrete forms for the upcoming Piston Peak area in Magic Kingdom. The aerial photographer also shared some views of Villain Land and Big Thunder Mountain.

Piston Peak

Frontierland in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is currently undergoing one of the resort’s largest expansions in history. In the plans are Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land, both located in or just beyond the current Frontierland. In the photo above, you can see how much land has been cleared to make way for both, along with the support areas.

Taking a closer look, the first concrete forms related to Piston Peak National Park have been placed here in the center of the photo.

Comparing the aerial photo to the “fun map,” this area is on the side closest to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain. The attraction has a new type of ride vehicle meant to recreate an off-roading experience. Imagineers took an off-roading research trip to Arizona and then commissioned a dirt track to race on.

Above is another look at the concrete form, other work, and staging in what used to be Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Part of Big Thunder Mountain can be seen on the left.

In this photo centered on what will be Piston Peak National Park, Big Thunder Mountain is in the lower left and the new concrete forms are in the lower center.

Land is also being cleared behind the Haunted Mansion crypt-themed queue, upper left corner of the above photo.  Recently, Disney filed a second permit for the Haunted Mansion attraction at Magic Kingdom. The permit is for General Construction.” MLC Theming is the contractor for this permit, whereas the first permit is with Mecca Productions to “Install set elements.”

This photo shows a closer view of the area being cleared behind Haunted Mansion. The covered queue is in the center of the photo, the Haunted Mansion facade is just above the queue, and part of the ride building can be seen at the very top.

An excavator is also seen removing dirt from the slope just below the attraction’s tented queue. Clearly seen are the tooth marks it has left all along the slope.

Another new permit related to this area under construction at Magic Kingdom is for the former Mike Fink Keel Boats dock near The Haunted Mansion. The new permit from Walt Disney Imagineering calls for “General Construction” at the address of the landing. The contractor is MLC Theming, whose specializations include scenic painting, aging of structures, fabricating facades, and carving rock work.

The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island closed permanently last summer to be demolished and transformed into both Piston Peak National Park, as part of Frontierland and Villains Land. The above photo shows most of the footprint that Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island occupied as it extended past Big Thunder Mountain, seen at the bottom of the image. The center of the photo is the location of Piston Peak National Park; it will not extend past the Haunted Mansion, top left. The left side of the photo, with the darker dirt, will be part of Villains Land.

Villains Land

We also have a few new images of early prep work for Villains Land. The boomerang-shaped area of dark dirt, center left of the photo above, marks where the future land will be. There is also a large construction staging and support area to the right of the land.

The clearing for Villains Land stretches all the way back to behind “it’s a small world.”

Not much information has been released about the Disney Villains Land, but we know it will have two major attractions, shopping, and dining. Disney animator Andreas Deja is consulting on the project.

Disney shared a behind-the-scenes look at inspirational architecture and a list of villains inspiring the land, which includes Yzma from The Emperor’s New Groove. The concept art is mostly inspired by Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent, including her dragon form in the background.

Big Thunder Mountain

Here is a close-up photo of Big Thunder Mountain. The bottom and right are where the attraction meets up with the construction projects. The gravel path at the top of the photo is clear of track where the Walt Disney World Railroad used to pass by and beyond Big Thunder Mountain. The train is currently running in shuttle mode due to the Frontierland construction. We do not know if the train’s path will be altered when it reopens fully.

More details, including brand-new and returning effects, were recently announced for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. New details emerged included confirmation on all-new ride vehicles and refreshed Audio-Animatronics figures. The mountain will also “push back against you” among gold props being used on the mountain for the first time, as well. Also hinted is the return of long inoperable effects. The opening timeframe for Big Thunder Mountain was announced late last year for this refurbishment, which promised new bells and whistles.

Disney previously announced Big Thunder would get an updated opening scene with a transformation of the Rainbow Caverns. In the scene, the trains enter the Rainbow Caverns, full of hundreds of bats, phosphorescent pools, and shimmering stalagmites and stalactites. It starts as a majestic, beautiful scene. After, thunder rumbles and it changes to something menacing. The final track piece of the refurbished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was recently installed in a traditional golden spike ceremony.

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