Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Overhaul Underway: Track Work Begins and Props Tagged for Demo and Preservation

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Big Thunder Mountain Refurbishment - January 6 2025

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Posted: Monday January 6, 2025 11:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney is wasting no time on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment, with visible progress already being made at the classic Magic Kingdom attraction. Crews have been spotted throughout the mountain, working on various parts of the ride, including the track and interior props.

Big Thunder Mountain Refurbishment - January 6 2025

Track Work and Prop Tagging in Progress

Workers can be seen conducting inspections and making adjustments along the ride's track, a key focus of the project. Inside the mountain, props have been tagged, with some labeled "Demo" for removal and others marked "Protect," indicating which elements will remain part of the attraction.

Big Thunder Mountain Refurbishment - January 6 2025

The refurbishment officially began on January 6, 2025, and the attraction is expected to reopen sometime in 2026. The project's timeline, reinforced by permits valid until March 2026, suggests a major renovation. Disney has promised "a little bit of new magic" when the attraction reopens, though specific updates remain under wraps.

Big Thunder Mountain Refurbishment - January 6 2025

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DisneyFanatic124 days ago

Not to mention, the refurbishment of the rocks would require part of the mountain to be demolished and rebuilt!

Animaniac93-984 days ago

Paris also has the splashdown into the river before the 2nd lift, which looks great from Phantom Manor's front porch

MerlinTheGoat5 days ago

The only difference is the stretch of track right before and through the flooded town at MK. There's a helix right before the town (it's just a curve at DL) and the track itself is slightly more straight as it goes through the town, though it have that "wobbling" sequence as it goes through it (something I wonder if they're actually going to keep fully intact). Otherwise it's a mirror image with variations to the scenery. Interestingly, California's is the only version of BTM that uses that mirrored track orientation. MK, Paris and Tokyo all follow the same orientation as one another. MK however is the only version with that extra helix and wobbling section before lift 2. Paris and Tokyo just reuse Disneyland's simple non-helix curve (and of course lack a town scene entirely there). Though Paris does have its own unique track layout around the load/unload station since it has to travel a ways underneath the river to get to the island (it's also quite fast in those sections). I'm not as familiar with Tokyo's, but the station is also positioned a bit differently and the track connecting it is altered a bit to compensate.

Disgruntled Walt5 days ago

Ok so, help me out here. What exactly is the difference in layout? I see the straightaway through the town is missing from Disneyland, and an additional helix at the top end. But I can't fill in the blanks.

MisterPenguin6 days ago

Cocoa butter.

Delta-76 days ago

Just realized I forgot that the tracks of Expedition Everest and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train are also brown. Guess that rules out the Florida sun?

MerlinTheGoat6 days ago

I got it off google images, not sure if this page is the original source (says someone named Dan Hiller took them) but it has a ton of construction photos- http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2014/3/21/big-thunder-mountain-railroad-construction-magic-kingdom.html Coaster track is often one of the earlier things to be built during construction on these types of themed mountain coasters, alongside other basic steel framework. Makes sense to tackle that earlier, and keep it as separate as possible from the scenery elements.

Disgruntled Walt6 days ago

Now that is an amazing and fascinating picture! Where did you find it? I didn't realize they built the mountain around the track. Are there more pictures from this time?

jmuboy6 days ago

When the wood ties are all in place around it the track structure won’t be that noticeable. I can give them a pass here. The last lift hill remaining unchanged will be pathetic

MerlinTheGoat6 days ago

Yeah the original track was a matte aged looking rust color. And it wasn't because of actual rust presumably, it can be seen here from early construction where the steel was just starting to go up and the track was still being installed.