Liberty Belle Riverboat Removed and Crews Begin Work on Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom

Jul 07, 2025 in "Cars Land Magic Kingdom"

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Frontierland - July 7, 2025

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Posted: Monday July 7, 2025 9:20am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Following the permanent closure of two classic Magic Kingdom attractions at the end of July 6, 2025, Frontierland is rapidly transitioning as Disney begins work on the park's massive upcoming expansion. The area once home to the Liberty Square Riverboat, Tom Sawyer Island, and the Frontierland Railroad Station, is now fully closed off to guests, and early signs of work are already visible.

Rivers of America

Disney is wasting no time as it shifts from closures to active site-prep. With props already being cleared from Tom Sawyer Island and major areas of Frontierland closed-off, the transformation of this corner of the park is now fully underway.

Crews on Tom Sawyer Island

Liberty Belle Riverboat Removed, Dock Sealed Off

The Liberty Belle, which previously offered scenic tours around the Rivers of America, has been moved backstage to the marina and is no longer visible from guest areas. The dock in Liberty Square is now blocked by rolling planters, and both exit ramps have been sealed off with construction walls.

Liberty Square Riverboat closed

Liberty Square Riverboat walls

Tom Sawyer Island Dock Closed, Rafts Moved Backstage

Tom Sawyer Island dock walls

At the entrance to Tom Sawyer Island, guests will now find construction walls completely blocking the entrance and exit of the raft dock. All of the log rafts used to ferry guests to the island have been removed from service and moved backstage, where they are no longer in guest view. The island itself is now fully inaccessible, and crews have already begun removing set pieces and props as demolition preparations begin.

Crews on Tom Sawyer Island

Tom Sawyer Island sign removed

Frontierland Railroad Station Closed

The Frontierland station for the Walt Disney World Railroad is now closed and walled off, with both the entrance and exit ramps blocked by construction barriers. The train is now operating in shuttle mode between Main Street, U.S.A. and Fantasyland, bypassing the Frontierland loop entirely. The track along the former Rivers of America perimeter is no longer in use.

Frontierland Railroad Station closed

Cars Land Underway

This quick transition marks the beginning of site preparation for what will become Piston Peak National Park, a new Cars-themed land. The area is part of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history, which will also include a Disney Villains-themed land beyond Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Piston Peak

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HMF28 days ago

I had the pleasure today of checking out @marni1971's video tribute to Grizzly Gulch at Hong Kong Disneyland and it really jumped out at me that this would have been the ideal approach as far as updating Frontierland is concerned rather than the Cars route they are going and really just re-emphasizes the thematic limitations of the Iger IP approach. I really hope they take this approach for future Frontierland updates at the other parks.

TrainsOfDisney31 days ago

Ya know…. I wonder if they are still deciding on the future railroad route - although it seems the route past big thunder wouldn’t change at all

James Alucobond31 days ago

I'm not really sure there's much else to do about it at this point. Walls tall enough to block views from there would be ridiculously oppressive for guests on the ground. I'm honestly more bothered by the still thin line of trees where the crane to work on Big Thunder rested. That feels like it should have been fixed by now unlike the work in progress of Piston Peak, though perhaps they're waiting to address it when they reconnect the railroad.

HauntedPirate31 days ago

The cement wall views from BTM are amazeballs. 👍

lazyboy97o31 days ago

They’re still doing pretty basic site work.

James Alucobond31 days ago

Existing guest walkways or new walkways within Piston Peak? Definitely not the former.

Nickm202231 days ago

question, do we expect based on the construction for the ride to go underneath guest walkways to better utilize space?

parksandtravelJun 10, 2026

PurduevianJun 02, 2026

Nickm2022Jun 01, 2026

if anything I imagine Villian's will have a good view of the fireworks and Frontierland won't. but also don't think that's a bad thing as it kinda forces half of MK (FRL and AL) to stay open as people watch fireworks from Villains, TL, FL, and Main Street

PurduevianMay 27, 2026

Depends on how high the projectors would be on the mountain/peak. I don't think the castle hub slopes down for more people to see projections on it

lazyboy97oMay 27, 2026

Disneyland also redesigned the area around the river to step down to accommodate viewing. Without doing similar you’re going to have the same problem as the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster preshow.

PurduevianMay 27, 2026

Was poking around the DRL fantsmic thread... and I was wondering if anyone thinks they might use Piston Peak as a new fireworks viewing location... DLR uses their fantasmic fountains for projections, but piston peak could use fountains and potentially the peak itself as a projection surface. Could draw some people off mainstreet. Red could be fountain screens (like fantasmic) and green could be projected surfaces that would still get a view of the fireworks. Here is a highly sophicticated mock up.

TrainsOfDisneyMay 03, 2026

That’s an exaggeration- there were lots of theming elements cut from the original released art. Wasn’t there going to be an indoor meet and greet too? I agree. I don’t think the fun map is 2.0 - I think the original released art is still the basics of what we are getting.