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Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World
Orlando, FL
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(1/20/2026) Big Thunder Mountain Reopening Update
(1/18/2026) Piston Peak Construction Update
(12/28/2025) Castle Facelift Update and End of Line for Tron: Ares
(12/25/2025) Cars Piston Peak Construction Update
(12/4/2025) Big Thunder and Buzz Lightyear Renovation Updates
(11/8/2025) Rivers of America Demolition Update
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Big Thunder Mountain - NOW CLOSED until Spring 2026
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - NOW CLOSED through 2026
Note: Walt Disney World Railroad Closing Frontierland Station July 7th, will only shuttle forward and backwards from Main Street to Fantasyland stations through at least 2026 or beyond as the removal of the Rivers of America project takes place.
 Park News - (12/28/2025) While nothing official has been stated by Disney management, the word on social media is that Cast Members working on the Tron: Lightcycle/Run attraction have mentioned that the current Tron: Ares overlay to the attraction is slated to come to an end sometime in January 2026. This will bring about an end to the red lightcycles and lighting on the dome as well as the temporary Nine Inch Nails onboard soundtrack on the ride itself. January seems a strange time to bring all this to end after starting it all back in Sept. 15th, about a month ahead of the film’s theatrical release. While the film has been long removed from most theaters, Disney has yet to announce a streaming date for it to arrive on Disney+, so many felt that the Ares overlay might last into at least Spring 2026 so it would still be in place for the Disney+ release.
Personally, film release or not, I think the addition did open the door to the possibility of the Tron: Lightcycle/Run attraction to borrow a concept from the ultra popular Guardians of the Galaxy attraction by offering possibly a number of different on-board audio options that could cycle through randomly, so you never knew which song you were going to get. In this case, each song could also come along with a different lighting effect sequence for the launch as well. It would be fun to offer up 3 or 4 possible options that could bring about music from Daft Punk, Ninch Inch Nails, a Classic Tron option with music from Wendy Carlos, or even bring about some of Flynn’s Arcade audio featuring a track from Journey. Hey... I can dream... now if only Disney will do it.
(12/4/2025) While we don’t have the exact date yet, Disney has confirmed that refurbished Big Thunder Mountain will be ready to reopen to guests sometime in Spring 2026. So… basically anytime between March and the Memorial Day weekend. We’ll probably have a better idea once we see the ride start testing in early 2026.
Oh… and on a related note, they gave the basic generic “Spring 2026” timeline for the return of the refurbished Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin as well.
2026 - Cinderella’s Castle Update - (12/28/2025) Get ready for some construction walls and cranes to appear at the Magic Kingdom around the castle. Starting in January 2026 it was announced that they will begin the process of repainting the castle to a more classic color scheme, a process that will take several months to complete. The process will begin with the lower sections of the castle, which will require the “moat” to be drained as well. The plan is for crews to work from the early hours until around lunchtime, then they’ll try to remove as much of the heavy equipment from view that they can, allowing guests to get less obstructed pictures of the castle in the afternoon and evening hours.
(9/4/2025) Walt Disney World has confirmed that Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom will be updated once again, but this time revamped to look more like its original color palette of grey, cream, blue spires and small touches of gold. Over the years Cinderella Castle has been enhanced and plussed here and there to mark the passing of time and various park anniversaries, but now it’s time to give the castle a more classic look once again.
Early 2026 - Buzz Lightyear Updated - (3/29/2025) Some fantastic news came from Walt Disney World this week about planned improvements coming to the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin attraction at the Magic Kingdom. The concept of the ride has achieved a bit of a rare status within the Disney parks globally, becoming what one would consider to be a “staple” attraction that was built at all six of Disney’s theme park resorts around the world.
The Walt Disney World one was the very first to open way back in 1998 when the park chose to renovate a retired attraction (Delta Dreamflight) as something new, while keeping the same style omnimover ride system in place. The concept was a smash hit and new versions of Buzz Lightyear were created from scratch (with slight variations to the name) at Tokyo Disneyland in 2004, Disneyland in 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005, Disneyland Paris in 2006 and even as an opening day attraction at the new Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. (Note: The theme of the Hong Kong version was updated from Buzz Lightyear to a Marvel themed “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle!” in 2019 to co-exist along with a new Iron Man ride next door, transforming that part of Tomorrowland into the “Stark Expo”.)
One major difference between the first Buzz Lightyear that opened in Orlando and all the rest that followed is that the blasters themselves were mounted to the dash of the ride vehicle, while all the rest featured hand-held blasters that were simply tethered to the vehicle by a cable. The effects and targets used on the laser generation rides were also greatly upgraded to be more visual, as well as reactive with a spectacular lighting effect when they were struck.
The early limitations of the first attraction in Orlando’s Magic Kingdom are about to be removed, with all new hand-held blasters and reactive targets to be installed. According to this update, the ride vehicles will also be updated in new colors, see the addition of video monitors to display your score (as opposed to the old red LED style clock displays) and an all new robot character named “Buddy”, created by Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation, will be added as well.
Look for Buzz Lightyear to close for this major refurbishment in August and reopen sometime in early 2026.
2026 - Big Thunder Mountain Restoration - (1/20/2026) While we still don’t have an official date, Walt Disney World has now set the reopening timeline for Big Thunder Mountain as sometime in “Spring 2026”. After sitting closed for the past year, guest expectations are going to be high for the attraction to offer some improved scenes and new effects, as well as for a stellar experience on the roller coaster side of things as much of the track was also replaced during this timeframe, and I’d also expect that the trains also were completely refurbished as well.
(8/23/2025) Disney released a new teaser about what new surprises we can expect to find at Big Thunder Mountain when it reopens in 2026. This includes a potentially new and more ominous tone to the Rainbow Caverns scene as you journey to the first lift hill. The once magical and peaceful looking caverns just might react as the Big Thunder train rumbles through the scene in a way that will make you feel a bit unwelcome, and perhaps setting the tone for other new changes to come.
Disney’s own description teaser on the site mentions that you’ll experience a “menacing rumble from deep within the mountain may be a sign that we ain’t welcome.” Earlier on it also mentions how that as “the miner dug into the heart of the mountain, the forces of Big Thunder fought back. And when the attraction reopens next year, the unsuspectin’ passengers who board the runaway trains will learn just how wild the wilderness can get.”
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(6/27/2025) MouseSteps has posted a new update showing off the pull-through testing of a train on Big Thunder Mountain’s new train, with a rider envelope device attached to make sure riders aren’t able to hit their hands on the rocky terrain.
With Big Thunder expected to be closed until early next year, we’re only about half-way through the extensive renovation project right now.
(3/16/2025) A new video shot by KingDaKev gives us a look at the current progress taking place over at Big Thunder Mountain this week. While there isn’t much to see from the pathways (some queue refurbishment), taking a ride on the railroad shows off that some NEW track has now been installed in the flooded town scene. A little later in the video he catches a large straight piece of new track being lowered into place by a crane elsewhere on the ride. Footage shot on the riverboat also gives us a close-up look at how much ground-work they are doing in the areas of the ride close to the river's edge, which seems to suggest they are going to need all new footers here before they install any new track in that location. If that’s the case, either they are just wanting more supports for these high speed turns, but that perhaps there could be a little track re-profiling going on perhaps.
At the end of the video, they also show off a little bit of Pirates of the Caribbean, where a good bit out of the outdoor queue area is walled off, and I’m told part of the gift shop at the exit is closed too. This is expected to be work in progress to prep for the new Pirates themed tavern space that I think was supposed to be ready by the end of this year if possible.
(2/17/2025) Screamscape was sent a series of great photos of the construction taking place on Big Thunder Mountain attraction as seen while riding the Liberty Bell this past week.
(2/1/2025) Our friends at Orlando Experience dropped into the Magic Kingdom this week to see what’s going on with the construction and track removal at Big Thunder Mountain, as well as work now taking place to renovate the park’s Astro Orbiter attraction in Tomorrowland. Based on the video, it looks almost all of the track pieces have been removed from the Big Thunder Mountain landscape.
(1/14/2025) One of our readers sent in a video clip showing off a large section of track from Big Thunder Mountain being hoisted up into the sky by the large crane they’re assembled backstage. Meanwhile a family member was also visiting the park today as well and sent in a couple of photos for everyone to enjoy, including one where where the crane appears to be hauling off a large scrap dumpster.
(1/11/2025) More pictures of the construction work now taking place on Big Thunder Mountain can be seen over at MouseSteps this week.
(1/9/2025) A reader reported in that the giant yellow crane set up backstage behind Big Thunder Mountain was seen lifting, what appeared to be a large section of roller coaster track up and away from Big Thunder Mountain. If this is true, then those rumors about the ride getting retracted over the next year are looking to be true.
(1/6/2025) Just a reminder that Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom has now closed for an extensive refurbishment… and probably also to allow for the demolition of the Rivers of America which runs alongside the back half of the attraction. The exact reopening date has not been posted by Disney, who has only confirmed that we won’t see Big Thunder run again until sometime in 2026.
Leading up to the closure, many guests noticed that large construction cranes have also been set up nearby since the Christmas holiday season, so look for the Frontierland section of the park to be a hive of construction activity for the foreseeable future.
(10/15/2024) In a surprise announcement that many Magic Kingdom fans have been dreading, Walt Disney World has confirmed that Big Thunder Mountain will close for a year-long refurbishment starting on Jan. 6, 2025. While they won’t say exactly what is going to happen to the ride, do they confirm that it will reopen “with a little bit of new magic in 2026”.
Of course, this is also likely going to be the end of the road for Tom Sawyer's Island and the Rivers of America, as this time-frame will likely give Disney the time to resort exactly how guests are going to get “past” Big Thunder Mountain and head off into the new expansion territories that will be built behind it that will include a Cars themed land/attraction as well as the eventual construction of a Disney Villains themed land before re-connecting this new loop eventually with Fantasyland in the years to come.
Prior to the announcements made at D23 featuring the expansion of the Magic Kingdom north of Frontierland, most were expecting Disney to close Space Mountain for 12-18 months and completely refurbish / rebuild the attraction inside, but it sounds like those once rumored plans will have to wait. Your chiropractor will be very happy, indeed.
2026/2027 - Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress - (8/31/2025) Disney announced new surprise upgrades are coming to Tomorrowland at The Magic Kingdom at yesterday’s Destination D23 event at Walt Disney World. While one is a temporary overlay / update to the Tron attraction (see here) the other will be much more permanent.
While the Carousel of Progress was installed in 1975 the attraction has remained essentially untouched since the last update took place way back in 1994. While the exact timeline was not given for this, Disney announced that the attraction will soon be slightly renamed as “Walt DIsney’s Carousel of Progress” and feature a new introduction scene in the show that will feature an animatronic of Walt Disney himself, not unlike the figure that was just put to use at Disneyland in a temporary show for that park’s 70th Anniversary.
More details are to come, but the concept artwork released shows Walt standing in a room that would represent a workspace within Imagineering, with concept artwork and models of parks and attractions in development all around him. They say that the rest of the attraction will continue to follow the progress of an American family through the years, through four generations, showcasing how the various technological advances over time have changed their lives. Only now, the show will start things off with a new introductory scene featuring the man who started it all, Walt Disney, before we venture off to see the great big, beautiful tomorrow.
???? - Cars / Piston Peak - (1/18/2026) A new aerial video shows off the current state of the removal of Tom Sawyer’s Island and the Rivers of America to make room for Piston Peak and early land prep and clearing for what should expand into the proposed Villain land after that.
(12/25/2025) A great aerial clip shot over the Magic Kingdom (a rarity) shows off all the ground clearing that has now been done to remove Tom Sawyer’s Island and the Rivers of America sites (along with some nearby backstage areas) to make way for the new upcoming Cars: Piston Peak and Villains Lands expansions to the park.
(11/8/2025) For those curious about the massive construction project in the Magic Kingdom that will remove the former Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer’s Island area to make way for the new Cars themed Piston Peaks, a quick fly-by video was posted by Bioreconstruct yesterday that you can see below. Brace yourselves, as much of the former Islands are now being completed leveled.
(6/4/2025) The final closing date for the Rivers of America / Tom Sawyer’s Island at the Magic Kingdom has been confirmed as being on July 6, 2025. That’s your last chance to take a spin on the Liberty Square Riverboat, because starting on the morning of July 7th, guests will no longer be able to access these areas and construction walls will have risen along the river’s edge.
On a related note, Disney did post an update about the Cars themed area that will replace it, calling it the Piston Peak National Park, which will serve as the backdrop to the new race themed race attraction that will be added.
(3/10/2025) Disney released a new image showing off some basic concept art for the new Cars themed off-road vehicle designs they are working on for the new attraction coming to the Magic Kingdom. While we were expecting this to be essentially a copy of the same ride system they used for the Cars attraction in California, which itself was an upgraded version of the Test Track ride system, it now sounds like this new attraction will be something entirely new.
According to the Disney Parks Blog, Disney Imagineers are “creating a new type of ride vehicle for this experience.” They studied what an off-road vehicle experiences when driving over rocky terrain, climbing “mountain peaks, and dodging around geysers”. Then they had a motocross style dirt track built (see below) so they could gather data to determine how these new off-road vehicles will need to feel as they move around the course.
(2/20/2025) While we’ve known for quite some time that it was all leaving, apparently Disney has received the final approval they needed from the Water Management District in order to proceed ahead with the plans to remove Tom Sawyer’s Island and the Rivers of America from the park. As previously mentioned, this area will be filled in and replaced with a new land themed around the movie “Cars” and feature a major new Cars themed off-road race attraction, as well as open up the rear-section of the park to further expansion plans, including the proposed Disney Villains themed land.
(12/21/2024) New documentation from Disney to the state has been posted showing off the revised plan sent to the local water management district about the plan to replace the Rivers of America area with a new “Cars” themed land, that will also serve as a gateway to the future Villains land. As you can see in a piece of concept posted below on Twitter, it clearly shows that the entirety of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer’s Island will be filled in and replaced with the new Cars themed land that will feature a large-scale off-road racing themed attraction.
Meanwhile an image posted to WDWNT from those plans also confirms the plan for the Rivers of America site, and a portion of where it leads backstage to the canal that is attached to the Seven Seas Lagoon, will be filled in to an elevation of at least 98.75. Surface water runoff will be redirected either into the canal area where the Electrical Water Pageant barges are stored, or into an existing canalway to the north that lies just outside the railroad tracks.
The plan also shows the creation of some “gravel laydown yards” just outside the construction zone off Floridian Way and Caribbean Way (backstage roads). These are used as temporary sites where construction equipment and materials are stored, allowing easy access for equipment drop off from the outside, as well as easy access for crews into the future construction site as they transform the Rivers of America into something entirely new.
(8/18/2024) I have to admit, I’ve been saying this for years now, but Toms Sawyer’s Island and the Rivers of America at The Magic Kingdom were going to have to leave someday in order to allow the park to properly expand. My feeling on this subject were always a little two-fold anyway, as having grown up in California with Disneyland, the version of Tom Sawyer’s Island in Walt Disney World always felt a little sub-par by comparison. When Disneyland added Fantastmic to the park in the 90’s… the inadequacies of the Florida version became even more apparently, as there was no way The Magic Kingdom version could ever transform to become a magical stage setting for the Fantasmic after-dark spectacular, so Disney was forced to build a whole stadium and stage for it at the Hollywood Studios park instead.
Again, when Disneyland set to work to create Galaxy’s Edge inside Disneyland, they changed the landscape at the backside of the island and Rivers of America to accommodate the new land in a way that just wouldn’t quite be possible with the Florida version. Once again, Hollywood Studios served as the location of Florida’s version of Galaxy’s Edge while it became clear that Imagineers were started to hungrily eyeball the open space behind the Rivers of America for an assortment of possible future expansion concepts.
The land was there for the taking… but it was very clear that Tom Sawyer’s Island and the back half of the Rivers of America were just in the way of the park ever attempting to properly access this space. So when Disney announced plans to create a new Cars themed space that would replace part of Frontierland, I had a feeling that they might finally be ready to remove Tom Sawyer’s Island after all.
According to the latest reports, this is indeed what will be happening, with the Rivers of America to be retired along with Tom Sawyer’s Island, though it isn’t clear what the final fate of the LIberty Belle Riverboat might be, as odd as that sounds. While I think it is clear that its days as a moving attraction are numbered, there is a good chance that Disney may park it permanently somewhere close to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attraction, where it could be used as a walk-through space, or even an outdoor seating area for some kind of restaurant, or even as a parade viewing spot.
While no timeline was given at D23 for when this new Cars themed land would appear next to Frontierland, it would also seem clear that Imagineering would have to tackle this project before moving on to the bigger Villain Land concept that will lie behind it. So realistically, you’ve probably got a couple more years to enjoy Tom Sawyer’s Island, so enjoy it while you can.
(8/11/2024) According to a quick announcement at D23 a “Cars” themed attraction space is coming to the Magic Kingdom, which will take over and re-imagine a small section of Frontierland. They say that there will be two Cars-themed attractions built, one of which will be an off-road rally race through the mountains, while the other ride will be a smaller scale attraction themed for the smaller racers in your family.
(4/10/2024) Consider this another “Wild Rumor” for the time being, but there is an interesting rumor floating around out there about one possible mega addition that could be added to the Magic Kingdom theme park as part of the Beyond Big Thunder expansion.
Unlike the addition of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure being added smack in the middle of of Frontierland, this one actually makes a bit more sense, and would visually tie in as a pleasing extension of the Big Thunder Mountain landscaping if it is true. The idea being whispered would see a copy of the Radiator Springs Racers ride from Cars Land at Disney California Adventure added in as a major new attraction just behind Big Thunder Mountain. The towering rock structures and high desert themed canyon walls that surround the attraction space would be a near perfect match for an attraction positioned next to Big Thunder, as well as providing a sizable physical barrier along the backside of the park, blocking the view of the outside world beyond, much as the California version blocks out the view of Anaheim's many hotels lying just beyond the park’s perimeter.
The idea is a good one, as it would provide yet another high capacity E-Ticket attraction into this corner of the park, which traditionally was always a very busy one as thrill seekers would bounce back and forth between Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. Another interesting aspect is that the Walt Disney World Railroad could also potentially be re-worked and incorporated to travel through the Radiator Springs landscape as well.
???? - Villain Land - (9/1/2025) Disney released a few new details about the planned Villains themed land coming to the Magic Kingdom after they’re done with the new Cars area. The new expansion will feature two attractions as well as all new retail and dining experiences. They also described the design of the land has been influenced by European “Art Nouveau” style as seen in different regions. One aspect noted was the way that natural motifs and designs “make nature appear to be ‘cursed’ like magic has frozen it into place”.
While concept art is still just… well… concept only, if you look carefully at the previous art released by Disney it seems a sure thing that the land will feature some kind of new roller coaster experience. There is fragile looking track to be seen in the mountains in the upper left of the image, some of which gives the appearance of being twisted into vine like inversions. But look in the foreground where it appears that water is falling down into a strange black rocky abyss into the depths of the earth and you can clearly see more roller coaster track (and a train) spiraling down into the depths.
Disney’s design team say that they’ve been touring Europe for design inspirations, which makes me wonder if they've dropped by Phantasialand in Germany, where that park’s highly rated Taron launched coaster could definitely serve as a piece of inspiration as to how Disney could possibly design their own Villain themed coaster. The way Taron weaves through a very creepy landscape of rocks is beautiful to see. While it is an Intamin designed launched coaster, it actually features no inversions of any kind.
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(11/21/2024) Disney’s Josh D’Amaro dropped an interesting new detail about the new planned Villains themed land in development for The Magic Kingdom theme park. During the D23 Brazil event, D’Amaro mentioned that the Villains land will be inspired by 13 specific villains after a “mysterious spell” was cast that summoned the various villains from their individual realms together in this new space. “In this land, heroes don’t come to save the day - and there may not be a happily ever after!”
Sounding very much like the turbo-charged version of the cast of Fantasmic, the 13 gathered villains are:
Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland),
Jafar (Aladdin)
Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)
Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove)
Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)
Captain Hook (Peter Pan)
Gaston (Beauty & The Beast)
Mother Gothel (Tangled)
Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
Hades (Hercules)
Chernabog (Fantasia)
Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
and the Evil Queen (Snow White & The Seven Dwarves)
It’s not a bad list at all, bringing in most of the top tier baddies, though I wouldn’t mind seeing Lady Tremaine swapped out with someone a bit more sinister like Claude Frollo (Hunchback of Notre-Dame) or really Dr. Facilier (Princess and the Frog), especially after the good Doctor was completely overlooked for use on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
(8/11/2024) The idea of a Villain themed park or land has long been a dream for many Disney fans, and at last Disney is going to go all in to create one at The Magic Kingdom. No timeline on this of course, so expect this to very concept that is still many years away, but they do confirm that it will feature two major attractions as well as new dining and shopping spaces of course.
This is expected to take over the undeveloped space beyond Big Thunder Mountain and will likely head back around the River to connect with Fantasyland near the Haunted Mansion. Of course, there is that Cars themed attraction space coming to Frontierland as well, which will likely get first, closer to Big Thunder and serve as a transition area into the new Villains land.
I’ve got the feeling this whole concept is still very much in flux about what it might be in the end, so stay tuned. I’m sure we’re going to get a ton of rumors about this one over the next several years.
(4/4/2024) According to a post over at WDWMagic, a Disney exec confirmed that the initial permits to begin work on a “Beyond Big Thunder” expansion of the Magic Kingdom would likely be filed soon. Don’t count on knowing what is happening yet, these should just be plans regarding water management on the site, but it should give us a clearer view of the property to be used for the expansion.
Some initial concept art shared at a D23 Expo shows off a land that might include some themed spaces for Disney Villains as well as Coco and Encanto, but I’d suspect those plans have probably changes a little since then. Especially since the house from Encato was last seen in artwork for a transformation of the Dinoland area over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom instead.
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