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Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World
Orlando, FL
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(1/18/2025) Astro Orbiter Closes For A Long Refurbishment
(1/14/2025) More Big Thunder Mountain Construction Footage
(1/11/2025) Big Thunder Mountain Construction Update
(1/9/2025) Massive Crane Start To Remove Big Thunder Track Segments
(1/6/2025) Big Thunder Mountain Now Closed
(12/21/2024) Plans Filed To Fill In Rivers Of America and More For Cars Land
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Big Thunder Mountain - NOW CLOSED until Sometime in 2026
Astro Orbiter - NOW CLOSED through Summer 2025
Hall of Presidents - Jan. 20 through TBD
 Park News - (1/18/2025) The Astro Orbiter at the Magic Kingdom is now closed for an extensive refurbishment that will keep it closed until Summer 2025. Pictures of what’s going on in Tomorrowland have now been posted over at MouseSteps this week.
(9/6/2024) Finally some good news for Disney fans… the Magic Kingdom has announced that as of Monday, Sept. 9th… the Virtual Queue system used as the only free way to gain a ride on Tron Lightcycle/Run will be taken OFFLINE for good, and a standard “Stand-By Queue” will be open to all guests at last. The purchase of Individual Lightning Lane passes will continue to be an option however.
This move will leave Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind as the sole Virtual Queue required attraction in all of Walt Disney World. This will be a little more weird, just because Guardians opened about a year before Tron did, and has a much higher capacity than Tron as well. Hopefully they will drop the virtual queue from Guardians as well sometime next year.
(8/18/2024) In an unexpected move, Disney have updated a scene in the Peter Pan attraction at The Magic Kingdom, which just reopened after a brief overall refurbishment. The scene that has been updated features the “Tiger Lilly” character and others from the ‘Indian Camp’ side of Neverland. The characters have updated appearances and are now animated, either dancing or playing drums.
2025 - Disney Starlight - (12/4/2024) WDW has announced a revised name of the new nighttime parade coming to the Magic Kingdom in Summer 2025. The full name is now, “Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away”.
(8/11/2024) It has been a long time since Walt Disney World has offered a large-scale nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom. After retiring the Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic so many years ago, the park’s after dark spectacles have remained focused on project and fireworks shows viewed from in front of the castle.
According to an announcement at D23, this will all change in Summer 2025 with the debut of the new “Disney Starlight’ parade that will feature fan favorite characters and music from animated films like Peter Pan, Frozen, Encanto and more.
2025 - Pirates Lounge - (12/4/2024) According to the latest update from Disney, the previously announced Pirates of the Caribbean themed tavern is now set to open sometime in “late 2025”.
(8/11/2024) Some new details about a Pirates themed tavern at the Magic Kingdom first teased last year have come to light. At this week’s D23, Disney confirmed that the new pirated themed lounge is still on the way and will be ready to open sometime in 2025 at The Magic Kingdom.
(9/9/2023) According to DestinattionD23, A new “Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge” will be coming to Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom.
2026 - Big Thunder Mountain Restoration - (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.
???? - Cars 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 - (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.
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(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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