Big Thunder Mountain Reopens After Huge Refurbishment in Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Refurbishment season is in the air once again in Walt Disney World and this time the popular Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has reopened from its longest and most comprehensive refurbishment in recent history. But what exactly has changed?

In this post, we will talk about the refurbishment that has happened for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disney’s Magic Kingdom, what’s changed and if the ride is better than before the refurb.

(UPDATE 5/8/26): Disney has just completed a huge refurbishment for Big Thunder Mountain after the attraction was closed for more than a full year. Extended work was needed to keep the popular Magic Kingdom coaster running for years to come, and some nice enhancements have also being added!

Big Thunder Mountain officially reopened from the refurb on May 3, 2025. This project was underway for the entirety of 2025 as it closed on January 6, 2025, so it was out of operation for a full 16 months.

What has changed and what new additions were made? Let me count the ways:

• A completely new and much smoother ride track
• New trains
• Restored and enhanced special effects (some of the old ones have bene gone for decades
• New lowered height requirement of only 38 inches
• A new rainbow cavern scene (finale)
• New props like the HUGE gold nugget
• Expanded bat cave with more than 2,000 bats
• Refreshed animatronics
• New paint to the entire attraction

The first thing that stands out is the lowered height requirement of 38 inches instead of 40. You are probably thinking this change was made because the ride is now much slower and less intense than before. You’d be wrong about that.

Big Thunder Mountain is even faster now than the old version was, and because the new track is much smoother than the old one, the ride can actually go faster, but without all the bumps and bruises you used to take along the way. In fact, it’s probably the smoothest roller coaster in Walt Disney World at this time and it makes a huge difference in the ride experience.

Of course, there will be some guests who liked the rattling feeling of the old track, but I for one will not miss the post-ride headaches. Now if we can only convince Disney to make Space Mountain the target of the next track replacement.

After that, all the new special effects are what stand out. The cavern scene is incredible and adds a lot to the end of the ride which used to feel a little dull honestly. We also love all the bat eyes in the cave, that was a great addition and give the ride a spookier feeling when passing through.

It’s also wonderful to see the refreshed paint everywhere after years of fading under the scolding Florida sunshine. That was needed in a big way and it makes the ride more vibrant and lively.

It’s great to see Disney finally had enough time to tackle some of the big plans they have been putting on hold in recent years and it gives us hope that more of the older attractions will get some care in the coming years.

While it’s true that the attraction has briefly closed for small repairs in the last few years, the last major refurbishment that Big Thunder had was in 2012, so now 14 years later you can imagine the condition it was in and why it needed so much work.

The more recent refurbishments were only for regular maintenance and not something bigger or adding any additional show elements to enhance the ride. A significant refurbishment to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom had been rumored for years now, with the projection mapping explosion sequence already found in Disneyland and Disneyland Paris being the highlight.

Because of budget cuts, however, that project never took place and in recent years, Big Thunder Mountain has only gotten regular maintenance done…until now.

Disney has revealed some details about the story behind the ride and what you can expect the next time you jump on “the wildest ride in the wilderness.”

The story of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad dates back to Olden Times, or rather, Golden Times, during the early days of America’s first major gold rush. When Barnabas T. Bullion struck gold in the Big Thunder region, he saw a future full of riches and hustled to start the Big Thunder Mountain Company.

However, them shiny dreams rarely come without a cost, and Bullion quickly found himself in a battle with the forces of nature and in a whole heap of trouble. One day, strange and unexplainable things started happening. Machines failed. Cave-ins shut mines down.

No matter how deep the miners 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.

In addition to the story, the enhanced special effects are finally coming to the end of the ride as you climb the last hill for one last epic thrill.

One such moment comes when the trains rattle their way underground to spectacular natural caverns full of phosphorescent pools, shimmering and illuminating iridescent stalagmites (the ones on the floor) and stalactites (the ones on the ceiling).

The Rainbow Caverns certainly are beautiful… but they ain’t as friendly as they first appear. In fact, that menacing rumble from deep within the mountain may be a sign that we ain’t welcome.

It is nice to see an addition like the one Imagineers planned, and it has finally brought one of the guests’ favorite attractions up-to-date.

The coaster’s ride system was is in bad shape and if it’s going to continue to be a headlining attraction in the park the essentials needed to be addressed. Some of these updates included a track replacement, new ride vehicles and we also expect the mountain to get a fresh paint job.

These changes were already made to the Disneyland version in 2012. Disney has also promised that we will see “a little bit of new magic” once it reopens.

Honestly, this doesn’t surprise us as maintenance in the U.S. parks has been underwhelming in recent years, and there is no way that we should even be getting to a point like this. I understand the dilemma of closing a ride for an extended period of time, especially in a park that has capacity concerns, but letting it get to this point is a little ridiculous.

Overall, we think that these changes to Big Thunder Mountain have all been extremely positive, and first-ride reviews from guests are nothing but positive. This will continue to be one of the headliner attractions at the Magic Kingdom for years to come and we are going to have to make some changes to our ranking of the Best Roller Coasters in Disney World, the Best Rides at the Magic Kingdom and Best Overall Attractions in Disney World.

Now that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is finally open they were able to close Big Thunder Mountain to make way for this work. The Magic Kingdom couldn’t afford to have both attractions down at the same time or it would be a capacity nightmare.

There are many refurbishments currently going on at Walt Disney World and that have been completed in recent years. One of the biggest refurbishments to take place recently was to Test Track in EPCOT which also got a complete overhaul and is now the 3rd iteration of the popular ride.

And nearby that in The Land pavilion, “Soarin’ Around the World” has now become “Soarin’ Across America” with all new scenes taking place in the United States of American only.

In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster now “Starring The Muppets” will also open in late May 2026 and we look forward to seeing the reimagined version of this with some of our favorite characters ever created.

Over in Disney’s Animal Kingdom we got the regular Kali River Rapids refurbishment in the winter, just like we do every year.

From time to time the transportation systems also need work and the Disney Skyliner will also be closed for refurbishment in January, with it reopening in phases.

Stay tuned here at Ziggy Knows Disney for the latest updates, as we fill you in as soon as we find out more details.

Check out the Full List of Disney World Ride Closures and Refurbishments to see what other projects are going on.

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Your Thoughts

I want to know what you think about a Big Thunder Railroad Mountain refurbishment…

• What modifications would you like to see on the ride?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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