The Walt Disney World Railroad in Disney’s Magic Kingdom has been closed now since December 3, 2018, and it’s not opening anytime soon. It now looks like the Railroad is going to be closed through all 2020 and into 2021.
The Walt Disney World Railroad originally closed due to construction on the new TRON roller coaster which is being built in Tomorrowland. The track had to be taken up and moved in order to make room for this new E-Ticket attraction in the Magic Kingdom.
Disney has to build out the infrastructure of the TRON coaster in that area and across the train tracks, hence the reason for the closure.
Up until now, however, it was thought that the Walt Disney World Railroad would be reopening at some time in 2020. Now it looks like internal refurbishment calendars have pushed that opening date back once again, and it will be reopening closer to the time that the Tron Lightcycle Run coaster opens in 2021.
Even since the beginning of the construction, it seems like plans have changed for the Railroad.
At first, the train was going to pass directly under the coaster, unprotected. Now with the latest concept art for the TRON coaster, it looks like there will instead be a tunnel built under the coaster, keeping the Tomorrowland theming of the future intact, instead of a turn of the century locomotive passing by.
No actual date has been given yet for the reopening, but that’s to be expected since we are still so far out. A lot depends on the construction progress of the TRON coaster and if there are any delays on that project. The sooner they can get that open, the sooner we’ll have the Railroad back up and running.
The interesting thing is that on the calendar, the Frontierland and Fantasyland stations are listed as having an earlier opening than the whole Railroad. In the past, the train in Disneyland has operated in “shuttle mode,” only going back and forth between these two stations and not making the entire loop.
It’s possible the Walt Disney World Railroad could do the same thing, thereby not going near the TRON construction site. We’ll keep a close eye on this to see if it’s just an error in the scheduling, or if Disney plans to open that part of the attraction first.
The good news is that right now you can still see the Walt Disney World Railroad as it is parked temporarily at the Main Street Station. Guests can get an up-close look at the train and even get some good photo opportunities while it’s stopped.
Stay tuned to Ziggy Knows Disney for the latest updates on the Walt Disney World Railroad refurbishment and other closures around the parks!
Your Thoughts:
I want to know what you think about the Walt Disney World Railroad remaining closed through 2020…
- Do these dates affect your trip to Walt Disney World?
- What do you think about the Tron Roller Coaster coming to Tomorrowland?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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I am sad that the railroad will be out of service! I loved to hop on with my family after a long day and talk. I personally will miss it! I do hope that it will be back in service in late fall 2019?
by Fall 2019 I think there is a good chance it will be back, though projects tend to take longer sometimes than originally thought. I’d be cautiously optimistic though
I think that they will add scenes into the new tunnel so they don’t know exactly when the whole thing will be finished or at least don’t want to release the date yet. I guess it will start reoperating on the dates that they’ve released for Frontierland and Fantasyland but some sort of official reopening for the 50th anniversary, with all the new scenes, is in the plans.
Thanks for the comment Luciano. I would love some new scenes in the tunnel there, that’s a great idea! Hopefully it’s open in early 2021 so we can enjoy it all year long!
I”m honestly surprised that the Tron Coaster isn’t replacing the Tommorrowland Speedway. I honestly think that would’ve been the best thing to do, as that would’ve kept the railroad in service. I’m honestly hoping that they’ll be able to reopen the line before the Fall of 2020. I’m crossing my fingers that the tunnel will be done soon.
Unfortunately Jonah it doesn’t look like we’re gonna see the Railroad in 2020. I too thought the Speedway was going away, or at least getting a major upgrade with new cars, more than just a new track.
I’m so sad to hear that the railway may
not open, even partially this year. We
are going in August. My son is obsessed with trains. We can’t afford to travel often so I
am bummed. I’m still hoping though!
Thanks for the comment Nathalie. Unfortunately, I think your son is going to be disappointed because it’s highly unlikely that the train will be open in August. He will be able to see it however over in Fantasyland as it’s now stationed there, you just can’t ride it.
We’re thinking of going Nov 2021. Do you think it’ll be open by then? My father and son are huge train fans.
Thank you very much for the information!
If the Disney World railroad shuts down it will be one more reason to put off or cancel plans for a return visit. The continual mania for more roller coaster type rides just push it further toward teen centered thrill parks which are all copies of each other. One can go a lot closer to home for coasters and save a lot of time and money rather
than trekking to Florida.
The Railroad is currently shut down and won’t come back until sometime next year