Ahead of its Spring 2026 reopening, Walt Disney World has shared new details about the changes coming to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom as part of a segment on Good Morning America. Here’s the latest on BTMRR, backstory on the attraction, other updates, and our specific reopening date predictions.
As basic background, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closed for a lengthy refurbishment project on January 6th of last year (so it’s already been down for over a year). The wildest ride in the wilderness is planned to reopen in 2026 with a little bit of “new magic,” according to Walt Disney World at the time.
Since then, construction crews have been racing around the mountain and the pace of the project has been really impressive. It’s displayed a sense of urgency that it seems like we haven’t seen in a while, resulting in overly-optimistic expectations that the ride would reopen ahead of schedule.
Just last month, the company finally revealed the opening season for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as part of Walt Disney World’s 2026 Calendar of Events.
In that, Disney indicated that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens in Spring 2026, with “touches of new magic and a crevasse-deep to mountain-top refurbishment.”
We still don’t have an official date or even a month, but we’ll share some speculation on that after the latest update, courtesy of a Good Morning America preview of what’s new at Walt Disney World in 2026…
During the GMA segment, Wyatt Winter, Executive Producer at Walt Disney Imagineering shared that when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens, it’ll feature “all new trains, Audio Animatronics refreshed throughout; effects, stuff that hasn’t been going for years, is returning.”
Winter further reiterated that guests will “see these beautiful Rainbow Caverns. Then all of a sudden, [the caverns] come to life as the mountain pushes back against you; and maybe finally seeing some gold out on the mountain for the first time ever, as well.”
Here’s the brief clip during which Winter teased those details about the refreshed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom:
NEW DETAILS for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s refurbishment, reopening this spring at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom:
• All-new ride vehicles
• Refreshed Audio-Animatronics figures
• The mountain is pushing back against us in the storyline
• Gold props on the… pic.twitter.com/WYdOuy5toG
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) January 10, 2026
Here’s what else we know about the changes based on previous teases…
Expanded BTMRR Backstory
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. (The Barnabas T. Bullion and Big Thunder Mining Company tall tale is one of our favorite backstories at Walt Disney World.)
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. When Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens in Spring 2026, the unsuspectin’ passengers who board the runaway trains will learn just how wild the wilderness can get.
Enhanced Rainbow Caverns
The rumblin’, rollin’ fun of Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World is currently undergoing a mountain-top to cavern-deep refurbishment meant to keep the classic attraction in tip-top shape, ready to delight guests who want to ride the rails for years to come.
In addition to the action and adventure we know and love, Big Thunder Mountain will reopen with some of the aforementioned “new magic” for Walt Disney World fans to discover.
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). And hundreds of bats.
The Rainbow Caverns are beautiful, true to their name with a scene that’s more vibrant than before. But then a flash of lightning reveals that they aren’t as friendly as they first appear. That menacing rumble from deep within the mountain may be a sign that we aren’t welcome and shouldn’t venture deeper.
More to Come?
When revealing the enhanced Rainbow Caverns, Imagineers also teased that more “new magic” is going to be revealed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad down the track.
The most obvious candidate here is the explosive effect on the final lift hill, which can be found at other versions of BTMRR and was the big addition during the last year-plus refurbishment of the attraction at Disneyland. This dynamite finale being the big marketable addition makes sense, and fans are widely assuming is coming to Magic Kingdom.
There are not any credible rumors of this, but it’s a logical assumption. With only a couple of months left before Big Thunder reopens, and the big promotional push for 2026 happening right now, we’re worried that this scene is not coming to Walt Disney World. There’s no compelling reason for saving this as a surprise, so the more time that passes without any mentioning of it suggests to us that it probably isn’t happening.
Hopefully we’re wrong! It seems foolish for Walt Disney World is going to close Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for over a year and not really have anything marketable to show for it when the attraction returns aside from the Rainbow Caverns. On a positive note, there will likely be new lift hill effects, nighttime lighting, redone show scenes with Easter eggs and other historical tributes. Let’s just hope that Rainbow Caverns scene is a show-stopper.
Big Thunder Reopening Date?
We’ve heard a lot of speculation from fans that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is way ahead of schedule and could reopen ahead of schedule. Not to be debbie downers twice, but we’re skeptical of this.
Before you get too excited, we’d warn you that we’ve been down this road before. It’s sort of like when foundation work seemingly takes forever, but then vertical progress happens fast and fans assume the project has accelerated (e.g. Encanto)–except in reverse.
Big Thunder trains have been cycling for months, but that’s pretty much meaningless with regard to a reopening date. TRON Lightcycle Run started push-pull testing with a ride envelope vehicle approximately 13 months before that attraction opened. This should go much faster than TRON, but our point is that you should not view removal and replacement of the track here as the bulk of this project.
This is not a routine refurbishment or maintenance. Disney essentially rebuilt the roller coaster on top of its thematic foundation, and it’ll need to go through the paces of a new roller coaster as a result. It’s not just going to be ready to roll when it looks finished, so we’d caution against getting excited if you have trips in the coming months.
Not only that, but there’s also the wildcard of Piston Peak Cars Land construction. Infill and site grading are now underway in the former Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Although a completely separate project, its early stages of construction will involve laying the foundation for a path between Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion.
A large walkway between Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will form the northern boundary Piston Peak, providing a path between those two existing attractions and a connection to Villains Land. It’s expected that this will start soon, with a second set of walls within the current walls around Big Thunder.
The walkway definitely will not be completed (or even started) before Big Thunder reopens. It wouldn’t make sense to do so, as it’d block access to the Cars construction site. But prep-work should begin on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad side since it’ll be easier to accomplish that while the roller coaster is closed.
This is already evident in aerial photos, as the exit walkway around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is currently torn out and crews are just getting started on replacing it. Obviously, this path needs to exist before the ride can reopen, and the project teams are going to want to work coordinate so Big Thunder doesn’t need to close again in another 12-24 months once the Piston Peak project is far enough along for that walkway to be completed in full. So consider all of this a necessary prerequisite, of sorts, before Big Thunder Mountain Railroad can reopen.
Beyond that, there have been multiple different major construction permits with project expiration dates extended until Spring 2026. The most recent of these specified an end date of April 15, 2026. Prior permits filed several months ago had consistently listed March 13, 2026.
Having a drop-dead date of March 13, 2026 makes perfect sense; that’s a Friday that normally aligns with the start of Osceola and Orange County student recesses. Obviously, this is a lengthy construction project and one that’s subject to change. That’s the start of the heart of the Spring Break season, and the month that follows will be among the busiest stretches of 2026. Having Big Thunder Mountain Railroad open by March 13, 2026 at the latest is a likely goal for WDW.
Nevertheless, a target date is just that–a target. It’s not guaranteed, but rather, the goal for Imagineering and its contractors to complete the project and reopen the ride. The simple fact that Walt Disney World has still not announced a specific reopening date suggests it’s still just a goal, and not something they’re sure they can hit with confidence. Accordingly, don’t plan around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad just yet. It could be open as early as Presidents’ Day weekend (unlikely) or as late as Memorial Day (also unlikely). We’ll keep you posted about further developments, so stay tuned!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Looking forward to the new Rainbow Caverns scene? What do you think about the lengthy ride refurbishment/reimagining of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? Hope these classics are updated to ensure their longevity for decades to come? Do any attractions at Walt Disney World strike you as being prime candidates for ride reimaginings? Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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