Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be back in operation at Magic Kingdom theme park as of May 3, Walt Disney World revealed Wednesday.
The roller coaster has been closed for refurbishment since January 2025. Work has included replacing the rails and refreshing the ride vehicles, according to the official Disney Parks Blog.
The coaster’s comeback will include a change in its height requirement. Riders will now be at least 38 inches tall, compared with the previous 40-inch requirement.
“Guests 38 inches and taller will be able to ride, so even more families will enjoy this classic adventure together,” said Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle in a social-media post. He also put up a photo of himself in the ride vehicle, seated with Magic Kingdom Vice President Sarah Riles and Imagineer Wyatt Winter plus images including other members of the project team.
The refurbishment includes new show elements, but Disney hasn’t elaborated much beyond the addition of “spectacular natural caverns full of phosphorescent pools,” according to the parks blog.
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Disney did not announce any form of passholder previews or “soft opening” days for the ride.
The attraction debuted in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland in 1980. The site is surrounded by updated and under-construction elements of Magic Kingdom. It neighbors Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the remodeled log flume ride once known as Splash Mountain. And it faces the former Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, which were closed to make way for two future “Cars”-related attractions, and is near the theme park’s planned villains-based land.
It has also been a touchpoint as executives sometimes floated ideas as “beyond Big Thunder.”
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There are also Big Thunder attractions at Disneyland in California, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Park in Paris.
Magic Kingdom recently reopened an updated version of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, a dark ride in Tomorrowland.
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