Credit: Disneyland ParisWalt Disney World Resort isn’t the only Disney park refurbishing its Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction. Like Magic Kingdom Park, Disneyland Park (Paris) shuttered its Frontierland roller coaster in January for a months-long maintenance period. Now, we have an update on the construction.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first opened at Disneyland Park in California in 1979, months before debuting at Florida’s Magic Kingdom Park. Tokyo Disney Resort’s version premiered in 1987, and Disneyland Paris Resort’s followed in 1992. Although each Frontierland (Westernland at Tokyo Disneyland) roller coaster has a slightly different storyline, they all invite guests on a mine train ride through America’s Old West.
Disneyland Paris Resort shuttered its Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction on January 6, 2025, announcing that the ride would be closed through the summer. Although the European Disney park hasn’t announced an exact opening date for the roller coaster, they’ve promised to not only maintain its original elements but also improve “the quality of the experience while respecting its original creative vision, and preserve its history, which is intimately linked to that of Frontierland.”
On Thursday, X (formerly known as Twitter) user @DLPReport shared photos of the ongoing construction on The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. In the pictures, crews have added rope, scaffolding, and other construction equipment around the exterior portions of the ride.
🔧 A look at the ongoing refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain. This phase is scheduled to end late June.
🔧 A look at the ongoing refurbishment of Big Thunder Mountain. This phase is scheduled to end late June. pic.twitter.com/cHYxZg3UJ2
— DLP Report (@DLPReport) May 1, 2025
As Disneyland Paris Resort updates its Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Walt Disney World Resort is doing the same. Magic Kingdom Park’s version of the Frontierland roller coaster also closed on January 6, 2025, in preparation for a much longer refurbishment. The attraction is scheduled to open sometime in 2026 with a bit of “new magic.”
Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t provided many public details about the Big Thunder Mountain Refurbishment, but the presence of a large construction crane and truckloads of steel roller coaster tracks has confirmed a total track replacement. Construction equipment has also been spotted in the ride’s queue.
Neither Disneyland Paris Resort nor Walt Disney World Resort has announced an exact reopening date for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad beyond summer 2025 and early 2026, respectively.
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