Magic Kingdom’s Big Thunder Mountain Took a Critical Step Toward Reopening This Week

Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland has become a desolate place, somewhat like the real frontier. The once-thriving land has become a construction site, and Disney World has reimagined it with a new Cars and Villains land.

Fans at the Magic Kingdom hear as Tom Sawyer Island is slowly demolished, and they see Rivers of America slowly being drained. A little further away, guests see the closed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which has been down for the entirety of 2025.

However, a recent update gives fans some hope that Big Thunder might soon revert to operational form. According to a post from Blog Mickey, the new ride vehicles are undergoing push-pull testing this week, which is a sign of progress and hope for Disney fans.

Push-pull tests are done after maintenance or construction to ensure the ride vehicles are properly aligned and have proper clearance. Imagine riding Big Thunder with your hands in the air as you enter one of the caves and smack your hands on the rocks. These tests ensure that it won’t happen.

About a month ago, the ride underwent a similar test, but the ride vehicles apparently failed the test. This required some adjustments to the vehicles and track to ensure guest safety.

While this is a good step forward, it’s not the overwhelmingly positive news that fans hope for. This doesn’t mean that the ride is necessarily going to open soon, but it shows that construction could be ahead of schedule.

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closed on January 6, and Disney promised that it would remain closed for the remainder of the year. Disney fans freaked after the company extended its construction permits until April 2026.

Disney replaced the entire track on Thunder Mountain and promised “a little bit of new magic” for the ride. This latest update shows that Disney has made some good progress, and fans can anticipate seeing the new ride sometime early in 2026, rather than a few months into the year.

So, it’s a start and some positive news. At this point, Frontierland will take what it can get.

Are you excited for the return of Big Thunder Mountain? Let us know in the comments.