How Big Thunder’s Year Long Closure Will Impact Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom is closing for nearly all of 2025 which will have a significant ramification on park strategies for Walt Disney World.

Each Disney Park has a number of “e-ticket” attractions which is just Disney slang for the most popular rides for guests. These rides are often big draws in the mornings and throughout the day with Lightning Lane passes being in higher demand.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of those e-ticket attractions at Magic Kingdom and this expected closure will have a significant impact at Walt Disney World. Let's get into the details of this closure, how I anticipate it will impact our rope drop strategies and the use of Lightning Lane Multi Pass for 2025.

Big Thunder Mountain 2025 Closure

Big Thunder Mountain is set to close January 6, 2025 and will reopen in 2026 with a “new bit of magic” according to Walt Disney World. You can read more about all the planned refurbishments at Walt Disney World in the refurbishment calendar where we track these closures and discuss anticipated reopening dates.

Big Thunder Mountain's closure is likely tied to the new Magic Kingdom Villains Land expansion which has always been referred to as “Beyond Big Thunder” in original teaser concepts shared by Disney Imagineering. Now that we have confirmation a new Villains Land is coming to Magic Kingdom in the space beyond Big Thunder Mountain, it's safe to assume this long refurbishment is connected.

But that's not the only big change coming to Walt Disney World. A new Cars Land is going to replace the Rivers of America which is directly adjacent to Big Thunder Mountain so this closure could also be connected to this major change coming to Magic Kingdom. Currently, there is no official closing date for Rivers of America and its attractions like Tom Sawyer's Island and Liberty Square Riverboat.

For both of these projects, Big Thunder Mountain sits directly between these spaces so this closure makes sense. A normal refurbishment typically wouldn't take an entire year even if it's been confirmed the ride will receive “new bits of magic” so these projects are definitely connected.

There currently is no reopening date announced for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but most speculation points to the ride reopening by at least summer in 2026 but targeted for spring. This means that for over one year, Magic Kingdom will be operating without one of it's biggest e-ticket attractions which will have a big impact on how we plan rope drop and Lightning Lane bookings in this popular Disney World park.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's Impact on Rope Drop

READ MORE- Disney World Free Dining Plans Returning in 2025, See All Dates Just Announced

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is located directly next to Tiana's Bayou Adventure but at a considerable distance from the other two popular rope drop attractions which are currently Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run. These popular rides are all spaced out from each other pretty significantly which means the crowds split up across the parks in different directions which does help evenly distribute the crowd levels at rope drop and during Early Entry. 

Once Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closes, this will leave a noticeable gap on that side of the park with only the draw of Tiana's Bayou Adventure to pull guests in that direction past Adventureland. Since the reimagining of that ride is still so new, it's likely to still be a draw for guests throughout the year. But there's one big problem with that… Tiana's Bayou Adventure is still using a virtual queue and is not offering a standby line. This means that most guests will not be rope dropping that side of the park in that morning since there's no big e-ticket rides with standby lines.

Anytime a popular ride is closed, you will see wait times impacted at all other rides at all times of the day, not just at rope drop. Think about how many guests ride an attraction like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in a single day and fill the standby queue! With that space no longer occupied, that number of guests will go elsewhere.

Magic Kingdom Rope Drop Strategy During Closure

If you are visiting Magic Kingdom in 2025 then you need to plan for how this closure may impact your day. This means there is no reason to rope drop Frontierland unless we see Tiana's Bayou Adventure offer a standby line which could be a possibility as this has already happened at Disneyland. 

Your two best choices are going to be Fantasyland or Tomorrowland for the most popular e-ticket attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run. Personally, I might consider utilizing Lightning Lane for those rides to avoid the stampede of crowds in the morning and focus instead on other popular rides like Space Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, and Haunted Mansion. But if you want to avoid paying the price for Lightning Lane Single Pass (which averages $20 per person for TRON alone!) then rope drop or riding prior to park close will be your best bet.

Another strategy to consider is to focus on the rides that often have high wait times in the afternoon but don't receive as much attention at rope drop. This means attractions like Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Since Liberty Square and Adventureland are located on the side of the park nearest Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, it should be a bit slower in the morning while other guests focus on the other attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. This could be a great way to knock out a lot of popular rides with no wait and use this closure of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to your advantage.

Less Lightning Lane Availability

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of the most popular attractions offered through Lightning Lane Multi Pass and often one we recommend reserving in advance. 

Guests that are staying on-site at a Walt Disney World hotel can book their Lightning Lane advance reservations seven days in advance of their check in date for all their theme park days. For all other guests, they can begin booking Lightning Lane reservations three days in advance of each park day. For Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is part of the top tier list which limits guests to only one selection per this group in advance.

With one selection eliminated, this means we will see Lightning Lane times go much faster for the other options. Here are all those options, listed in order of popularity:

1. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
2. Peter Pan’s Flight
3. Space Mountain
4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
5. Jungle Cruise

Luckily, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad isn't the most popular option for advance booking but this may mean we will see an uptick in demand for advance bookings for Jungle Cruise.

Guests also book Lightning Lane reservations once they redeem their first in the park and having one of the most popular options missing from the selection list for a year will have some impact on the availability of the other rides.

Since Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is one of the few rollercoasters in Magic Kingdom, this demand might get shifted instead to the other coasters like Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and TRON. Since Space Mountain is the only other rollercoaster offered with Lightning Lane Multi Pass, I expect we will see Lightning Lane passes disappearing at a quicker rate without Big Thunder to diversify those thrill options. There is also Tiana's Bayou Adventure, while not a rollercoaster but counts as a thrill ride, but this attraction has been in high demand since it reopened so this will likely cause that demand to continue rather than decrease as more guests are looking for thrill rides to book with Lightning Lane.

While there's not much that can be done about this, it's good to be aware of the demand for thrill rides and how one less available thrill ride will decrease availability for all the others. Prioritize your thrill rides when booking Lightning Lanes and consider changing your rope drop strategies as we go into a year without Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World.

Read More Disney Planning Advice

For the best resource and helpful information for planning your Disney trip, make sure to subscribe to our FREE Deals newsletter​. We’ll provide you with helpful planning information, exclusive Disney deals, and access to the lowest-priced Disney tickets anywhere.