Ride refurbishments are rumored for a couple of Magic Kingdom’s most popular attractions, and could start later this year and last through 2025. Here are the latest rumblings on these potential closures–none of which have been confirmed by Walt Disney World–along with our speculation about what they might entail, timing for the downtime, and more.
Let’s start with Peter Pan’s Flight, which isn’t really a rumor at all. Walt Disney Imagineering has filed a really-for-real construction permit for the installation of set pieces at Peter Pan’s Flight in Magic Kingdom, listing InterAmerica Stage, Inc. as contractor. The work has the default expiration date of one year, which isn’t particularly noteworthy (it is when the expiration is shorter or longer).
InterAmerica Stage is a frequent collaborator with Imagineering on new and refreshed attractions and shows. Recently, this includes work on Spaceship Earth and, currently, the reimagining of Country Bear Jamboree into Country Bear Musical Jamboree. The permit doesn’t specify the scope of work beyond the vague and generic (and frequently used) “install set elements.” However, this and the permit coming from Imagineering suggests that the project will entail new or reimagined show scenes, or possibly new effects.
We have been critical of Peter Pan’s Flight. It was the most controversial pick on our List of 10 Attractions That Have Aged Poorly at Walt Disney World. So it should go without saying that I’m fully on board with this project. In fact, I hope Peter Pan’s Flight has a multi-month closure to breathe new life into the attraction.
After riding the versions at Disneyland in California and Tokyo Disneyland this month, I’m very ready to see updates to the Magic Kingdom incarnation. I’d love some of the effects from the Shanghai Disneyland version, which is the best of the bunch. But it’s also brand new, whereas both the Anaheim and Tokyo versions are the same classic style as Magic Kingdom–and have seen enhancements in recent years.
If I recall correctly, there were actually rumors around 2019 that Peter Pan’s Flight would be one of the classic Magic Kingdom attractions to receive updates ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. Supposedly, the plan was similar to refreshes at Disneyland ahead of that park’s 60th Anniversary, where Peter Pan’s Flight closed for over 5 months in 2015. But then March 2020 happened and all of those plans for Walt Disney World’s 50th were abandoned. (…Or the can was kicked down the road to 2024?)
To be clear, I don’t want to see Peter Pan’s Flight updated because I dislike it–I love it. This ride has enduring popularity and high wait times for a reason. It’s a classic, and deserves to be treated as such with respect and loving updates to keep it fresh. Flying over the streets of London and Neverland is a timeless lightning-in-a-bottle experience that should never go away.
Instead, Peter Pan’s Flight should be plussed with projection mapping and other lighting effects–as has been done in Anaheim, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Updating infrastructure so the flight is less jerky and smoother would help with suspension of disbelief. I could go on, but upgrades to the ride system are not within the scope of this construction permit, so there’s no point.
More realistically, the most obvious change is probably the removal or update of the Native Americans scene in Peter Pan’s Flight. I don’t purport to be an expert on this sort of thing, but the depiction there does strike me as a bit of a caricature (to put it charitably). With that said, I also think it’d be a shame to lose Native Americans in the attraction (that seems like the opposite of Disney’s goals). Given her presence in Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure, I assume Tiger Lily is still an acceptable character. Having a new scene with her would be cool.
If that does happen, I hope it isn’t the only change. Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom has some great effects and features as compared to the other versions, but it hasn’t been modernized with new effects to nearly as great of a degree, either. There’s a lot of opportunity and untapped potential to make it a ride that actually justifies those triple-digit wait times.
Logistically, I’m curious as to how a Peter Pan’s Flight closure might work–especially if it occurs simultaneous with the next entry. My gut says this would be a shorter closure–or a series of them–even if it involves greater guest-facing changes. I could see a scenario where a Peter Pan’s Flight reimagining were handled similarly to Jungle Cruise or Haunted Mansion, with brief downtime for staging followed by work after hours and/or with a few scattered days of downtime. (They might even put scrims around various show scenes and just have them be missing.)
That way, people could plan around the Peter Pan’s Flight closure and it would have less impact on vacations. There’s also the practical reality that Peter Pan’s Flight is a big driver of Genie+ sales at Magic Kingdom, and Disney probably doesn’t want to take it out of commission for an extended period and lose out on that. Then again, maybe that’s part of the reason Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is on Genie+ instead of an Individual Lightning Lane!
Next up is a widely-reported rumor that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will soon close for an extended refurbishment, which will result in the ride being down for more than a year. This is not yet confirmed by Walt Disney World, nor have any construction permits been filed to the best of our knowledge.
We’ve attempted to independently corroborate the rumored Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closure, but have been unable to do so. However, it’s being reported by multiple credible outlets–and although we cannot speak to the veracity of the rumors themselves, it’s something that passes the smell test and seems plausible to us.
Accordingly, we want to bring it to your attention since it’s likely going to be a last-minute announcement if it does happen. And it may not! But it’s a sufficiently high-profile attraction that this potential ride refurbishment should at least be on your radar. Just be aware that nothing is concrete.
According to wdwmagic, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad could close as soon as September 2024. The Magic Kingdom coaster needs a significant refurbishment involving substantial work on the ride system and retracking. This long-planned project is viewed as preventative work that’s crucial to extend the useful life of the roller coaster, ensuring the ride’s longevity and operational status for decades to come.
While the ride has had a number of winter-time closures for several weeks to over a month in the last several years, the last lengthy closure was in 2016 when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was down for 4 months in the late summer and early fall. Prior to that, BTMRR had multiple closures in 2012 for extensive work, installation of the interactive queue, as well as the Barnabas T. Bullion and Big Thunder Mining Company backstory.
Every version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has had extensive closures in recent years–except Magic Kingdom. Perhaps most instructive is the BTMRR at Disneyland, which closed for a major renovation in January 2013. This project had a similar scope as what’s rumored for Magic Kingdom, with new ride vehicles, track replacement, repainting the mountain, and also restoring the Rainbow Ridge Mining Town.
That was originally scheduled to be completed by Fall 2013, but it wasn’t done until March 2014. By the time Big Thunder Mountain Railroad did reopen over a year later, its return came with much fanfare and new features–and a potential “blueprint” for other projects of this nature that we’re now potentially seeing with Haunted Mansion and Fantasmic at Disneyland. Sort of a quasi “Disney Vault” approach to excite fans.
As noted above, I know absolutely nothing about this potential project, but I’d expect something similar with the Magic Kingdom version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. A closure that lasted 14 months approximately one decade ago translates to at least 18 months when adjusted for construction timeline inflation. (A thing I made up, but you know what I mean–and that it’s a real phenomenon!)
There’s no way Walt Disney World is going to close Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for between a year and 18 months and not have anything marketable to show for it when the attraction returns. There will likely be new lift hill effects, nighttime lighting, redone show scenes with Easter eggs and other historical tributes–something, anything. Given the cost in time and money, I fully believe they’ll make it count and this won’t “just” be a closure for invisible work that “only” extends the life of the roller coaster.
I also believe there’s a strong possibility that Beyond Big Thunder gets revealed at D23 Expo, and part of that entails more changes to this side of the park. If so, the BTMRR refurbishment could also be a reimagining that lays the groundwork for that expansion, both thematically and infrastructure-wise.
With a closure that’s going to last at least a year, timing doesn’t make a huge difference. After all, it’s going to be down during every week and season, anyway. Not only that, but Walt Disney World has shown a willingness to close marquee attractions at popular times of the year. Look no further than Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster during spring break (twice!), Tower of Terror during spring and summer, and the upcoming Test Track closure from summer through at least the holiday season.
Nevertheless, it’s likely that the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad project won’t start until Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens on June 28, 2024. That’s part of the rumor, but it’s also sort of obvious. While one version of the rumor points to BTMRR going down in September, honestly, I could see it closing before then.
From my perspective, having both Big Thunder and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure open through at least mid-July to soak up the opening ‘season’ crowds for the new Frontierland headliner makes sense. That would also give time for Country Bear Musical Jamboree to open, which is now expected at the tail end of summer. (As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t be shocked if that slips to October 1, 2024.)
After the opening rush of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it might also make sense to take BTMRR offline so that refurbishment is done before October 2025. Summer crowds typically start winding down towards the end of July and drop off a cliff at the beginning of August. If this is a year-plus closure, it makes more sense to have BTMRR down for the months of August and September twice than it does the months of October through December. But of course, that assumes the project is ready to roll–and it may not be!
Oh and speaking of Frontierland, we’re also aware of reports that Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade is rumored to close this summer. I attempted to corroborate those back last month when the story first broke, but had no success. Which is weird, because the rumor is it’ll be where the Disney Vacation Club lounge is located, and if true, that should be something of an open secret.
For now, I actually have reason to believe this one may not be credible. Which is also weird, because when I first heard the rumor, it struck me as so obvious. That DVC lounge needs to go somewhere and Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade has managed to hang on for about a decade longer than I expected.
Personally, I’ll be sad to see it go (if it goes). I have childhood nostalgia for the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade and have done it more than ever in the last few years since it went to free play. But I also understand that it’s been on borrowed time for a while. It’ll be interesting to see what happens there–no outcome would surprise me. I’m not convinced that even Disney knows what it wants to do with Frontierland in the long-term at this point–still seems like a decent amount of uncertainty there.
Ultimately, you should take all of this with a huge grain of salt as they’re all rumors and/or have not yet been confirmed officially by Walt Disney World. (Imagineering has filed a permit for Peter Pan’s Flight, so something will happen, but it could be something simple that occurs entirely overnight and never results in downtime. We doubt that given the involvement of a third party, but it’s possible.)
The bottom line is that it’s still plausible that none of these projects materialize. Again, we doubt it. If anything, we’d expect more reimaginings and refurbishments of this nature for a couple of reasons. The first is that there was a lot of deferred maintenance and proportionately fewer closures in the last few years due to pent-up demand and budget cuts. So several attractions are overdue for refurbishments and will probably get them later this year or in 2025.
Second, the money spigot is about to be turned on for Parks & Resorts, allowing for more projects of this nature to (finally!) happen. Sure, it’s not as exciting as brand-new attractions–and many of you may lament more rides being closed during your vacation–but refurbishments are very much a necessity for maintaining appropriate attraction standards and ensuring that breakdowns don’t continue to happen at a more frequent rate. So here’s hoping we see more on this front!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about the possibility of lengthy ride refurbishments/reimaginings of Peter Pan’s Flight and/or 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!
