Disney World’s popular Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride will temporarily close this coming January, and the attraction won’t open again until 2026. The extended closure for the Magic Kingdom ride is due to “refurbishment,” Disney said in a statement on its website. Specifically, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney World will temporarily close on January 6, 2025, making January 5 the final day to ride it before it shutters for an entire year. Disney said it will re-open with “a little bit of new magic” in 2026. That’s all Disney had to say on the matter, but many are wondering and theorizing about why the ride is closing for an entire year.

Many are speculating that the extended downtime is related to Magic Kingdom’s biggest-ever expansion that will include a new land dedicated to Disney Villains that is set behind the existing Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride.As part of this undertaking, Disney is creating a new Cars ride on on the location currently held by the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Disney said it will “transform” these locations into “vast and rugged terrains” for the Cars ride.WDWNT theorizes that, because Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is surrounded on two sides by Rivers of America in Frontierland, construction on the new Cars ride might be necessary for safety. Not only that, but Disney no doubt wants to keep details on the new updates a secret, and closing Big Thunder Mountain Railroad could be part of that effort.Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland, meanwhile, is not seeing any changes.Disney Dreamsports bettinglight Valley – All Disney Parks Star Path RewardsSee More