Disney World as a whole is going through a TON of changes, but Magic Kingdom in particular is undergoing more refurbishments and projects at one time than we’ve seen in a WHILE.
Construction at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
There are construction projects in over half of the park’s lands right now, which is pretty significant. However, there are two massive projects that are affecting guests traveling to the park. If you’re heading to the Most Magical Place on Earth soon, this is what you need to prepare for in Magic Kingdom — this construction may affect your trip more than you thought, so it’s best to be prepared!
Three FEWER Attractions to Experience
There are over two dozen rides in Magic Kingdom alone, but when any number of rides close, it can affect the crowd dispersion around the park. Not to mention that the Disney World parks deal with regular maintenance issues throughout each day as well, which can close MORE attractions, messing up crowd control even more.
Tom Sawyer Island is now CLOSED
Magic Kingdom’s new Piston Peak land is taking the place of the Rivers of America in Liberty Square, meaning that the Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island are both permanently closed, and Villains Land is being built behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While Disney closed Big Thunder to refurbish the ride itself, guests would also be able to see the progress on Villains Land construction while riding the attraction, and we have a feeling that could be another reason for the extended closure.
The Parade Route Has Changed!
Magic Kingdom’s parade route travels from Frontierland, through Liberty Square, then travels up Main Street, U.S.A., before exiting right at the top of the park (unless it’s Disney Starlight, the new nighttime parade, which travels in the opposite direction, starting on Main Street and ending in Frontierland). With all the construction happening in Liberty Square, a lot of the less-busy parade spots have been affected!
Walls at Frontierland
Just look at those walls! They’re pretty thick, and being in more than one place along the parade route means that there’s less space to grab a spot to view the show. If you’ve yet to see these walls in person, we recommend scouting out your Frontierland/Liberty Square parade spot earlier than usual to ensure you’ve got plenty of time to grab the spot you’d like.
Bottlenecking Galore
Some of Magic Kingdom’s walkways aren’t very big, and when you add more walls into the mix, there’s even LESS room to walk. If you’re walking from Frontierland to Liberty Square, you’ll want to watch out for bottleneck spots.
Liberty Square Riverboat
If you can avoid walking through these areas during extra busy times, we recommend doing so, but if you can’t, allow for some extra time to get from one ride to another or to a dining reservation. The last thing you want to do is rush through the park!
The Disney World Railroad is Only HALF Running
The Walt Disney World Railroad is one of the most iconic rides in the park. It’s relaxing, nostalgic, and wonderful to so many, but with all the construction going on, only HALF of the railroad is running.
Walt Disney World Railroad Main Street station
Right now, the Frontierland station is totally closed, and the train is only traveling between the Main Street and Fantasyland stations, which leaves about half of the route unavailable at this time. Disney has turned some of the benches down on the train so you can now face either direction, which we do think is a really awesome option!
Different directions
We’re in the Disney World parks EVERY single day, so when something new is going on, you can guarantee we’ll be bringing that news to you ASAP. We’re always keeping our eyes peeled for the latest Disney World news so you’re fully prepared for your next trip, so stay tuned to DFB!
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This change is a travesty and will stop me from ever visiting the park again. Iger has made some of the stupidest decisions I’ve ever seen for a business. It’s like he’s deliberately trying to sink the company. I long for the days of Eisner.
This is a silly question but the railroad operating between fantasyland and Main Street does it go back and forth or in a complete circle?
How long will it be like this? Not for 1-2 years, I hope.
Based on AJ and DFB ‘s daily newsletters filled with information about what is going on in Disney World, especially all the construction underway this year at Magic Kingdom, I decided that my next visit
will be in 2026.
Full disclosure: I travel from Michigan and visisted WDW in 2024, so every-other year is more do-able anyways.
— A Disney Adult, up in years but still down for Disney !
Hi Jen! Currently, the Walt Disney World Railroad is running in a shuttle mode, travelling only between the Main Street, U.S.A. station and the Fantasyland station. This means the train travels forward from Fantasyland to Main Street, then travels backward on the return trip.
@Gigi, perfect thank you.