Why Disney Experts Are SKIPPING Magic Kingdom on May 3rd

After over a YEAR of waiting, we are closer than ever to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopening in Magic Kingdom!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad construction

The popular coaster has been closed for general refurbishment as well as some big upgrades! While we are seriously excited to finally hop back on the wildest ride in the wilderness, we won’t lie to you. A lot of Disney experts are SKIPPING Magic Kingdom on May 3rd, and we’re breaking down why right here!

Hear us out, going to Magic Kingdom on May 3rd might not be the best idea! Now this is obviously just an opinion, but we’re here to share the facts with you. The biggest issue? The crowds are going to be pretty wild.

Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain is reopening on May 3rd, and each time a ride opens, reopens, or just before it closes, you can predict that the crowds are going to turn up! The day before Big Thunder Mountain closed in 2025, the ride’s wait time was over an hour for most of the day. Now that it’s been closed for nearly a year and a half, fans are clamoring to check out the changes.

This was the day the ride closed for refurb — BUSY!

On May 3rd, we’re expecting the crowds to rush towards Big Thunder Mountain, creating a consistently long line throughout the day. If Figment’s meet and greet can wrack up hours-long lines on its opening day, it’s safe to assume that the Big Thunder Mountain reopening will create some pretty big chaos.

Inside the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue

We’re not telling you that you can’t go to Magic Kingdom on May 3rd, but we are saying that a lot of Disney experts are skipping that date. While we are expecting some seriously long lines, we know that those lines won’t last forever. The Figment meet and greet is a great example of this, because within a few weeks of opening, his lines were fairly short, if not totally empty at times. If the option to wait, we feel confident that lines will calm down within a few weeks of opening. Now, we aren’t saying lines will be short! We’re just saying they won’t be as long as we think they’ll be on May 3rd.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom

If you’re trying to avoid those long lines, even on May 3rd, we have a few recommendations. The first is to rope drop! Rope dropping is when you get to the park before it officially opens to get ahead of the crowds. This is basically waiting in line without using precious park time, then once the park opens, you can head straight to popular rides with smaller lines. Rope drop for Big Thunder Mountain on May 3rd is probably going to be chaos, so just a heads up!

Magic Kingdom Rope Drop crowds

If you’re prepared for the chaos, rope drop can lead to some shorter lines. Heading through Liberty Square might be a bit quicker, but you can also get to Big Thunder Mountain through Adventureland. If you’re a Disney World resort guest, make sure to use your Early Entry to its fullest potential. The next way you can save some time is by purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Crowds at the Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain before it closed

Disney World Resort guests can buy their Lightning Lanes 7 days before their park visit. If you’re visiting, but not staying at a Disney hotel, you can book your Lightning Lanes 3 days in advance. That means Disney World Resort guests can book at Big Thunder Mountain Lightning Lane starting on April 26th at 7 AM, assuming May 3rd is the first day of your visit. We expect this Lightning Lane to sell out quickly, so don’t hesitate to grab it as quickly as you can if you’re hoping to skip the line.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Lightning Lane

Big Thunder Mountain will be part of Tier 1 on the Lightning Lane list for Magic Kingdom. You can prebook one attraction from Tier 1 and two attractions from Tier 2, so we definitely recommend prioritizing this ride. While we do expect some chaos, we don’t think it will be impossible to enjoy the ride or the experience! Just because some experts are skipping the park on May 3rd doesn’t mean you have to. If you don’t care about being one of the first people to check out the changes, we definitely recommend waiting it out if possible.

©Disney

We can’t wait to see all of the changes coming to the new ride, including a lower height requirement, new rainbow caverns, and more! Be sure to keep following DisneyFoodBlog for more Disney news, updates, reminders, and more.

Disney World Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy for 2026

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