Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Crane Extended

We’ll start with a look at the crane from outside of Magic Kingdom, as we were taking the watercraft from the new Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort to the Magic Kingdom main entrance. Because of the direction the crane is pointed, one of the best views of the crane’s true size is from outside of the park.

It appears to be a Liebherr lattice boom luffing crawler. This style of crane is good for tight spaces and appears to be similar to those used for the construction of the Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

The crane is certainly large, and the full scope of the crane can’t be represented in photos perfectly, but this type of crane (combined with a long refurbishment timeframe) really points to a track replacement project on the horizon. A track replacement has been rumored for months now, but Walt Disney World has not responded to requests for comment about the work.

That said, I’m not sure that this crane alone will have enough reach from its current position to complete the project. From its current position, it would probably need more than 400 feet of radius, and I want to say that it has a reach of less than 350 feet. It’s possible that the crane will be moved, or that another crane will be used during different phases of the refurbishment.

Should the Rivers of America close during the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment, that would allow Disney better access to the far corners of the attraction from where the crane is currently positioned.