Fort Langhorn on Tom Sawyer Island has been demolished. This is the first large structure to be demolished on the island, as Disney appears to be working north to south across the large construction site. New aerial photos from friend of the site Bioreconstruct show the rubble of where Fort Langhorn used to stand. Here’s a closer look!
Fort Langhorn Demolished at Magic Kingdom
As seen in the Tom Sawyer Island map below, Fort Langhorn was located on a separate island to the north of the main island. To access Fort Langhorn, guests would have to cross the (since demolished) Superstition Bridge. Fort Langhorn was built on the edge of “Indian Territory” and contained several walking areas, as well as a secret escape tunnel. We’ll have a photo tour after taking a look at the demolition.
Turning our attention back to Bioreconstruct’s recent flight over Magic Kingdom, we can see that Fort Langhorn is now a pile of rubble following its demolition.
Fort Langhorn Photo Tour
Here are a few photos of Fort Langhorn from before Tom Sawyer Island closed. Fort Langhorn was essentially a wood log fort that allowed guests to explore the multi-story structure. It included some simple Audio-Animatronics, guns to “shoot”, and a multitude of spaces to explore, including an escape tunnel that would take you from the fort’s courtyard down to an area along the Rivers of America.
The Bigger Picture
Zooming out, both literally and metaphorically, we can see that the demolition of Fort Langhorn is just one small piece of a larger puzzle. The bigger picture here is that Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America will be turned into a Cars-themed expansion of Frontierland called Piston Peak National Park, and an all-new Villains Land. This work is part of the largest expansion in the history of Magic Kingdom as the park looks to forge a new identity for the next 50 years.
Significant project milestones include:
- Auugst 12, 2024 | Walt Disney World announces plans to replace Rivers of America & Tom Sawyer Island
- February 17, 2025 | Walt Disney World receives regulatory green light to demolish Tom Sawyer Island & Rivers of America
- June 3, 2025 | Walt Disney World announces July 7th closing date for Rivers of America
- July 7, 2025 | Rivers of America & Tom Sawyer Island close permanently
- August 8, 2025 | Walt Disney World begins draining the Rivers of America
- August 16, 2025 | Early construction activity begins in the Rivers of America
- September 30, 2025 | Rivers of America fully blocked from guest view, paving the way for demolition
Zooming out even further, we can see the massive land-clearing effort taking place west of Magic Kingdom. There are three distinct plots of land being cleared. Two of the plots of land will be laydown yards for construction equipment and materials staging. The third plot of land is being transformed into a construction trailer compound for Walt Disney Imagineering and third-party contractors to work out of near the construction site.
For everything we know about the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, check out our dedicated Villains Land page below!
For everything we know about the Cars-themed expansion to Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland, check out our dedicated project page below!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
