Walt Disney World has updated its Lightning Lane website to mention Big Thunder Mountain Railroad once again. The attraction will reopen on May 3rd after some 16 months of refurbishment to fully replace the roller coaster track and add some new magic to the ride. Here’s the latest info.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Returns as Tier 1 Lightning Lane
As expected, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has returned to the Lightning Lane Multi Pass lineup as a Tier 1 attraction. This is where the attraction was located before it closed for refurbishment. As a Tier 1 attraction, Big Thunder joins the likes of Space Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, and more.
For those who may be wondering what a Tier 1 attraction is, it is simply a higher-tier ride than other attractions at Magic Kingdom. Where the tier system comes into play is with your initial Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections. Because demand is higher for the more popular rides, Disney only lets you reserve one Tier 1 attraction during your initial selection process. This is in an attempt to ensure that most guests have access to more popular rides when purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Once you’re actually at Magic Kingdom and have redeemed your first Lightning Lane attraction of the day, the tiers disappear for the rest of the day, and you can select whatever attraction you’d like, based on availability.
Imagineer Wyatt Winter shares some details about the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refresh at Magic Kingdom. Winter detailed changes to the ride, such as:
- All-new trains
- Refreshed Audio-Animatronics throughout the attraction
- Returning effects that haven’t been present for years
- Rainbow caverns that come to life at the mountain pushes back against our presence
- Actual gold out on the mountain for the first time ever
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!