Good morning from Magic Kingdom, where Big Thunder Mountain Railroad continues to be put through its paces ahead of a May 3rd opening. This morning, we saw multiple trains dispatching at full-speed intervals, some with Cast Members riding on board. This escalation of continuous testing bodes well for not only the targeted May 3rd reopening but perhaps a soft opening period as well. Here’s the latest from Magic Kingdom!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Full-Speed Testing
We’ll start this article with a video of the testing. I’ve seen some chatter within the fan community that the attraction is now slower due to the lower height requirement. While the lower height requirement is true, there is no truth to the attraction running at a slower speed.
While watching the testing, we timed the vehicles as they moved through the attraction and found them to be moving at the same speed as videos from before the refurbishment. Because Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is a gravity-based roller coaster with no “launches”, timing the ride between lift hills provides for a great comparison. In terms of variables, I think the biggest one between testing and “before” is that the vehicles are not fully loaded during testing.
In short, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will still be The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness, now with a lower height requirement to welcome more guests!
Beyond the testing, we noticed that a lot of the effects were turned on this morning (but not all effects). We saw smoke coming out of a smokestack, and water was running through the queue. Here are a few photos from our visit to Magic Kingdom this morning.
In terms of a soft opening, we’re in a wait-and-see period right now. Construction of the walkways around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad appears nearly complete, and could wrap up any day now. That seems to be the biggest construction holdup at the moment. With continuous testing, we hope that Cast Members are getting their reps in and will be ready to reopen soon!
There has been no official announcement of soft openings or any formal previews. It could be a situation similar to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, where we’ll simply see the attraction open one day…or we may have to wait until May 3rd.
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!