Earlier today, we made our way out to Magic Kingdom to hop aboard Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to see what has changed since the ride reopened a week ago. The biggest change that we noticed was that Disney appears to have completed the installation of panels on massive walls meant to block views of the nearby Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land construction sites. Here’s the latest!
Panels Added to Massive Walls to Block Views of Piston Peak & Villains Land Construction
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened on May 3, 2026, after a lengthy 16-month refurbishment that included new track, updated ride vehicles, enhanced Rainbow Caverns, and a lowered height requirement of 38 inches. While the ride experience itself received notable upgrades, one of the most striking visual changes guests will notice on their first post-reopening ride has nothing to do with the attraction itself; it’s the enormous “wooden” construction walls that now line much of the ride’s exterior.
Massive Walls Surround the Ride’s Perimeter
Disney has installed a series of very tall wooden-paneled construction walls along multiple sections of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride experience, including areas visible from the queue, the lift hills, and the low-lying sections of track closest to the former Rivers of America site. The walls stretch across a significant portion of the attraction’s perimeter, forming a barrier between guests and the active Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land construction zones.
The walls have a rough-hewn wood aesthetic that, while not fully immersive, does blend reasonably well with Big Thunder Mountain’s Western theming compared to a standard beige construction wall.
Here’s a look at the walls as seen from various vantage points during the ride.
What the Walls Are Blocking
Beyond the walls, active work is underway on two major Magic Kingdom expansion projects. Piston Peak National Park, the Cars-themed expansion of Frontierland, and Villains Land are both being developed on the land formerly occupied by the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, which closed in July 2025. The cleared area is a massive, open construction zone with heavy equipment, dirt mounds, and staged infrastructure.
In several spots along the ride, the walls don’t fully conceal the construction. From the top of the lift hill, guests can look over the walls and get a clear view of the dirt-covered site. The queue area also offers excellent views over the wall line into the cleared land, where concrete pipes, equipment, and early-stage infrastructure work are visible.
Why Did Disney Install the Walls?
The walls serve a dual purpose. The most obvious explanation is limiting views into the construction zone for show-quality reasons. Disney generally prefers that guests not ride an attraction while staring at an active job site. A secondary and likely equally important reason is guest safety. Active construction sites generate dust, debris, and unpredictable activity. The walls create a physical and visual buffer between riders and crews working in the zone adjacent to the attraction.
In fact, if this is the final product as it relates to construction walls, there are still areas where you can view the construction site from the ride. The fact that the visual blocking is imperfect makes me more inclined to believe that these walls were installed more for safety, as the projects continue to grow in the coming years.
It is worth noting that the walls do not block every view of the construction. The highest vantage points on the ride remain open to the sky and the construction zone beyond. This appears to be an unavoidable concession given the height of the roller coaster relative to any wall that could realistically be built.
Other low areas of the ride benefit more from the construction walls. As seen in the photos below, it’s actually easier for guests to see under the panels on the wall (for now) than it is to see over the wall.
A Temporary Fix With a Long Timeline
The walls are expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future, given the scale of both the Piston Peak and Villains Land projects, which are still in early construction phases. Disney has not announced specific opening timelines for either land, meaning guests riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will likely be looking at these walls for years to come.
For now, the walls are a visible reminder that Magic Kingdom is in the middle of one of the most ambitious expansion projects in the park’s history. While they are not exactly a scenic backdrop for one of Disney’s most beloved roller coasters, they do mark the edge of something exciting coming to Frontierland’s neighbor in the years ahead.
For everything we know about the Cars-themed expansion to Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland, check out our dedicated project page below!
For everything we know about the upcoming Villains Land at Magic Kingdom, check out our dedicated Villains Land 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!