Good afternoon from Magic Kingdom, where the construction walls in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have been removed. This is the final major hurdle for the possibility of a soft opening for The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. In this article, we’ll take a look at the recent change at the attraction’s entrance, followed by a discussion on the possibility of a last-minute soft opening.
Will Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Soft Open at Magic Kingdom?
One of the last major logistical hurdles for the reopening of any attraction is the removal of construction walls and equipment. Overnight, Walt Disney World removed the construction walls in front of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as we draw nearer to a May 3rd official opening.
In terms of the likelihood of a soft opening, we’re not confident that it’ll happen. Unlike Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, which enjoyed a lengthy test-and-adjust period leading into a formalized Cast Member preview, there has been no such movement at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
In fact, Disney has formal Cast Member previews on the books for both Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Across America. There were never any such plans for Big Thunder.
Beyond that, there were some last-minute punch list items that required construction crews to remain on site at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad longer than they likely planned. We noticed once such issue when the Lightning Lane tappoints were installed and then removed not too long ago. Earlier this afternoon, we saw painting and other touchups taking place in the queue – not a great sign for a soft opening.
That said, the attraction itself looks to be ready to go. We’ve seen multi-train operations taking place for some time now, and Frontierland Cast Members have been riding the classic coaster for a couple of weeks.
If we had to guess, a soft opening today (May 1st) would be unlikely, but a soft opening tomorrow could be quite possible. As with any soft opening, the attraction could open and then close at any time. It’s unlikely that a soft opening would be publicized on the My Disney Experience app.
When it reopens, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will come with some new magic. The attraction has been closed since January 2025 to allow for a full roller coaster track replacement. Beyond that, Imagineers have made some additional upgrades to the ride:
- 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
- New finale scene featuring a mother lode of gold!
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!