Walt Disney International doesn’t have any brand-new rides opening in 2026, however there are a number of large reimaginings & reopenings, highlighted through Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad getting back from its year-plus closure. Enthusiasts had been anxiously watching for its opening date, and we’re going to take a position on that right here in keeping with contemporary aerial footage & development.
As fundamental background, Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad closed for a long refurbishment mission on January sixth of remaining yr, that means it’s already been down for over a complete yr. On the time, they just indicated that wildest journey within the desolate tract is deliberate to reopen in 2026 with just a little little bit of “new magic.”
In December, Disney after all published the outlet season for Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad as a part of Walt Disney International’s 2026 Calendar of Occasions. In that, Disney indicated that Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens in Spring 2026, with “a crevasse-deep to mountain-top refurbishment” along with the aforementioned new magic.
For the primary ~6 months of the mission, development crews raced across the mountain and the tempo of the mission used to be in reality spectacular. Observe alternative befell at lightning (thunder?) pace, showing a way of urgency that we hadn’t noticed shortly. That ended in overly-optimistic expectancies that the journey would reopen forward of time table.
Issues have gave the impression slower since. Giant Thunder trains had been biking since November, however as we cautioned on the time when lovers began getting occupied with the possibilities of a “imaginable” early Christmas go back, that didn’t sign that the reopening used to be drawing close. On the contrary, we warned that we’ve been down this highway ahead of. There’s all the time pleasure when journey checking out begins, and it all the time ends up in unrealistic expectancies a couple of untimely opening.
For reference, TRON Lightcycle Run began push-pull checking out with a journey envelope automobile roughly 13 months ahead of that appeal opened. This will have to move a lot sooner than TRON, however our level is this level is tedious and time-consuming, and for excellent explanation why. It’s crucial to verify protection requirements are met and the appeal obtains operational clearance.
Some other instance is Check Observe, which began its journey checking out over 4 months ahead of the journey reopened from its refurbishment. That’s additionally no longer an excellent instance, since Check Observe didn’t have its monitor changed. Display scenes had been the majority of the paintings, so it’s no longer an ideal benchmark on the subject of automobile biking.
Giant Thunder isn’t a regimen refurbishment and even “simplest” a reimagining to the display scenes. Disney necessarily rebuilt the curler coaster on peak of its thematic basis, and it’ll wish to move throughout the paces of a brand new curler coaster because of this.
Now not simplest that, however there’s additionally the adjoining Piston Height Automobiles Land development. Even though a fully separate mission, the limits of that web site and BTMRR had been blurred. That is glaring from the aerial footage beneath, as there in reality isn’t any demarcation between Piston Height and Giant Thunder at this level.
A big walkway between Haunted Mansion and Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad will shape the northern boundary Piston Height, offering a trail between the ones two present sights and a connection to Villains Land. The newest aerials additionally appear to signify the obscure contours of this trail.
The walkway without a doubt is probably not finished (and even began) ahead of Giant Thunder reopens, fortunately. It wouldn’t make sense to take action, as that might bring to an end get admission to to the Automobiles development web site.
Along with that pathway, Walt Disney International has additionally indicated that the landscapes of Piston Height and Giant Thunder might be mixed in combination. See the Piston Height Nationwide Park Amusing Map above, which presentations quite a lot of geysers and prismatic springs round Giant Thunder. All of this will likely wish to seamlessly combine the 2 spaces.
With all of that during thoughts, it’s the most recent aerial development footage by the use of friend-of-the-site @bioreconstruct that caused me to after all write this submit. Whilst we’ve mentioned one of the above and beneath in different updates on Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad, I used to be nonetheless shocked through the present state of BTMRR as of mid-February 2026. Right here’s a glance:
As you’ll be able to see from the footage, the walkway round Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad continues to be torn out. There’s in reality no appeal go out to talk of. Clearly, this trail must exist ahead of the journey can reopen, after which development partitions wish to be put in alongside the threshold of it.
That a part of the mission is more than likely more effective than it could seem. Our expectation is that the development partitions for Piston Height will press beautiful just about BTMRR, with just a slender go out hall funneling visitors again to Frontierland. You’ll roughly see the place this wall move in one of the above pictures.
Extra relating to is simply how a lot scaffolding continues to be up all over the mountain itself, and the way paintings past take a look at & alter of the curler coaster itself nonetheless seems ongoing. It kind of feels just like the tempo of labor has bogged down, and the sense of urgency is long gone.
It’s virtually as though the BTMRR mission staff is in one thing of a preserving trend till Piston Height progresses. I don’t know whether or not that’s the case, simply to be transparent. It simply turns out like there’s been much less going down round Giant Thunder. Disney additionally hasn’t shared a lot in the best way of updates.
I may well be studying an excessive amount of into this. Final summer time, I used to be concerned with Check Observe and wrote an eerily an identical submit to this. Most effective 10 days later, Walt Disney International introduced a reopening date. Issues got here in combination speedy in the house stretch of that mission, and it wasn’t the primary time.
Pavement and landscaping steadily occurs briefly, remodeling what seems like a development web site that’s some distance clear of opening right into a completed, guest-ready product relatively speedy. Even so, it does no longer appear to be Giant Thunder is not up to a month clear of opening.
For months, we’ve been pointed to mid-March because the most likely goal time-frame for Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad. This used to be because of more than one primary development allows with mission expiration dates indexed as March 13, 2026.
Having a drop-dead date of March 13, 2026 makes easiest sense; that’s a Friday that usually aligns with the beginning of Osceola and Orange County pupil recesses. Clearly, it is a long development mission and person who’s topic to switch. That’s the beginning of the center of the Spring Destroy season, and the month that follows might be a number of the busiest stretches of 2026. Having Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad open through March 13, 2026 is a most likely function for WDW.
Or quite, perhaps it used to be? If we’re assuming a Check Observe timeline right here, Giant Thunder is already in the back of. That reopening date used to be introduced June sixteenth for a July twenty second go back, and a an identical cadence would imply that BTMRR would reopen in overdue March 2026 if its go back had been introduced this coming week.
There’s not anything dictating that level of a buffer, even though. Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad is being handled as a refurbishment versus a reimagining, that means that it could no longer get the preview duration of Check Observe 3.0, in spite of its long closure.
As an alternative, it may well be extra like the hot Frozen Ever After mission, which had its reopening scheduled just a week upfront. That one wasn’t even introduced; it used to be simply added to the calendar. After which it ended up quietly cushy opening an afternoon early.
Frozen Ever After used to be additionally a far shorter closure, however it kind of feels like a minimum of a relatively an identical tale of racing towards the clock to get a mission completed ahead of a hectic duration (mid-winter wreck vs. spring wreck).
All of it is a long-winded means of claiming “we don’t know” when Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen.
Clearly, that’s not information. On the other hand, we’re sharing this replace as a result of we’ve been beautiful steadfast about that March 13, 2026 goal date for over a yr (that’s how lengthy it has gave the impression on allows!). We did warning {that a} goal date used to be simply that, and delays steadily happen (precisely that has came about with multiple BTMRR refurbishment at Disneyland).
In accordance with the ones new aerial development footage, I’m now skeptical of Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad reopening through March 13, 2026. That is mainly your heads up of that, so you’ll be able to alter your expectancies accordingly.
As for a extra life like reopening date for Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad, the solution continues to be someday all over spring wreck. Easter is on April 5, 2026, because of this the week ahead of might be particularly busy. However so too will all 3 weeks previous to that.
Having Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad open all over that reach will nonetheless be the objective if in any respect imaginable, and I may just see Walt Disney International forgoing the fanfare of a drawn out preview duration and cushy opening (a los angeles Check Observe) if it approach having Giant Thunder again on-line ahead of Easter. If no longer, and the reopening slips into mid-April and even Might 2026, that may building up the percentages of a lengthier lead-up.
One day, it could make sense to carry the reopening of Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad till the beginning of Cool Children’ Summer season on Might 26, 2026 and make that extra of a blockbuster ‘match.’ Technically, spring ends on June 21, 2026, so Walt Disney International has quite a few time ahead of if truth be told “lacking” the BTMRR closing date! We’ll stay you posted.
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Your Ideas
When do you are expecting Giant Thunder Mountain Railroad to reopen? What do you consider the long journey refurbishment/reimagining? Hope there’s extra “new magic” past what’s already been teased? Do you settle or disagree with our review? Any questions we will be able to can help you solution? Listening to your comments–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas beneath within the feedback!
