Disney says permits will soon be filed to begin work on Magic Kingdom's 'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' expansion

Apr 04, 2024 in "Magic Kingdom"

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Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Blue Sky concept art

Posted: Thursday April 4, 2024 11:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In a recent presentation to invited reporters at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California, earlier this week, the company confirmed that plans are moving forward with the 'Beyond Big Thunder Mountain' expansion at Magic Kingdom.

Specifically, Michael Hundgen, VP, Walt Disney World Portfolio at Walt Disney Imagineering said that permits would soon be filed for preliminary work on the site. The plans will likely be Water Management District permits, typically required before large projects break ground.

The yellow area indicates the approximate area of the project

According to the Blue Sky concept unveiled by Parks head Josh D'Amaro, the new land behind Big Thunder Mountain at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom would include Disney animation IPs, including Coco, Encanto, and villains.

Beyond Big Thunder Mountain Blue Sky concept art

We expect to hear more about the Magic Kingdom expansion at the upcoming D23 Fan Event in August 2024.

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Tha Realest24 minutes ago

What is controversial about TSI?

yensidtlaw19693 hours ago

It's worth remembering, though, that it's now "Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island". Pirate elements were merely littered throughout the existing Tom Sawyer settings and references, not really in place of them. It felt at the time like the idea was to milk the Pirates franchise at Disneyland without completely stepping all over the toes of those who saw Tom Sawyer's Island as a Disneyland institution, rather than an effort to eliminate Tom Sawyer and his cohorts. That would have been very easy to do had they wanted to.

Gusey4 hours ago

They did retheme Tom Sawyer's Island at Disneyland to a pirate theme, I could see something similar happening to give MK's Tom Sawyer's Island a slightly different theme

TheDisneyParksfanC86 hours ago

DHS will probably get some sort of expansion, but It might not be until after BBTM and the AK expansions are wrapped up if what you are saying is true.

PREMiERdrum8 hours ago

It's not as much themeing as it is operations. WDI typically does just enough of the engineering and installation load so that they can legally be listed as the manufacturer of record. This gets them around regulations requiring parks to operate the machinery "as directed by the manufacturer." Vekoma and others are happy to sign away much of their liability, but this is an area where B&M reportedly won't budge.

DisneyDean978 hours ago

Agreed, the only time B&M was slightly flexible when it came to theming was Efteling's Baron 1898, and their custom supports for the lift hill.

Delta-79 hours ago

Does getting rid of controversial themes really warrant demolishing the river and island instead of just retheming? The big draw to TSI isn’t solely the 1800s setting - mainly it’s the vibe of exploration, activities like the barrel bridge, and finding all sorts of unusual hidden gems and Easter eggs such as those in the mystery mine. If Disney thinks the theme is a problem, why take away all these neat things entirely when they could just give a slight retheme? I could maybe see them give the island a Critter Country-esque retheme with an emphasis on wildlife. As for ROA, I guess the riverboat would still tie in with the New Orleans theme when it passes TBA.

Patcheslee10 hours ago

Wonder what RMC could do with it.

tanc10 hours ago

I just don't see how ROA can possibly exist given the current changes of the park. They are getting away from controversial themes, I'd even argue it's even worse than Splash's controversy. I just see it as a massive alleviation to all the crowds.

Delta-710 hours ago

Don’t touch ROA and Tom Sawyer’s!!! That island’s one of the few places in the park where you can just relax and get away from the stress. They should at least cut down on the river a little bit to make way for expansion like DL did. Besides, with new areas going in behind Big Thunder and potentially looping around to the Haunted Mansion, that’ll certainly alleviate congestion in a corner of the park, right??

DisDude2311 hours ago

I absolutely agree. FL is my least favorite park of the park for a few reasons but one of them is how crowded the area always feels. Feeling up ROA and freeing up all that space could open a lot of doors for whatever development they decide to do in the future and give that side of the park some much needed breathing room.

tanc12 hours ago

Villains land is all I could ask for, but it needs to be Fantasy Springs level of detail. Every possible ounce of imagination they can put in without cutting budget. I just don't know how feasible that is though. We know they can do it, it's just if they're willing to invest into it. Fantasy Springs I think practically costs as much as DisneySea in its entirety to build so it's going to be incredibly expensive. But BBTM has so much potential, MK could be the definitive castle park if they bring enough to the table I think. The walk ways at MK are getting so crowded that at this point, I think Tom Sawyer has to go. It could really alleviate crowding issues. It practically almost feels like a hazard with how many people crowd the streets sometimes.

ToTBellHop12 hours ago

I’ve never known them to be flexible enough to work with Disney’s theming demands. Even Universal has soured on B&M come over to Vekoma. (Intamin and Mack at UEU, right?).

Andrew2512 hours ago

I sincerely doubt Vekoma will do anything to harm their relationship with the mouse, especially over how many trains they run. GOTG and Tron are already designed with more than enough sufficient block zones to operate at Disney's desired efficiency. B&M has two newer family models that could lend themselves well to Disney projects actually... Penguin Trek at SWO is something I can see taking over Space Mountain with its ability to fit into compact spaces. 5 years ago I would have laughed at a B&M inside a Disney park, but they've been offering newer products now that can fit Disney's goals.