Last Chance to Ride Big Thunder Mountain, Kali River Rapids, and Gran Fiesta Tour Before Refurbishments Begin January 2025

1 day ago in "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad"

Posted: Friday January 3, 2025 11:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

If you're planning a visit to Walt Disney World soon, make time for three popular attractions before they close for refurbishment next week. Beginning January 6, 2025, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Kali River Rapids, and Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros will be temporarily unavailable as Disney prepares them for updates and maintenance.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — Magic Kingdom

Last Day to Ride: January 5, 2025
Reopening Timeline: 2026

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is heading into an extended closure for its most extensive refurbishment to date. The popular Frontierland coaster will return in 2026 with what Disney calls "a little bit of new magic," though specific details remain under wraps. Fans of the attraction will want to grab one last ride before the iconic "wildest ride in the wilderness" goes quiet for the long refurbishment.

Crane Deployed at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - December 17, 2024

Kali River Rapids — Disney's Animal Kingdom

Last Day to Ride: January 5, 2025
Expected Reopening: March 2025

This annual closure is typical for Kali River Rapids during the cooler months, as Disney uses the downtime to perform routine maintenance. No specific reopening date has been confirmed, but Disney expects the raft ride to be back in action sometime in March 2025. If you enjoy a thrilling river journey with splashes of adventure, now is your chance before the ride is temporarily off the itinerary.

Kali River Rapids overview

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros — EPCOT

Last Day to Ride: January 5, 2025
Reopening Date: March 15, 2025

Located inside the Mexico pavilion, this charming boat ride featuring José, Panchito, and Donald Duck is also set for a brief closure. Disney plans to reopen Gran Fiesta Tour on March 15, 2025. Fans of the Three Caballeros should take advantage of this last opportunity to enjoy the attraction before it closes for its scheduled refurbishment.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

View all current and upcoming Walt Disney World refurbishments

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MisterPenguin13 hours ago

No. Exhaustion comes from riding the Skyliner in Florida.

Markiewong19 hours ago

Interestingly the Big Thunder Mountain in Disneyland Paris also closes upcoming Monday for an extensive 6 month refurbishment, despite having a year long one only 6 years ago. I am curious if WDI is changing things to both rides at the same time.

ToTBellHop22 hours ago

Yes, from exhaustion after reading this thread.

Garyjames22023 hours ago

What’s all this about cranes Collapsing 🤷‍♂️

danlb_20001 day ago

So has the crane collapsed yet? ;)

wdwmagic1 day ago

New Notice of Commencement for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Suggests Refurbishment Timeline https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/big-thunder-mountain-railroad/news/03jan2025-new-notice-of-commencement-for-big-thunder-mountain-railroad-suggests-refurbishment-timeline.htm

sedati1 day ago

Would love to know what the details were for the rumored Lone Ranger retheme.

danlb_20001 day ago

... or simply didn't have a reason to. A tower crane is more expensive to setup so they probably wouldn't use one unless there was a good reason.

HauntedPirate1 day ago

Ain’t happening. Recall that Mrs Bueller lost the damn Vermont deal because of Jeanie, who got arrested for filing a false police report when it was really Mr. Rooney who should have been arrested for trespassing, at a minimum. Wait… what are we talking about?

JoeCamel1 day ago

You don't have to build a base. When they built the ride, they use the same type of crane. Maybe they can't build a base in that place.

osian1 day ago

I think, aesthetically, it needs a drop tower bolted to the side.

JMcMahonEsq1 day ago

What frequent crane accidents? Do you understand the shear number of construction projects going on across the US, let along the world, that all employ cranes of some form? Also what does common sense have to do with understanding the load/wind/pick range and other capacities of heavy construction equipment, and under what conditions one would be stable and when they are not? Do you have the education, training, or experience to determine from that picture what make/model that crane is. How the surrounding ground/pad has been prepped in order to determine if the set up is proper and stable? Such factors and determinations have nothing to do with common sense. They required specific training and education which i am guessing you don't have. I mean this is a message board, I get it. Talk about Disney, talk about vacations, but leave engineering and construction standards to those who are qualified to make them, instead of spouting uneducated, unsupported nonsense.

splah2 days ago

what are the benefits of using the type of crane they chose vs a tower crane?

dmc4932 days ago

Procuring cranes for a lot of my company's projects is a part of my job and while collapses/incidents make big headlines (rightfully so), there are thousands of large cranes that operate without incident across the country. Trust me, the insurance policies and liabilities surrounding cranes have been heavily scrutinized over the last few years. A big crane isn't a liability as long as it's operated properly and inspected regularly :)