Another Opening Day Attraction Could Be Going Away For A While at Disney World. A themed land revolving around the ‘Cars’ franchise has been announced for Frontierland in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Furthermore, a Villians Land is coming Beyond Big Thunder Mountain. We are going to be losing Tom Sawyer Island, and Rivers of America, and we may be down another opening day attraction for years.
Walt Disney World Railroad travels around the perimeter of Magic Kingdom on a 1.5 journey that takes 20 minutes from beginning to end. 4 Locomotives have served guests since October 1st, 1971. Recently reopened after many years of being out of service while Tron Lightcycle Run was under construction, there is a possibility that Disney World Railroad may be down again for an extended time. So far there is no official word.
About the permits recently filed locally: The Rivers of America project at Disney World is currently in its early stages, requiring extensive planning and permitting to ensure environmental compliance. A crucial aspect of this planning involves addressing stormwater displacement and the establishment of construction laydown yards.
Given the low-lying terrain to the northwest of the Rivers of America, additional work is necessary to create suitable gravel laydown yards. These yards will be used to stage construction equipment, materials, and heavy machinery. To facilitate these operations, Disney must obtain water management permits from the South Florida Water Management District.
Reopened back on December 23rd, 2022 after a four-year closure that saw a new tunnel built and a complete track replacement take place the railroad sits right in the middle of all the new construction that is about to take place around the Frontierland section of the park. This section of the railroad has some of the best scenery with the Native American camps, Elk, Deer, Moose, snakes, views of the Liberty Belle, and Tom Sawyer Island.
Furthermore, it passed by one of my favorite scenes that reminds me of classic Mississippi River paddle boats, is the old man sitting on his cabin porch with the animatronic dog.
Do not get us wrong, we are not trying to stir up controversy. The Railroad is my favorite attraction. It is a childhood nostalgia trip for me. I was in the parks daily back in 2022 almost daily keeping an eye out for the day I would hear the Steam Trains coming down the tracks once again. I can guarantee you, that I will be doing that again if the train goes out of commission for an extended period of time during Villains Land construction and the removal of Tom Sawyer and Rivers of America.
What do you think? Are we going to lose the Walt Disney World Railroad while construction takes place? Are you a fan of riding the tracks?
