Walt Disney World is gearing as much as start development on the Piston Peak ‘Vehicles’ space this month, with backstage land clearing already underway. The most recent aerial images reveal an enormous expanse that’ll be used for website prep, area places of work, and, finally, future growth that’s actually ‘Past Large Thunder.’
This comes towards the backdrop of the in-park areas that Piston Peak Nationwide Park will exchange completely closing in lower than every week. Walt Disney World introduced that the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Sq. Riverboat will all shut on July 7, 2025. The final day to expertise any of those points of interest and areas at Magic Kingdom might be July 6, 2025.
Together with that, “shuttle mode” operations of the Walt Disney World Railroad will start on July 7, 2025. That’s additionally when the Frontierland Station will shut on a short lived foundation for Vehicles and Villains Land development. There’s been some confusion about why Frontierland Station wants to shut throughout this venture, however the aerial pictures ought to make that clear.
Whereas we’ve seen work during the last couple of months already beginning backstage, that’s solely what’s publicly seen from Floridian Manner, the part of highway to the northwest of Magic Kingdom. It’s been troublesome to discern simply how far alongside progress is on this space nearer to on-stage areas and the guest-facing aspect of the Rivers of America.
All of this website prep work is a mandatory prerequisite to demolishing and filling within the Rivers of America, so we’ve been curious to know simply how a lot progress has been made. Frankly, we’ve questioned whether or not the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island wanted to shut this quickly–because it appeared just like the backstage work would take loads longer and will doubtlessly permit the guest-facing areas to stay open longer. Properly, now now we have some solutions.
These come courtesy of eye within the sky images from friend-of-the-site bioreconstruct, the go-to supply for aerial theme park images (a extremely really useful comply with who graciously supplied the helicopter photographs right here)…
Let’s begin with a high-level establishing shot.
When you’re questioning what you’re taking a look at, it’s Magic Kingdom (far proper) and the realm to the northwest of the park. The Magic Kingdom aspect of the picture reveals Frontierland and the Rivers of America, making the remainder of the photograph the realm that’s (actually!) ‘Past Large Thunder.’
There’s plenty of land cleared within the images. The areas nearer the parks might be laydown yards supporting the development of Vehicles and Villains Lands (extra on these in a bit). The far left is a brand new retention pond that’s being created for displaced stormwater capability misplaced as a result of infill of the Rivers of America. As a bonus, the center reveals the brand new routing of Floridian Manner–that’s a significant multi-year venture we haven’t actually lined as a result of roads don’t appear to get the individuals going (in a puffed up sense–they do get individuals entering into a literal sense).
If a few of this sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of we’ve lined it extensively as a part of the allowing course of for this venture over the course of the final ~11 months. All of that is exactly what the State of Florida was involved with as they made Imagineering file, make clear, modify, and so forth. the venture plans. It wasn’t over the substance of the additions–they weren’t scorching and bothered by eye automobiles in Frontierland, it was all about water administration.
As a refresher, the allow for all of this was issued by the South Florida Water Administration District (SFWMD) in Winter 2025, giving Imagineering till February 17, 2030 to redevelop the realm. The underlying SFWMD allow is large in scale and scope, encompassing over 300 acres round Magic Kingdom and past.
That’s regardless of the precise venture website solely being about 14 acres. What we see in these aerial images is the impression to the opposite ~286 different acres that won’t be residence to Lightning McQueen, Mater and their friends.
Taking a more in-depth and extra overhead aerial view, we will see one full gravel laydown yard and a portion of one other that might be adjoining to the venture website. These are in low-lying areas to the northwest of the Rivers of America, necessitating extra work to ascertain usable gravel laydown yards within the first place.
There might be three gravel laydown yards in complete across the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom. Two might be positioned past the berm, which means exterior of Magic Kingdom visitor areas, with the third laydown yard inside Magic Kingdom alongside the northwestern banks of what’s at the moment the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards might be used for development gear, heavy equipment, supplies staging, earth-moving, and so forth.
Right here’s one other have a look at the laydown yards from the SFWMD allowing for the sake of comparability:
A majority of these staging areas are widespread for large-scale development tasks at Walt Disney World. It may be shocking that the gravel laydown yards are like triple the dimensions of the particular growth space, however that’s not unusual–particularly since this isn’t a single uninterrupted staging location.
There have been comparable laydown yards for all kinds of main growth tasks, from New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom to Pandora – World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom. The one for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land was equally large, dwarfing the dimensions of the growth itself.
What’s actually attention-grabbing about these staging areas is that they may lead to land that was beforehand “marginally appropriate” for development to turn out to be “appropriate” for constructing. Which means that the staging areas themselves could possibly be development websites sooner or later. That is truly one thing touched upon by the 2045 Complete Plan that was simply accepted by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Whereas the headline is the attention-grabbing Approval of a Fifth Gate at Walt Disney World, the true story is extra prone to be lodge improvement–however extra on this in a bit.
Again to the aerial images, now we have a view that’s primarily behind Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
As you would possibly recall, Walt Disney Imagineering filed development permits to put in trailers with an handle comparable to a backstage space behind Large Thunder Mountain Railroad and Tiana’s Bayou Journey in Magic Kingdom. Imagineering area places of work and parking will devour an enormous portion of this explicit laydown yard.
That is very comparable permits for a trailer park and staging space behind Kali River Rapids in help of the Tropical Americas venture final spring. In addition they repurposed the previous Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser behind Disney’s Hollywood Studios into area places of work for the Monstropolis growth there.
Past the laydown yards that’ll help precise development, there’s the water administration factor. As we’ve mentioned beforehand, it is a mandatory prerequisite for starting substantive development–when waterways are going to be rerouted or water is displaced in Florida, the primary section of a venture is addressing that misplaced stormwater capability.
Rivers of America connects to a canal that runs out to Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. You possibly can see this within the above photograph–or if you stroll from Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian (it’s the bridge resulting in backstage storage of the Electrical Water Pageant). Runoff would circulation into the Rivers of America, then these lakes.
Mainly, Disney wants someplace for the displaced stormwater capability misplaced from infilling the Rivers of America. This includes creating a brand new retention pond for water administration that’s roughly three-quarters of a mile to the northwest of Magic Kingdom. It’s probably that the bottom eliminated when digging the brand new pond might be used for filling the Rivers of America. Circle of life and all that.
We’ve truly seen one thing comparable with the TTC over time. When you’ve ever questioned why there’s a perpetual pile of grime there, it’s as a result of that’s been moved there after digging retention ponds–it’s then used for the Floridian Manner tasks. I don’t know why it’s in the midst of TTC, however they’ve decided that’s a great staging website for no matter cause.
One factor these aerial images actually underscore is the blessing of dimension at Walt Disney World. As somebody as soon as mentioned, the Florida Undertaking accommodates “sufficient land right here to carry all of the concepts and plans we will presumably think about.” Clever phrases.
You would possibly have a look at these pictures and shake your head that Disney is opting to exchange the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island after they might as a substitute merely construct past the berm–making the land actually ‘Past Large Thunder’ as initially promised, as a substitute of the laydown yards in that house. You would possibly surprise why Walt Disney World opted for this method. All honest questions and considerations.
The perfect clarification is effectivity. One factor Imagineering has pressured when explaining its upcoming slate of tasks is that they needed to stretch budgets so far as attainable. (Usually talking, it is a good factor; Imagineering has a deserved popularity for spending like a drunken sailor.)
Given land suitability (or lack thereof), it’s probably that prices would’ve exploded in the event that they construct the brand new lands within the present laydown yards and the laydown yards past these. It’s additionally completely believable that they did additional surveying and realized that wasn’t even an possibility.
One other risk is that Walt Disney World didn’t wish to make Magic Kingdom too giant. I haven’t heard this talked about by anybody, however I view this as an under-discussed risk. One factor we talked about repeatedly with the previous era of lodge tasks is how visitors don’t like sprawling resorts.
“An excessive amount of strolling” is the single-biggest grievance about many inns, and it wouldn’t shock me within the least if this additionally extends to the parks. I don’t doubt for a second that Imagineering pitched a model of those plans that retained the Rivers of America and considerably expanded Magic Kingdom into territory ‘Past Large Thunder,’ however administration pushed for a extra consolidated footprint “attributable to visitor suggestions” about foot ache or no matter.
To be abundantly clear, this isn’t to excuse or clarify away the ultimate plans. From the outset, we totally anticipated Tom Sawyer Island to turn out to be Tom Sawyer Peninsula–that’s one compromise resolution. One other could be constructing Vehicles Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios within the parking zone, adjoining to Monstropolis–that’s one other different.
Whereas I admire effectivity and Imagineering being extra cost-conscious for as soon as, I can’t assist however shake the thought that it appears like Walt Disney World is designing its “growth” plans as in the event that they’re in space-constrained Anaheim. In the meantime, the tasks for Disneyland are precise expansions. It’s just like the Freaky Friday reboot no one requested for.
(Sorry, however I hate the fan suggestion of Vehicles changing Tomorrowland Speedway; I’d actually reasonably have this than that. Tomorrowland Speedway ought to type the eventual basis of a hybrid Fantasyland/Tomorrowland growth a la the Magnificence and the Beast and Baymax space at Tokyo Disneyland.)
The above aerial photograph reveals each of the prevailing clearings for future laydown yards, together with what’s going to turn out to be the third laydown yard as soon as that land is cleared. The ultimate laydown yard might be nestled between the backstage roads, canal, and railroad tracks. It’s the one that will be seen from the Rivers of America, if the realm have been staying open past July 7.
As ought to be clear from the aerial images and website plans, the railroad tracks might be between the gravel laydown yards and the development website on Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America. That is why we anticipated that the Walt Disney World Railroad would have to be taken out of service to facilitate work and vehicular site visitors forwards and backwards throughout the tracks from the staging space to the positioning.
As a substitute, we’re getting shuttle mode. There have been some skepticism and complaints about this from Walt Disney World followers, however it’s completely the best-case state of affairs. Allow us to not neglect that the Walt Disney World Railroad closed for the development of TRON Lightcycle Run in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. It went down on December 3, 2018 and didn’t reopen till December 22, 2022 after being closed for 1,481 days.
Not less than at the beginning, that venture was much less impactful to the WDW Railroad than this one–there was plenty of work that would’ve seemingly been achieved whereas the trains continued to run. Taking the Walt Disney World Railroad down below the pretext of development provided the corporate operational cost-savings. It additionally resulted in minimal pushback from followers because it was visibly apparent that constructing the curler coaster interfered with the railroad. At minimal, they might’ve finished shuttle mode then. Let’s take the win that they selected to take action this time, as a substitute of closing the WDW Railroad fully for an additional 5 years.
It’s most likely value declaring that we’re not out of the woods but with an entire Walt Disney World Railroad closure. Simply throughout section one of many venture whereas the Rivers of America is crammed in, Tom Sawyer Island is demolished, and Piston Peak Vehicles land is constructed.
Long run, the development of Villains Land will virtually actually necessitate a closure. Not solely is there the identical concern with staging to website entry, however the Villains Land will truly be constructed straight alongside the Walt Disney World Railroad. Whereas it’s attainable this new land manages to remain contained in the berm, we wouldn’t financial institution on it.
That might additionally imply {that a} monitor re-routing is critical to accommodate Villains Land. Extra optimistically, there could possibly be one other station added on the far again of Magic Kingdom, about midway between the prevailing Frontierland and Storybook Circus stations. Getting tremendous speculative, having an in-park lodge with a railroad station could be savvy.
This might merely imply this space is an growth pad for the Villains Land. Ought to it’s properly obtained, Walt Disney World would possibly greenlight one other attraction to be constructed on this house. That will surely make sense, particularly with Villains Land being extra of an open idea land as a substitute of one other single mental property growth.
From my perspective, the in-park lodge overlooking the Villains Land might be extra probably. To be clear, that is purely speculative–I’ve heard zero credible rumors a few lodge being a part of the ‘Past Large Thunder’ venture. I simply know the way Walt Disney World administration salivates on the prospect of extra high-dollar lodge stock, and this would definitely verify that field–and in a extremely fascinating location that comports with the newly-released CFTOD plan.
An in-park lodge strikes me as a method to ‘promote’ the venture internally, because the room capability could be extremely beneficial and assist recoup the prices of the growth. The truth is, there’s already just about a blueprint for this: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, which can also be behind that park and has a lodge overlooking the brand new land. Despite the fact that such a Magic Kingdom lodge wouldn’t be on the monorail line, it might most likely dethrone Grand Floridian because the flagship Walt Disney World resort. On the upside, if there’s a lodge venture connected to Villains Land, it gained’t turn out to be one of many notorious section 2 tasks that’s confined solely to espresso desk books.
Finally, it’s good to see these ‘Past Large Thunder’ tasks kicking into excessive gear–and to know that Walt Disney World didn’t simply decide to shut the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island this summer time to save lots of on working bills. From the above aerial images, it’s very clear that severe work has already occurred, and the following step is beginning on-stage demolition and infill.
Whereas we will actually debate whether or not Vehicles ought to be changing the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island within the first place, it’s good to see them transferring in an expeditious method regardless. As I’ve talked about elsewhere, it might be worse to begin all of this just for delays and funds cuts to show this into the Magic Kingdom Filth Pit for the following 5 years. We already endured that at EPCOT for one aggressively mediocre (to place it charitably) consequence; we can’t have the identical at Magic Kingdom.
These Vehicles and Villains land tasks want to be residence runs. They can’t be something lower than unbelievable. It could be tragic for Disney to sit down on its palms for just a few years, solely to have one of the best a part of the venture–Villains Land–fall by as a result of delays. The second section of Disney tasks is notorious for by no means taking place, and that’s normally as a result of work doesn’t begin till the primary section is open. I’m glad that isn’t taking place right here.
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Your Ideas
Ideas on Disney already beginning land clearing for the huge laydown yards behind Magic Kingdom? Excited or disillusioned that the Piston Peak Nationwide Park is changing Rivers of America? Want Walt Disney World remembered its ‘blessing of dimension’ when greenlighting these tasks? Provided that that is going to occur regardless at this level, do you hope it’s full steam forward so we don’t need to endure a repeat of the Big EPCOT Filth Pit fiasco? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even if you disagree with us—is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
