A BIG Lightning Lane change has hit the Magic Kingdom, and it’s switching up the most effective Lightning Lane strategy for the park.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
After a refurbishment that lasted well over a year, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened on May 3rd!
The “Wildest Ride in the Wilderness” reopened with updated tracks and trains that “preserve the attraction’s classic storytelling and trademark hootin’ an’ hollerin’ energy” while improving the ride experience with new show scenes, including a take on the classic Rainbow Caverns sequence from The Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland, as well as a reworked finale. These changes — and a “comprehensive review from their safety teams” —have even allowed Disney to lower the ride’s height requirement from 40 inches to 38 inches.
The new ride vehicles!
All of that added together is going to add to some massive crowds coming to Frontierland. On top of that, Big Thunder Mountain is NOT currently offered as part of Early Entry at the Magic Kingdom, as that hotel guest perk will remain available only in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland for now. While the coaster won’t be part of Early Entry, it WILL be offered as part of the Magic Kingdom’s Lightning Lane Multi Pass Tier 1 offerings (along with Space Mountain, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, and The Jungle Cruise).
Crowds at the Lightning Lane for Big Thunder Mountain before it closed in 2025.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass allows guests to plan ahead of their visit and choose up to 3 Multi Pass experiences – One Tier 1 and two Tier 2 options at Magic Kingdom – and arrival windows in a theme park each day. Disney hotel guests can begin booking Lightning Lanes 7 days before their arrival, 4 days earlier than day guests, giving them an advantage in trying for a Big Thunder Mountain Lightning Lane.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
So, if a hotel guest can snag a Big Thunder Lightning Lane, we’d advise trying for slightly later in the day, then they can head to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland to knock out those rides during Early Entry, then head to Frontierland closer to their Lightning Lane window opening. On the other hand, day guests should arguably shoot for an earlier Lightning Lane to try and knock the ride off as early as possible. Hotel guests or day guests who didn’t score a Lightning Lane should instead line up as close to Frontierland as possible and (safely) rush to the ride as quickly as possible once the rope drops.
©Disney
With Big Thunder Mountain finally back in the Magic Kingdom’s stable of attractions, the best way to approach the park’s Lightning Lane strategy is changing. Stay tuned to DFB for more on the Magic Kingdom.
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It wasn’t an option under the Tier 1 when I tried to book my LL mulit pass yesterday. I don’t think it’s available yet as LL until the hype dies down?
So far I haven’t seen BTM being available and I’ve checked multiple times a day since Sunday.