Disneyland Shuts Down Fan-Favorite Ride for Refurbishments

A popular Disneyland ride has been shut down for a prolonged period of time to allow for refurbishments. Disneyland's official website has posted a notice that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been closed for refurbishment. No exact timeline was given for the refurbishments, but Disneyland's website notes that it is expected to reopen in fall 2021. Visitors to the park spotted scaffolding around many of the structures surrounding the line queue, so this could be a standard sprucing up of the attraction as opposed to any sort of significant maintenance. 

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first opened at Disneyland in 1979 and replaced a more sedate railroad ride called Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. Versions of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened at Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris, all of which have similar layouts but with a few minor differences. Notably, the Disneyland version of the ride was shut down for nearly 14 months back in 2014 to allow for the replacement of the ride's track, as well as new trains, new scenery, and new effects. The Magic Kingdom version of the ride was recently shut down for just over a week for a short refurbishment project. A bigger refurbishment was scheduled for the Magic Kingdom version of the ride during winter of this year, but was scrapped when the park re-opened from its COVID-19 induced shutdown.

Disneyland is currently celebrating its Halloween season, with the entire park decked out in Halloween decorations. In addition to Disneyland bringing back its annual Oogie Boogie Bash, the park is also continuing to bring in new Marvel characters to its Avengers Campus, with Shang-Chi, Death Dealer, and Agatha Harkness all making appearances to reflect the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe storyline. The park is still ramping up from a lengthy COVID-19 shutdown, with some popular features (like character meet and greets) still limited. However, shows and performers (such as the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet) are now returning to the park. Disneyland is also bringing back its Festival of Holidays starting in November and running through January 9th.