UPDATE December 24 – It is official, the Walt Disney World Railroad has reopened at the Magic Kingdom! Disney announced on December 22 that the Walt Disney World Railroad would return this holiday season and yesterday (December 23) it officially reopened to adoring fans after being shuttered for four years.
According to the official website here are the opening times for the holiday season:
- December 24 – 29: 9:00AM to 6:00PM
- December 30 – 31: 9:00AM to 4:00PM
- January 1 – onwards: 9:00AM to 6:00PM
These times are subject to change so be sure to check the official website or My Disney Experience App for up to date information.
We are thrilled to finally see the Walt Disney World Railroad open again and hope everyone has a fantastic time enjoying this iconic attraction over the holiday season and beyond.
December 23 – Disney has now confirmed that The Walt Disney World Railroad will reopen “this holiday season”. It is set to return with a completely refreshed track looping the park, and an all-new voice to bring guests into the beloved stories they encounter as they travel from one magical land to the next.
When we heard the recent rumor that the Walt Disney World Railroad would reopen on January 1, 2023 we couldn’t quite believe it. However, althought the exact date hasn’t yet been confirmed we now know for certain that it will be happening very soon. To celebrate the news that the Walt Disney World Railroad will reopen this holiday season, Disney has just released an official video on Instagram of the Walt Disney World Railroad in all its glory traveling around the park past Big Thunder Mountain and also through the TRON Lightcycle / Run tunnel.
Cast member previews have already begun and we now just eagerly await confirmation of the exact date for the grand and long awaited reopening from Disney for this iconic attraction and we will be sure to bring you news as soon as it is announced. Until then, sit back and enjoy the video below.
December 22 – After the rumor that The Walt Disney World Railroad will reopen on January 1, the excitement continued yesterday for guests at Disney’s Magic Kingdom as three of the engines were seen at the park. Wdwnt reported seeing Roy O. Disney, Lilly Belle, and Walter E. Disney with audio being tested. This can be seen in the video embedded below.
The hype around what is thought to be an imminent reopening of The Walt Disney World Railroad, is certainly reaching boiling point. We are, however, still awaiting an official announcement from Disney. We will bring you confirmation as soon as we have it.
UPDATE December 21 – Yes, you did read this right! There is a current rumor floating online that Disney is trying to get the Walt Disney World Railroad open for January 1, 2023. Cast members have apparently been saying that the original plan was to reopen this iconic attraction for Christmas but this has not come to fruition but a January 1, reopening still appears to be on the cards.
The Walt Disney World Railroad has been shuttered since the end of 2018 to make way for the construction of TRON Lightcycle / Run. We had thought that The Walt Disney World Railroad would reopen alongside this new attraction in Spring 2023, however, this rumor appears to imply that we haven’t got as long to wait as we once thought.
As always, with any rumor, this has not yet been confirmed or denied by Disney and we will be sure to bring you confirmation on the reopening date of The Walt Disney World Railroad as soon as it is officially announced. This is certainly exciting news for Disney fans!
December 16 – It has seemed like a painstakingly slow process and after four years of closure we are STILL waiting for the iconic Walt Disney World Railroad to reopen at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We do know that Spring 2023 should bring with it this very long awaited reopening alongside the new TRON Lightcycle / Run attraction.
A video has been posted on twitter this week by Offhand Disney showing the Walt Disney World Railroad traveling through the completed tunnel. So far, we are unsure of what the tunnel has in store for guests, lights? Sounds? We will update with further information on this when we have it and are very excited and looking forward to being able to bring you an exact reopening date for the Walt Disney World Railroad soon.
I’m ready I’m ready I’m ready pic.twitter.com/pUc0eU5Rz2
— Offhand Disney (@OffhandDisney) December 14, 2022
October 28 – We have seen a lot of excitement surrounding the Walt Disney World Railroad in the last few weeks with a number of videos being released showing this iconic attraction in action. Reporter, Scott Gustin has tweeted a video which Disney has released of the Walt Disney World Railroad continuing testing.
Now, we had been expecting a Spring 2023 opening of the Walt Disney World Railroad in alignment with the debut of the very long awaited TRON Lightcycle / Run but with the knowledge that the tunnel is near completion and videos being released of continued testing, we ask the question, could we see the Walt Disney World Railroad reopening prior to the debut of TRON Lightcycle / Run in Spring 2023? Disney certainly keeps teasing us but still there hasn’t been an official announcement on a return date. On a positive note it is encouraging to continue to see testing happening and we will keep you posted on further updates when they are announced here on Theme Park Tourist.
Disney has shared new video of Walt Disney World Railroad testing: pic.twitter.com/bfx3UsaCs8
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) October 27, 2022
October 25 – There has been an exciting video posted to TikTok showing the Walt Disney World Railroad testing. We are now speculating a Spring 2023 opening for this very long shuttered iconic attraction and expect it to open alongside TRON Lightcycle / Run.
@rjplansyourvacations We saw this as we were going to our reservation today. How cool?!?!?! #magickingdom #disney #disneytiktok #disneytrain #waltdisneyworld #wdw ♬ original sound – White Glove Concierge Vacation
There have been further TRON Lightcycle / Run construction updates online showing the Walt Disney World Railroad tunnel near completion with shrubbery being added next to it. This is all showing that good progress is being made and we will bring you news of the confirmed reopening date for the Walt Disney World Railroad as soon as it is officially announced.
Bamboo and shrubs recently transplanted next to the steam train tunnel through Tron.
Note also the service walking railings at bottom of the photo. pic.twitter.com/Fiu0jOV8IJ— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) October 22, 2022
September 15 – As we still come to terms with the fact that there was absolutely no mention at all at the D23 Expo of when we are to see the Walt Disney World Railroad reopening, we have some positive news as a number of guests spotted Lilly Belle entering the tracks behind the Magic Kingdom yesterday.
This certainly seems to be a positive sign that the Walt Disney World Railroad continues testing in preparation for its reopening which we are still speculating to not be until Spring 2023 when TRON Lightcycle / Run debuts. However, Disney may surprise us with a reopening earlier and we will keep you up to date with all announcements on our news and Facebook page.
September 12 – Okay, we are a little confused as we were certainly expecting one of the announcements to come out of the D23 Expo which took place over the weekend in Anaheim, to be a confirmed reopening date for the long shuttered Walt Disney World Railroad. However, Disney completely failed to mention it!
Now, they did confirm that TRON Lightcycle / Run will open in Spring 2023 so this leads us to speculate that the Walt Disney World Railroad should also be back and open again by Spring 2023 at the latest. Just over a month ago we saw that the tunnel through the TRON lightcycle / Run attraction was nearly completed and from recent we can see that the tunnel now looks complete which is a very positive sign.
From the lack of mention of the Walt Disney World Railroad this weekend it could mean two things, firstly, they don’t know or secondly they are keeping us guessing on purpose? I can’t help thinking it is the latter of the two. We will update you with further information on this as soon as we get it but we can now very confidently say that guests should once again be able to ride the Walt Disney World Railroad in Spring 2023 when TRON Lightcycle / Run finally opens at the Magic Kingdom.
August 16 – We all eagerly await news of the reopening of the Walt Disney World Railroad and we are now another step closer. Bioreconstruct has recently posted a photo of the nearly completed Walt Disney World Railroad tunnel running through the new TRON Lightcycle / Run attraction.
Zoom in to see that bolts are ready the secure track through the steam train tunnel under Tron.
Top left is a view of the guest walkway for Storybook Circus access. pic.twitter.com/vaKz1N9ICU
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 13, 2022
To many it may feel like Disney is teasing us and although we were hoping for a 2022 for the iconic and long shuttered Walt Disney World Railroad we think a 2023 is now looking more realistic. It is positive that work is progressing, albeit slowly. We will keep you up to date on further announcements regarding the reopening of the Walt Disney World Railroad and TRON Lightcycle / Run on our news and Facebook page.
UPDATE July 24 – We got very postiive news this week as we hit a milestone with the first group of Walt Disney World Cast Members beginning training on the Walt Disney World Railroad. Walt Disney World Cast and Community posted a photo on Facebook which surely is a great sign that the Walt Disney World Railroad is going to be up and running again soon.
We still await confirmation from Disney as to an official reopening date for the Walt Disney World Railroad which has was shuttered way back in December 2018! With work still continuing on TRON Lightcycle / Run many now speculate a 2023 for the opening of this new attraction at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Where does this leave the Walt Disney World Railroad I hear you say? Well, it seems unlikely Disney would begin training Cast Members if we are still months and months away from a reopening. Perhaps we will see a Fall 2022 reopening ready for the busy Halloween and Festive seasons? The news of Cast Member training is certainly pointing us in the right direction and we will keep you updated with further details as and when they are announced.
June 27 – We are all eagerly awaiting news of the reopening of the Walt Disney World Railroad and although we have had teaser videos of the train being tested and photos of the train emerging, we still don’t have confirmation of when we will be able to actually ride the Walt Disney World Railroad once again. We have now found out thanks to a photo from Bioreconstruct on their twitter page that it seems like a lot of work is still needed on the tunnel and track for the Walt DIsney World Railroad which goes through the TRON Lightcycle / Run attraction.
A concrete form for additional wall at the steam train route through Tron. Note also the plastic covering at the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/51l2sTKMg2
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) June 25, 2022
The positive is that work is being done, the negative is that unfortunately it still looks like we are a long way off work being completed on the track and tunnel meaning fans of the Walt Disney World Railroad are still currently going to be disappointed. We will hopefully bring you positive news on this extremely long awaited reopening soon on our news and Facebook page.
June 9 – There was excitement yesterday when a number of guests saw the Walt Disney World Railroad engine and carriages emerge from wherever they have been stored these last three and a half years. A photo of the train can be seen in the post embedded below.
TRON Lightcycle / Run is progressing well but we still don’t have a confirmed opening date. Although Disney hinted at a return of the Walt Disney World Railroad with a video posted on Instagram back in March, there still hasn’t been any announcement of when this will happen. This new photo will give Disney fans hope but we are still playing a waiting game. We will be sure to update you with news about the very long awaited return of the Walt Disney World Railroad as soon as it is confirmed.
March 26 – The Walt Disney World Railroad at the Magic Kingdom is one of the most iconic Disney attractions which has unfortunately been closed since the end of 2018. This closure is due to its close proximity to the new TRON Lightcycle / Run site.
Disney has released a teaser on its instagram page of the Walt Disney World Railroad showing a Cast Member who works in maintenance telling us that they are original locomotives which have to be fired up every morning. The video can be seen here.
Lou tells us that him and his team are excited about getting closer to the reopening of the Walt Disney World Railroad. Now this isn’t the first time our hopes have been raised as earlier in the year, guests spotted one of the locomotives being tested.
We assume that this iconic attraction will return to the Magic Kingdom at some point within its 50th Anniversary celebrations which is set to last through March 2023 so, although we are being teased about its return, we could still realistically have a long time to wait.
