An incident at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom late this afternoon resulted in guests being evacuated from the queue and the attraction closing, on the day it reopened following a nearly 16-month refurbishment.
Photos and video posted to X around 6:00pm show a cast member using a fire extinguisher in the attraction’s load and unload area track. A separate video shows guests being directed out of the queue.
A little mishap this afternoon during Big Thunder Mountain’s first day of operation after the long refurb. #BigThunder #MagicKingdom #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/4D2eAPfqhk
— Scott Spillers (@ScottSpillers) May 3, 2026
Reported fire at BTM. @WDWActiveCrime @DisneyFoodBlog pic.twitter.com/tfODHP159G
— Julian P (@juliannn_67) May 3, 2026
The attraction had reopened earlier today, May 3, 2026, to significant crowds after closing in January 2025 for an extensive refurbishment.
Photos shared on X show a cast member directing a fire extinguisher toward the station floor in the main loading platform, with visible smoke or discharge in the area. It is not yet clear whether this involved an actual fire or a precautionary response to smoke or another issue.
A second video posted to X shows guests exiting the queue area. The ride is currently listed on My Disney Experience as temporarily closed.
The cause of the incident is not yet known.
We have reached out to Walt Disney World for comment and will update this article when a response is received.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened today after closing on January 6, 2025 for a “mountain-top to cavern-deep refurbishment” that included new track, new trains, refreshed animatronics, a new Rainbow Caverns scene, and a lowered height requirement of 38 inches.
This is a developing story. We will update as more information becomes available.
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