Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Tips During Big Thunder Mountain Closure
Starting January 6, 2025, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney’s Magic Kingdom will undergo a year-long refurbishment. This closure is expected to increase wait times at other popular attractions and impact the availability of Lightning Lane reservations. As one of Magic Kingdom’s most popular rides, Big Thunder Mountain’s temporary closure will shift crowds around the park. That means planning ahead is more important than ever.
In this guide, we’ll explore how Big Thunder’s closure affects Magic Kingdom’s ride capacity and Lightning Lane demand. Plus, we’ll highlight the best alternative attractions for adults and families with children, so you can make the most of your day at the park. Whether you’re a fan of Space Mountain or looking for family-friendly options like Peter Pan’s Flight, TouringPlans has you covered.
How Popular is Big Thunder Mountain?
TouringPlans readers have submitted just under 10,000 survey ratings for Big Thunder Mountain over the past two years. That signals that Big Thunder is one of the most popular attractions in the Magic Kingdom:
Top 10 Magic Kingdom Attraction Surveys Received (2023-2024)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (10,600 surveys received)
- The Haunted Mansion (10,100)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (9,600)
- (tie) Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear (8,800)
- TRON Lightcycle / Run (8,600)
- It’s a Small World (8,500)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (8,500)
- Jungle Cruise (7,600)
- Peter Pan’s Flight (7,000)
The combination of Big Thunder Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure pulls guests into Frontierland earlier than they would normally visit to get lower wait times. And that helps spread crowds out across the park.
Four of the attractions closest to Big Thunder Mountain are also in the top 10 for popularity:
- The Haunted Mansion (Liberty Square)
- it’s a small world (Fantasyland)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (Adventureland)
- Jungle Cruise (Adventureland)
Based only on popularity, I’d expect Lightning Lane Multi-Pass demand to increase for those four attractions.
Speaking of Lightning Lane, let’s see how much Lightning Lane demand there is for Big Thunder.
Big Thunder Mountain’s Lightning Lane Demand
Big Thunder is one of the Magic Kingdom’s most popular selections for Lightning Land Multi Pass. An attraction’s supply of Lightning Lane reservations depends on four things:
- The ride’s capacity
- The amount of that capacity Disney wants to dedicate to Lightning Lane
- The ride’s popularity with guests
- The amount of time that can be saved using Lightning Lane
Those numbers come together to determine if and when a ride’s supply of Lightning Lanes will run out.
Big Thunder Mountain’s hourly capacity is around 1,535 guests per hour on average. We got that number by counting the number of guests exiting the ride in 30- and 60-minute intervals, at various times and days, over many years. That 1,535 guests per hour is when the ride is running at full capacity with no downtime.
Big Thunder probably reserves 40% of that capacity for Lightning Lane. That works out to around 614 guests per hour. We got that number by counting the number of guests entering the Lightning Lane and Standby lines every minute, for selected hours over various days and months in the Magic Kingdom. (We were measuring this interarrival time for another project. The 40% number seems consistent across most Magic Kingdom attractions.)
Assuming the same Lightning Lane demand, that means that the Magic Kingdom’s remaining attractions will need to handle an additional 614 Lightning Lane guests per hour, and another 921 standby line guests per hour.
Big Thunder’s Lightning Lane Popularity
Now let’s look at how Big Thunder’s popularity affects when it runs out of Lightning Lanes.
Big Thunder is in Group 1 of the Magic Kingdom’s Lightning Lane Multi-Pass hierarchy:
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Jungle Cruise
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Space Mountain
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
TouringPlans shows the current return-time availability for Lightning Lanes across Walt Disney World and Disneyland. As I write this on December 30, here’s how the Magic Kingdom’s Lightning Lane return times are stacking up:
It looks like Lightning Lane Multi-Passes are running out in approximately this order over the next few days:
- Jungle Cruise
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- (tie) Big Thunder / Buzz Lightyear / Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Guests using Multi Pass can choose one of those attractions in advance of their visit. Let’s assume Big Thunder’s Lightning Lane demand will get spread out over the remaining four attractions in Group 1.
Which Magic Kingdom Attractions Save the Most Time with Lightning Lane?
TouringPlans’ Lightning Lane page shows how much time our readers are saving using Lightning Lane instead of the standby line around Walt Disney World. Here’s the top few attractions for the Magic Kingdom:
- Space Mountain (34 minutes saved)
- (tie) Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan’s Flight (27 minutes)
- Big Thunder Mountain (21 minutes)
- The Haunted Mansion (16 minutes)
- (tie ) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Under the Sea (15 minutes)
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (14 minutes)
Will Disney Move Another Attraction Into Lightning Lane Group 1?
The other possibility is that Disney moves another attraction into Group 1 to make up for the lost capacity. The most logical choice would be the family-friendly Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. Seven Dwarfs’ ride capacity is around 1,300 guests per hour, a bit less than Big Thunder’s. But that would make the most sense.
I don’t think Disney’s going to move Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to Group 1. Mine Train is part of the Lightning Lane Single Pass, a separate upcharge from Multi Pass. Moving it to Group 1 would sacrifice an entire attraction’s worth of Single Pass sales, and likely not bump up Multi Pass sales enough to make up the lost revenue.
I’d expect Lightning Lanes to run out earlier in 2025 for Jungle Cruise, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Space Mountain.
That extra Lightning Lane demand is only part of the story. The other thing to consider is how much ride capacity the Magic Kingdom will lose when Big Thunder closes. Because that drop in ride capacity is going to have to be taken up by the other attractions in the park. And that’s going to increase the standby and Lightning Lane waits at those attractions.
The Impact of Losing Big Thunder Mountain’s Ride Capacity
Big Thunder Mountain’s closure will likely reduce the number of people coming to Frontierland. That’s especially true for the colder months of January and February of 2025. Since Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a water flume ride, fewer people visit when the weather is cold.
Based on the data we’ve seen so far, it seems likely that guests will spend more time in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland once Big Thunder Mountain is closed. That’s going to increase wait times at those attractions, and likely mean their Lightning Lane supplies will run out sooner.
I expect these attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland to be most affected by Big Thunder’s closure:
- Space Mountain (Tomorrowland / Lightning Lane Multi Pass Group 1)
- Buzz Lightyear (Tomorrowland / Lightning Lane Multi Pass Group 2)
- TRON Lightcycle / Run (Tomorrowland / Lightning Lane Single Pass)
- Peter Pan’s Flight (Fantasyland / Lightning Lane Multi Pass Group 2)
- It’s a Small World (Fantasyland / Lightning Lane Multi Pass Group 2)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Fantasyland / Lightning Lane Single Pass)
Best Lightning Lane Alternatives for When Big Thunder Mountain is Closed
Taking popularity, current Lightning Lane demand, and capacity into account, here are my picks for the best three Lightning Lane Multi Pass alternatives for adults during Big Thunder Mountain’s closure:
- Space Mountain
- Colder months: Jungle Cruise / Warmer months: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
- Peter Pan’s Flight
Space Mountain is ranked near the top for all of our evaluation criteria. It ranks #1 in terms of time saved with Lightning Lane. It runs out of Lightning Lanes faster than most other attractions. And it’s popular with adults.
Jungle Cruise also runs out of Lightning Lanes faster than most attractions, and with 27 minutes saved versus the standby line ranks #2 in that category. It’s not as popular as Space Mountain, though, so it doesn’t get the top spot.
I’d also put Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in the #2 spot during warmer months. During cooler times of the year I’d just take my chances with virtual queues and use my Lightning Lanes on something else. It’s also possible that Disney moves from virtual queues to standby lines here when Big Thunder closes.
My fourth choice for a Big Thunder alternative for adults is Peter Pan’s Flight. It’s not going to be at the top of most people’s list, but it’s in the top three for almost everyone. That across-the-board appeal gets Peter Pan’s Flight a spot on this list.
Here are my picks for best Lightning Lane Multi Pass alternatives for parents with small children during Big Thunder Mountain’s closure. This assumes your children aren’t tall enough for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure:
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- The Haunted Mansion
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- It’s a Small World
Peter Pan’s Flight isn’t as popular as Haunted Mansion, and has roughly similar run-out times for Lightning Lane. But you can save an average of around 27 minutes using Lightning Lane at Peter Pan’s Flight versus 16 for Haunted Mansion, so I’ve ranked Peter Pan’s Flight higher.
In third place is Buzz Lightyear. Buzz is more popular than it’s a small world, and its Lightning Lanes seem to run out faster and provide more time savings.
Wrap-Up
Big Thunder Mountain’s year-long closure starts January 6, 2025, and will impact most attractions in the Magic Kingdom. By understanding how this affects Lightning Lane demand and ride capacity, you can make informed decisions to minimize your waits in line. We’ve identified top alternatives for adults as Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise, and family-friendly options like Peter Pan’s Flight, to help you tour the park efficiently.
We’d love to hear your thoughts or tips in the comments below. Need help planning your next Disney World trip? For more tips, check out our Disney World touring plans and Lightning Lane strategy guides.