Walt Disney World continues racing in the direction of building of the Piston Peak ‘Vehicles’ space of Frontierland and Villains Land, reaching a serious milestone: full demolition of Tom Sawyer Island. Months after the Rivers of America closed over the summer season, new aerial photographs reveal that each construction on the extinct attraction is gone as of the beginning of Christmas at Magic Kingdom. Right here’s the newest, plus our commentary about what’s subsequent.

Let’s begin by rapidly bringing you up to the mark with what’s modified between summer season and as we speak. The Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Sq. Riverboat closed again on July seventh. For our tribute to the aesthetics and inventive worth of this space of Magic Kingdom, see Why the Rivers of America is Price Saving. The sentiment there may be a part of an overarching and ongoing fan debate about Walt Disney World that extends far past this one choice.

Together with these everlasting closures, “shuttle mode” operations of the Walt Disney World Railroad have now begun. That is as a result of non permanent closure of the Frontierland Station, which is happening to accommodate building. The staging areas and the development websites are on reverse sides of the railroad tracks, therefore the closure. This implies you may not expertise the Grand Circle Tour of the Walt Disney World Railroad for (most likely) the following few years. I wouldn’t be shocked if Frontierland Station doesn’t reopen once more within the 2020s, however actually, I’m simply completely happy to have the trains in any respect.

Since then, crews have been working to empty the Rivers of America. That was simpler stated than accomplished, as storm season resulted in it being refilled just a few occasions. However crews lastly gained their battle in opposition to Mom Nature, who is seemingly a giant fan of the RoA, with an help from industrial water pumps. Building partitions, scrims and scaffolding now line the walkways in Frontierland and Liberty Sq., making it troublesome for company to see into the challenge website.

With views from ground-level now principally blocked, we take to the skies above Magic Kingdom for a glimpse over the development partitions. These overhead photographs & video come courtesy of eye within the sky photographs from friend-of-the-site bioreconstruct, the go-to supply for aerial theme park images…

Let’s begin with a high-level establishing shot.

This isn’t an important view of the development, but it surely’s a shocking shot proper down Predominant Avenue USA, full with a monorail passing and even daytime lighting. I haven’t the slightest inkling concerning the challenges posed by taking photographs from a transferring helicopter, however can’t think about that that is a simple one to seize. In all probability roughly equal to the Helmsman in Pirates of the Caribbean timed completely to a lightning strike. Kudos to bioreconstruct on this one.

Oh, and we do get a peekaboo view of the development website on the far higher left. You’ll be able to even see one of many laydown yards past Huge Thunder that’ll assist Vehicles and Villains land building.

Right here’s one other view from behind Magic Kingdom, roughly behind Tiana’s Bayou Journey and Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad. This reveals the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island demolition, but in addition the ultimate laydown yard that we’ve been watching make progress because it performs catch-up to the opposite ones.

We’ve lined these laydown yards and drainage necessities extensively as a part of the allowing course of for this challenge over the course of the final year-plus. As a refresher, the allow for all of this was issued by the South Florida Water Administration District (SFWMD) in Winter 2025, giving Imagineering till February 17, 2030 to redevelop the world.

The underlying SFWMD allow is huge in scale and scope, encompassing over 300 acres round Magic Kingdom and past. Nonetheless, the precise challenge website solely being about 14 acres–everything of it after which some is seen within the picture above. I believe some followers may mistakenly imagine this growth is bigger than it truly is predicated on the permits and aerial photographs so far. The laydown yards and whole allow space are a lot larger than the brand new lands, even when this nonetheless is the most important growth in Magic Kingdom historical past.

We don’t have new November 2025 photographs of the opposite laydown yards, presumably as a result of these haven’t progressed a lot (if in any respect). Above is a have a look at the others as of final month.

You’ll be able to scroll backwards and forwards and see how these look side-by-side. As one other refresher, these gravel laydown yards are in low-lying areas to the northwest of the Rivers of America, necessitating website prep work to make them usable. There are three gravel laydown yards in whole across the northwestern perimeter of Magic Kingdom.

Two are past the berm, which means outdoors of Magic Kingdom visitor areas, with the third laydown yard inside Magic Kingdom alongside the northwestern banks of what’s at present the Rivers of America. These gravel laydown yards might be used for building tools, heavy equipment, supplies staging, earth-moving, and so forth.

Work on the laydown yards began in late spring. Above is a good greater degree view from over the summer season again earlier than the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island closed.

As you may see, main progress has been made since Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island closed. The ultimate staging space and challenge website has had most of its timber eliminated, and is catching as much as the others. One other huge improvement is the set up of challenge crew trailers on the center laydown yard.

That is very related permits for a trailer park and staging space behind Kali River Rapids in assist of the Tropical Americas challenge final spring. In addition they repurposed the previous Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser behind Disney’s Hollywood Studios into area workplaces for the Monstropolis growth there.

Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at the previous Rivers of America, which has now had all buildings demolished.

Because of this Superstition Bridge, Fort Langhorn, Harper’s Mill and Potter’s Mill, Aunt Polly’s Restaurant, the buildings for the caves, and all the things else. It’s all gone. Solely scattered timber stay.

The appropriate half of it will turn out to be the Piston Peak ‘Vehicles’ land (principally the south island of Tom Sawyer Island), whereas the world that’s past Huge Thunder will turn out to be Villains Land. That’s the portion of this challenge that’s true park growth.

Zooming in a bit, right here’s the south island of Tom Sawyer Island and the decrease loop of the Rivers of America throughout the regular area of view inside Magic Kingdom.

This additionally reveals the scaffolding and scrims which are up alongside the Rivers of America waterfront promenade. These are within the drained riverbed, so the “shortcut” walkway to Tiana’s Bayou Journey and Huge Thunder stays open. There are different areas of correct building partitions alongside the remainder of the waterfront.

I’ve been pleasantly shocked by simply how unobtrusive this challenge is to this point. You’ll be able to see the partitions when first coming into Liberty Sq., however the best way that the brown scrim is ready again alongside the shortcut means it doesn’t stand out from the primary thoroughfare of Frontierland.

It helps that there’s a superb quantity of foliage between Frontierland and the previous Rivers of America or present challenge website. The outcome whenever you’re strolling by this part of the park, maybe to go to future UNESCO World Heritage Web site, Grizzly Corridor, you don’t actually discover all that a lot. Mix-in brown dwelling as much as its title.

The development website is there, clearly, however this isn’t a huge crater that instructions company’ consideration. Mercifully, it’s completely nothing just like the Large EPCOT Filth Pit. Now, if this drags on for ~5 years with minimal progress and the tip result’s one thing akin to the journey model of CommuniCore Corridor, you may anticipate my tune to alter.

Right here’s one other angle on the south island.

In the midst of the island, there are huge mounds of filth. I used to be on the bottom in Magic Kingdom yesterday, and these are about the one factor that’s seen over the partitions. You’ll be able to see the absence of the mills that used to poke up above the partitions and the remaining timber, however that’s about it. In any other case, simply the brand new filth mounds.

The following step is probably going utilizing these huge mounds to infill the previous Rivers of America waterbed.

There’s most likely some remaining clean-up to be accomplished on the islands themselves, however the level is that the land clearing gained’t be accomplished right down to the riverbed degree. Relatively, the previous waterway might be introduced as much as the previous island’s degree. That’s going to require much more filth, so anticipate extra huge mounds to look because the challenge progresses.

Along with that, crews might want to set up infrastructure and utilities, and do lots of invisible work earlier than vertical building can start. Tropical Americas took about 10 months to go from land clearing to the beginnings of vertical building.

Our greatest guess is that the Piston Peak Nationwide Park ‘Vehicles’ land is nearer to a full yr away. Actually, I’d be shocked and impressed if we see this go vertical by Christmas 2026. I’d like to be unsuitable and have this work kick into a better gear, however these initiatives are all the time slow-going…till they’re not. The vertical stage is what goes quick. This occurs time and time once more, and but, followers consistently query why issues are going so gradual…after which why initiatives have ‘sped up.’

Right here’s a have a look at demolition on the north island. The far proper facet can also be proper round the place a brand new walkway will join Huge Thunder to Haunted Mansion. It’s troublesome to see, however a brand new building wall throughout the Huge Thunder challenge website has been put in, both to guard the attraction or for future use as soon as the journey reopens throughout the subsequent few months.

The walkway undoubtedly is not going to be accomplished (and even began) earlier than Huge Thunder reopens. It wouldn’t make sense to take action, because it’d block entry to the Vehicles building website. We do anticipate prep-work to start on the Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad facet because it’ll be simpler to perform that whereas the curler coaster is closed.

Considered one of my larger questions is what Walt Disney World plans to do with the remaining mature timber on Tom Sawyer Island. It might be good if there have been a solution to transplant these for future use.

I’m not precisely an professional on tree relocation prices, however I do know that mature timber are “prohibitively” costly (or so they are saying about initiatives with value tags within the billions of {dollars} and extreme bloat). This is the reason so many latest initiatives have regarded barren, and to their detriment, when you ask me.

Epic Universe is the most important and finest latest instance. That park will look nice when a few of its vegetation fills in, however that’s going to take just a few years. On condition that Piston Peak is meant to be a nationwide park, it’d be good if that included lush panorama and mature timber. I don’t find out about you, however I haven’t visited any U.S. Nationwide Parks with a bunch saplings that regarded like they had been planted yesterday.

Lastly, right here’s an aerial video of the progress on the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island demolition:

In the end, it’s good to see these ‘Past Huge Thunder’ initiatives kicking into excessive gear forward of the vacations. This additional underscores that Walt Disney World didn’t simply select to shut the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island this summer season to save lots of on working bills. From the above aerial photographs, it’s very clear that severe work has already occurred, with infill to speed up within the coming months.

I’m nonetheless not happy that Walt Disney World opted to go this route versus an abridged Rivers of America (retaining the south island and waterfront) plus pure park growth, but it surely’s going to occur and there’s nothing we followers can do to alter the course of this Piston Peak challenge besides on the margins.

Accordingly, I might love nothing greater than for this challenge to maneuver as rapidly as attainable, with cranes showing on website to start vertical building by late 2026. Get this accomplished rapidly to reduce the visitor affect and have Piston Peak open ASAP. As distant because it appears as we speak, each Vehicles and Villains land opening earlier than 2030 can be an enormous win.

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Your Ideas

Ideas on Disney demolishing Tom Sawyer Island and transferring ahead with infill on Rivers of America? Excited or upset that the Piston Peak Nationwide Park is changing Rivers of America? On condition that that is going to occur regardless at this level, do you hope it’s full steam forward so we don’t need to endure a repeat of the Large EPCOT Filth Pit fiasco? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions—even whenever you disagree with us—is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!