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Disney Shares First Look at Big Thunder’s Bat-Filled Cave Ahead of May 3 Reopening

The preview spotlights a reliability‑minded rebuild with richer storytelling.

Overview

  • Walt Disney Imagineering released a behind-the-scenes video Friday that showcases the expanded bat cave inside Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
  • The scene now features more than 2,000 bats with over 200 animated show-set figures, plus sculpted rockwork bats and clustered formations.
  • Effects teams restored glowing red eyes, added fans to move the bats, and painted background eyes to create the illusion of a deeper cave.
  • Imagineers scanned the mountain to plan placements, part of a wider project that delivers new track, new trains, refreshed animatronics, and a Rainbow Caverns transformation effect.
  • The coaster reopens May 3 at Magic Kingdom with a lower 38-inch height requirement, which lets more kids ride and could ease lines across the park.