Imagineering Reveals 2,000 Bats Coming to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
If you’ve been skipping the Malayan flying fox room on the Maharajah Jungle Trek, I’ve got some bad news. There will soon be 2,000 bats waiting for you inside Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
That detail came courtesy of Walt Disney Imagineering’s latest Instagram video – shared on International Bat Appreciation Day – where Chloe, a show set Imagineer, walked us through the ride’s updated opening scene.
Imagineers used interior scans of the attraction to map out the updated space, replacing a scene that previously featured a few bats dangling from strings. Fun fact: those props were called “airline bats.” I’m pretty happy those aren’t a real thing.
Imagineers went all-in on the reworked cavern. They’re brought in rockwork bats, clustered bats, and 200 “show set bats.” The show set versions will be brought to life thanks to hidden electric fans. In all, the scene will feature more than 2,000 bats.
Also, some of them have rat eyes. Because of course they do.
If you’re setting the over/under on screams, take the over. It may not reach It’s Tough to Be a Bug panic levels, but it could get close.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens in Magic Kingdom on May 3, 2026.
