12.5-Acre STOLport Permit Cleared as Magic Kingdom Expansion Advances

Overview

• The South Florida Water Management District approved a 12.5-acre STOLport plan authorizing permanent Walt Disney Imagineering offices, parking, utilities, sidewalks, and conversion of two retention ponds into one wet and one dry detention pond, with approval valid for five years.
• Aerial imagery shows the former Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island largely cleared and graded, with sand placed in the backstage zone earmarked for the future Villains area.
• Demolition activity has extended toward Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which underwent a full track replacement; refurbished trains were seen testing, with a reopening reported for 2026.
• The Walt Disney World Railroad is running in limited shuttle service between Main Street, U.S.A., and Storybook Circus, with the backstage track between Big Thunder Mountain and Fantasyland reported removed.
• Disney has installed new sightline blockers, including walls inside the Haunted Mansion queue and frosted windows at Columbia Harbour House, while no official opening dates have been announced for Piston Peak National Park or the Villains land.