Guests walking through Frontierland this week were met with a jarring sight that felt almost unreal. Behind construction walls near The Haunted Mansion, a section of Magic Kingdom that had looked the same for decades suddenly appeared stripped bare. The tall, mature trees that once formed a thick forested buffer behind the attraction were gone.
Not trimmed.
Not relocated.
Completely removed.
What had once been a quiet, shaded backdrop that helped define the atmosphere of The Haunted Mansion is now open dirt, exposed slopes, and active construction staging space. For many longtime visitors, it was the kind of moment that makes you stop, take a photo, and double-check that what you’re seeing is actually real.
The tree removal is part of Disney’s massive Frontierland transformation tied to the upcoming Piston Peak National Park project. While fans have known for months that big changes were coming to this area, the scale of the clearing now visible from guest areas has taken many by surprise.
The Haunted Mansion Area Feels Exposed
One of the biggest shocks is how different The Haunted Mansion queue now feels. The attraction has always relied on its wooded surroundings to sell its eerie, isolated setting. That sense of separation from the rest of the park was part of the experience.
Now, much of that visual buffer is gone.
Construction walls and scrim block direct views of the active work zones, but even with those barriers in place, it’s obvious that the landscape behind them has changed dramatically. The incline behind the queue—once hidden by dense foliage—is now clearly visible from ground level.
Scaffolding and additional scrim have also appeared around the mansion’s graveyard area, signaling preparation for deeper construction tied to a new guest walkway between Liberty Square and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Why the Trees Are Coming Down
Although the Cars-themed Piston Peak National Park is the headline project, the tree removal isn’t just about making room for new attractions. Disney is also reworking how guests move through this corner of Magic Kingdom.
The cleared land appears to be part of a planned new pathway that will connect Liberty Square and Frontierland more directly. That route is expected to ease congestion and create a smoother flow of foot traffic between lands.
To make that happen, the terrain behind The Haunted Mansion queue likely needs to be flattened and reinforced. Freshly overturned dirt in the area suggests foundational work is already underway.
Frontierland Now Feels Like a Work Zone
What used to be a quiet forested buffer is now serving as a staging area for construction crews and equipment. The dirt area next to The Haunted Mansion has reportedly become a temporary parking lot for workers assigned to the Piston Peak project.
Nearby, in an area where part of Tom Sawyer Island once stood, guests and aerial observers have spotted exposed utilities, long tubing, and heavy infrastructure work underway beneath the surface.
Combined with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad still being closed for refurbishment, this entire corner of the park now feels like a full-scale construction site.
Fans Are Split on the Changes
Reaction online has been emotional.
Some fans understand that major expansions come with unavoidable tradeoffs and believe the end result will be worth it. Others feel the loss of mature trees damages the emotional and visual identity of Frontierland and The Haunted Mansion in particular.
For many longtime guests, this didn’t feel like just another construction update. It felt like watching a piece of classic Magic Kingdom quietly disappear.
And with construction still ramping up, it’s unlikely this will be the last major landscape change guests see in Frontierland.
