Disneyland Confirms Frontierland Area Closure, Effective September 8th

Planning a Disneyland day used to be simpler than it is now.

These days, a park visit involves knowing what is open, what is down for refurbishment, what is closed permanently, and what is coming back next week. Miss one of those details, and you end up walking your family across the park toward something surrounded by construction walls. It happens often, and it happens most often to guests who booked their trip months ago and had no reason to check again before they arrived.

Frontierland is a particularly common spot for this. Between the riverboat, the canoes, the sailing ship, Tom Sawyer Island, and the smaller offerings tucked around the area, there is almost always something rotating in or out of service. Some of those closures last a few days. Others stretch for months. And Disney does not always announce them far in advance.

That is exactly why keeping track matters, and why we do this. Today brought two updates worth putting on your calendar, both in Frontierland at Disneyland Park.

Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition finally has a reopening date, and the Mark Twain Riverboat has a temporary closure coming.

Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition Reopening Date at Disneyland

Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition will reopen on September 11, 2026.

The attraction has been closed since July 6, which means this refurbishment will have been running for just over two months. Not much visible work has taken place during that window, aside from themed scrims going up in the area, so the specifics of what is being addressed have not been obvious from the outside.

For anyone who has never stopped in, this is one of the older-school offerings in the park, and it is genuinely fun.

Guests step up to a rustic log cabin and hoist a replica .54-caliber Hawkins buffalo rifle to the shoulder. Peer through the scope, and you are looking at legendary Boot Hill in Tombstone, Arizona.

There are nearly 100 interactive targets, both moving and stationary, and hitting one triggers lights, sounds, and animations. Some of those animations have a supernatural twist, which is the kind of detail that keeps people coming back.

Important to know before you go: this one carries an additional fee. You must purchase credits to play, and one credit gets you approximately 25 shots. Additional credits can be bought for more time.

On safety, the rifles do not fire pellets or projectiles of any kind. They use invisible beams of safe infrared light, and when that light strikes a sensor on a target, a hit registers.

There is no height requirement.

Mark Twain Riverboat Temporary Closure Dates at Disneyland

The Mark Twain Riverboat will temporarily close on September 8, 2026.

According to the Disneyland website, its typical operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 5:40 p.m.

That is a short closure, four days total, which typically points to routine maintenance rather than anything substantial. Still, if your park day falls inside that window, plan around it.

Notably, the Mark Twain returns on September 12, one day after the Shootin’ Exposition reopens on September 11. So there is a brief stretch in early September where Frontierland is missing pieces, and then both are back.

What Makes the Mark Twain Worth Riding

The Mark Twain is an authentic reproduction of the historic vessels that ferried people up and down the Mississippi River. A working steam engine converts water from the Rivers of America into steam, which powers the large paddle that propels the boat.

The trip runs 14 minutes and covers half a mile around Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island, with lively narration along the way.

Sights along the route include the north bank of the Columbia Gorge with its waterfront and five waterfalls, a rustic frontier cabin, an idyllic Native American village, a busy beaver chewing on the train trestle, mountain lions relaxing in the sun, and the Disneyland Railroad steaming into the wilderness.

The boat itself is worth appreciating. It stands 28 feet tall and runs 105 feet long, with meticulously detailed wood craftsmanship across four decks.

The Pilothouse, or top deck, holds the wheelhouse and Captain’s Quarters. The Promenade Deck includes a salon plus a collection of vintage photos and maps. The Texas Deck, also called the Sun Deck, is the spot for enjoying the outdoors as you float. The Main Deck holds the boiler and pistons that run the paddlewheel.

Seating is limited, and there is no height requirement.

The Story Behind the Name

This is one of those details that makes Frontierland worth slowing down for.

Walt Disney named the Mark Twain after the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and one of Walt’s personal heroes.

Clemens was also a riverboat pilot as a young man, and that experience inspired the pen name itself. “Mark twain” is a boating term meaning a vessel is at a safe depth.

Alternatives While the Riverboat Is Down at Disneyland

If your visit falls within the September 8 to 12 window, you are not entirely out of options on the Rivers of America.

The Mark Twain follows the same path as Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes and the Sailing Ship Columbia. You get a different perspective on each, but the route is shared, so either one will still take you around Tom Sawyer Island.

Worth checking operating schedules for both, since neither runs every day.

Mark Your Calendar

Two dates to remember for a Frontierland-heavy Disneyland day.

September 11 is when Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition comes back after a two-month closure.

September 8 through 12, the Mark Twain Riverboat will be unavailable.

If you have a trip booked in early September, that is a narrow window where Frontierland is not at full strength, but it resolves quickly. Anyone visiting after September 12 gets both back.

We will keep tracking Disneyland Resort refurbishments and closures as they get announced, because the list changes constantly, and it is worth checking again before you go.