Disney World, are you okay?
Welcome to Disney World!
As the busy holiday season starts to wind down, it is not uncommon for Disney to perform routine maintenance on rides and attractions, but the number of closures around all the parks is getting out of control. While some of these closures are temporary, others are permanent, and the list seems to continue to grow.
Across all four theme parks, Disney World currently has 10 attractions and rides that are closed. Let’s take a look!
Construction walls
Magic Kingdom
Massive changes are happening in Magic Kingdom as the park prepares for the Villains Land expansion and the Cars expansion. Although Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America have not closed quite yet, construction is expected to start on the new Cars area this year, meaning that even more closures will hit Magic Kingdom. Here is a look at what is currently closed in the castle park.
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has closed for a lengthy refurbishment that started on January 6th, 2025, and will not reopen until 2026.
- Astro Orbiter closed for a lengthy refurbishment on January 13th, 2025, and will not reopen until the Summer of 2025.
- The Hall of Presidents closed on January 20th, 2025, and a reopening date is yet to be known.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closed
EPCOT
Although the EPCOT Transformation has been officially marked complete, EPCOT has some exciting changes coming, which unfortunately means ride closures.
- Test Track closed on June 17th, 2024, and is set to reopen as a third version of the attraction in late summer 2025.
- The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros closed for refurbishment on January 6th, 2025, and is set to reopen on March 15th, 2025.
Test Track construction
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios is about to be hit with many closures to prepare for the upcoming Monsters, Inc. land as well as the Muppets re-theme of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and two more attractions are closed in the park.
- “The Little Mermaid — A Musical Adventure” is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the summer of 2025. This new show will take the place of the now-closed Voyage of the Little Mermaid show in the Animation Courtyard theater.
- Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy closed permanently to make way for a new Disney Villains show called Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, which is set to debut in the summer of 2025.
- Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano will close permanently on May 10th, 2025 to make way for the Monsters, Inc. Land.
- And MuppetVision 3D and PizzeRizzo will close permanently on June 7th, 2025. Disney has confirmed that the entire Muppets Courtyard area will be walled off on June 8th, 2025, for Monsters, Inc. Land construction to begin in earnest.
©Disney
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is also about to be hit with even more closures and changes as the park prepares for the re-theme of DinoLand U.S.A. into Pueblo Esperanza, a Tropical Americas-themed land. While no closing date has been announced for DINOSAUR, Disney did say that 2025 would be your final chance to ride it.
©Disney || Tropical Americas Land coming to Animal Kingdom
A closing date has also not been announced for It’s Tough to be a Bug!, the show in the Tree of Life, which will be replaced by Zootopia: Better Zoogether this Winter.
©Disney
Here is what is currently closed in the park:
- Kali River Rapids closed for its annual seasonal refurbishment on January 6th, 2025. It is expected to reopen sometime in March.
- DinoLand, U.S.A., is undergoing a phased closure, which started on January 13th, 2025. TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures at Animal Kingdom have closed for good.
Dino-Rama has closed
Wow! That is a lot of closures all happening at the same time, and it is a bit spooky to think about all the other looming closures. So what does this mean if you have an upcoming trip planned to Disney World? Well, you can expect a few things.
Change is good.
First and foremost, set your expectations; if you really want to ride an attraction, make sure to double-check the refurbishment calendar ahead of your trip. We are constantly updating the page below.
Ride, Restaurant, and Resort Closures and Construction at Walt Disney World
Remember to pack your patience. Since so many offerings are closed, you can expect ride wait times to be a bit higher as there is less for visitors to experience. You may also run into detours, and more crowds as parts of the park get walled off for construction.
Crowds!
You may want to consider purchasing Lighting Lane Multi, Single, or Premier Pass for when the parks get super crowded to help keep your time waiting in line a bit shorter.
It is not all bad, though! While it is shocking to see so many attractions closed at once, there is so much on the horizon in 2025 as well as in the future years. Just this year alone, Disney World will be home to a new nighttime parade, two new lounges, and two new stage shows!
FULL Timeline of Major Additions Coming to Disney World
We will continue to monitor the closures and keep you up to date on all the new projects, so make sure to continue to follow along with DFB!
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Agree – and this doesn’t include the TBDs that we now are closing at some point – Rockin’ Rollercoaster in HS, Dinosaur in AK late this year/early ’26, and Tom Sayer’s island and the riverboat over in MK. So seeing articles that point to permits for TB or HM in MK continue to make me nervous about potential closures there as well.
They are running scared from Universal. The answer is right in front of their faces. Go back to the level of service they used to have, stop demolishing legacy attractions and put money into the parks to keep attractions running and looking good. Oh and quit pricing out the average family!
Seriously wish they would add attractions vs retheming current attractions. Retheming reduces capacity while the attraction is closed and also doesn’t add really needed capacity when it’s reopened.
This is ridiculous! I’m going in March. I thought WDW would try to make a good impression for Spring Break. I’ll be reading the Blog to try to figure out which Parks will give me my money’s worth.
Pay more…Get less!
They should move the Fossil Fun Games to the Boardwalk. There used to be games there when it first opened, and it’s a shame they ever took them away.
I have to agree with Patrick. I am getting tired of the retheming. If they want to compete they need to leave legacy alone and just add new things.
No trip to Disney World this year for us. I’m not even tempted, to be honest. We are doing an Alaska cruise with Princess instead. Maybe next year if things get better at Disney.
The value is no longer there. Sorry. Going to Universal.
Make Disney Walt Again