ALERT! Disney World Just Released Three MAJOR News Updates

Are you keeping up with the Disney news?

Magic Kingdom

2025 has been a busy year for theme park news watchers like you and me! DinoLand U.S.A. is closing, The Muppets are taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and Lightning McQueen and Mater are driving to new frontiers. This week, Disney had even more news to check out, so we’re wrapping it all up here.

If you thought that Disney World wasn’t doing enough to give the parks a facelift, you’ll be pleased with the first news item on our roster! On March 26th, Disney dropped a bunch of news, starting with the fact that Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is getting some big upgrades.

©Disney

The attraction is getting a new show scene, updated ride vehicles, new targets, and enhanced gameplay to make this beloved attraction even better. A new character will be added to the ride named Buddy. It’s Buddy’s job to make sure you’re prepared for the mission before the ride starts. (It would be a safe bet to say that Buddy will be added to the first room you enter on the attraction.)

©Disney

Disney also gave us a glimpse at the behind-the-scenes process of the changes, where we saw Imagineers testing out the new targets and new hand blasters! The ride will close in August and reopen sometime in 2026.

Read fan reactions to the ride changes here!

Want to book a trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth? We highly recommend reaching out to our friends over at Small World Vacations! They are a team of hard-working travel agents that make booking a Disney trip SO much easier. Oh, and their services are completely FREE!

Our next new drop isn’t a closure, thankfully! Not one but two new shows will finally be opening at Hollywood Studios, and we can easily say we’ve been waiting for this one. Disney shared that the brand-new shows, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After and The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, will be opening on May 27th, 2025!

©Disney

Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After is a brand-new show that brings your favorite Disney villains to life! The show will involve dozens of baddies but will be led by Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, and Maleficent as they try to convince the audience that they were each treated unfairly in their stories.

©Disney

The show is replacing the now-closed Lightning McQueen Racing Academy on Sunset Boulevard next to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The next show opening is The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure! This show is a revamp of the old show The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which closed in 2020.

©Disney

The show will be a retelling of the animated film and will feature live performers, puppetry, and more! The show also adds the song “Kiss the Girl” to the lineup up, which was missing from the old version of the show. We love that princess and villain fans can have their pick of experiences on May 27th.

See a behind-the-scenes look at the new Villains show before it opens!

Finally, for major news this week, Early Entry will be different soon! If you don’t know what early entry is, it’s when Disney hotel guests get an extra 30 minutes in the parks in the morning before everyone else can get into the parks, giving you access to popular rides with lower wait times.

Early entry sign!

Now guests checking our Early Entry will be able to meet some of their favorite characters before the parks even open! This summer, some of the Disney meet and greets will begin during Early Entry rather than waiting for the park to open like they do currently.

Mickey Mouse

These changes begin on May 27th, 2025, and run throughout the summer. We don’t quite know who will be meeting just yet, but you can be sure we’ll update you as soon as we know.