Is disney world closing permanently in 2025 florida
Already closed for lengthy (but temporary) downtime in 2025
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom closed for refurbishment on Jan. 6, 2025. The roller coaster will be closed until sometime in 2026; its exact reopening date has not been announced.
Walt Disney World management has not mentioned what will specifically change about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad during the roller coaster’s downtime.
The area surrounding Big Thunder will see major infrastructure developments in the coming years as Disney builds Villains Land “beyond Big Thunder” and “Cars” attractions in place of Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America (see above).
Test Track
Epcot
Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla.
Test Track closed in June 2024 for an extended refurbishment. When the Epcot thrill ride reopens in late summer 2025 (date TBA), it will embody a “spirit of optimism” harking back to World of Motion, the defunct Epcot attraction that Test Track replaced.
Test Track opened in 1999, and focused on safety tests during cars’ manufacturing stage. Come 2012, Disney
What’s Closing at Disney World? A Complete Guide
Here’s a complete list of the attractions, lands, entertainment, and more that are permanently closing at Walt Disney World Resort.
Refurbishments and closures are part of the routine at Disney World – after all, every ride and show needs a bit of downtime to look and operate at its best. But in some cases, a short-term closure can turn into a permanent one. And with big changes on the horizon for numerous attractions and lands across Disney World’s theme parks, a lot will be closing in the near future.
Below, find a complete list of all of the rides, theme park lands, shows and entertainment, and more that’ll be closing at Disney World in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Rides Closing at Disney World
Photo by Dom Tabon
DINOSAUR
One of the biggest reveals at 2024’s D23: The Ultimate Fan Event? The expanded details about the attractions, dining, and reimagining coming to Animal Kingdom. A big expansion is planned for the theme park – but the expansion plans also include removing the current Dinoland, U.S.A. and replacing its attractions.
As a result, Disney announced that DINOSAUR will close permanently to
2025-2026 Disney World Refurbishment Calendar
This Walt Disney World ride refurbishment calendar lists the closure schedule for 2025-2026 at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom. Attractions close for routine maintenance, safety upgrades, improvements, and reimaginings. (Updated September 6, 2025.)
While no one wants attraction downtime during their trip to Walt Disney World, refurbishments are necessary to keep the rides looking wonderful (and safe!) for future visitors. Usually, there are only a handful of simultaneous closures, plus new attractions being built. Observe that the list below includes several refurbishments that have either been scheduled last-minute, extended, or are longer than normal.
If you’re visiting Walt Disney World in the next couple of years, you’ll probably encounter more cruise closures than in the past. There are already a couple of major attractions on the refurbishment calendar that will be closed between now and 2026. And these aren’t the only attractions likely to go down for long closures in the next year, Walt Disney Nature made major announcements at the latest D23 Expo. That construction will start in
What’s Closing at Disney World in 2025 and Beyond?
Walt Disney himself had a plan for his parks to continue to evolve. We’ve seen a lot of changes at Walt Disney World Resort over the last few decades. It’s always exciting when something new is built. On the contrary, replacing rides, or closing them, can be met with a lot of disappointment from Disney visitors. There have been some big announcements about what’s coming to Disney World over the next few years. Some of those new offerings will actually replace current attractions. So what is closing at Disney World in 2025? What’s closing in Disney World soon? What’s going away in the next few years? We have a look at what rides you can expect to say goodbye to on your next trip.
What’s Closing in Disney World in 2025? 2026?
Some of these we don’t have exact dates or time frames for. We do know that they are closing based on what Disney has shared though.
It’s Tough to be a Bug! at Animal Kingdom
The long running It’s Tough to be a Bug! show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will soon be replaced. This is the 4D film experience inside the Tree of Life Theater. Fl
BIG things are happening in Disney World. Magic Kingdom is getting a Frontierland Cars expansion AND a new Villains land.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is getting a Villains show and a new Monsters, Inc. land, while Disney’s Animal Kingdom is getting a Zootopia show and a Tropical Americas-themed land, Pueblo Esperanza. Meanwhile, Disney is busy sprucing up other rides, too, so let’s just say some rides in Disney World will be closed in 2025.
Magic Kingdom
Over in Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Frontierlandis closed for a lengthy refurbishment that could take the greater part of the year. Although Disney has not revealed a reopening date, Disney has stated the construction would last for at least a year, so this ride will probably not reopen until at least 2026.
In Tomorrowland, Astro Orbiter is also getting a refurbishment — in fact, parts of the ride have been removed to be taken to another facility for an update. We don’t have a reopening date for this ride either.
As Disney has plans to replace Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat with the new Villains land, it’s possible those two attractio