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The start of a new year means a year of new experiences at the Happiest Place on Earth. Some will be good changes, while some are disappointing. In this post I will lay out all of the new things coming to Disney World in 2025, as well as things leaving Disney World this year.
1) Free Waterpark access on day of check-in
Perhaps one of the most exciting and beneficial changes is a perk being given to all guests staying at a Disney World hotel. If you are staying on Disney property for your trip in 2025, you will be given free entrance to either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach on your day of check-in. The waterpark that you can access will depend on which water park in open during the time of year you are visiting.
This is a big perk that will leave Disney guests feeling satisfied. I wouldn't be surprised if this perk swayed some people to stay on property rather than off property. A one day pass to a waterpark would ordinarily cost $75 per adult, so this is very valuable. I am sure that this will get guests arriving earlier than they might ordinarily arrive on their day of check in, in order to get the most use out of this perk. We are personally arriving in the morning, so that we will have most of the day at that waterpark, for free. It might even be beneficial to some, to arrive in Florida the day before so that they can check into Disney and be at the waterpark upon opening.
For now, Disney has only stated that this perk applies to stays within 2025. It will be interesting to see if it extends to other years.
2) Say Goodbye to Big Thunder Mountain until 2026
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As of January 6, 2025, Big Thunder Mountain has closed in Magic Kingdom for an extremely lengthy refurbishment. Disney has announced that it is not slated to reopen again until 2026, with no mention of exactly when that year. There have been no details as to what needs to be refurbished, or if anything will change.
It is very sad that one of the mountains in Magic Kingdom will be closed the entire year of 2025. It is one of the biggest and most popular rides in Magic Kingdom and its absence will be disappointing for a lot of guests visiting the park. I am definitely surprised that Disney would be willing to have it closed for the entire year. Hopefully the changes being brought to the ride will be worth a year plus hiatus!
3) Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge
In "Late 2025" a Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge is slated to open in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom. I am pretty excited about this one, since Pirates of the Caribbean is currently my favorite ride in Magic Kingdom. This will also be the first bar to ever open in Magic Kingdom, bringing a new vibe to Adventureland. Make of that way you may...
It is not clear where this Lounge will be opening. However, guests have noticed that Tortuga Tavern was recently closed and construction walls have gone up in the vicinity. That gives a pretty good indication that the Lounge might be taking over the Tortuga Tavern space, which would make sense since it is right next door to the ride.
4) A Nighttime Parade Returns to Magic Kingdom
This is another extremely exciting change coming to Magic Kingdom! Ever since the Main Street Electrical Parade closed in 2016, there has been no nighttime parade at Disney World. The lack of nighttime entertainment, besides the fireworks show, has been a glaring absence, so it will be amazing to have the nighttime parade back.
The new nighttime parade will be called "Dream the Night Away" and is slated to open in "summer 2025." It is expected to include characters from Peter Pan, Encanto, Frozen, and Moana, and I am sure the floats will be beautifully lit up in the dark. I am very much looking forward to this parade, and I will definitely make it a point to watch it once it opens.
5) A Zootopia show is coming to the Tree of Life
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In Winter of 2025, a Zootopia show will be replacing It's Tough to Be a Bug inside of the Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom. The show will be called Zootopia: Better Zoogether.
Some may be sad about this news. Afterall, It's Tough to Be a Bug has taken residence inside the Tree of Life since Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. However, Zootopia truly is fitting to be featured in Animal Kingdom, and is a far more relevant film to today's day and age than Bug's Life. In fact, the film Zootopia 2 is opening in summer of 2025.
The show will be a 4D show, just like It's Tough to Be a Bug.
6) Say Goodbye to DinoLand USA
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Disney has been talking about the replacement of DinoLand in Animal Kingdom for several years now, and the time has finally come. The Land will be officially closing for good in "early 2025" so that construction and retheming can occur. The land is set to become Tropical Americas, which will ultimately contain and Encanto area and an Indiana Jones area. I personally am happy about this change. DinoLand is extremely dated and most people opt to completely skip this area in Animal Kingdom unless you have very young children. It is really a waste of park space right now, with multiple open parking lot looking strips of pavement. With some good retheming, this area can breath new life into Animal Kingdom. The unfortunate part- the new area and rides are not slated to open until at least 2027. That means Animal Kingdom will be a little bare for the next couple of years.
Some good news for fans visiting Animal Kingdom in 2025- the ride Dinosaur will be operating the entire year. It is not set to close until 2026, at which time it will be turned into the Indiana Jones ride featured in Disneyland. After much speculation that it would be closing in 2025, fans hoping to get one last ride on this icon are in luck.
7) Goodbye Muppets, Hello Monstropolis
While no official date has been announced, at some point during 2025 the Muppets 3D show in Hollywood Studios will close for good. This is because Grand Ave., the area that houses Muppets 3D and PizzeRizzo will officially be rethemed to Montropolis from Monster's Inc. This construction in slated to begin in 2025.
While some may be disappointed about this, I am personally very excited. The Muppets are pretty outdated and not relevant at all to more recent generations. The 3D show has been there forever and rarely has any type of crowd waiting to view it. The whole area feels like a waste of space. However, Monster's Inc. and Monster's University were both very popular movies, and I believe Monstropolis will be a huge hit. It will feature the first suspended rollercoaster in Disney World. With the level of theming that Disney is capable of, I think this area will be amazing and I cannot wait for it to open!
For those grieving the loss of the Muppets in Hollywood Studios- it has also been announced that they are being given a new residency at the Rockin' Roller Coaster. The ride will no longer be themed after Aerosmith, and instead will feature the Muppets. This change I am less excited about, but have to admit that Muppets are definitely more Disney than Aerosmith ever was. I never quite understood why the Rock Band had such a prominent existence in a Disney World park. There has been no updates on when this change to Rockin' Rollercoaster will occur.
8) New Little Mermaid Show
After 2020, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid failed to reopen in Hollywood Studios following the Covid shutdown. Finally, a new rendition of the show will be opening in Summer of 2025, called "The Little Mermaid- A Musical Adventure."
The show will be in the same located as the previous show and I anticipate it being very similar to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
9) New Villains Show
Another new show will be opening in Hollywood Studios in Summer of 2025, called "Villains Unfairly Ever After." This show will be in the theater behind the Rockin' Rollercoaster and will replace Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy. Not too many details have been released, but the storyline will center around the Magic Mirror from Snow White and guests will see many villains from various Disney movies.
10) Test Track 3.0
In "late summer 2025" Test Track is set to reopen in EPCOT. Test Track 2.0 closed in June, 2024, for an update being funded by General Motors (the company linked to this ride). It will reopen this year better and faster than ever. With it being located right next to Guardians of the Galaxy, it sets up World Discovery to be a high tech, cutting technology ride portion of EPCOT. I am excited to see what is to come with the rides reopening.
11) Spaceship Earth Lounge
In Late Spring 2025, a new lounge will be opening INSIDE of Spaceship Earth. This sounds pretty cool to me! The menu will feature food and drinks, and the windows in the lounge will offer views of the Lagoon and the nightly firework show. It will be interesting to see the theming that Disney uses for this neat opportunity.
As you can see, there are a lot of change coming to Walt Disney World. The items above are solely changes occurring in 2025, but we already know of concepts in the works for 2026 and beyond. I am excited for all that is to come and am always amazed at how every trip I take to Disney World has some new features/experiences that was not there the previous time we visited. It is inspiring how Disney World is constantly growing and evolving, with no end in sight.
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