Disney World Ride, Attractions, and Other Theme Park Closings and Refurbishments

This resource tracks ride, attraction, and other theme park closings and refurbishments at Walt Disney World. As you’re probably aware, most guests go into a Disney World vacation with a list of must-do attractions. You plan and plan for months, sometimes years. The last thing you want is to arrive at Disney World and find that one or more of your top-pick attractions are closed for refurbishment. It’s a sad day when you’re standing outside the gates of The Haunted Mansion only to find out the ride is closed. If you think about it, you can almost hear the ghost host laughing. But you’re not. How many times will you think, “I can’t believe we missed that,” over the course of your visit?

Sadly, it is inevitable that some rides and attractions will be closed for refurbishment or routine maintenance during your visit. Disney does their best to post these notices ahead of time. Naturally, things sometimes happen, and only short notices are provided. We try to maintain an ongoing list to help you plan. Below, we’ve listed scheduled refurbishments and closings for the theme parks. If you’re looking for similar information on the resorts, we keep a separate list of Disney Resort Hotel Refurbishments.

Permanent Closings in Recent Years

As you may have heard, the theme park landscape is drastically changing in three of the four Disney World theme parks. To help you stay abreast of these changes, we’ve added this list of permanent closures:

• Magic Kingdom Permanent Closures
  • Liberty Square Riverboat (Closed Permanently July 7, 2025)
  • Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America (Closed Permanently July 7, 2025)

*These closings were to make way for a Frontierland expansion that features a new Cars-themed area called Piston Peak and an entirely new land themed to Disney Villains.

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios Permanent Closures
  • Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano (Closed Permanently May 10, 2025)
  • Muppet Vision 3D (Closed Permanently June 7, 2025)
  • PizzeRizzo (Closed Permanently June 7, 2025)
  • Star Wars Launch Bay (Closed Permanently September 25, 2025)
  • Disney Junior Play and Dance (Closed Permanently September 25, 2025)
  • Disney Visa Star Wars Meet-and-Greet (Closed Permanently September 25, 2025)
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (Closed Permanently March 1, 2026)*

*This attraction closed to be re-imagined into a similar ride starring The Muppets, which is now open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Permanent Closures
  
  • It’s Tough to Be a Bug permanently closed on March 17, 2025. (*Replaced by Zootopia: Better Zoogether)
  • Dinoland U.S.A. closed on February 2, 2026
  • Rafiki’s Planet Watch, The Animation Experience at Conservation Station, and Affection Section permanently closed on February 23, 2026.*

*This area was reimagined as a new experience called Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station that opened on May 26, 2026.

Dinoland, U.S.A., permanently closed on February 2, 2026, to make way for a new Tropical Americas-themed land called Pueblo Esperanza. The DINOSAUR attraction will be rethemed to a new Indiana Jones attraction. The land will also be home to the first-ever Encanto-themed attraction.

Magic Kingdom Refurbishments

The following notices are in place for Magic Kingdom:

• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
  • Closing for refurbishment on July 26, 2026.
  • This attraction is expected to reopen sometime in 2027. New scenes, along with a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic, will be installed during the refurbishment. The attraction is expected to reopen in 2027. You can read more about the new scenes coming to the Carousel of Progress.

• Pete’s Silly Sideshow
  • Closed for refurbishment on January 5, 2026
  • Walt Disney World has announced that the characters who meet inside the circus tent of Pete’s Silly Sideshow will be temporarily relocated, starting January 4, 2026.

• Big Top Souvenirs
  • This candy and gift shop is closed for refurbishment. (Full Announcement)
    
• Walt Disney World Railroad (STILL OPEN)
  • This attraction currently operates on a reduced route. (Details)

Walt Disney World Website Statement: To make way for the largest expansion in history at Magic Kingdom, the Walt Disney World Railroad will be operating under a modified route that excludes Frontierland station. The attraction will operate as a shuttle between Main Street Station and Fantasyland Station only.

Epcot Refurbishments

No notices posted at this time.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Refurbishments

No notices posted at this time. Remember that the former Muppet’s Courtyard is under construction. The area is being re-themed to a Monsters, Inc. themed land.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Refurbishments

No notices are posted at this time. Remember that the former Dinoland, U.S.A., is under construction to become a new Tropical Americas-themed land.

Disney Water Park Refurbishments

There are no water park refurbishment notices posted as of this update. Both water parks are open for the entirety of the summer.

*Both water parks are open for the summer. Select resort hotel guests can take advantage of complimentary water park admission on their check-in dates this summer, between May 26th and September 8, 2026.

Other

• The Disney Skyliner
  • Per Disney, the Skyliner will close for refurbishment from January 24, 2027, to January 30, 2027. (See the 2027 closures details here.)

Final Thoughts

Disney’s ride closure and refurbishment schedule is often extensive and continually ongoing. With so many attractions, this kind of work is to be expected. We update this guide as we become aware of these changes. So make sure to check back often for more details. For more details about planning your park visit, our Disney Parks Guide is a good place to start. Check back with Resorts Gal soon!