Disney World Ride, Attractions, and Other Theme Park Refurbishments
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.
Last Updated: August 8, 2025
Permanent Closings 2025-2026
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
*These closings are to make way for a Frontierland expansion that features a new Cars-themed area called Piston Peak.
- 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)
- Details Here for All Three Closings
*These closings are to make way for a new Monsters, Inc.-themed land that features Disney Parks first-ever hanging roller coaster.
- Upcoming Permanent Closures at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Animation Courtyard, except for The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure
- Star Wars Launch Bay (Last Day: September 24, 2025) (Details)*
- Disney Junior Play and Dance (Last Day: September 24, 2025) (Details)*
- Disney Visa Star Wars Meet-and-Greet (Last Day: September 24, 2025) (Details)*
- The Disney Junior Play ‘n’ Dine breakfast is closing in mid-August. It will be replaced by Minnie’s Seasonal Dine, which is already offered during lunch and dinner.
*These closings are to make way for a new animation-inspired experience and a Walt Disney Studios Lot coming to this area of the park. (Announcement Here)
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Permanent Closures
- Upcoming Permanent Animal Kingdom Closures
- The Boneyard Playground will permanently close on September 2, 2025. (Details)
- DINOSAUR will remain open through 2025. A permanent closing date has not been announced yet.
*This area of the park is closing for a Tropical Americas-themed land expansion. Additionally, a new attraction, Zootopia: Better Zoogether, will open in place of the former It’s Tough to Be a Bug later in 2025.
Magic Kingdom
The following notices are in place for Magic Kingdom:
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
- Closed since August 4, 2025
- Details
Walt Disney World Website Statement: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will be temporarily closed for refurbishment beginning August 4, 2025, and is planned to reopen in 2026
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Closed since January 6, 2025
- Details
Walt Disney World Website Statement: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will temporarily close for refurbishment on January 6, 2025. The attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.
- Walt Disney World Railroad (STILL OPEN)
- Operates on a Reduced Schedule starting July 7, 2025. (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 beginning July 7. The attraction will operate as a shuttle between Main Street Station and Fantasyland Station only.
- Dumbo Play While You Wait Area
- Closed since February 24, 2025 (Details)
- Update: Extended Through Later in 2025
Walt Disney World Website Statement: The indoor children’s playground in the Dumbo the Flying Elephant queue is closed for refurbishment and is expected to reopen later this year. The attraction will remain open and available during this time.
Epcot
The following refurbishment notices are posted for Epcot.
- Spaceship Earth
- Closing August 25, 2025
- Reopens Later in 2025
- Details
Walt Disney World Website Statement: Spaceship Earth will be temporarily closed for a routine refurbishment beginning August 25, 2025, and is planned to reopen later this year.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
There are no notices at this time. It is important to note that while Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster won’t permanently close, it will close in 2026 to be re-imagined into a Muppets-themed roller coaster.
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
- Current Version Closes in 2026 (2025 is the last year to ride.)
- Muppets Take Over in 2026
- Details
Info: Disney announced that the Muppets Takeover of Rock ‘n’ Roller will debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios sometime in 2026. An exact opening date for the newly themed attraction has not been given at this time. In their statement, Disney also shared that the current Aerosmith version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will remain open through the remainder of 2025.
- Disney Junior Play and Dance: Closed during Cool Kid Summer at Disney World. (This attraction will permanently close in September, as noted in the permanent closures section at the top of this page.)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
No notices posted at this time.
*See permanent closures at the top of this page for attractions that have closed or are closing this year.
Other
- The Disney Skyliner
- Per Disney, the Skyliner will close for refurbishment from January 25, 2026, to January 31, 2026. (See complete 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 information about planning your time at the Disney World Parks, you might enjoy these articles:
- Everything You Need to Know About Lightning Lanes at Disney World
- Disney World Rides with Height Requirements
- How to Use Rider Switch at Disney World
- Early Theme Park Entry for Resort Guests (How it Works)
For resorts, characters, and dining, the following resources are all good starting points:
- Our Disney World Dining Guide
- Disney World Transportation Options
- Where to Meet Characters at Disney World
- Disney World Resort Hotels Guide
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