Welcome to 2025! When it comes to the Disney theme parks, I think 2025 (and 2026, mostly) will be a bit of a transition year. There were many exciting announcements and projects announced this past year, but they will take some time before they actually happen. So in the meantime, we’ll see construction and some ride closures. But in order to compensate for that, it does seem like Disney is throwing in some smaller (and sometimes temporary) things too. So we’ll see some new shows, new lounges, a new nighttime parade – and maybe more new things to come, too!
Disney news
- This year is Disneyland’s 70th anniversary – and there will be lots of fun things happening between May of this year and summer 2026!
- The new Island Tower at the Polynesian has opened, which also means there is another food option! Wailulu Bar & Grill is the new quick service restaurant and bar there.
- Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival will be happening this year from March 5-June 2, 2025.
- Epcot’s Festival of the Arts starts on January 17th, and there will be a few new experiences this year!
- As construction begins in Disney World over the next few years, we are likely to see some ride closures – plus regular refurbishments. In the month of January Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Astro Orbiter, Hall of Presidents, Kali River Rapids, and Gran Fiesta Tour will all go down for refurbs (plus Tricera Top Spin will close permanently). Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is also expected to go down for a refurb soon.
- Bluey is coming to Disney theme parks and cruise ships! She will first begin meet and greets on the Disney cruises, and it is expected that she and her family will be in the theme parks sometime in the coming year.
Disney rumors
Disney World // Disney has started asking people in surveys if they would like to see The Simpsons in the parks… which of course means there’s lots of speculation on that! My understanding is that Universal has the theme park rights until 2028, so we wouldn’t see anything announced anytime soon.
Epcot // Coco is a film that has been mentioned many times (even by Josh D’Amaro) as being considered for some of the expansion projects, but it doesn’t seem to have made the cut for anything currently announced. That being said, rumors of Coco coming to the Mexico pavilion have been around for years, and are resurfacing again now.
Magic Kingdom // TRON dropped its virtual queue not too long ago, which makes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure the only attraction in Magic Kingdom currently using one. Some people are guessing that Tiana’s will also drop the virtual queue soon – especially with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad undergoing a year-long refurbishment, it would give another standby option to people in that section of the park.
Other Disney blog posts
Tom at Disney Tourist Blog has some commentary on what he thinks might happen to MuppetVision 3D once it is removed from its current home in Hollywood Studios.
Do you think visiting Disney World helps you practice patience? Over at Mouse Hacking, they discuss how it can actually be beneficial to spend some time waiting in line.
Over at The Small Adventurer, Indya has the cutest mini cheesecakes decorated to look like the Pixar ball!
Curious how different Disney World was in 1979? George at ImaginNERDing shares a look inside a 1979 Disney World vacation guide.
Oh my goodness, here I was reading to see what might be happening in the world of all things Disney and then I see my own name! That was a surprise! Thank you for linking to my recipe, that’s so kind of you ☺️ And wow, I can’t believe Disneyland is 70 this year! What a big year.
Your recipes are so amazing – they are always beautiful and of course I love the Disney-inspired ones! 🙂