What Has Changed at the Parks, and What Is Coming Next?

My wife and I spent the past month writing a Walt Disney World vacation guide you can read next year. It was a challenging process beyond the obvious reasons in that we were playing at the maximum difficulty setting. 

That’s because Disney is in the middle of an unprecedented theme park makeover, with four of its six American theme parks currently undergoing expansion-related improvements. Meanwhile, several experiences have closed in 2025, with another big one coming in 2026. So, what has changed at Disney theme parks, and what is coming next?

Disney California Adventure

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog (Disney California Adventure – Avatar Attraction)

Disneyland Park is the only park with absolutely nothing happening at the moment, although Walt Disney – A Magical Life opened this past summer. So, we’ll skip straight to Disney California Adventure.

At this park, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! will close early in 2026. The park must reclaim this space in anticipation of the opening of the upcoming Avatar themed land. Over the next year, construction will also begin on the promised Coco boat ride.

Believe it or not, that’s not all. Avengers Campus will expand by adding two new attractions, Stark Flight Lab and the ballyhooed Avengers: Infinity Defense. The latter attraction features King Thanos aka the Thanos Who Won. He’s the Thanos in the multiverse who defeated the Avengers. So, this ride will require Avengers from other realities to assemble to end his dark reign.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog (Indiana Jones and ‘Encanto’ at Animal Kingdom)

Here’s the park that will change the most over the next couple of years. Technically, the changes have already begun, with Animal Kingdom already closing several attractions. The year started with the deaths of TriceraTops Spin and It’s Tough to Be a Bug! Then, in early September, the iconic Boneyard went extinct. 

On February 2nd, 2026, DinoLand USA and DINOSAUR will also close for good. At that point, the park will enter a kind of limbo as it awaits its upcoming replacement themed land.

Disney has promised that the Tropical Americas will debut in 2027. This new area will include an Indiana Jones ride that replaces DINOSAUR. More importantly, we’re getting Pueblo Esperanza, an area themed to Encanto. 

The anchor attraction here will be a dark ride where guests enter the magical Casa Madrigal from the movie! The premise here is that you board magical furniture that flies you from room to room. How great is that?!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Here’s another park that has suffered a rough 2025. Earlier this year, Disney closed Muppet*Vision 3D, the last project Jim Henson worked on before his death. Disney also shut down the rest of Muppets Courtyard, including PizzeRizzo and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano. 

Disney is reclaiming this space to use it for something better, and I say that as a fan of Muppet*Vision 3D. We’re getting Monstropolis in a couple of years. It’s an entire themed land based on Monsters, Inc. Its highlight will be a roller coaster that recreates the door chase scene from the movie. This one has been rumored for a decade, no joke, and we should all be thrilled that we’re finally getting it. 

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog (Monsters Inc. at Hollywood Studios)

More recently, park officials provided the surprise announcement that The Magic of Disney Animation will make its return. This attraction will replace Star Wars Launch Bay, which is both amusing and oddly fitting. In 2015, Disney closed The Magic of Disney Animation and replaced it with – you guessed it! – Star Wars Launch Bay. So, this building will come full circle. 

As part of this change, Disney will close Animation Courtyard and re-theme the area. At some point in 2026, a replacement themed land, The Walt Disney Studios, will open here.

Remarkably, that’s not the only happening in 2026 nor is it the only change involving The Muppets. Disney will re-theme Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, turning it into Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets. 

EPCOT

I’d hoped for more during Destination D23. Alas, Disney barely announced anything of note and nothing involving EPCOT. So, at the moment, only one major project was recently ongoing at this park.

Spaceship Earth was temporarily closed for refurbishment but has since reopened at EPCOT. The attraction soft-opened on October 18, 2025—about a week ahead of its previously scheduled official reopening on October 25. The closure was part of a routine refurbishment that included maintenance and updates to the interior and exterior, though no major changes were made to the ride’s overall experience.

Currently, Spaceship Earth is operating, though as part of a soft opening, it may close again temporarily, and its wait times might not yet appear in the My Disney Experience app.

Magic Kingdom

Here’s the park where Disney has done the unthinkable in 2025…multiple times. For starters, Disney is in the process of land-locking the Rivers of America, one of the most visible features of the park. As a byproduct of this change, Disney has shuttered Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat.

In a couple of years, Piston Peak will open in this vicinity. It’s a Cars themed area that will be part of Frontierland. We’re getting two rides here, one of which is a family-friendly ride. The other will be more of a thrill ride where Cars characters participate in an off-road race. 

Currently, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closed as well. Disney is relaying the tracks here as it uses some of the space for the upcoming Disney Villains themed land, which is apparently still several years away from opening. 

Courtesy of Disney Parks Blog (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad New Refurbishment)

Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin has closed for modernization. Unlike Spaceship Earth, Disney isn’t calling this a refurbishment. Instead, it’ll be more like Space Ranger Spin 2.0, with entirely new lasers, updated digital displays, and a new scene.

Somehow, that’s not even the biggest news at Tomorrowland. Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, long considered one of the untouchable Disney attractions, will get an update! No, I’m not talking about the final scene, either, although Disney may change that as well.

The big deal here is that the attraction will add a Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic, similar to the one at Disneyland Park’s Walt Disney – A Magical Life. Disney’s wording here suggests that the rest of the show will probably remain unchanged, but who knows? Until the new version of the show debuts next year, we’re all just reading the tea leaves. 

Still, as you can see, we’re in an era of unprecedented change at Disney’s American theme parks. So, please keep checking back for updates on all the big expansion plans.

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