Here Are the New Disney Experiences Coming in 2025

The Walt Disney Company never stops innovating. Disney Vacation Club members benefit from these constant improvements, as they enrich all our future vacations. Simultaneously, the updates enhance the value of our DVC contracts. So, we always have good reasons to anticipate what comes next at the theme parks. Here are the new Disney experiences coming in 2025.
Walt Disney Returns
Disney views 2025 as a pivotal year at the parks. That’s partially due to the upcoming transitional phase. Over the next 12 months, several unforgettable attractions like DINOSAUR, Muppet*Vision 3D, and the Red Car Trolley will close forever. In their place, Disney will add entirely new experiences.
We also shouldn’t overlook the fact that Universal Epic Universe debuts during Memorial Day Weekend 2025. So, Disney feels a bit more pressure than usual to deliver exceptional new experiences.
Disney needs some headline-generating attractions, and it’ll introduce one of them in May 2025. Walt Disney – A Magical Life will debut on May 16th, 2025, at Disneyland Park. In case you haven’t heard, this attraction features an Audio-Animatronic version of Walt Disney. Yes, from now on, Walt Disney will appear in robotic form at the theme park he built.
Obviously, expectations are high for this new show, which will alternate with the longstanding Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Importantly, Walt Disney’s family has seen, tested, and approved the Audio-Animatronic. So, it must be pretty good.
World of Color Takes a New Shape
Speaking of Disneyland Resort, the park turns 70 years old in 2025. Understandably, Disney officials plan to throw a yearlong party to celebrate the milestone.
As part of this anniversary, Disney will bring back some old presentations in new forms. For example, we’ll get a new version of a classic, World of Color Happiness! It’ll feature the World of Color visuals you know, and the theme will embrace Walt Disney’s opening day quote, “To all who come to this happy place, welcome.”
Other park staples like Paint the Night and Wondrous Journeys will also return in 2025. Disney has promised new birthday outfits for Mickey and Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters as well. So, 2025 promises to be a memorable time to visit Disneyland.
Test Track 3.0 Debuts
Walt Disney World is undergoing a similarly dramatic overhaul. While Disneyland Resort builds an Avatar themed land, a Coco boat ride, and an Avengers Campus expansion, the Orlando parks will all add new attractions soon.
The fun begins at EPCOT, whose seven-year makeover has officially been completed. However, some attractions remain in the pipeline, starting with the debut of Test Track 3.0 late this summer.
Disney has promised to return the attraction back to the glory days of 1980s EPCOT by adding more of a World of Motion vibe. Insiders expect the new version of Test Track to highlight battery-powered vehicles as well, presumably at the request of the attraction’s sponsor, GM.
Hollywood Studios Adds New Shows
In 2018 and 2019, Disney’s Hollywood Studios introduced Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Since then, the park has grown exponentially more popular. Alas, attendance fell in late 2023 and 2024, which Disney noticed.
So, Hollywood Studios will add even more experiences in the coming years. Muppets Courtyard will close, and Disney will repurpose the space into Monstropolis, a themed land dedicated to Monsters, Inc. That change means the end of Muppet*Vision 3D, at least as we know it. However, The Muppets will become the new stars of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Construction on these projects begins in 2025. To keep guests entertained in the interim, the park will open two new shows. The most exciting one is Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, which will feature some of Disney’s most iconic scoundrels. Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil, and Maleficent are among the Disney Villains who will appear.
Just down the street, The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure will debut. This new show replaces the classic Little Mermaid show that anchored Animation Courtyard for many years. Disney promises “cutting-edge digital imagery motion capture” for some of the characters like King Triton, Ariel’s sisters, and Ursula.
Zootopia Replaces A Bug’s Life
Those of you visiting Walt Disney World over the next two months should prioritize It’s Tough to Be a Bug! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This opening day attraction will close soon to make way for its replacement.
During the winter of 2025, Disney will unveil Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, a new show based on the Zootopia universe. The timing here isn’t coincidental, as Zootopia 2 debuts in theaters on November 26th, 2025. So, this will be the year of Zootopia at Animal Kingdom, which is quite fitting, really.
Walt Disney World Introduces New Experiences
In addition to these attractions, the parks will introduce several other new experiences. At Magic Kingdom, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away! will debut this summer. Disney promises “nostalgic Disney storytelling and glowing innovation” for the nighttime parade. The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio will thematically tie together all the floats so that they share a common thread.
Meanwhile, Adventureland will add something sure to please anyone who loves talking like a pirate. A Pirates of the Caribbean themed tavern will debut in late 2025. The Disney Parks Blog guarantees that the “lounge will welcome pirates of all ages with a sea-worthy selection of grogs and grub.” We’ll have to wait and see exactly what that means. I’ll be honest that I’d expected it to be an adult-only experience.
Speaking of lounges, EPCOT will make my dreams come true when it opens the Spaceship Earth lounge. Even those of you who aren’t Spaceship Earth enthusiasts should be excited about this one. The lounge will feature “breathtaking views of the park from an entirely new angle” that provides “sweeping views of World Celebration Gardens and a unique perspective of the nightly fireworks.”
Overall, Disneyland and Walt Disney World have uncovered clever ways to make the parks better in 2025 even as construction begins on future expansion.
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