2026-2027 Disney World Refurbishment Calendar

This Walt Disney World ride refurbishment calendar lists the closure schedule for 2026 at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom. Attractions close for routine maintenance, safety upgrades, improvements, and reimaginings.

While no one wants attraction downtime during their trip to Walt Disney World, refurbishments are necessary to keep the rides looking good (and safe!) for future visitors. Usually, there are only a handful of simultaneous closures, plus new attractions being built.

The good news is that many closures ended with the start of summer at Walt Disney World. Several new and reimagined attractions and experiences debuted, and Walt Disney World currently has the fewest routine refurbishments in over a year. And interestingly, not much has been added for the off-season, although there are a couple of new closures between late September and December 2026.

The reason for fewer routine refurbishments is in part because Walt Disney World has started its next development cycle and also is undertaking several larger-scale projects as opposed to routine refurbishments. There’s a lot of ongoing construction throughout Walt Disney World, beyond the scope of attraction closures.

Entire lands and areas of the parks, from Dino-Rama to the Rivers of America to Muppets Courtyard, are completely closed. Accordingly, Disney doesn’t have as much ‘excess bandwidth’ to take even more attractions offline for brief preventative maintenance or TLC.

However, the other part of the fewer closures is that one cycle of smaller projects has wrapped up and the other has not yet started in earnest. The first of these projects kicked off with the Carousel of Progress closure, but there are several more on deck that were just announced at the 2026 D23 Expo. None of these have closing dates attached yet, but we expect most of them to start in 2027 as opposed to 2026…

As a result of deferred maintenance, you can also expect unplanned downtime. Since this happens as a result of rides breaking down, you can’t really plan for it (hence it being “unplanned”).

We’re still mentioning this because you should expect rides to go offline during your trip, and prepare to roll with the punches. If anything is a “must-ride” for you, be sure to prioritize it and give yourself a buffer just in case it breaks down during your days at Walt Disney World.

If you want all of the latest updates on attraction closures and ride refurbishments–subscribe to our free Walt Disney World email newsletter. We also share other news and on-the-ground reports from the parks, when discounts are released, and much more.

Here is the current schedule of Walt Disney World refurbishments to attractions, when the closure starts, and when the refurbishment will conclude, updated as of September 9, 2026:

Animal Kingdom

• Bluey’s Wild World – Recently debuted
• Conservation Station – Recently reopened
• DINOSAUR – Extinct
• Expedition Everest – Closing at TBD date, likely in late 2027 or 2028
• Jumping Junction – Recently reopened
• Wildlife Express Train – Recently reopened

The big addition to this list is Expedition Everest. During the 2026 D23 Expo, Walt Disney World announced that they’re bringing the Yeti back to life, which means repairing the infamous Disco Yeti. Specifics have not yet been announced, but this likely will require closing Expedition Everest for several months. Our best guess is that this happens in late 2027 or 2028, after at least the first phase of Tropical Americas opens.

Speaking of which, construction is underway on the Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom, which will replace Dinoland USA. Walls are up around the Dino-Rama half of this expansion, which was the roadside carnival area of the land. Tropical Americas will feature Encanto and Indiana Jones attractions, and the expansion will open in 2027.

The Encanto dark ride is being built on the former Primeval Whirl, which went extinct years ago, whereas Indiana Jones Adventure is a reimagining of DINOSAUR. The final piece of the puzzle is that the permanent closure of Dinoland USA, including DINOSAUR. The land and attraction are now extinct.

Prior to this, Bluey’s Wild World debuted for the start of Cool Kids’ Summer, and along with it, everything in Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station returned, save for the Animation Experience. This includes Affection Section, which has been renamed as Jumping Junction.

Magic Kingdom

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Recently reopened!
• Big Top Souvenirs – Recently reopened
• Carousel of Progress – Closed for reimagining until late Spring 2027
• “Let the Magic Begin” Welcome Show – Permanently retired
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – Closing November 2, 2026 (Reopening expected in December 2026)
• Walt Disney World Railroad – Closed September 28, 2026 to October 29, 2026

Let’s start with the newly-added upcoming refurbishments to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and the Walt Disney World Railroad.

The first is these is the Walt Disney World Railroad, which is expected to be a straightforward routine refurbishment. One thing to note here is that Walt Disney World’s official website has a ‘warning’ bulletin that indicates the railroad “is expected to reopen November 2026,” whereas the calendar has hours posted starting October 30, 2026. Given that discrepancy, those hours could change.

Then there’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which closes for its first-ever routine refurbishment. We cover this badly-needed and overdue maintenance at length in that post, but suffice to say, TBA has a TBD reopening, but we expect it back before Christmas week. It’s unclear how long the project will actually end up being, but even a 6-week closure would be a tight timeframe to fix the issues with the attraction and carry out routine maintenance to the water-based attraction.

Beyond those upcoming projects, the only ongoing refurbishment at Magic Kingdom is Carousel of Progress.

The circa 1994 version closed on July 6th, for a massive overhaul that shifts its timeline forward by 60 years. For more details, concept art, our emotional roller coaster of a reaction to the announcement, and the same from 100+ readers, check out New Decades for Carousel of Progress.

During D23, Walt Disney World announced that Carousel of Progress will reopen in late Spring 2027. We’re honestly shocked by this timeline, and wouldn’t be surprised if Disney ends up using the Astronomical seasons for this one, and Carousel of Progress doesn’t reopen until June 2027.

EPCOT

• Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along – Recently reopened
• Impressions de France – Recently reopened
• Journey Into Imagination – Closing at TBD date (likely 2027)
• La Poutinerie – Now open
• La Signature – Closed for TBD refurbishment
• Soarin’ Across America – Recently debuted
• Spaceship Earth – Closing at TBD date (likely Winter 2027)

Two of the biggest bombshell announcements during the 2026 D23 Expo were the reimagining of Spaceship Earth and the reimagining of Journey Into Imagination, reuniting Dreamfinder and Figment. Both of these are expected to be big projects, and neither have dates.

We do not expect either of these projects to start in 2026. Most likely, Spaceship Earth will begin first, ideally in early 2027. Following that, our expectation is that Journey Into Imagination begins, and likely lasts into 2028.

Aside from those major projects, no significant attraction closures are on the calendar at EPCOT. La Signature is temporarily closed, and is expected to reopen later in 2026. Guerlain merchandise will be available to purchase at Plume Et Palette during this time. La Signature is a perfume shop in the France pavilion of World Showcase.

New for Summer 2026 is Soarin’ Across America, an airborne adventure as part of the US Semiquincentennial. The new bi-coastal offering showcases the United States—from sea to shining sea—highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes, including the Grand Canyon. Our expectation is that Soarin’ Across America enjoys an approximately 18-month run before Soarin’ Over the World returns, but that has not been confirmed by Disney.

Impressions de France and the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along also recently returned after a refresh of their shared theater.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• Animation Academy: Olaf Draws! – Debuts on September 14, 2026
• Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! – Recently debuted
• The Magic of Disney Animation – Opens on September 14, 2026
• Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run: A New Mission – Recently debuted
• Monstropolis – Opens in phases beginning in 2027
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – Permanently closed
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets – Recently debuted
• The Walt Disney Studios Lot – Recently debuted
• Vacation Fun with Mickey & Minnie – Reopens September 27, 2026

We’ll start here with that last entry, which is the Vacation Fun short film. This theater routinely closes throughout the year to serve as a flex space for distributing Annual Passholder magnets or selling merchandise.

It was previously used for May the Fourth, and will probably close again in November 2026 for the Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party, just as it has in the last couple of years. That’s not on the calendar yet, though.

Animation Courtyard has been reimagined into the Walt Disney Studios Lot, which has already started to debut in phases during Summer 2026.

Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live dance party and the land itself opened at the start of summer. The Magic of Disney Animation and everything inside the building is slated to open on September 14, 2026. Cast Member and media previews have already begun, suggesting that soft openings might occur in the days leading up to the official opening.

‘The Magic of Disney Animation’ replaces Star Wars Launch Bay, which was previously ‘The Magic of Disney Animation.’ You read that correctly. What’s old is new again!

MuppetVision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano are all now officially closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The Muppets have moved right along to Sunset Boulevard, which is now home to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets. That reimagined ride debuted earlier this summer.

The Muppets Courtyard area is set to be replaced by the Monsters Inc. Door Coaster and Monstropolis miniland, with a show taking over the MuppetVision 3D theater and new restaurants replacing the existing ones.

While work continues on the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster being built backstage (likely to open sometime in 2028), the theater show, two dining experiences, and the merchandise shop will all open in 2027. An exact opening date or season have not yet been set, but our expectation is Summer 2027.

Outside Theme Parks

• Disney Skyliner – Closed January 24, 2027 through January 30, 2027
• Blizzard Beach Water Park – Open for 2026 (likely closing in early 2027)
• Typhoon Lagoon – Closed for seasonal refurbishment

Both Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon were once again open at the same time for summer. That ended with Typhoon Lagoon now closed for refurbishment as of September 9, 2026.

This water park changeover happens every single year, with each water park taken offline for a seasonal refurbishment. This is equal parts routine maintenance and lack of demand, as it’s routinely colder during the fall through spring to the point that Walt Disney World doesn’t need both water parks.

It is typical for Typhoon Lagoon to reopen during the winter, with Blizzard Beach then for refurbishment ahead of the spring or summer seasons. The closure date has been all over the place in recent years, so we don’t have great precedent for when the next switchover will occur.

Finally, there’s the Disney Skyliner Gondolas Closure in Winter 2027. The 2026 version of this project just uneventfully wrapped up, and Walt Disney World has already posted the refurbishment dates for 2027. These are routine refurbishments that usually occur annually, so it’s not particularly noteworthy or unsurprising.

Thankfully, Walt Disney World provided plenty of notice so guests can plan around the closures. As explained in that post, we do not recommend staying at a Skyliner resort during the downtime (hence WDW providing so much advance warning).

For resort work, please see our 2026-2027 Walt Disney World Hotel Construction & Refurbishments. If you are worried that any of resort hotel renovations will impact your stay, here’s a general rule to keep in mind: room refurbishments rarely impact hotel stays. These occur in specific clusters, and you’ll rarely notice the work being done.

Now, here’s a bit of my philosophy concerning refurbishments…

General Thoughts on Refurbishments

When news comes out about any refurbishment, my immediate reaction is always, “this is great–it means they’re actually doing something to the attraction!” My mind races with the possibilities of how attractions could be improved or plussed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Even though we might miss it on our next Walt Disney World visit, I’m always excited.

In reading feedback from others, I’ve discovered this perspective puts me in the minority. Others online fume about this, and how it would alter or impact their vacation plans. The saying “vacation ruined” has attained near-meme status among some fans, and that felt apt for some of the complaints. I can understand the perspective. Assessing the scope of the refurbishment in advance, scheduling liberal refurbishment dates, and opening early (under-promising and over-delivering) is always preferable to the alternative.

I can also understand that there’s other pent-up frustration at play here, ranging from radio-silence on projects to Walt Disney World’s tardiness in releasing park hours while expecting guests to plan several months in advance. Neither of these moves by Disney, among others, are defensible. At best, this communication is poor guest service. At worst, it’s demonstrative of a contemptible attitude towards guests.

However, I remain of the mindset that this refurbishment extension–and other current refurbishments–is potentially a good thing. Among the most vocal fans upset about the extension are those who are like me: guests who visit Walt Disney World at least every-other year. We are playing the ‘long’ fandom game.

From my perspective, investing in the long-term quality of an attraction is far more important than the temporary satisfaction I’ll get out of riding it on my next visit. I get excited when thinking about ways rides could be plussed, improving the experience for years to come. This is why it always perplexes me when regulars contend that their vacation will be ruined because their favorite attraction will be closed.

If it’s your favorite attraction and you’re active in the Disney fan community, that means you’ve been to Walt Disney World before and probably will visit again. It would thus stand to reason that you would want something you love to get the TLC it deserves, and continue to improve.

DINOSAUR works as a good example here. This attraction used to be called Countdown to Extinction (“CTX”) before an ill-advised movie tie-in was added. During that era, DINOSAUR had a litany of additional effects, many of its AAs had greater functionality, and the attraction was, as a whole, more impressive.

If you are a long-term fan, would you rather experience DINOSAUR every single year with 66% of the effects working, or every single year minus one with 95% of the effects working? For me, the answer to that is easy. I’ll take a superior long term experience every time. (That this is even a legitimate question for long-time fans speaks to the ‘instant gratification’ nature of things today, but that’s well beyond the scope of this post.)

Beyond that, there’s the much more compelling justification for regular refurbishments: they are essential for the safety of attractions. While we think of these attractions as all fun and games that offer a safe sense of exhilaration, that’s when they are properly maintained.

It’s unpleasant to think about, but there have been several preventable deaths in the history of Disney’s parks. During a dark era of Disneyland history, improper maintenance was the cause of death on Big Thunder Mountain (thankfully, Paul Pressler’s reign of terror is over). Years of neglect at Disneyland Paris have led to incidents of injury that could be attributed to a lack of maintenance (again, this has been addressed).

This is not meant to scare anyone or provoke an emotional reaction; the fact is that Disney’s worldwide safety record is sterling as compared to other park operators. It’s still important to remember that these fun, ‘magical’ places also exist in the real world and use a lot of potentially dangerous elements if safety is not viewed as key. (Or, in Disney’s case, one of the “Five Keys.”)

When it comes to maintenance that is not essential to the safe operation of an attraction, we are left to contemplate what amount of show quality should be accepted. If following a strict Nunisian practitioner of the Four Keys, show is another paramount consideration, and it should always be 100%. This is nice corporate propaganda, but I think the practical reality is that 100% is an unworkably high threshold in many circumstances.

I think we have seen this play out with Expedition Everest. Fans joke about the “Disco Yeti” and lament the fact that this jaw-dropping Audio Animatronics figure has not worked in nearly a decade. There are numerous theories as to why the Yeti hasn’t been fixed; what each of these share is that there are large-scale problems and no quick fixes.

Fixing the Yeti will require a closure of at least 6 months, and be quite expensive. The working Yeti is truly a magnificent sight to behold (and one most of you probably haven’t seen in A-mode unless you rode over a decade ago), but the attraction is still impressive with the Disco Yeti. At this point, it’s likely that Disney has determined the closure would take too long, cost too much, and the improvement would not be worth the investment.

There’s also the reality that Animal Kingdom is lacking in rides. Even after the opening of Pandora – World of Avatar, the park still is heavy on shows and animal exhibits and light on rides. Taking one of the park’s flagship rides down for 6 months to a year to fix one Audio Animatronics figure that guests see for 1-2 seconds might not be worth the sacrifice.

As a staunch proponent of show quality, I have a difficult time accepting the same argument for any attraction in Magic Kingdom, a park with a veritable “mountain range” and diverse slate of other attractions. In fact, the same goes for every castle park. These parks have enough attractions to pick up the slack if 1-2 attractions have to be taken offline simultaneously without ruining any vacations.

Guests are understandably concerned when it appears an inordinate number of attractions are closing during their vacation. Walt Disney World vacations are not cheap and are often once in a lifetime experiences. First-timers certainly do not want to miss out on experiences about which they’ve read extensive hype.

However, the problem with a “not during my vacation” attitude like this is that it’s always going to be someone’s (or tens of thousands of someones) vacation. If attractions with show quality issues don’t close for refurbishments for fear of some guests during a time-limited window missing out, all guests in perpetuity are going to have a lesser experience.

Running an attraction with broken effects is only going to compound problems, and eventually a single broken effect will turn into myriad broken effects. Imagine this scenario park-wide, played out to its natural consequences. That’s not exactly what I’d call the “Disney Difference.”

Again, DINOSAUR is a good example here. If it’s your first visit and you experience DINOSAUR with 66% of the effects working, you won’t know what you’re missing. Riding it will, no doubt, be superior to not riding it. However, I’m guessing your satisfaction rating of the attraction wouldn’t be nearly as high, and you might question why so many people love the attraction, and why Disney was lazy with so much empty, dark space. (Or, perhaps you won’t: if you only ever eat dog food, you won’t know what you’re missing in a nice steak.)

The thing is, if Disney would not close DINOSAUR during your vacation so you don’t miss out on it, chances are that they would extend the same “courtesy” for other guests, and it would be standard operating procedure to never close anything during anyone’s vacation.

The end result of this would be a park full of “66% attractions” and first-timers would be left wondering why there was so much hype about Walt Disney World, in the first place. If you’re reading this as a lifelong fan, consider the possibility that you wouldn’t have become a lifelong fan if this were actually Disney’s modus operandi. (In fact, I’d argue that Walt Disney World is trending in this direction, dragging its feet on several necessary refurbishments, with the inaction being predicated upon short term guest satisfaction or cost-savings.)

This might sound like we’re applying ‘heavy’ Rawlsian theory to the lighthearted topic of theme parks, but philosophy isn’t worth a damn if it can’t be applied to theme parks. 😉

A lot of this might seem like an effort to absolve Disney of blame when it comes to refurbishments, but this is not the case. Disney has brought a lot of the guest unrest concerning refurbishments upon itself. The first issue is that Disney has numerous parks that have opened in the last two decades with incomplete slates of attractions, making it difficult to justify taking attractions offline for refurbishment. So step one, a wholly impractical step at this point, would be to open theme parks that are complete on day one.

Failing that, Disney could avoid a lot of the guest backlash concerning refurbishments if they would schedule more 3-4 day refurbishments of attractions to proactively address problems with preventative maintenance. Although this would not totally negate the need for extended refurbishments, it would improve show quality across the board and help avoid a lot of situations where attractions have to abruptly close because they are in dire need of maintenance. Moreover, a 3-4 day refurbishment is shorter than the duration of most vacations, allowing tourists to effectively plan around the refurbishment.

In this case, both parties planning ahead would prevent those “vacation ruined!” complaints. Don’t worry, Disney, we fans are resilient: we’ll still find something else to complain about. 😉

Joking aside, I realize that’s a tough line to draw between an excusable refurbishment and a frustratingly irritating one. Even if you subscribe to the some degree of the ‘philosophy’ I’m advancing, there is no bright-line rule. It’s still going to amount to a value judgment about what should ‘trigger’ a need for refurbishment, how many attractions should be down simultaneously across Walt Disney World, and what times of year are ideal for which refurbishments.

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

Your Thoughts

Any questions about the current refurbishments at Walt Disney World? What do you think about refurbishments at the Disney Parks? Are you more concerned about an improved long-term experience, or do you think “not during my vacation!”? Where do you draw the line? Any other factors you think are worth considering? As mentioned, we think this is a conversation, so please share your ‘refurbishment philosophy’, or any other thoughts or questions you have, in the comments!