2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar
This Disney California Adventure and Disneyland ride refurbishment calendar for 2024 lists temporary attraction closures so you know what won’t be operating before planning your vacation. Additionally, we offer info about reimagining projects that are underway to enhance experiences around the resort. (Updated April 1, 2024.)
While no one wants attraction closures during their visit, they are a necessary part of keeping Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in good condition, as routine maintenance, safety upgrades, and attraction improvements are all done during scheduled ride closures. Usually, there are only a handful of simultaneous closed rides, plus new attractions being built.
Having an idea of which attractions are closed at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is important, but we recommend consulting our 2024 Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide for more comprehensive info. That covers everything from saving money on park tickets and hotels to where to eat, when to visit, and more.
In addition to scheduled attraction refurbs, unscheduled downtime can also occur during a visit. This usually only occurs for a few hours at a time, so if you find an attraction is closed during your visit to Disneyland Resort and it’s not listed below, it’s likely a temporary closure that will last a few hours. Check with nearby Cast Members to confirm.
Below is a schedule of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure refurbishments, when the closure starts, and when the refurbishment will conclude. To the extent that specific dates are not yet listed, those will be updated once Disneyland Resort provides precise start and/or end dates. The following day will be when the attraction is scheduled to reopen.
Here are the closure schedules for Disney California Adventure and Disneyland…
Disney California Adventure
- Beast’s Library in the Disney Animation Building – Permanently closed
- Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! Parade – Debuts on April 26, 2024
- Club Pixar – Debuts on April 26, 2024
- Incredicoaster – Closed April 8-18, 2024
- Paint the Night Parade – Return Date Unknown
- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail – Closed in Spring 2024 (Reopening TBD)
- Rogers: The Musical – Return Date Unknown
The good news is that refurbishment ‘season’ is over. Throughout the winter, there were about a half-dozen different ride closures, all of which ended before the heart of Spring Break. With California’s tourist season fast approaching, there is another window during which ride closures could be added in the second half of April and May 2024. So it’s possible this isn’t the final list for the next couple of months–we’ll keep you posted if more is added at the last minute.
Next, let’s take a look at the 2024 Disneyland attraction closure calendar…
Disneyland
- Adventureland Treehouse – Now open!
- Astro Orbitor – Reopens April 5, 2024
- Fantasmic – Returns May 24, 2024
- Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln – Closed April 16, 2024 until TBD
- Haunted Mansion – Reopening Date TBD (Likely Fall 2024)
- Main Street Electrical Parade – Return Date Unknown
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Closing May 1, 2024 (Likely Reopening in Fall 2024)
- Matterhorn Bobsleds – Closed April 15-18, 2024
- “Mickey’s Mix Magic” – Returns April 15-25, 2024
- Splash Mountain – Permanently closed
- Tale of the Lion King – Permanently closed
- Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular – Returns April 26 to August 24, 2024
- Wondrous Journeys Fireworks – Now playing through April 14, 2024
The big closure on the calendar for Disneyland is Haunted Mansion, which is likely closed for the next several months. As discussed in Haunted Mansion New Grounds & Store Coming in 2024 to Disneyland, this is a big project–much larger in scope and scale than the normal Nightmare Before Christmas overlay removal.
Our expectation at this point in watching the work progress over the last couple of months–and seeing the queue totally torn up–is that the regular Haunted Mansion won’t reopen at all in 2025. At this point, Haunted Mansion Holiday opening with the start of Halloween season in late August 2024 even feels like it could be a stretch.
Another major closure on the horizon is nearby Haunted Mansion–all of Critter Country goes down starting May 1, 2024 with the exception of Hungry Bear Restaurant. This includes the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, plus the gift shops and the character meet & greets.
Disneyland’s stated reason for the closure is to convert two of the gift shops into Princess and the Frog themed locations. However, this is a relatively small scale change and could likely be accomplished in short order without closing the whole land. Our belief is that there are concerns about crowd flow (with Haunted Mansion already down) once Fantasmic returns. Between that and a desire to have the entirety of Critter Country closed to facilitate smoother construction on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, it just makes sense to close the land until the reimagined ride is ready.
Speaking of which, Splash Mountain is officially closed to be reimagined into a new ride based on The Princess and the Frog. There are already visible signs of the transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
The transformation timeline is an aggressive one, but Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is already taking shape and progress appears to be moving at a brisk pace. Nevertheless, Splash Mountain closed several months later at Disneyland than it did Walt Disney World, and there’s zero chance the Disneyland version is done by Summer 2024.
Best case scenario for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland is a Fall Break opening in mid-October 2024. More realistic is it debuting between Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. And that’s assuming there aren’t any delays.
Now, a few notes about the above refurbishments. Disneyland is notorious for changing its refurbishment schedules, adding or canceling planned downtimes weeks or days in advance. While this practice is still relatively uncommon in the grand scheme of things, it’s worth pointing out because it does happen.
Now, here’s a bit of our philosophy concerning refurbishments, with the specific example of the recent multi-year Disneyland Railroad refurbishment used to illustrate…
Thoughts on Refurbishments
Nobody likes a favorite attraction to be refurbished during their vacation. It means missing out and potentially not being able to experience the ride for another year or longer, depending upon the frequency of your visits to Disneyland. A couple of years ago, the Disneyland Railroad closed for an extended refurbishment due to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge construction.
At first, we were really disappointed. This might seem like an odd attraction to lament the closure of, but as Southern Californians with Disneyland Annual Passes, this was an absolute favorite of ours. We rode regularly when we wanted to rest our feet, or simply a break from the crowds. With the exception of maybe ‘it’s a small world’, we did Disneyland Railroad more than any other attraction.
However, that initial disappointment pretty quickly gave way to excitement. We began thinking about ways Disneyland Railroad could be plussed, improving the experience for years to come. Disney had already announced that some changes would be made (as the track needed to be re-routed), and we were excited for the prospect of new show scenes or other visuals.
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. 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 Disneyland 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.
Disneyland Railroad works as a good example here…in large part because it did receive significant changes and enhancements. (Arguably, the Rivers of America suffered due to being condensed, but that’s another topic for another day–we cover all aspects of this in our New-Look Grand Circle Tour of Disneyland post.)
The point extends to other attractions that have seen similar plussings, but also have more of a problem with effects breaking. Take Indiana Jones Adventure, for example. This is a ride that seems to get a refurbishment about every other year (sometimes more frequently) and we’d argue that it could probably use more regular maintenance than that.
If you are a long-term fan, would you rather experience Indiana Jones Adventure every single visit with 75% of the effects working, or every single visit minus one or two with 95% of the effects working? For me, the answer to that is easy. I’ll take a superior long term experience every time.
Beyond that, there’s the much more compelling justification for regular refurbishments: they are essential for the safety of attractions. While we may 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. Likewise, years of neglect at Disneyland Paris have led to incidents of injury that could be attributed to a lack of maintenance. In both cases, this has been addressed, and maintenance has improved considerably.
This is not meant to scare anyone or provoke an emotional reaction. 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 Four 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 Nunis-ian interpretation of the Four Keys, show is an important consideration, and it should always be 100%. This is a nice goal to strive for, but the practical reality is that 100% show quality is an unworkably high threshold sometimes.
In my estimation, this is a good example of balancing guest interests with show quality. Get the effects working that are easily fixable, and find other ways to address effects that are frequently breaking. We’re not talking about safety here, just random effects. Indiana Jones Adventure has had a number of effects disabled or replaced over the years because they were unreliable.
Guests are understandably concerned when it appears an inordinate number of attractions are closing during their vacation, especially out of state visitors. Trips to California 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.
With that said, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure ought to be publishing their routine refurbishment schedules several months in advance, allowing guests to plan around closures. Disney plans maintenance well in advance, and this info should be passed along to guests. For the most part, it is.
Obviously, unplanned maintenance can occur, which takes rides out of commission for hours or even days at the last minute. This is an unavoidable part of sophisticated theme park attractions, and there’s no real way to “plan around” this. It just is what it is.
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 Disneyland and Disney California Adventure attractions with show quality issues aren’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.
The end result of that thinking is a duct-tapped approach to attraction maintenance, with whatever work that can be done overnight accomplished, and two parks full of attractions with half their effects broken. First-timers would be left wondering why there was so much hype about Disneyland in the first place, as so many components of rides simply don’t work. If you’re reading this as a lifelong fan, well…maybe you wouldn’t have become a lifelong fan if this were actually Disneyland’s modus operandi.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts…
Any questions about the current refurbishments at Disneyland Resort? 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!”? 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!
Slightly off topic but still related – I noticed on another site that there are many things closing for refurbishment around the Rivers of America from now until the end of September: pirates lair, Riverboat, Sailing Ship Columbia. Might this signal a return of Fantasmic shortly after? Also, Blue Bayou reservations have been insanely hard to get (many people reporting that even when waking up at 3am pacific on release day, none to be found). Might that be because they are
holding capacity for Fantasmic dining packages? I guess I’m hoping for that 🙂
thats great compared to last year theres bearly any closed and you can plan around the dates now that you know thanks for the info now I can have a great trip (:
I’m very concerned, we are going to Disneyland mid March. I don’t mind one or two closures but this seems like a lot; Mansion, Snow White, Indiana Jones, Grizzley Run, Splash Mountain, Mark Twain, etc. we are spending a lot of money that was saved for over 2 years. My brother hasn’t gone since he was 4 1/2. I wanted him to experience the Mansion & Indiana Jones. It is so disappointing. Disney didn’t seem to lower prices with this number of ride closures.
Have you heard of any other ride closures for later this year? We have planned our next trip to Disneyland for September 21-25. This will be our 3 rd straight year we go. While we know refurbishment is essential foe these rides, we are hoping for some luck this year. 2 years ago, the Matterhorn was closed while we there. Last year it was Autotopia, Its a Small World, and Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones really hurt us more because its a family favorite, and it was closed the exact 4 days we were at the park, only to open the day we were departing home.
Just stumbled across your site after doing some research for our upcoming trip, and it’s very informative. We were in Disneyland 8 years ago and DisneyWorld 5 years go, so we’re not inexperienced when it comes to Disney parks, but we have always travelled around the 4 July period (which was not that busy for us on either occasion).
We are from Australia and we’ve decided to do a NYE trip to spend winter there during our summer, so I’m a bit concerned about all the new additions to Disneyland and the I’m confused about ticketing changes (I was planning a 5 day hopper but I’m worried we won’t get entry into the new Star Wars area and I have no idea how that will all work).
I’m also worried that it’s going to be busier than what we’ve experienced before and that there might be closures during the time. Any news about January 2020 ride closures or major work going on at the park?
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is simply an addition to Disneyland Park. Admission to Disneyland grants you admission to Galaxy’s Edge.
NYE is always slammed at Disneyland. It will be insanely crowded. NY Day, however, is not bad at all.
do you have any idea as to when haunted mansion and space mountain will close for their halloween overlay. I will me there the week of D23 and am curious if those two will be open or not.
Any idea when the castle refurbishment will be done? We are thinking about going in March.
Disneyland is usually very careful to not schedule maintenance during the busy season summer, spring break, and Christmas so it’s a trade off, shorter lines in the off season versus fewer ride closures in the busy season.
Any sense what type of down time would be required for space mountain? is that a two to three-week project or a multi-month deal?
I would love to know this too, going late May.
Good question. We are unfortunately going to arrive on 2/26 a day after it closes. Doh!
Versus last year, there are many top attraction/show closures. So they make tickets cheaper because the know people are postponing their trips till summer and this doesn’t despite those cheap tickets. For someone out of state, the other costs aren’t likely to be discounted much- I know because I’ve been looking and hotels seem to be priced just as much. Not worth going right now. Refurbishments are expected but there is TOO much righ now at WDW.
Meant at there is too many refurbs at DL right now (not WDW)
Just returned from Disneyland and a cast member (at last Fantasmic show) told us the plan for Fantasmic was 44 days. Also they’ll be doing the fireworks with Mickey Mix only on weekends, only the lights/sound other nights.
I’m at Disneyland currently, on the last night (as I type) of what I expect to be my only ever visit here– I’m a frequent flier at WDW, but not to here. I was disappointed that Fantasmic was down (as of January 21st, not 22nd) since I’ve read here on your blog it’s better than the Florida version. I had a dinner/show reservation at Blue Bayou the 21st and got a call just a couple of weeks or so ahead of the trip that it would have to be a dinner only. Nice of them to call, but I wish they’d done it a little farther ahead.
That, plus construction walls around the castle, were disappointments– but not “my vacation is ruined” disappointments, even though I expect this to be my only visit. It’s hard for me to understand getting that worked up over a closure: there’s certainly a ton of other things to see and do. I’ll grant people a “my vacation is slightly less outstanding” but that’s as worked up as anyone should get.
We are coming towards the end of Food and Wine right over Easter. Since crowds are expected to be higher and that is the next major Holiday could any of the TBDs be finished by then? Based on previous years?
Will they still be doing the Disneyland fireworks/castle projection at night even with the castle under construction? Going in March and assuming there will be scrim up at some point since they are re-doing the roof. We’ve got a park hopper and I’ll be really bummed if theres no Fantasmic OR castle projection OR world of color (just hoping for one of the three, lol). I’m assuming they would make sure to have one of the three going? Hopefully?
I’m there now and they’re doing projections onto the construction walls and onto all the Main Street buildings for the nighttime show. However, it’s got no fireworks, at least not the nights I’ve been here. Only searchlights and laser effects. I don’t know if that’s temporary or permanent.
Looking at going in early May and I really HOPE that those TBDs for Space Mountain and Fantasmic are finished by then. I haven’t been since 2005 and missing those would be a HUGE bummer. I totally understand the need for maintenance though and will cope if one or both are still down.
Also going in May, really hope Space Mountain is up and running by then, the TBD is scaring me.
What about mr toad’s wild ride and Pinocchio’s daring journey?
I also who rather have improved long-term experiences.
Actually, temporary overlays or celebrations at DL irritate me more than ride refurbishments. I was disappointed in my Spring 2018 trip to DL when Hyperspace Mountain replaced Space Mountain, PixarFest activities bumped Soundsational Parade and Remember Dreams Come True fireworks. I also wasnt crazy about the Pixar decorations all over Main Street.
Your info for Space Mtn and Splash Mtn is incorrect according to the official calendar. Splash is Feb 4 – 14 and Space goes down on Feb 25 with return date TBD.
Whoops, don’t know how I messed that up–thanks!
Hear, hear! Amen!
Any projections as to when they will bring back Paint the Night in 2020 ? Do they always take away the big main Disneyland Fireworks after the holidays and insert a smaller interim show like this year with Mix Magic? I would love to go late Jan/early Feb and see both PtN and the main event fireworks.
I’m not ready to make any proclamations regarding Paint the Night for this year or next right now. My assumption was that it’d return after DCA Food & Wine, right in time to help with summer crowds and pull people from Disneyland.
However, I’ve more recently heard vague rumors that it might end up somewhere else. If those are credible (and I’m not totally sure they are–still trying to find out more), Paint the Night may not return to DCA for a while, if at all.
We usually go to Disneyland during the summer, because most of the time, the refurbishment is lower vs winter time. I remember when big Thunder was down for 18 months.. We frequent Disneyland every 6 months for a 4 to 5 days.