Jessie’s Roundup Opens Early at Magic Kingdom!

Jessie’s Roundup has quietly debuted at Diamond Horseshoe in Magic Kingdom, ahead of the official kickoff of Cool Kids’ Summer at Walt Disney World. Here are full details, first look photos, and my initial impressions of the dance party based on a preview.

As basic background, Jessie’s Roundup is part of Cool Kids’ Summer at Walt Disney World. This seasonal event returns for the second consecutive year, with the parks celebrating Cool Kids’ Summer from May 26 to September 8, 2026. Jessie’s Roundup has opened a couple of days ahead of that to help guests beat the summer heat and cool down (hence the event name).

Cool Kids’ Summer is bringing attraction refreshes, new experiences, and limited-time offerings designed for the whole family. Walt Disney World will feature things for kids and kids-at-heart, including DJ-fueled dance parties, surprise character appearances, hands-on activities, and nonstop summer vibes.

For Cool Kids’ Summer 2026, every park is getting something similar to Jessie’s Roundup. Walt Disney World isn’t calling them dance parties, but they are basically dance parties. Perhaps “Disney Dance+ Party” is the more appropriate term, since all involve something else that elevates them above standard dance parties, such as crafting, games, bubbles, or entertainment enhancements. Still, they’re dance parties at heart.

Over at Animal Kingdom, there’s Bluey’s Wild World, which is expected to be so popular (and capacity-constrained) that it’ll use a virtual queue to manage crowds. (See Sneak Peek at Bluey’s Wild World & First Impressions.)

As part of the new-look Walt Disney Studios Lot at Hollywood Studios, Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live soft opened last week. That show has been presented at Disney California Adventure for the last year, and I’ve experienced it more times than I can count. I can say with authority that it’s shockingly good for what it is, and better than it has any right to be, quite honestly.

At EPCOT, GoofyCore at CommuniCore Hall returns for another year and gives guests the opportunity to dance and play along with the Goof Troop, DJ Dance Pants, etc. Last year’s GoofyCore was the best-ever use of CommuniCore Hall, which isn’t a high bar but is still notable. Finally, a new dance party at Disney Springs celebrates the new Descendants: Wicked Wonderland and Camp Rock 3 films.

Magic Kingdom’s twist on all of this is Jessie’s Roundup at the Diamond Horseshoe. Well technically, it’s called “Jessie’s Roundup: A Rip-Roarin’ Revue! Presented by Babybel.” Disney’s naming committee worked overtime on that one, managing multiple punctuation marks and a corporate alliance all in one succinct, 9-word name. I think we’ll just refer to it informally as Jessie’s Roundup.

The animating idea of Jessie’s Roundup is that pals from Toy Story are ready for a rootin’ tootin’ good time at the Diamond Horseshoe in Magic Kingdom. Join Jessie, Woody, and friends for some energetic fun at Jessie’s Roundup, where you’ll craft, dance, and yodel your hearts out in this western revue.

We’ve seen some fans and other sites misconstrue this as Diamond Horseshoe becoming a character dining experience. One even cited Cast Members in Frontierland as a source. That’s incorrect. There is no Toy Story 5 character meal coming. Not to Diamond Horseshoe and not to Roundup Rodeo BBQ, unfortunately.

Jessie’s Roundup is being positioned as the first live show at the Diamond Horseshoe in over two decades. I’m skeptical of that framing, which oversells what this actually is. In actuality, this isn’t even the first Toy Story entertainment at the Diamond Horseshoe in that time.

Maybe it’s true if we’re excluding dance parties or interactive experiences and only counting stage shows, but that would also mean excluding this. That is, unless the claim is that any entertainment performed on a stage is a stage show. In which case, I’m pretty sure one of the previous dance parties also would’ve checked the same boxes.

Here are first look photos released by Walt Disney World of Jessie’s Roundup in the Diamond Horseshoe at Magic Kingdom:

For Jessie’s Roundup, Diamond Horseshoe has received a modest Toy Story decor package that includes bunting, Toy Story Mania-style animal cut-outs, and a few other visuals. The experience is built around a couple of different dance experiences with characters and live performers, aimed at young families. There are also a few western-themed games, like cornhole/bags/hillbilly horseshoes and upright horseshoes/ring toss.

One of the interactive experiences is a dancing and yodeling contest with Woody and Jessie, who sport their refreshed costumes for the occasion. They’re joined on stage by a jump rope crew, before the action moves to the audience and young guests who are made Junior Deputies for the occasion.

The other interactivity is a sing-along with a guitarist and Bullseye. Basically, both of these offerings are elevated dance parties; a bit more produced than what we’re used to in Tomorrowland and elsewhere with DJs and characters simply mixed among the crowd.

As part of a Cool Kids’ Summer media preview, I had the chance to get a sneak peek at Jessie’s Roundup in modified form and at a different venue. (So basically, the interactive experience itself.)

Although DTB prides itself in over-analysis, that strikes me as unnecessary here. Jessie’s Roundup is cute and there’s an effort to make this on-theme. As mentioned above, it’s a slightly more ambitious twist on a traditional dance party, but that’s still what it is. No one should be seeking this out for its production value, choreography, or art direction. The photos should answer whether this is right for your party. If you’re not sure, the answer is probably no.

Personally, I view Jessie’s Roundup as a good addition and a breath of fresh air-conditioned air. An indoor dance party in the summer makes a lot more sense than having this over in Tomorrowland at the sun-drenched Stitch stage. My biggest critique about the preview I experienced was that it was way too loud. This is true of almost all Disney entertainment, but it’s especially egregious when it’s something like this, aimed at small children.

Since Walt Disney World shared first looks of all the dance parties coming as part of Cool Kids’ Summer, there’s been a mild backlash, mostly among Disney Adults. Some are claiming that these offerings look cheap; others have invoked Six Flags (which is basically the same as saying cheap).

Honestly, I might’ve been inclined to say something similar before we had kids. Now that we have a toddler, I very much appreciate dance parties (especially indoor or shaded ones). Being even more honest, I prefer the ones that are very clearly aimed exclusively at children instead of aspiring to be something more and, in so doing, losing some of the appeal and accessibility for young families.

All of this is to say that there’s something to be said for easy, air-conditioned options for young families that don’t involve long lines, massive crowds, showtimes, etc. to navigate. I’m not arguing against the accusations that these dance parties look cheap, but rather, that not everything needs to be an E-Ticket with a blockbuster budget.

Sometimes it’s better to stretch that money further and offer more experiences (as opposed to better ones); that appears to be what happened with Cool Kids’ Summer getting a dance party in each park. This type of thing is a role-filler, and accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do with its target audience.

Jessie’s Roundup is going to be a huge hit with our family. We now have a Toy Story loving toddler, who is also a big fan of dancing and games, so this checks the right boxes for us. That doesn’t mean I consider Jessie’s Roundup to be the pinnacle of Walt Disney World attractions or entertainment.

Rather, it’s something that offers low-stakes counterprogramming to popular rides and a place for our daughter to burn off steam and have unstructured play time, which is very valuable, even at Walt Disney World. I want to see a lot more like this in the parks, so I hope this is well-received and popular among its target demographics!

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Your Thoughts

Are you looking forward to Jessie’s Roundup at Magic Kingdom? Hope that Walt Disney World does more with indoor dance parties during the hottest months of the year? Agree or disagree with our assessment that this is valuable counterprogramming for families, even if it’s nothing ambitious or elaborate? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!