With four theme parks and over 20 hotels, there is something new going up at Walt Disney World Resort pretty much constantly. In this post, we’re going to do our best to create a list of major ongoing construction projects.
The first part of this post is a month-by-month timeline providing a list of major construction at Disney World, including new rides being built, and refurbishments that have been announced for the month.
Keep in mind that refurbishments may not be announced until a few weeks before they start. To see currently scheduled refurbishments for a given day, see the official Disney World calendar.
For hotels, the primary list includes only new hotel constructions. After the timeline part of this post, there’s a section called “Other Notable Construction” which will be an incomplete list of notable ongoing work at hotels, new restaurants, or other construction projects.
We are including events and major entertainment changes to this. Events are not new construction, but they often impact trip planning just as much.
This list is obviously not “official”. We do our best to link to the source of the date when there’s any ambiguity or we’re relying on rumors. The date of this post is the last date the post was updated.
While this is the list we are using for scheduling our multitude of trips, you should definitely do independent research if you want to find out how “strong” a projected date is. That said, even dates confirmed by Disney (for new constructions) are constantly changing.
This list does not include closure related specifically to the pandemic.
Quick Notes About This Timeline
The timeline is arranged chronologically from this month. Each year begins with a list of projects that aren’t specified precisely, but are expected in the year. Each month also contains certain things that aren’t specified by Disney yet.
Ride refurbishments are noted by beginning date, end date, and full months of closures in between. So a ride is closed in a month if we either indicate it is closed all month or that a refurbishment begins or ends that month. And again, restaurants and hotel projects are discussed separately at the end of the post.
Expected 2024
2024 possible, 2025 expected - “It’s tough to be a bug” at Animal Kingdom Closes
November 2024
All Month - Test Track (Epcot) closed for reimagining
October 31 to November 3 - RunDisney Wine & Dine Weekend
November 4 - Blizzard Beach water park reopens (Typhoon Lagoon water park closes)
November 8 - First date for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
November 9 - First date for Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios
November 12 - Official start of Holidays at Walt Disney World (presumed date that holiday festivities at Animal Kingdom begin, holiday festivities at Disney’s Hollywood Studios begin)
November 23 - Epcot International Food and Wine Festival Ends
November 29 - Epcot International Festival of the Holidays Begins
December 2024
All Month - Test Track (Epcot) closed for reimagining
December 30 - Epcot International Festival of the Holidays Ends
2025 Unspecified Dates
2025 (Confirmed, Date Unspecified) - Test Track (Epcot) reopens from reimagining
Winter 2025 - New Zootopia show at Animal Kingdom debuts
Summer 2025 - New Villains show debuts at Hollywood Studios, new Little Mermaid show debuts at Hollywood Studios
Summer 2025 - New nighttime parade, Disney Starlight, debuts at Magic Kingdom
Expected 2025 - DINOSAUR, rest of Dinoland USA (Animal Kingdom) permanently close
Unspecified, 2025 Possible - Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios) closes for Muppet re-theme
Unspecified, 2025 Possible - MuppetVision 3D (Hollywood Studios) closes
Unspecified, 2025 Possible - Tom Sawyer Island, Liberty Square Riverboat (Magic Kingdom) close
January 2025
January (unspecified date) - Stormalong Bay pool at Yacht and Beach Club closes for months-long refurbishment
January 6, 2025 - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closes for refurbishment until 2026
January 8 (Expected, 2024 date) - Kali River Rapids closes for annual refurbishment
January 8 to 12, 2025 - RunDisney Marathon Weekend
January 17, 2025 - Start of Epcot International Festival of the Arts
January 13, 2025 - TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, Chester & Hester's Dinosaur Treasures close permanently
January 16 - 27 (2024 dates) - Portions of Disney World Skyliner closed for annual refurbishment
February 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
Expected All Month - Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom) closed for refurbishment; Stormalong Bay pool (Yacht and Beach Club) closed for refurbishment
February 20 to 24, 2025 - RunDisney Princess Weekend
February 24, 2025 - End of Epcot International Festival of the Arts
February 28 (2024 date) - Start of Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
March 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
Expected All Month - Stormalong Bay pool (Yacht and Beach Club) closed for refurbishment
(2024 Date) March 15 - Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom) reopens
(2024 Date) March 17 - Blizzard Beach closes / Typhoon Lagoon reopens
April 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
Expected All Month - Stormalong Bay pool (Yacht and Beach Club) closed for refurbishment
April 3 to 6, 2025 - RunDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend
May 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
Expected All Month - Stormalong Bay pool (Yacht and Beach Club) closed for refurbishment
(2024 Date) May 27 - End of Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
June 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
Unspecified - Stormalong Bay pool (Yacht and Beach Club) reopens
July 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
August 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
August 9 (2024 Date) - First Date of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
August 29 (2024 Date) - Epcot International Food and Wine Festival begins
September 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
October 2025
All Month - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) closed for refurbishment
October 31 (2024 Date) - Last date of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
October 31 to November 3 (2024 Dates) - RunDisney Wine & Dine Weekend
Beyond
2026 (unspecified) - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) reopens
2027 (Expected) - Dinoland USA replacement land, “tropical Americas” themed, opens
New villains land at Magic Kingdom opens
New Cars area opens in Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland
New Monsters, Inc. land opens in Hollywood Studios
Other Notable Construction
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, Epcot Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.