Disney World Changed 12 Rides in 2025 — Here’s What’s Completely Different Now

Change has been a constant at Walt Disney World for 50+ years, and 2025 was no different.

Over the course of my 30 years visiting Disney World, I’ve seen many, MANY things change. It got personal when they messed with my man, Figment! When it comes to Disney World ride changes, it’s like my coffee order at Dunkin — you never know what you’re gonna get. Whether you have beef with Disney now or you’re excited to embrace the change, these are the ride changes that hit Disney World in 2025.

As you are planning your next trip or deciding if you should book one before blowing through all of your PTO, it’s important to consider the state of the parks! Do you really want to spend thousands of dollars to come to Disney World if your favorite park is Animal Kingdom, while a huge chunk of the park is closed? Probably not.

Or, do you need a moment to say goodbye? For the most part, Disney gives you a heads up several months in advance, but that’s not always guaranteed (we’re looking at you, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster pre-show!).

For many, Disney World is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and even for those of us who go many times a year, it’s important to be strategic. So without further ado, watch out for these changes on your next visit!

TriceraTop Spin

This kid-friendly spinner ride in Animal Kingdom closed permanently back in January 2025 as part of the first phase of DinoLand’s closure. Yes, if you haven’t heard, Disney is closing DinoLand U.S.A. — the ENTIRE land — forever!

DINOSAUR is the only ride still open in DinoLand, and it’s set to close on Feb. 2nd, 2025. So what’s happening over in DinoLand? Well, the good news is we’ve got a whole new land coming! It’s called Pueblo Esperanza, and it’s going to have 3 new rides: A carousel with carved wood animals that really look like works of art, and rides themed after Encanto and Indiana Jones!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Now we’re heading over to Magic Kingdom, where Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has been closed since January 2025 for a massive overhaul.

The attraction is scheduled to reopen in spring 2026 with “new magic” including a fully refurbished track, and a new sequence inspired by the Rainbow Caverns of the closed Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland in Disneyland. (Fun fact: The Mine Train ride was closed to build the Disneyland version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!)

Oh, and one more note about the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad overhaul! Construction on a giant Magic Kingdom expansion has started behind this ride! Villains Land is coming — and we suspect that Disney has used this ride closure to facilitate some of the site prep that needed to be done back there.

Astro Orbiter

This Tomorrowland ride closed in January, and then it LITERALLY disappeared! Disney dismantled Astro Orbiter and took it out of the park for an overhaul. And then, they put it back together again right in front of us (this was such a cool process to watch!).

Astro Orbiter reopened this summer (with a shiny new paint job!), soaring high above the Magic Kingdom once again.

It’s Tough to Be a Bug

Here’s another one we said goodbye to forever in 2025. It’s Tough to Be a Bug was a 3D film attraction located within the Tree of Life. It was an opening day attraction at Animal Kingdom (in fact, it opened about seven months BEFORE the movie it was based on — A Bug’s Life).

It’s Tough To Be a Bug closed permanently on March 17th, 2025, to make way for a new show in The Tree of Life Theater. Zootopia: Better Zoogether! opened on November 7th.

No more bee stings in the butt = fewer crying children. It was a fun way to trick friends, but Disney mothers around the world did a huge sigh of relief.

Test Track

A NEW version of Test Track reopened in EPCOT in July 2025 after being closed for refurbishment in June 2024. Fans are calling the new version “Test Track 3.0” — it has an entirely new story and shows scenes that call back to classic EPCOT dark rides, including the ride the original Test Track replaced, World of Motion.

One of the team’s favorite new scenes shows how today’s vehicles use cameras and sensors to “see” the world around them, and we love the new ride scent (it’s very “pine forest” forward)! We’d be lying if we said we didn’t miss the OG version of the ride (that was my CHILDHOOD, people!), but this one is an upgrade from the previous iteration.

Muppet*Vision 3D

Just gotta say here that rounding up all these closures is making me SAD! Muppet*Vision 3D was legendary — largely because it was the final project Jim Henson worked on.  It closed forever in June, along with the rest of Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios.

Despite outcry from Muppet fans and the crowds in the land on its final day, the area that was Muppets Courtyard is being turned into Monstropolis — a land themed after the Monsters, Inc. franchise. So, I suspect a lot of us won’t be sad for too long! We know that the Monsters, Inc. land will be home to Disney World’s first-ever suspended roller coaster, and that it will be themed after the “door” scene in Monsters, Inc.!

The Muppets will also remain in Hollywood Studios, with a retheme at Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster! We’ll see The Muppets’ resident rockers — The Electric Mayhem — as well as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and a NEW Scooter audio animatronic in the ride. Disney says the new version of this roller coaster will open in Summer 2026 (and get this: the old version of this ride with Aerosmith will close in spring 2026!).

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

Speaking of, a very devastating change hit the coaster in December 2025. The pre-show, where you get VIP passes from Aerosmith? Yeah, that’s gone — and Disney pulled it without warning.

If you’re a first-time rider, the storyline has to be super confusing now. At least Disney isn’t closing the ride for a longer period of time (it’s currently set to close in spring 2026 and reopen in summer 2026), but that might have been better? This is just plain sad, y’all.

Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island

Liberty Square Riverboat, Tom Sawyer Island, and the giant water feature in Magic Kingdom — the Rivers of America — were all permanently closed in July!

Like the Muppets closures, this one was really controversial! Disney World is building a new Cars-themed land in place of the Rivers of America and these attractions. The new area in Frontierland is named Piston Peak, and its look is loosely based on the look of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Piston Peak will have two new rides — including an off-road racing attraction.

Walt Disney World Railroad

Now this is a big change — but it’s also temporary (glad we aren’t writing “permanent” for this one!). Still, it’s a big one — for the next couple of years (at least), you won’t be able to ride a train around Magic Kingdom. The Walt Disney World Railroad is only traveling between the Main Street and Fantasyland stations right now.

This is called “shuttle mode,” and it’s necessary right now to allow for the construction at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the new Villains Land going in behind it. Whew. Progress is painful!

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

Across Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin closed on August 4th for a refurbishment that’s expected to last until 2026. We’re excited about this one because it’s going to be easier to win…and we need to be a Galactic Hero!

That’s right — we’re getting all-new blasters that are handheld rather than anchored to the ride vehicles, and that’s going to make aiming and shooting so much better. The ride vehicles are gonna be new, too.

And a new character — Buddy the Robot — will be in a new scene at the beginning of the ride.

Star Wars Launch Bay

In September, Star Wars Launch Bay closed at Hollywood Studios (Oh, you didn’t realize Star Wars Launch Bay was still open? We don’t blame you).

The main reason many fans visited Star Wars Launch Bay was to meet Darth Vader. Now that the building is closed, you can still meet the Dark Lord of the Sith — you just need to know where to look. Head across the park to Star Tours, and you’ll find Lord Vader near the ride queue.

So what’s happening with the Star Wars Launch Bay building? It’s being turned into a new take on The Magic of Disney Animation. If you think you remember going to The Magic of Disney Animation in Hollywood Studios before…you’re remembering it right. This attraction went through various iterations through the years, from a tour of working Disney Animation studios on site in Disney World, through a film and talk with a Disney animator, and the original attraction permanently closed in 2015.

In the new version, animated characters will “come to life” in this new space where you can watch portraits interact, see a short film, and learn to draw Disney character sketches. And yes — Disney is bringing back the old park icon — the Sorcerer’s hat.

As Disney World continues to evolve, the resort’s rides will continue to change along with it. While we’ve had some big feelings this year about some of our classic favorites going away — we can’t wait to see the new lands coming to EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom in the coming years. Keep following us here at AllEars for all the Disney World updates!

I Can’t Be the Only Disney Adult Who Thinks About This Abandoned Ride in the Middle of the Night

What do you think of these changes? Let us know in the comments below.

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