16 MASSIVE Disney Announcements From 2025

Move over, 2025, 2026 is here! We can’t believe it’s already time to wrap up the year with fireworks, champagne, and tons to look forward to.

As we’re preparing for next year, we thought it would be fun to do a full wrap-up of every major Disney moment from 2025! From heartbreaking closures to announcements that will change the company forever, these are 16 of the biggest updates from this year. 

If we’re being honest, 2025 felt a bit like whiplash. Every month brought new changes that kept us on our toes. This year felt like 3 years put together, so if you need someone to jog your memory, we’re right here.

Closures

Starting off with the bad news, we had a lot of closures this year. Muppets Courtyard closed to make way for Monsters, Inc. Land. The beloved land closed forever on June 8th, 2025, and yes, we shed some tears.

The land featured Muppet Vision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and Mama Melrose’s. Luckily, these iconic characters aren’t disappearing forever, but that does lead us to our next closure. The Muppet are taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, but that means saying goodbye to Aerosmith!

In early December 2025, the preshow at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster closed to make way for the new version of the attraction, which is debuting in Summer 2026. There are no more backstage passes to be found, but luckily, the ride is going to remain open until March 1st, 2026. We hate that the closure of the preshow had to happen early, but we’re hoping it means that the new version will open sooner rather than later.

Hollywood Studios had a big year because the Animation Courtyard also closed this year! In September 2025, we said goodbye forever to this little land that featured Star Wars Launch Bay and the Disney Junior Play and Dance.

This area is being replaced with Walt Disney Studios, which is inspired by the Walt Disney Studios offices in Burbank, California. It will feature character meet and greet opportunities, the Drawn to Wonderland playground, and “Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live!”, which is already available in Disneyland.

Over in Magic Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle Riverboat closed up shop forever in July 2025. These Magic Kingdom original attractions were removed to make way for Piston Peak, a Cars-inspired land that’s currently under development. This was a big loss for classic Disney fans!

Finally, in Animal Kingdom, DinoLand U.S.A. began its phased closure. This land, which was a 1998 original, began closing slowly in January 2025 to make room for Pueblo Esperanza, a Tropical Americas-inspired land. Since the beginning of the year, they’ve closed almost every part of the land except for DINOSAUR and Restaurantosaurus, which are closing on February 2nd, 2026.

These closures were certainly bittersweet, and we aren’t sure if we’re over them just yet. Alas, we have to keep moving forward!

All Events, Closures, and Refurbishments at Walt Disney World

Openings

Sure, there were a lot of cloures, but there were also a lot of new things that debuted this year! In Magic Kingdom, the park’s first lounge, called The Beak and Barrel, opened in August 2025. This new lounge is themed to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, and we are BIG fans.

Lounges had a big moment this year because EPCOT also got a new lounge called GEO-82! It opened in May 2025 and is inspired by the park’s icon, Spaceship Earth. We are also big fans of this spot, and you can read our full review here.

EPCOT also finally reopened one of its most popular attractions, Test Track! The fan favorite attraction got a major overhaul, which many classic EPCOT fans were happy to see. Breedlove, in particular, is a huge fan of the newest version of the attraction, which means you know it’s good!

Back over in Magic Kingdom, Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuted in July! This new nighttime parade made us feel like kids again in the best way. It features tons of Disney characters, plus a brand new character named Whimsy. The parade is still going strong, and we hope it sticks around for years to come.

This year was also a big year for live entertainment! It’s VERY important after all!  Animal Kingdom debuted the brand-new show Zootopia: Better Zoogether in November 2025. This takes guests into the world of Zootopia with familiar characters like Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and more! Grab your carrot vision 3D glasses and see if you’re the V.I.Z. (Very Important Zootopian).

Hollywood Studios debuted two new shows in 2025! They opened on the same day in May 2025, which we thought was super fun. First was Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After.  You get to see Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Cruella De Vil fight it out to convince the crowd who received the most unfair treatment in their story.

The second one was The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure. This show retells the story from the classic Disney movie and is an updated version of a previous show that used to be in the same location. It features a few changes, like including the song “Kiss the Girl,” which the older version didn’t have.

Across the coast, Disneyland began its 70th Anniversary Celebrations! The original Disney park turned 70 years old on July 17th, 2025, with tons of fanfare like special decorations, snacks, entertainment, and more. The celebrations are running until August 9th, 2026.

Part of the Disneyland birthday celebrations also included the debut of Walt Disney – A Magical Life. It’s a new stage show featuring an animatronic of Walt himself. It rotates with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and is a nice tribute to the man who started it all.

Plus, a similar animatronic is going to be debuting in Disney World at the Carousel of Progress! But that takes us into our announcements section…

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

Announcements

2025 was the year of announcements, too! While there were tons of little things, two really stood out to us. Mainly, because they indicate massive changes for the future of the company. First, Disneyland Paris announced a brand-new walking Olaf animatronic. This new animatronic is the size of Olaf from the Frozen films! He’s going to walk through the World of Frozen in Paris and Hong Kong, interact with guests, and represent just how far Walt Disney Imagineering has come.

Disney referred to this guy as “the next generation of robotics” in their announcement and even mentioned using similar technology to bring characters to life like Mike Wazowski, Lightning McQueen, or Hades. All three of these characters are going to be included in new lands being developed in Disney World, leading us to wonder if advanced animatronics of these 3 will be developed.

Finally, the biggest announcement of them all is that Disney is developing a brand-new theme park in Abu Dhabi! The park, which will be located on Yas Island, is being described as “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati.” The new Abu Dhabi park will be a waterfront resort that combines “Disney’s iconic stories, characters, and attractions with Abu Dhabi’s vibrant culture, stunning shorelines, and breathtaking architecture.”

While they’ve remained fairly tight-lipped on the park, they did say there will be “unique attractions and experiences,” so we can expect rides and entertainment offerings that are brand new to the park!

Everything We Know About the NEW Disney Abu Dhabi Theme Park

It’s been a big year for the Walt Disney Company, and these changes are just scratching the surface. AllEars has been covering the Disney parks since 1998, and this has been one of our most exciting years yet. We can’t wait to see what 2026 has in store for us! Be sure to keep following for more Disney news and updates.

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Tell us what change you’re most excited about!

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