11 HUGE Announcements from Disney World This Month

October has been a HUGE month for Disney World news. Our heads have spun more than once seeing all the updates, and we can only imagine yours have done the same!

We’ve seen updates on existing attractions and those under construction, heard some price increase news that made our hearts stop (and our wallets cry), and what feels like everything else under the sun. We know Disney could drop more before the month is out, but for now, let’s recap everything we’ve learned, shall we?

We’re going to take this park by park, because really, there’s so much news, it’s the only way to keep it all straight!

EPCOT

While so much construction is underway across the resort, one park that’s remained largely unscathed is EPCOT. However, that’s about to change! We were thrilled to see Spaceship Earth soft open EARLY after months of refurbishment. As of October 18th, the ride is back open — many days ahead of its original October 25th reopening date. I’m so looking forward to thanking the Phoenicians again!

All these other announcements for this park, though? Yeah, they’re about rides CLOSING — to make way for new and improved versions, yes, but they’re still going to have to close, and if it all happens at once, it’s going to be ROUGH.

Disney announced this month that big changes would be coming to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The ride will close on November 10th to add in “enhanced digital visuals and clearer imagery projected in 2D,” as well as new props and lighting enhancements.

The ride will reopen again on November 14th with these changes, but Disney will continue to add new elements to the queue and attraction throughout the upcoming months. Additionally, the same change is happening over in Disneyland Paris, where the ride will transform into a 2D experience, and a new scene will be added in the queue that features a Parisian artist’s studio, complete canvases, paint splatters, and a fruit basket.

Frozen Ever After will also be changing in EPCOT, as the animatronics will soon get a facelift (almost literally). The new updates will take inspiration from the animatronics seen at World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland (no more projected faces!).

The goal is to bring a more true-to-film look for these characters, and the updates are expected to be complete in time for early 2026 guests to enjoy. (Which also means this ride may be closing soon for a period of time…one of the most popular rides during peak holiday season — YIKES)

Finally (for EPCOT), Disney JUST announced a big refurbishment coming to Soarin’ — we’re getting a NEW show in both Disney World and Disneyland! The new show is called Soarin’ Across America and will hit both parks in 2026.

Disney shared that this new adventure will take us “soarin’” across both coasts, highlighting some of the country’s natural beauty and iconic cityscapes. Several of the key elements that make Soarin’ unforgettable, like the sights, score, and scents, will still be found throughout this upcoming version. That being said, if you want to experience the current version of Soarin’ that takes you all around the world, you’ll want to get flying sometime this year and early 2026 to be extra safe.

While that may be all for EPCOT, we’re not even close to being done overall — let’s move on to our next scene (you’ll see what I mean in a second).

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Welcome to the movies! Hollywood Studios already has lots of construction going on, but this month, we saw the demolition of the iconic Hollywood Studios arch as the former Animation Courtyard turns into The Walt Disney Studios. We sorta saw this coming, as the arch wasn’t in the new concept art, but we’re still sad to see it go!

The Muppets are totally gone from their former home now, and the area is well underway to becoming Monstropolis. We did get an opening timeline this month for when we can expect the Muppets to take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster!

Disney previously told us that the current version of the attraction with Aerosmith would be available through 2025, and now we know that Disney would like to have the new version of the ride opening in Summer 2026. We also found out (in the SAME announcement!) that Scooter will be an animatronic in the pre-show area of the ride, but that he may not be the only one. Sneaky, Disney, we like it, and we can’t wait to hear more.

Disney also revealed some of the new snacks coming to Jollywood Nights this holiday season, as well as some returning snacks!

Only five were announced in total, but now we know that the Birria Taco at the ABC Commissary, the Meatball and Polenta at Dockside Diner, and the Sandy Claws Hot Cocoa at Dockside Diner will all be back this year, and we’ll get to try the NEW Hickory Holiday Mac at the Backlot Express and the NEW Mike-aroon available at The Market.

Be prepared, though, because things are about to get even WILDER.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

See what I did there? I’m all about the puns today, apparently. Anyway, we were super stoked when Disney not only announced Annual Passholder previews for the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether! show, but they ALSO confirmed that we’d be getting a Clawhauser animatronic inside the attraction!

He’s all decked out in his glow necklaces and Gazelle shirt, ready to hopefully become Zootopia Day’s V.I.Z. (the Very Important Zootopian) to get closer to the performers, but let’s just say, things don’t go as planned, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. We can’t wait to see his cuddly face up close soon!

Misc. Updates

For those of you who love Sangria University at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, it’s important you know that the offering will be switching locations soon! Starting December 13th, the experience will move to Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood, with two classes every Saturday and Sunday.

Unfortunately, Disney also took away the MagicBand+ discount for Disney World hotel guests this month, which is yet ANOTHER hotel perk taken away. Over the past few years, we’ve seen more and more former perks fall on the cutting room floor and not replaced by anything, but we’re crossing fingers this isn’t just a one-and-done. We’re hoping something will replace it in the future, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled!

Finally, we don’t mean to end on a bad note, but this was easily one of the LARGEST and most impactful announcements made this month, and that was price increases.

We saw price increases everywhere, literally everywhere, on almost everything you could imagine. Park tickets? Yep. Restaurants and the dining plan? Unfortunately, yes. Snacks? Egregiously so. There were even increases on parking, and that makes us want to cry, to be honest with you.

If you had snacks on your must-try list and haven’t checked to see if there were new price increases, you’ll want to adjust your budget. While a $0.50-$2 price increase doesn’t seem like a lot at first, it adds up quickly!

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

And there you have it! All the massive announcements Disney released for the Disney World parks and hotels in October (YES that was only ONE month!), and we know more are around the corner, so we’ll be prepared. You can count on us to bring you the latest Disney World news and updates, because we’re in the parks nearly every day! Be sure to stay tuned to our blog and YouTube channel for all the latest — we’ll keep you in the know!