We’ve seen some HUGE things coming to Disney Parks all over the world. In the U.S., EPCOT is almost done with a massive transformation.
Peter Pan’s Never Land in Fantasy Springs
In Hong Kong Disney Resort, the World of Frozen just opened an entirely new land. Likewise, a new Zootopia-land just opened recently at Shanghai Disney Resort. Tokyo DisneySea is prepping for the opening of the Fantasy Springs expansion on June 6th, which brings three new lands to the park. But we know more is coming. Disney previously stated it would spend $60 billion on parks and experiences in the next 10 years, but recently, we learned a lot of new projects could open in 2025.
During the Q1 earnings report, Iger was asked about the timing of these projects. He commented, “I’m not going to really give you much more of a sense of timing except that, you know, we’re hard at work at getting these things basically conceived and built. And we’ve got a menu of things that will basically start opening in ‘25. And there’ll be a cadence every year of additional basically additional investment and increased capacity.”
So, let’s examine some park projects we already know about and determine whether they might open in 2025. We’ll start in Florida with Disney World.
Disney World
Magic Kingdom
We already know that two big projects in Magic Kingdom will be opening in 2024. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will open on June 28th. In the meantime, Country Bear Jamboree is getting re-imagined and will reopen in the summer of 2024. But what about projects beyond that?
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at night
Disney has previously confirmed plans to expand Magic Kingdom in some way, citing that it would be the biggest expansion the park has seen in a while. However, what we don’t know is when this expansion will even begin (although the first permits have been filed for work on it), much less when it will open. This is one we doubt will be ready by 2025.
Here’s more about the Magic Kingdom expansion
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Some new projects have also been planned for Animal Kingdom. It’s Tough To Be A Bug will be replaced by something inspired by Zootopia. Again, this is a project we have very few details about, and we haven’t seen any work or evidence of work yet. This one will probably not be ready in 2025.
It’s Tough To Be a Bug
Disney has also revealed plans to completely re-theme Dinoland, U.S.A. into a Tropical Americas-inspired land, which could feature Indiana Jones and Encanto. We have recently seen permits filed for the work on this project, but again, it hasn’t started yet, so there’s no way we’ll see it complete in 2025.
Here’s a new look at that Dinoland, U.S.A. Re-theme
EPCOT
Test Track
Test Track is getting an upgrade, and this one could actually be happening pretty soon. Test Track will close on June 17th to be reimagined into something a little different. We know that the new version of Test Track will take inspiration from World of Motion, the previous attraction that was there before Test Track.
©Disney
Could this be one of the projects completed by 2025? Well, it depends on how much work it will require to get an update. However, if Disney is speedy, it could be possible to see Test Track reopen in 2025 with a new theme. Could it be a stretch to expect such a quick turnaround? Yes, probably. But let us dream, OK?!
More about the Test Track upgrade
Disneyland Resort
Some big changes are happening at Disneyland Resort, too. DisneylandForward, an initiative between Disneyland and the City of Anaheim, has jumped through all the hoops it needs to in order to move forward, meaning that Disneyland is about to get a much-needed expansion.
Disneyland
We’re just going to say we don’t expect to see anything from this expansion in 2025. Disney hasn’t even yet nailed down exactly what it plans on doing with the expansion. At the moment, Disney has tossed around many ideas, including lands similar to what we’ve already seen in some of Disney’s international parks, like a Tangled land or a Peter Pan-themed land.
Tangled land in Tokyo DisneySea
In 2022, Disney announced a second attraction for Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure. It was described as an adventure in the multiverse, but we haven’t heard much about it since. We also haven’t seen any signs of construction in Avengers Campus, so we’re not sure what the status of this project is, but it doesn’t look like something that will be ready in 2025.
Everything We Know About Disney’s $1.9 Billion Theme Park Expansion
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is getting its own Frozen-inspired land, and construction has been underway on it for a little while now. Although Disney hasn’t revealed a lot of details about this new land, we can imagine it will be similar to World of Frozen in Hong Kong Disneyland and Frozen Kingdom in Tokyo DisneySea’s Fantasy Springs.
©Disney
We also don’t have an opening timeline for this new land, so it’s hard to say for sure if this will open in 2025. We’ll keep our eyes out for updates!
Learn more about Disneyland Paris’ Frozen land
Tokyo Disneyland
Tokyo Disneyland has big plans for its version of Space Mountain. The attraction is getting completely renovated with new special effects and an enhanced experience with some new thrills. We know this project will be underway soon because Space Mountain is set to close on August 1st for its big overhaul.
©Disney
However, Disney has already confirmed that Space Mountain won’t reopen until at least 2027, so that’s another project that won’t happen in 2025.
More about Space Mountain’s closure at Tokyo Disneyland
Shanghai Disney Resort
Shanghai Disney recently shared that it was in the preliminary stages of adding a new area next to its brand-new Zootopia land. What was most interesting about the planning maps, though, is that they detail plans for a new roller coaster.
©Disney
What we know so far is that the new ride will feature a forward and backward launch, as well as a loading station in the center of the building and a souvenir shop at the front. However, this is another project we doubt will be ready by 2025.
See more about these plans
Disney Cruise Line
Now, this is where things get interesting. Earlier this year, Disney announced a NEW cruise ship will be joining the fleet. It’s called the Disney Destiny, and the ship will be inspired by Heroes and Villains. How COOL is that?!
©Disney
The Destiny will be part of the same class of ships as the Disney Wish and the Disney Treasure, meaning it will have a similar layout and capacity. It should hold up to 4,000 passengers in about 1,200 staterooms. The ship’s gross tonnage will be about 144,000, and the ship will measure 1,119 feet long and 128 feet wide. You can see the first trailer for the ship below.
The Disney Destiny has a 2025 delivery date, though we don’t know exactly when it will set sail in 2025 yet. Additionally, the Disney Adventure cruise ship will start cruising from Singapore in 2025, so it seems like Iger was probably referring to the Disney Cruise Line when he mentioned some new things opening in 2025.
Everything We Know About Disney’s NEW ‘Heroes and Villains’ Cruise Ship
Phew! Disney has a LOT on its plate right now. It seems like a lot of those BIG expansions and other projects may take a while to come alive, but at least we have plenty of things to look forward to, right?
©Disney | Disney Destiny Concept Art
In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.
Disney Will Make BIG Announcements in August and Fans Are Desperately Pleading for This To Be One of Them
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BI, “Were bringing new things to Disney because Universal’s Epic is going to be a legitimate threat, and Americans are finally tired of second rate Disney experiences vs. what we’re doing in overseas in markets where people won’t just come to our parks for rehashed bologna.”
Why to go “Bob”.
Honestly the problem with Disney in the US is people are still going. If everyone “skipped a year” or two, I bet all these crazy price increases would suddenly go away…
So what we’re saying is he was lying through his teeth 🙂
Can Disney please just “re-open” Blizzard Beach during a warm month? It is ridiculous that their best water park is only open from late Fall to early Spring. We always purchase water park add-ons to our annual passes and for the last couple of years Blizzard Beach is closed during the time that most normal humans would want to go there; Summer. It’s a ripoff!
I hate the changes coming to the Animal Kingdom park. I loved ‘It’s Tough to Be a Bug’; it was very educational and fun. And what does Encanto and Indiana Jones have to do with animals? I really hate what Disney is becoming.
Bob Iger needs to move on. We need another Michael Eisner and Josh D’Amato is not the answer. We need some one from outside the company to move things forward.
We used to go to WDW every 2 or 3 years. Then the company started to tear things apart. It wasn’t just refurbishing. It was boxing off and removing attractions. In 2008 there were more walls set up that made me wonder why I had even bothered to book a trip to WDW. The next trip was 2011 and then 2014. So much had changed.. and not for the better! So we stayed away. Now it’s 2024 and WDW is planning on changes that are for 2025 that still won’t be finished so why consider booking? It would have been less expensive to have left the original park alone.. meaning the Magic Kingdom.. an have opened that 5th park with all of the new supposedly better attractions. Nostalgia tends to lend itself to the Disney name. Let the other 3 or 4 parks experience change. Just the name denoted that we were going to the place the way that it was originally intended to be! Now I guess they’ll screw around with that!
Some say that change is for the best . I think that deserves some input from the people that have paid the price increases for things that sure weren’t a Disney policy. And that’s another thing that you shouldn’t have screwed with!
I agree! Bob Iger and Josh D’Amato need to go! Let’s get some FRESH ideas at WDW! I also agree everyone needs to skip a year at Disney and bring them back down to Earth! We will be skipping this year and I won’t miss it. We are headed to Yellowstone and then on a Princess cruise to Alaska instead. Our daughter who typically goes every year is skipping this year as well. They are heading to Hawaii instead. So many other places….in our wonderful US….to see that we may even skip next year too depending on how much prices continue to obscenely rise at Disney.