WARNING: 2 MAJOR Disney World CLOSURES Begin on January 16th

We just saw two Disney World rides shut down for lengthy refurbishments, with both Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Kali River Rapids in Disney’s Animal Kingdom closing on January 8th. But now, two MORE Disney World closures are starting this week!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Let’s check out all the temporary closures and refurbishments that will affect Disney World from January 14th through the 20th.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — Temporarily Closing on January 16th

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom will have a fairly short closure in January from the 16th through the 20th.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

This popular coaster in Frontierland will reopen on January 21st.

Disney Skyliner — Temporarily Closing on January 16th

The Disney Skyliner is closing for its annual refurbishment starting on January 16th.

Disney Skyliner

The entire Skyliner will be closed from January 16th through the 21st, and service between Disney’s Riviera Resort and the International Gateway at EPCOT will stay closed through January 27th.

Walt Disney World Skyliner

Don’t worry — free bus service between the parks and hotels that usually are connected by the Skyliner will be provided.

Disney bus

These aren’t the only ride and attraction closures affecting Disney World this week. Let’s check out a few more that might affect your vacation.

Magic Kingdom

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Splash Mountain closed on January 23rd, 2023, for a long refurbishment. The ride is being re-themed to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, with a Princess and the Frog theme.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The new ride will reopen sometime in 2024. Disney originally said “late 2024,” but in recent updates, they’ve removed the “late” and are just going with “2024” — does that mean it could open SOONER? We’ll be watching for more updates on the opening timeline.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Concept Art ©Disney

If you miss Splash Mountain or want to celebrate the new ride, you should check out our DFB t-shirts! We have a Splash Mountain Farwell Tour shirt…

DFB Exclusive!

…and a Tiana tee as well!

Check out our new Tiana-inspired merch!

You can shop both tees (and lots of other Disney merch) at our online store.

Click here to shop our DFB merchandise store.

Barrel Bridge on Tom Sawyer’s Island

The Barrel Bridge on Tom Sawyer’s Island is not only closed — it’s missing completely!

Barrel Bridge is missing

A Cast Member told us several months ago that it was removed for repairs, and we haven’t seen it back since. We’ll be keeping an eye out for its return.

Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant

Tomorrowland Terrace is a quick service restaurant that’s remained closed since the 2020 pandemic-related closures, but even before that, this spot was only occasionally open.

It’s completely closed in here.

Once in a while, you’ll see the dining rooms open as a rest area, but it’s usually all roped off and empty. Disney hasn’t announced when this spot could finally reopen, but we’ll be watching for updates!

Disney Teased NEW Details About the Magic Kingdom EXPANSION

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster closed on January 8th, it won’t reopen until the summer of this year.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

Although we don’t have an exact reopening date yet, we know that it’ll be at least a few months before the ride reopens. Last year, when the ride closed around this time (on February 20th, to be exact), it reopened on May 26th.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Well, it’s official — Voyage of the Little Mermaid is permanently closed in Disney World. We had suspected this was the case for some time (as it hasn’t actually been open for a few years now), but now the permanent closure has finally been confirmed.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Disney is going to introduce a NEW show in this spot, though it will still be themed to the animated movie The Little Mermaid! The new show will be called “The Little Mermaid — A Musical Adventure” and is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Fall 2024.

©Disney

It will be a “fully reimagined theatrical production inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios classic.”

4 RARE Characters We Met at Disney’s Hollywood Studios After Hours Event

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Kali River Rapids

Kali River Rapids usually closes in January for refurbishment since water rides like this tend to be less popular during the winter months when it’s chilly outside. In 2024, it closed on January 8th.

Kali River Rapids

Disney has announced that Kali River Rapids will be closed through mid-March, so it sounds like it will be a little over two months before this ride is back up and running.

Learn about the Animal Kingdom ‘Encanto’ expansion here!

EPCOT

Restaurant Marrakesh

Restaurant Marrakesh is still closed in the Morocco pavilion of EPCOT’s World Showcase, and there’s no word yet on when it might reopen.

Restaurant Marrakesh

The restaurant is kind of open right now — it’s functioning as a lounge with just a couple of drink options. However, we’re still waiting for the full restaurant to reopen!

Check out the Festival of the Arts booth menus here!

Disney World Hotels

1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

At Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, 1900 Park Fare is a table service restaurant where you could meet characters like Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland at their Supercalifragilistic Breakfast and Cinderella and her Prince Charming during the Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner.

Dining Room at 1900 Park Fare (2019)

They also had a special event for younger children called the Wonderland Tea Party. It’s sad to see a spot closed that had so much character interaction! Disney hasn’t announced a permanent closure, so there is hope for 1900 Park Fare.