We’ve got excellent news — you can now book your 2025 Disney World vacation!

That’s right, you can now make reservations for your trip next year. We’ve figured out the cheapest days and even found out that two popular hotel perks will be returning in 2025, too. Here’s the thing, though — Disney opened these bookings months earlier than they did last year, which begs the question: why?

Bookings for 2025 Disney World vacations are officially open which means you can now start planning your trip for next year! But, what’s interesting is that Disney opened these reservations up months earlier than they have in the past. Last year, it wasn’t until May that 2024 bookings opened. This year, they were available as of February 27th.

So, why did Disney open vacations up in an entirely different fiscal quarter for 2025? Well, we don’t know for sure, but we do have a few theories.

They need the financial boost for the quarter.

Disney hasn’t held its earnings call for this quarter yet since it’s not quite over, but it’s possible that the beginning of the year produced some less-than-stellar financial results. During the last company earnings call, we learned that overall, Disney made $23.5 billion in first-quarter revenue which was similar to the prior year’s.  

CEO Bob Iger shared that their strong performance in the last quarter “demonstrates we have turned the corner and entered a new era.”  The company shared that they are “achieving significant cost reductions” throughout their businesses. They have saved over $500 million in selling, general, and administrative expenses in the first quarter. Maybe that trend has continued and Disney is doing just fine (probably.) But, there’s always a chance that the company made this decision consciously to help bolster revenue.

And, since we know that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is slated to open in summer 2024 in Magic Kingdom (which is in a new quarter) — Disney could be planning on park attendance (and thus revenue) getting a little bit of traction from folks wanting to experience the newest ride.

Everything We Know About Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World

They’re doing it ahead of the upcoming shareholder meeting.

Disney has been engaged in a nasty proxy battle for the Board of Directors thanks to activist investor Nelson Peltz (again.) Disney’s annual shareholders meeting will take place on April 3rd, 2024, and ahead of the meeting, both Disney and Peltz have been campaigning for control of the Board of Directors.

Suppose Disney is able to present positive financial results to the shareholders from this quarter. In that case, they have a higher likelihood of maintaining control of the board and leaving Peltz and Jay Rasulo (former Chief Financial Officer of Disney) along with Blackwells Capital (who are also trying to gain seats on the board) in the dust.

The power lies with Disney shareholders, who on April 3rd will have the opportunity to vote for the new members of Disney’s Board of Directors. Nelson Peltz hopes to make significant changes to Disney’s current Board, but Disney has made it clear they do not endorse Peltz’s ideas. Disney has taken a hard stance against Peltz and his allies and even went so far as to publish an eight-point page debunking Peltz’s claims.

Learn More About Disney’s Upcoming Shareholder Meeting

They’re trying to get a jump on Epic Universe

We don’t know if you’ve heard, but a brand-new theme park is coming to Orlando — just not to Disney World. Universal’s Epic Universe is coming soon and it’s been the talk of the town ever since we learned more about what exactly we can expect from this new park. But, Universal has announced a 2025 opening timeline — which might have Disney worried.

Epic Universe vacations aren’t open for booking yet, but chances are it’s only a matter of time before folks can make reservations to experience the five themed lands that will make up this park: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe.

Some people who would normally book a 2025 Disney World vacation may be holding out and hoping to experience Epic Universe instead. With Disney opening bookings early this year, they’re potentially hoping to lock folks into a vacation before they can do the same for Epic Universe.

As we said, we’re ultimately not privy to the inner workings of The Walt Disney Company, but they’ve been in the game for a while so we’re sure there was a solid reason or two behind this decision. Either way, it means you can get to planning your 2025 Disney World vacation, which sounds like a win to us!

Is Disney Accidentally Paying for Universal’s Expansion?

Stay tuned to DFB as we continue to bring you the latest news and more from Disney World!

Are you planning a 2025 Disney World trip? Tell us in the comments.