2025 Remade Orlando Theme Parks With Epic Universe, Nighttime Parade Return, and New Adult Spaces

The wave of openings pushed visitors to split vacations across resorts.

Overview

Universal opened Epic Universe on May 22, the first entirely new Orlando theme park since 1998, with lands for Super Nintendo World, Wizarding World: Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon, and Dark Universe.
To support demand, Universal added three hotels in 2025: Stella Nova on January 21, Terra Luna on March 25, and the Helios Grand Hotel inside Epic Universe on May 22.
Magic Kingdom restored nightly parade entertainment with Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuting July 20, performing at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. along a Main Street U.S.A.–to–Frontierland route.
Magic Kingdom opened its first bar on August 29 as The Beak and Barrel, a Pirates of the Caribbean–themed tavern with a 45‑minute limit and reservations required 60 days out.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom introduced Zootopia: Better Zoogether! on November 7 in the Tree of Life, replacing It’s Tough to Be a Bug with a new 4D show featuring Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.