Disney’s Quiet Overhaul Reconfigured Parks in 2025 to Set Up 2026

The year-end roundup shows Disney reshaping its parks through incremental, franchise-focused changes that extend into early 2026.

Overview

Disney’s Hollywood Studios closed Muppets Courtyard on June 8 for the confirmed Monstropolis land and retired Animation Courtyard, Star Wars Launch Bay, and Disney Junior Play and Dance!, with the area set to return as The Walt Disney Studios featuring Magic of Disney Animation and the Drawn to Wonderland playground.
Magic Kingdom permanently closed Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Bell Riverboat on July 7 to clear space for the new Piston Peak land inspired by Planes: Fire & Rescue.
Animal Kingdom continued phasing out DinoLand U.S.A., introduced Zootopia Better Zoogether in November, and set February 2, 2026 as the final day for DINOSAUR and Restaurantosaurus before the Pueblo Esperanza project takes over.
Low-profile additions changed day-to-day offerings, including EPCOT’s Geo-82 lounge on June 4 and the reimagined Test Track on July 22, Magic Kingdom’s Disney Starlight parade on July 20, Hollywood Studios stage debuts on May 27, and the Beak and Barrel dining venue on August 29.
Signals of near-term shifts and global growth included the quiet removal of the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster preshow in early December, widely read as prep for an unannounced retheme, plus Disney’s announced Abu Dhabi park and a next-generation Olaf animatronic revealed for Paris and Hong Kong.