Disney World announced a huge batch of updates to the 2026 calendar. You can read their full post with fluff and frills here, but I wanted to take a quick opportunity to just outline the updates in more straightforward form. Just so you know, we have several posts (to be updated shortly) tracking this sort of information, including ride refurbishments, festivals and major events, and upcoming and future shows and attractions.
Let’s just dive right in to the list (a few of these were already known) before a small bit of commentary.
January 16 - 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts begins
January 26 - Frozen Ever After (EPCOT) closes for refurbishment
Unspecified February - Frozen Ever After (EPCOT) reopens with updated animatronics
February 23 - 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts ends
March 4 - 2026 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival begins
Unspecified Spring - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom) reopens
Unspecified Spring - Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (Magic Kingdom) reopens
Unspecified Spring - Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (Hollywood Studios) closes
May 22 - New Mission at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios) debuts
By May 25 - Soarin’ Across America (EPCOT) debuts
May 29-30 - Banana Ball at ESPN Wide World of Sports
June 1 - 2026 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival ends
Unspecified Summer - Bluey experience debuts at Animal Kingdom
Unspecified Summer - Cool Kids’ Summer returns; check-in day Disney Water Park admission perk returns
Unspecified Summer - Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! (Hollywood Studios), the new iteration of the Disney Jr. dance party, debuts
Unspecified Summer - Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets (Hollywood Studios) opens
Unspecified Late Summer - The Magic of Disney Animation (Hollywood Studios) opens
Disney also confirmed—without dates or details—things we almost certainly expected, including returns later in 2026 of:
Commentary
While it definitely caught us off guard (I just sent out my newsletter this morning, a day late, bragging that I was rewarded for my patience with that initial Bluey news), the scope of it isn’t a shock.
As I’ve written elsewhere, 2026 is a slightly awkward year to be visiting Walt Disney World. Nothing too major is set to debut in 2026, but 2027 will bring Tropical Americas to Animal Kingdom, and we expect Monstropolis (Hollywood Studios), Piston Peak (Magic Kingdom) and Villains Land (Magic Kingdom) to follow in the coming years.
While it may seem off-topic, I’ve also recently been really unhappy with the ambiguous and changing construction notices Disney has been posting with regard to most every one of their hotels. I know no one heard me, but I also don’t think it’s a total coincidence that Disney World opted to try and clarify some of the 2026 schedule in one big swoop.
While there are more details I’d like (unspecified “spring” dates seem a bit much in December), I like that they went so far as to say Soarin’ Across America would open “by” Memorial Day, at least handing summer guests something concrete to look forward to.
Altogether, summer—and the later, the better—looks to be the big winner here, as we know we’ll have some several significant ride updates done by then.
The “wildcard” here is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Hollywood Studios more generally. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith closes spring, but then the park doesn’t get anything new until summer (the dance party and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets) and then late summer (The Magic of Disney Animation).
It remains to be seen how long this Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster project will take, and the park could be without its only coaster for multiple months. But it’s also not as if the situation at Hollywood Studios is comparable to, say, Animal Kingdom. Even without Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Hollywood Studios has an exceptional lineup and rides and shows to fill a summer day.
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