Disneyland Refurbishments 2023 – What is Closed at Disneyland Right Now
Disneyland closes rides throughout the year to allow for refurbishment. Sadly this means that sometimes our favorite rides, entertainment and restaurants require brief closures to keep things sparkling for guests.
Some Disneyland closures happen yearly due to holiday overlays or seasonal trends but others are scheduled as needed! It always helps to have an idea of what rides may be closed during your trip to avoid any surprises when you arrive.
Keep reading for all the information on current Disneyland ride closures, seasonal overlays and more. Just updated with the latest 2023 Disneyland closures.
Why Does Disneyland Close Rides?
A necessary piece of a functional and safe theme park is that rides will have to go through routine maintenance. If you consider the park is open every day of the year and these rides are running from open to close, it is logical they would need to close them from time to time for updates. Not everything can happen after dark when the guests leave for the day and require more time to keep things safe.
Sometimes refurbishments are planned when a ride is going to receive updates, re-theming or seasonal overlays. These ride refurbishments are often announced in advance so guests know ahead of time before their trip. It’s a good idea to check for these closures before you arrive to prepare yourself and any kids that may be traveling with you. You don’t want to race to Haunted Mansion in excitement just to find out it will be closed during your visit!
Keep reading to find out about all the planned refurbishments Disney announced along with seasonal closures that take place each year.
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Current 2023 Disneyland Refurbishments and Reopening Dates
One way you can stay up to date on Disneyland’s closures is by checking the daily calendar for your visit which will help you see what may not be available the day of your visit. Not everything is listed on this calendar though as Disney may announce closures along with reopening dates via their blog and social media. The lists below detail every ride closure and reopening date we know of currently!
Disneyland Ride Refurbishments
Below you can find a list of announced refurbishments for attractions at Disneyland Park:
- Space Mountain will close for a refurbishment on September 18th and reopen on October 26th
- Mark Twain Riverboat will close September 17th and reopen on a later date
- “it’s a Small World” will close on October 23rd for transformation into “it’s a Small World” Holiday as part of the Disneyland Christmas celebration. The attraction should reopen on November 10th at the beginning of the holiday celebration.
- Tarzan’s Treehouse– No official reopening date announced beyond the announcement that will reopen this fall
- Various aspects of the recently renovated Toontown are cycling through closures as additional work is completed
- Splash Mountain – Closed on May 31, 2023 for Splash Mountain retheme. No reopening date has been announced yet. Read details on the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Princess and the Frog Attraction here.
Disneyland Entertainment Closures
- Mickey and the Magical Map – No Return Date
- There’s a high likelihood that this show will not return as the space is now occupied with the Tale of the Lion King in Fantasyland.
- Disneyland Fantasmic! is currently not performing due to a fire that happened in April 2023. The return of Fantasmic! has now been stated for 2024 CICK FOR details.
California Adventure Ride Refurbishments 
Below you can find a list of announced refurbishments for attractions at California Adventure:
- Golden Zephyr closed on August 8th and will reopen on September 29th
California Adventure Entertainment Closures
- Paint the Night Parade – No Return Date
- This night parade hasn’t run at California Adventure in a few years but due to its popularity, it is likely to return at some point.
Seasonal Refurbishments
Seasonal refurbishments are often scheduled due to the holiday overlays at Disneyland. The two major holiday overlays happen at both Halloween and Christmas for it’s a small world (it’s a small world Holiday) and the Haunted Mansion (Haunted Mansion Holiday.) To prepare for these lengthy refurbishments both of these rides need to close to put up the decor and then close again after the season to remove it. Here is a rough estimate of these ride closures along with other potential closures for other holiday overlays:
- Haunted Mansion
- Mid-August until first week of September
- Opens by the start of the Halloween season
- Mid-January until end of January
- Usually only takes a week to remove the overlay
- Mid-August until first week of September
- it’s a small world
- Mid-October until sometime before or on first day of the Holiday season which is typically the second Friday of November
- Opens by the start of the Holiday season
- Mid-January until end of January
- Usually only takes a week to remove the overlay
- Mid-October until sometime before or on first day of the Holiday season which is typically the second Friday of November
- Grizzly River Run
- The best time to refurbish a water ride is in the winter so it’s not unexpected to see Grizzly River Run close after the holidays and remain closed until the weather begins to warm up in April or May. Some years they may not close at all- it varies!
Planning Your Disneyland Vacation!
There is a ton of information to read up on before planning a Disneyland vacation. Once you’ve decided on your hotel and ticket options, you can shift your focus to planning for crowds, constant activity, food, and souvenir buying. Familiarizing yourself with everything the Disneyland Resort has to offer can definitely make your Disney experience unforgettable for you and your family. Don’t forget to subscribe to our FREE Deals Newsletter to stay on top of the current planning tips, strategies, and Disney deals!
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Is Dumbo open in May, 2023
Yes, it’s not scheduled for refurbishment!
Hello
I really have a hard time understanding why Disneyland chooses to refurbish her clothes anything during the busiest time of year, which is the summer season. Even splash Mountain, which is getting a full facelift could’ve remained open, at least one more summer season before starting construction. It’s unfortunate that at the busiest time of year or folks, spend the most money, and should get the full effect of everything to Disneyland has to offer at that time of year, which also helps with the amount of people that are there and circumvents everyone being in one location at one time. The monorail is a good example closing as it is, which is a form of transportation to get people to and from Disneyland from outside the park at one of their Premier, Resort properties, and also the location of downtown Disney. I must say we went in June just a week after the closure of splash Mountain, which I’ve been riding since the day it was open, was quite a disappointment to not have one last chance, and one last summer for all of the Disney patrons have been coming for so long.
Chuck
Hi there, You write that It’s a Small World closes for it’s holiday overlay every Mid-October until first week of December. I understood that holiday season starts earlier in November and I just wanted to check if it has really stayed closed until the first week of December in recent years? We’re booked for late November and are hoping to see the holiday overlay.
Thank you for catching that, Sarah. The attraction is open by the first day of the holidays celebration and sometimes earlier. That should have read NOVEMBER.
Why all of a sudden is Space Mountain closing September 18th?? Very poor timing and last minute . Here you are offering discount tickets then you turn around and close a big ride. Doesn’t seem right! Highly disappointed !!
Do you think the holiday overlays will remain up through the RunDisney Marathon Weekend?? I hope so!