What We’re Looking Forward to Most at Disneyland and Disney World in 2025 and Beyond

If 2023 and 2024 were the years of announcements for Disneyland and Disney World, 2025 will start off the decade of building.

As we're nearing the end of 2024, we have so much to look forward to in 2025. At both Disney World and Disneyland, there's almost ten new attractions, experiences, and themed areas set to open. And rightfully so considering the buildup of excitement for Universal's Epic Universe.

So what exactly do you have to look forward to in 2025? And what about the years after? Here's everything we know to expect to come to the domestic Disney parks in 2025.

What to Look Forward to at Walt Disney World in 2025

With Disneyland Resort getting so much love in recent years, Disney World is about to get its fair share in 2025.

From reimagined rides and attractions to new shows and parades to new themed lounges, Disney World goers will rejoice to see what's in store.

Let's go over everything Disney is bringing to Disney World next year.

Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade

This all-new nighttime parade is putting us at the edge of our seats with excitement.

Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade stars the Blue Fairy who brings the magic to life. Featuring characters and stories from Peter Pan, Encanto, Frozen, and more, this nighttime light-up parade is sure to dazzle guests young and old alike. If you're a fan of Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic, you've got so much to look forward to.

Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade is set to debut Summer 2025.

Reimagined Test Track

With the closure of Test Track at EPCOT earlier this year, we're set to see a new iteration of this popular ride – and I personally couldn't be more excited.

This updated attraction will blend cutting-edge technology with nostalgia from a previous classic, World of Motion. It will “celebrate today's innovation while highlighting the past, present, and future.” With new show scenes and an enhanced queue celebrating the vehicles of innovators that put our world in motion over the years, there's a lot to expect out of this update.

The reimagined Test Track is set to open Summer 2025.

Zootopia: Better Zootogether

Why Zootopia hasn't been incorporated into Animal Kingdom up till now is beyond me, but I'm so happy to see this change for 2025.

While we unfortunately have to say goodbye to the It's Tough to be a Bug (an opening day attraction), we're certainly excited for what's to come. Zootopia: Better Zootogether is going to be a 4-D theater show under the Tree of Life. Based on the popular movie Zootopia, it will be both entertainin and educational.

Zootopia: Better Zootogether is expected to open by Winter 2025.

Disney Villains Show

With a whole new musical show, Hollywood Studios is really living up to its name.

The upcoming Disney villains show will be a stage spectacular that will take over the area previously held by Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy. Featuring villains like Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook, and Maleficent, Sunset Showcase will be transformed into the realm of the Magic Mirror. Here, the scariest of villains will break the glass to take the stage through live musical numbers.

The Disney Villains Show is expected to debut in Summer 2025.

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure

A new and updated version of Voyage of the Little Mermaid is coming back soon!

The theater in Animation Courtyard finally has an opening timeline to debut The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure. This spellbinding show will bring Ariel's story to the stage with all the beloved songs and characters from the popular movie The Little Mermaid. With new set pieces and effects, this updated musical will be have a welcome return to Hollywood Studios.

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure will debut in Summer 2025.

New Theme Park Lounges

Disney World will soon have not one, not two, but three theme park lounges.

Pirates of the Caribbean Tavern: Over at Magic Kingdom, you'll will soon be able to have a pirates themed dining experience with meals and entertainment. This lounge will be situated adjacent to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.

McKim's Mile House DVC Member Lounge: This DVC lounge at Magic Kingdom is set to replace the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade. Being in Frontierland, this lounge will be a pioneer-inspired space for Disney Vacation Club members.

Spaceship Earth-Themed Lounge: At EPCOT, you'll be able to enjoy cocktails and refreshments while gazing at the wonders of ePCOT through its windows. Assuming this lounge is inside the iconic Spaceship Earth, you'll be able to see all the way through to World Showcase!

Walt Disney World in 2026 and Beyond

Looking past 2025, there's a great deal of attractions and lands to look forward to.

Pueblo Esperanza / Tropical Americas: The retheming of Dinoland at Disney's Animal Kingdom will result in all-new dining areas and attractions themed after Encanto and Indiana Jones. This area is expected to open in 2027

Monsters, Inc. Land: A complete retheming of Muppets Courtyard in Disney's Hollywood Studios will result in a highly anticipated Monsters, Inc. land. It will include a Monsters, Inc. Ride featuring a suspended roller coaster and a Monsters, Inc. theater show. The expected opening timeframe is yet to be determined

Muppets Takeover of Rock ‘N' Roller Coaster: At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Aerosmith will be making way for the Muppets! This will likely feature the Electric Mayhem along with our favorite Muppets characters and will include a new overlay and soundtrack. The expected opening timeframe is yet to be determined

Two New Cars Attractions: The area that includes the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom will make way for an expansion of Frontierland, which will include 2 new attractions based off of Cars. One will be a thrilling rally race through the mountains and the other will be a more relaxing ride on which the whole family can cruise together. The expected opening timeframe is yet to be determined

Villains Land: Beyond Big Thunder Mountain in Magic Kingdom, an all-new Villains Land will be opening with new attractions, dining and shopping experiences, and more themed after your favorite Disney villains. Some say this will be the largest-ever expansion in Magic Kingdom's history! The expected opening timeframe is yet to be determined

What to Look Forward to at Disneyland Resort in 2025

For 2025, Disneyland Resort will be celebrating a major milestone: its 70th anniversary.

Let's go over what we can expect to see at Disneyland for 2025.

Disneyland's 70th Anniversary

Every time that there's an anniversary celebration, there's a certain level of added excitement at the parks. It is something similar to the feeling of the parks during Halloween and Christmas. There's just something extra special with a festive feeling in the air. The concept artwork released above is encouraging along those lines. It feels like something special and different than the recent Disney100 celebration which was focused on the 100th anniversary of the company where this celebration is the 70th anniversary of Disneyland.

Disneyland's 70th anniversary is going to run from May 2025 well into 2026. The celebration will include decorations, new shows, and returning favorite entertainment. You can see all of the offerings in our guide to the Disneyland 70th anniversary here.

The Return of Paint the Night

The iconic Paint the Night Parade is set to return in 2025 as part of Disneyland's 70th anniversary!

Featuring over 1.5 million LED lights, special effects, and nearly 80 performers during its last run at Disney California Adventure in 2018, Disneyland regulars couldn't be more excited. And while not much information has been released yet, we'll likely see the return of many of the floats we've seen before that include Peter Pan, Monsters, Inc., Cars, and the Disney Princesses.

While its debut hasn't been announced yet, make sure to read more about Paint the Night here!

Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic Figure

Can you imagine a real-life audio-animatronic figure of the Walt Disney at Disneyland?

Soon, it will be coming to life. To celebrate Disneyland's 70th anniversary, Walt Disney Imagineering is designing the first ever Walt Disney audio-animatronic figure. It will be part of a new show called “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.” Initially set to open at the Main Street Opera House, it will then move to play in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”

Disneyland in 2026 and Beyond

Looking past 2025, there's many more attractions and lands to look forward to.

DisneylandForward

Initially announced in 2021, Disney recently received approval to move forward with the DisneylandForward re-zoning and expansion initiative.

In other words, Disney has taken a major step in paving the way for the future expansion and growth of the Disneyland Resort. Disney will invest a minimum of $1.9 billion in the resort over the next 10 years.

And while many details of the DisneylandForward project are unknown to the public, we look forward to what Walt Disney Imagineers dream up for us!

Avengers Campus Expansion

To add to its 2 existing attractions, Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure will add 2 more attractions to its arsenal.

Avengers Infinity Defense will have guests jump through time and space to face off King Thanos and visit locations like Asgard, Wakanda, and New York City. This epic family friendly adventure attraction will feature a brand-new story that we're looking forward to!

Stark Flight Lab will feature Tony Stark testing different simulations. Inviting you to be his test subjects, you'll sit in 2-person pods that take off on a test flight in Iron Man's test facility

Construction for these 2 new attractions begins in 2025.

Coco Attraction

Disney will be debuting its first-ever Coco-themed attraction!

While it's not confirmed yet, this Coco-themed attraction will likely be a boat ride that draws inspiration from classic attractions like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Using the latest audio-animatronics technology, the ride will feature characters and songs from the popular Pixar film Coco.

Construction for this new attraction is likely to start in 2026.

Avatar-Themed Land

Just when we thought that Avatar was only going to be at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney announced its West Coast debut.

The new Avatar-themed land will be inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water and the future Avatar films. Disney plans to bring the action, excitement, and wonder of Avatar to Disney California Adventure, which will feature a boat ride where guests will go on “an excursion in search of majestic natural wonders that can only be found in Pandora.” This ride is even rumored to use the same ride system as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland.

No timeline was given for this new land, but we are so excited for this!

Downtown Disney Revitalization

Downtown Disney has been undergoing a lot of changes in the last several years.

As it continues to evolve as a premier venue for shopping, dining, and entertainment, Downtown Disney will continue to transform over the next few years. New lifestyle spaces will replace the former AMC theaters site. New shops will spring up, giving guests even more opportunities when purchasing merchandise. And of course, new dining venues will give guests even more to come back to on their next visit to Disneyland Resort.

You can read more about the major dining changes coming to Downtown Disney here.

What to Look Forward to the Most in 2025

As a California native who just recently moved to Orlando, I'm torn on what I'm looking forward to the most.

I'm a sucker for nighttime parades. Paint the Night was the first nighttime parade I experienced before the Electric Light Parade returned to Disneyland in 2022 and before I first experienced the Electrical Water Pageant. So naturally, I'm excited to see Paint the Night come back next year.

However, the Disney Starlight Nighttime Parade has me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to see an all-new nighttime parade debut at Disney World!

I also must confess that I'm very excited to see the new lounges coming to Disney World. The Pirates themed lounge, Spaceship Earth themed lounge, and the DVC lounge coming to Frontierland will provide new experiences that add to the variety of additions Disney has in store for the domestic theme parks.

Disney has a lot in store for us in the coming years, and we're excited to see everything come to life!

Read More – BREAKING! Beloved Disney Hollywood Studios Attraction Closing Forever, Monsters Inc Land Replacing

During this past summer's D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, Disney confirmed that a brand new land themed to Monsters, Inc. would be coming to Hollywood Studios. This new land will feature the long dreamed of “door coaster” where guests will be able to visit the Monsters, Inc. factory and “zoom through the building” on a door from the film in this new coaster. One detail has been missing since this announcement and that is WHERE this new land would be going. We just got confirmation on the location of this new land and sadly, it's what most of us expected but definitely not the news we wanted. Let's get into this big news drop from Disney that will permanently alter Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

Read More – 10 Ways That Walt Disney World Strives to Be Eco-Friendly

From the time it first opened, Walt Disney World has put forth efforts to make conscious, eco-friendly, and sustainable decisions. Year after year, innovative ideas have helped the company continue with these plans, continue their efforts, and improve their practices. Walt Disney World will continue its economical practices in order to improve and conserve the environment that we, the animals, and plants all share. In this article, we’re going to take a look at ten things that Walt Disney World is currently doing in order to be more eco-friendly.