It’s hard to think about right now, but 2022 will be here sooner than you think! 

Though we’re in the final weeks of 2021 (it IS Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, after all), there’s a lot to look forward to — and start planning for — in Disney next year! 

Of course, a lot of the BIG openings and debuts on the docket right now are slated for the next few weeks and the anniversary (looking at you, Space 220 and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure), 2022 certainly has its fair share of events. 

With the new year not as far off as you may think, here are 8 Disney events in 2022 you need to put on your calendar NOW! 

January

2022 Walt Disney World Marathon

Though January is typically a slow and quiet month in Disney World (which can be a GREAT thing for vacationers), there’s still one way you can get active on your trip! This one’s for the athletes! The 2022 runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon takes place January 5th-9th, and it’s a HUGE deal for athletes who like fitness as much as they like magic. 

Even if you aren’t boldly participating in the marathon or the other races held that weekend, it can be a blast just being there to watch (and partake in adjoining activities)! It’s a heartwarming and epic spectacle to behold and a totally unique time to experience Disney World! On the flip side though, these races draw huge crowds, so it’s definitely a date to keep in your brain if an early 2022 trip is on your horizon. 

Click here to learn more about the 2022 marathon weekend!

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts

January is also the month when EPCOT International Festival of the Arts begins. The 2022 festival will take place from January 14th through February 21st, 2022

This is one festival NOT to miss! Known for its art (both edible and visual), make sure you add this to your calendar ASAP!

Aside from admiring the work of dozens of Disney artists, guests can sample creative foods or take in the Disney on Broadway Concert Series

Click here to see the booths for the 2022 Festival of the Arts!

February

Princess Half Marathon

While the Festival of the Arts will carry on most of this month, at the end of the month is the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, taking place February 22nd-27th. 

Not only is there the race itself, but the extended weekend features different events and attractions for all skill levels, plus lots of Disney entertainment for the whole fam! 

Click here to see the medals for this upcoming race!

March

EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival

Another month, another EPCOT festival! 

The dates are still TBA, but ’tis the season for the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, so prepare yourself for lots of lush landscaping, topiaries GALORE, and garden-inspired eats! In 2021 the festival ran from March 3 – July 5, 2021. 

See our best of the fest from last year’s festival here!

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Opens

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is slated to open March 1st, 2022. This is a highly anticipated experience. It’s not quite a hotel — think more like an all-inclusive cruise. But for 2 nights. In space. Well, “space.” You’re still in Florida (spoilers!).

You get to be a part of the action on the ship, performing activities and interacting with the ship’s “crew.” This unique experience has a, well, unique price to go with it. For the 2 night trip, it costs about 5k for two adults! Dates are starting to sell out though, so, while pricey, many fans are jumping at the chance to eat blue shrimp in space. 

Click here to learn more about this new hotel experience!

April

Earth Day/Animal Kingdom’s Birthday!

One date we CAN confirm is that Earth Day takes place April 22nd! 

Compared to other major holidays in Disney World, this may seem a modest celebration, but it’s an apt time to visit Animal Kingdom, whose anniversary falls on Earth Day.

Honestly, we’d visit this eco-conscious, Earth-centric park any day, but April 22nd feels especially fitting! 

Check out an Earth Day Disney+ playlist here!

May

May the Fourth

“May the fourth be with you!” That’s what you’ll be saying when you wisely visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 4th, 2022. 

It’s a special day for Star Wars lore, making Galaxy’s Edge THE place to celebrate! And if you plan far enough ahead and play your cards right, you may even be able to toast the occasion with a cocktail at Oga’s Cantina! On occasion in past years, we’ve seen Star Wars merchandise on sale or new goodies just for this day!

How popular was May the Fourth last year? Click here.

July

EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

We’re calling this one July but with an asterisk next to it. The big star of the show in terms of EPCOT fests, Food and Wine has been getting longer and longer each year. In past years, generally speaking, we typically saw the fest run from mid to late August through the week before Thanksgiving in November. However, the past two fests both started mid-July, adding at least a solid month to this already lengthy fest!

That’s almost 4 full months to experience all the food, drinks, and entertainment, including the popular Eat to the Beat Concert Series.

September

D23 Expo

You’ve still got lots of time to plan for the next D23 Expo, which is always a fun time for mega-Disney fans to see special shows, snag special merch, and be a part of special Disney news and events!

Next year’s event takes place September 9th-11th at the Anaheim Convention Center near Disneyland, so be sure and jump on these tickets well in advance if you want to attend! 

Learn more about the next D23 Expo here!

October

EPCOT’s 40th Anniversary

The big anniversary on everyone’s mind for the past year has been Magic Kingdom’s (and with it, all of Disney World!). But ANOTHER park has a big birthday coming up the same day one year later. EPCOT (then EPCOT Center) opened on October 1st, 1982!

That means October 1st, 2022 is its 40th birthday! So not only will it still be the 50th Anniversary celebration of Disney World, but it will be a special day for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow! EPCOT went all out with fun merch and snacks for its 35th a few years back so we’re expecting a similar celebration next year (not to mention the neverending sea of construction in the park might FINALLY be coming to an end in time!).

Check out what EPCOT’s last big b-day celebration was like here!

November

EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

One of Disney World’s last Holiday events to arrive on the scene each year, you can typically expect the final EPCOT fest of the year, Festival of the Holidays, the last week of November — in most years it has opened on Black Friday right after Thanksgiving and runs typically until just before New Year’s Eve. This year’s fest’s dates are November 26th-December 30th.

The fest features festive foods from around the world, the beloved Candlelight Processional, and holiday Storytellers sharing various holiday traditions.

Click here to learn more about Festival of the Holidays!

TBD

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

We’re psyched for this next one! This one isn’t a full “TBD” — we do have an opening season for this one! The Guardians, Marvel’s ragtag bunch of misfits from all around the Galaxy, are about to land in EPCOT — and they’re bringing a massive indoor roller coaster with ’em!

Announced as opening “Summer 2022,” we’ll finally get to experience what has been going on for the last 84 years in the ol’ Universe of Energy building (we kid, we kid! But seriously, they’ve been building this thing for ages now!). This ride will feature a unique rotating car design and a reverse launch! We think it’s safe to say a boppin’ awesome mix playlist will be involved as well! 😉

Click here to see more about this exciting new Marvel ride coming to EPCOT!

TRON Lightcycle Run

In other “rides we’ve been waiting to open for about 600 years now,” the TRON coaster enters the chat. If you’ve peered at Magic Kingdom recently, it’s hard to not notice the MASSIVE wonky shaped structure by Space Mountain — that would be TRON. The ride first debuted at Shanghai Disneyland and will soon make its U.S. debut. But when will it open?!

All that Disney has shared is TRON Lightcycle Run is set to open in 2022. Aside from that, they’ve been pretty tight-lipped about it all.  The ride is inching closer to completion visually, so we’ll be eagerly checking for updates on an opening timeline!

Click here for the latest on the TRON coaster!

Rodeo Roundup BBQ

We’re starting to wonder if we just imagined this new restaurant in Hollywood Studio’s Toy Story Land. It sure feels like it with how little Disney talks about it! But no, we didn’t imagine it. The restaurant is just making progress at a snail’s pace.

Slated to open in 2020…it didn’t. Then 2021 came and…it didn’t (though we do have a couple weeks left in 2021 — anything is possible we suppose!). So barring any unforeseen setbacks, it seems hard to picture this one not opening sometime in 2022. But again, it’s Disney, so you never know (remember when we waited almost 4 years [!!] for Space 220??).

Get a Peek Behind the Roundup Rodeo BBQ Construction Walls!

Of course, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the latest and greatest regarding opening dates and news! But in the meantime, 2022 is already shaping up to be another banner year for all things Disney! 

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What are you most looking forward to at Disney in 2022? Let us know in the comments!