CONFIRMED: A Big Ride Change Is Coming To Magic Kingdom on January 3rd

By Robin Burks Leave a Comment

The holiday season is starting to wind down in Disney World, and we’ve only got a little more time to enjoy the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays, as well as all the holiday snacks. All that’s left are the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and then 2026 will be here.

New signs

The end of the year also generally means the end of Jingle Cruise, the holiday overlay for Jungle Cruise. So this is your reminder that if you want to ride Jingle Cruise before it closes and becomes Jungle Cruise again, you’ll need to get to Magic Kingdom no later than January 2nd.

According to the Disney World Calendar, the last day you’ll be able to enjoy Jingle Cruise is on January 2nd, which is actually a day later than we’ve previously seen. The holiday overlay of the ride will be open all day on the 2nd, so make sure to get to Magic Kingdom for one last holiday hurrah.

©Disney

Jingle Cruise is a special holiday version of Jungle Cruise that features a fun updated queue, holiday decor, and, of course, ALL the holiday puns. If you want to experience the holiday spirit in the most fun way possible, you’ll want to make a note to ride it before it’s gone.

The skippers went overboard with the decorations!

Disney will then take away all the extra holiday pizazz overnight, and the original Jungle Cruise, complete with all its punny fun, will be open on January 3rd. Of course, this version of the ride is also a lot of fun, and we don’t care how many times we get introduced to “the back side of water,” we’ll never get tired of it.

THE BACKSIDE OF WATER!

So make a note if you’ll be visiting Disney World the first few days of January. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more Disney World updates in 2026, so you’ll want to keep following us for ALL the latest news!

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Do you make a note to ride Jingle Cruise when you visit Disney World for the holidays? Let us know in the comments!