food IS a theme park
One of Disney’s newest hotel pools is closing for refurbishment. In mid-January 2025, Disney announced that the Pools at Pixar Place Hotel — located at the Disneyland Resort — will be closing for refurbishment next month.
©Disney
According to Disney, “Beginning February 3, 2025, the Pixar Place Hotel pool deck will be closed for refurbishment.” No end date for the refurbishment is specified in the announcement.
Magic Kingdom currently has several attractions closed, and another is set to close this week.
The seal of the United States
While Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Astro Orbiters previously closed, the Hall of Presidents will also be closing soon with more attraction closures on the way. Other parks and hotels will also have closures this week, to find out what will be closed during your trip to Disney World this week, keep reading!
Ride closures happen all the time at Disney World, but occasionally restaurants will close as well to be refurbished.
Mickey at Topolino’s Terrace character breakfast
We’ve most recently seen hotel food courts close for remodeling, but now a signature dining location will be closing for about two weeks. This restaurant offers a character breakfast and a signature dining dinner. Keep reading below to find out which restaurant is closing and what other Disney World attractions will remain closed this week!
Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk in California will remain closed today, January 9th, 2025.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk were also closed yesterday and will remain closed today due to extreme winds and fire conditions.
Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk in California will be closed today, January 8th.
Universal Studios Hollywood
The closure is due to extreme winds and fires impacting Southern California.
It’s a sad, sad day, friends. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has officially CLOSED for a lengthy refurbishment in Magic Kingdom.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
We spent the ride’s final day keeping an eye on crowds and wait times, and now that the ride has officially closed we’re back in the park to see if anything has changed at the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. While we don’t have many details on the ride’s refurbishment so far, we can’t wait to see what Disney has planned!
A lot of BIG things are happening in Disney World in 2025.
Frontierland sign
Dinoland, U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom will begin its phased closure to make way for a NEW land, Pueblo Esperanza. We expect to see construction start SOON at the Muppets Courtyard in Hollywood Studios, which will be converted into a Monsters, Inc. land. In Magic Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island and Rivers of America will soon be under construction for a new Cars expansion in Frontierland. However, something BIG is happening TOMORROW in Magic Kingdom, too: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is closing for at least a year. So we’re checking it out today to see what crowds are like.
January 6th is a BIG day for Disney World.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Unfortunately, we’re not looking forward to this day for anything opening, but the exact opposite. THREE popular Disney World rides will be closing for varying amounts of time for refurbishments. We’ll be getting a bit of new magic on one, while the other two will likely just see routine maintenance during their closures.
We are nearing the closing date of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for its extended refurbishment closure at Magic Kingdom!
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the massive construction crane
The popular roller coaster will close on January 6th and is set to reopen again in 2026. Disney hasn’t provided an official opening date but has only stated, “The attraction will reopen with a little bit of new magic in 2026.” However, we may have found a clue about a more concrete timeline.
Crowds are certainly HIGH around Disney World right now, thanks to holiday vacationers and people preparing to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Disney World. We don’t foresee that changing any time soon.
Magic Kingdom Crowds
This is typically one of, if not THE busiest time of year in Disney World. Many attractions reach hours-long waits that we don’t see any other time of year. You’re shoulder-to-shoulder with hundreds of strangers, and stress levels are at an all-time high. However, even as these crowds start to dissipate at the end of next week, we know wait times for this one attraction will stay high — here’s why.
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