What's Happening At Disney World? Magic News & Updates
- Nov 12, 2025
- 6 min read
Update News Dateline: November 12, 2025
Disney World News & Updates
Breaking NEWS:
Epcot: The International Food & Wine Festival is happening until November 22, 2025. Test Track has reopened. The Holiday Festival is from November 28-December 30. An impressive and moving art exhibit by former President George W. Bush has been extended in the The American Adventure Pavilion. Right now, Epcot is about the only park that you won't see much construction in, if any at all. Enjoy it!
Epcot announced the The Epcot International Festival of the Arts dates have been posted: January 16-February 23, 2026. Book your hotels now!!
Magic Kingdom: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad won't reopen until June 2026; Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Riverboat are now part of Disney World History; Cinderella Castle is getting a paint job, Tron has a temporary new color lights experience; Walt Disney himself will be coming to the Carousel of Progress soon; there are more details about the new Villains Land; a new parade debuted this summer; Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is happening on selected nights until October 31.
Hollywood Studios: The Muppets said good-bye to Grand Avenue and the Muppets 3D attraction but they are moving to Rockin' Roller Coaster; if you're wondering if the Little Mermaid show was ever returning, well, it is; Animation Court will live up to its name in 2026; get ready for Jollywood, the Christmas special event.
Disney's Animal Kingdom: the new Zootopia attraction in the Tree of Life opened in November 7; the land formerly known as DinoLand is supposed to reopen in February 2026 as Tropical Americas.
Confusing?
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The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival returned August 28 - November 22, 2025. We have an article describing the festivals, but briefly, it's a great street fair in Epcot, which in itself is a World's Fair. Eat (and drink) your around the world and sample small bites and specific beverages from regions all over. Put yourself on a budget and buy one of the festival gift cards, load it up with some money and swipe all over the festival.
2. Getting into Disney Parks: Reservations for customers with regular tickets (date-based) will not need reservations to visit the parks. Also, non-passholders staying at Disney World Resorts with tickets will not need a reservation either. Date-based means that you buy a ticket that expires after you start using it. You have to choose the starting date. Make sure your ticket and your hotel reservation is linked to your My Disney Experience account on the app. BUT, for Annual Pass Holders, see #4.
Student groups and convention and sports tickets will need reservations.
3. Annual Passholders:
*There is something called "Good-To-Go Days." This means you do not need a reservation. Disney will require reservations for APHs when the park may be crowded, during peak times or seasons. Check the My Disney Experience app. Our Tip For Your Trip: make a reservation anyway. Having a Disney hotel reservation doesn't count!!
*Do you want to park-hop? There are two ways: if you had a reservation, go to the first park and then go to the second park at any time.
You may not need a park reservation if you enter after 2PM (except see below about Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays).
*Do you want to visit Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and/or Sundays? You will need a reservation.
*Do you want to park hop to Magic Kingdom on Saturday/Sunday? You will need a reservation to the first park so that you can go to MK later.
*If you are not staying at a Disney Resort, you can only make a limited amount of reservations, depending on your type of pass.
*Even if you are staying at a Disney resort, YOU MAY STILL NEED A RESERVATION! Check the app/website for your Good-To-Go-Days!!
4. Parking at Disney World: currently, parking at Disney World Resorts is complimentary. Although the free transportation can be a bit inconvenient (the buses come about every 20 minutes and they can be crowded at the beginning and end of the day), it can be practical. If you do park your car at the parks, you do have to pay (unless you are an Annual Pass Holder) but the ticket is good all day if you park hop. Save your receipt! If you don't want to drive from park to park, check out our transportation tips here. You can only get to Disney Springs on the buses from the resorts, not the parks. Parking is still free at Disney Springs.
5. The trams are at all four parks. But, challenge yourself and walk to the entrance anyway to pre-burn off some calories before you snack your way around the park. :) Better yet, walk from Epcot to Disney's Hollywood Studios, or from the Transportation Center through the Polynesian Resort all the way to the Magic Kingdom.
6. When you ride an attraction, the sensors might automatically read your magic band and link any photos double check about digital photo downloads as part of the package for that day! Likewise, If you have the photo add-on to an annual pass. Just make sure you wear your Magic Band +.
8. The Disney Dining Plan is available for Disney Resort guests. You can purchase it extra as part of your package. Ask your Disney consultant/planner for details. Since you can prepay, it is like having much of your vacation paid for before you arrive. There are different versions, so be sure to explore all of your options. When you get to restaurants, kiosks or even snack carts, tell them you are on the dining plan and they will let you know what qualifies and what doesn't.
9. Don't forget to look for selfie photo ops. There are photo ops all over the resort, not just the parks. Find nice backdrops particularly in Disney Springs. Look for the massive Lego sculptures near the Lego Store, especially Pete's Dragon in the lagoon. Over in front of the Disney Store, there are sculptures outside just waiting to pose with you. But over one of the doorways, beware of Stitch, he's just as mischievous as ever!
Each resort has a centerpiece, for lack of a better description. Fountains, chandeliers, elegant lobbies or fun representations of characters are waiting to share your photo with you. Around Disney's All Star Sports, Disney's Art of Animation and Disney's Pop Century, the stars of your photos are the resorts themselves. The themes are incorporated in to each area of the resorts. Pop Century focuses on decades, with each area highlighting popular Disney movies of that era. There is a lake that links it with Art of Animation, the resort that brings to life not only the characters but the settings as well. Especially fun is the Cars area.
Disney's Animal Kingdom is undergoing major construction in the land formerly named DinoLand. As of this writing, the Dinosaur ride is still, but may be closing. Tropical Americas is supposed to be opening in 2026, but the rest of the park is ready for you. Stay tuned for more details.
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