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Credit: Lee (myfrozenlife), FlickrDisney has confirmed the fate of one beloved EPCOT attraction. The news comes as the Central Florida resort moves forward with multiple closures beginning in January 2025.
January Losses at Disney World
The New Year at Walt Disney World Resort is shaping up to be a transformative time as a wave of closures and refurbishments begins across the parks. Joining the already-closed Test Track at EPCOT and Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, several beloved attractions are set to see significant downtime.
Over at Magic Kingdom, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will bid farewell for over a year. This iconic Frontierland favorite will take its final ride on January 5, 2025, before undergoing a transformative refurbishment. According to the official Walt Disney World website, the attraction is set to reopen in 2026 with “a little bit of new magic,” sparking speculation that it could receive updates similar to its Disneyland counterpart.
Meanwhile, Tomorrowland’s Astro Orbiter is also slated for a lengthy closure. Refurbishment work begins on January 13, 2025, and a reopening is projected for the summer of the same year.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the transformation of DinoLand U.S.A. is officially underway. The TriceraTop Spin ride will permanently close on January 13, 2025, marking the beginning of the area’s evolution into a Tropical Americas-themed land featuring Encanto and Indiana Jones.
Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures and Fossil Fun Games will also shutter for good on January 13. However, in a surprising move, Disney has confirmed that the DINOSAUR attraction will remain open through the end of 2025.
Elsewhere in the park, Kali River Rapids will begin its seasonal closure on January 6 and plan to reopen in March 2025. Over at EPCOT, fans of the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros should plan their final rides soon. The World Showcase attraction will close on January 6 and is slated to reopen on March 15, 2025.
These closures mark significant changes across the parks, offering both nostalgia and anticipation as Disney prepares to unveil a reimagined future for its attractions.
Beloved EPCOT Show Updated
Also ready to bid farewell in February 2025 was ¡Celebración Encanto!, the Encant0-themed stage show that takes place at the CommuniCore Plaza. Now, Disney has confirmed the fate of the show that has been entertaining guests since the summer when the World Celebration area was officially opened.
Based on Disney’s Encanto, the 2021 animated musical that explored the miraculous gifts of the Madrigal family, ¡Celebración Encanto! is a sing-along experience complete with Mirabel and Bruno Madrigal. The music of Encanto—including songs like “Waiting On A Miracle” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”—is one of the most enchanting parts of the movie, so it’s no wonder that the stage performance has remained popular.
Originally running through early September 2024, the ¡Celebración Encanto! was extended into 2025, with a closing date in February. The Walt Disney World Resort has now confirmed that the show will be running indefinitely.
“Walt Disney World announced that the “¡Celebración Encanto!” will now be offered as full-time entertainment at EPCOT,” wrote Kenny the Pirate. “The My Disney Experience app now lists showtimes for “¡Celebración Encanto!” Currently, showtimes include 10:20 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 4:50 p.m.”
The news will be a welcome reminder that Disney World isn’t closing everything in the New Year. Looking ahead, though, an intense period of evolution is coming, with new lands coming to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
In the former, the Cars franchise and the Disney Villains will claim parts of Frontierland, while in the latter, DinoLand U.S.A. will be completely reimagined to the Tropical Americas and feature attractions themed to the Encanto and Indiana Jones franchises.
How do you feel about this extension at EPCOT theme park? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!