Credit: Lee (myfrozenlife), FlickrDisney World’s classic theme park will never be the same.
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Guests can look forward to a lot of change at Walt Disney World Resort over the coming years. Large-scale projects, overhauls, and renovations are happening throughout all four of the resort’s theme parks and a number of its hotels.
These projects range in scope and scale, including everything from minor adjustments to lobbies to the arrival of brand-new rides and attractions.
While work is happening all around Walt Disney World, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is arguably changing the most.
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Disney’s Hollywood Studios originally opened on May 1, 1989, although under a different name: Disney MGM Studios. Featuring an authentic Hollywood backlot and a variety of movie-based attractions, Disney MGM Studios’ main goal was to show how the film industry worked, albeit in a very “Disney” way.
Guests could explore rides and attractions meant to represent what actual studio sets looked like. This core focus changed over the years, but remnants can still be seen, such as the unfinished backside of the large AT-AT outside the entrance to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.
There’s no denying that the park has changed drastically since it first opened, though some of the biggest changes are still to come.
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In June, guests said their last goodbyes to Muppets Courtyard, a Muppet-theme hub located at Hollywood Studios, near the entrance to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
To say the closure of this area hasn’t gone down easily with fans would be an understatement. Muppets Courtyard, along with the attractions and locations within it, had been a core part of the park for decades.
A lot of history was located within the brick walls and faux-New York backdrop. Muppet*Vision 3D, the area’s premier attraction, was the final project Muppets creator Jim Henson worked on before his death.
Disney first teased the closure of Muppets Courtyard during the company’s D23 conference last August. These events are where Disney announces its biggest projects, both short and long-term. During 2024’s D23, Disney announced a new Monsters Inc.-themed land would be coming to Hollywood Studios.
This was quite surprising and immediately caused concern for guests. “Where would this new land go?” thought Muppet fans. Disney wouldn’t reveal where this new land, officially called Monstropolis, would go for quite some time until it eventually broke the news that, yes, Muppets Courtyard would close permanently.
Disney was quick to demolish the area, with the remains of Muppets Courtyard now locked away behind construction walls.
However, the Muppets aren’t being removed from the park, just replaced. In a surprising announcement earlier this year, Disney revealed that the Muppets would take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. The thrill ride has starred legendary rock band Aerosmith since it opened in 1999, though most fans would say it desperately needed some updating.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will close in 2026. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets will open sometime later in the same year.
This isn’t the only big way Disney’s Hollywood Studios is changing.
This summer, Disney World also announced that the park’s Animation Courtyard area would be significantly upgraded.
Disney revealed that “The Magic of Disney Animation” will replace Star Wars: Launch Bay at Hollywood Studios. The entire Animation Courtyard area of the park will be reimagined into a new area called “The Walt Disney Studios.” This new area takes inspiration from Disney’s real-life studio buildings in Burbank, California.
“Our story in this newly reimagined space begins as the animators have temporarily stepped away… but the building is still buzzing with activity as the characters have come to life and they’re ready to play,” states Disney in an official release.
Animation Courtyard and Disney Jr. Play and Dance! are set to close permanently on September 25, 2025.
“The Magic of Disney Animation” opens in 2026.
A lot has changed since Disney MGM Studios opened its doors, though 2026 is perhaps the biggest year in the park’s entire history. Plenty more is happening all around Walt Disney World and Disney’s other theme parks worldwide, though Hollywood Studios will be especially exciting to watch.
Are you excited about the changes coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios?