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Credit: Patrick McGarvey, FlickrThis month will mark a big change in the landscape of the Walt Disney World theme park.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is preparing for a dramatic transformation this fall. Several areas of the park are set to close permanently to make way for new experiences. Guests visiting in the coming months will see a park in transition, with the version they know today fading into history.
On July 22, Disney Experiences confirmed that Animation Courtyard, home to Star Wars Launch Bay and Disney Jr. Play and Dance, will close on September 25, 2025. Today, September 24, is the final day to experience these Hollywood Studios classics. The space will be completely reimagined into The Magic of Disney Animation, a brand-new area celebrating the art of animation.
The forthcoming location will resemble the Walt Disney Studios buildings in Burbank, California, and promises several new offerings, including animation workshops, an indoor play space for children, character meet-and-greets, and a short film.
“The playful and interactive moments will be around every corner,” Disney Parks Blog shared. “You’ll see portraits come to life before your eyes just like they did in *Once Upon A Studio; you’ll find inspiration with a short film (with a twist, of course); and you’ll even pencil in some time to learn how to draw your very own character sketch.”
To mark the occasion, a familiar icon will return: the Sorcerer Mickey hat, once the centerpiece of Hollywood Studios, will once again welcome guests, this time at the entrance to the new animation experience.
The closure of Animation Courtyard comes as part of a larger overhaul across the park. Earlier this year, Disney Experiences shuttered Grand Avenue, saying goodbye to attractions such as Muppet*Vision 3D and restaurants like Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.
In their place, Disney is creating Monstropolis, a new land based on Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. Guests can expect a suspended roller coaster themed to the film’s thrilling door sequence, a first-of-its-kind addition for the resort.
While the Muppets lost their long-time home, their story at Hollywood Studios isn’t over. Disney has revealed plans for a retheme of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, which will transform into a brand-new Muppets attraction. Although no closure date for the coaster has been announced, the refreshed experience is expected to open in 2026.
With these major changes, Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge may see more guests than usual. Attractions like Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance could draw even longer lines as popular alternatives, while other sections of the park remain behind construction walls.
This wave of updates at Hollywood Studios is only one part of a larger reimagining taking place across Walt Disney World Resort. At Magic Kingdom, work is underway on what Disney calls the “largest expansion” in the park’s history.
Piston Peak National Park, inspired by Pixar’s Cars, will take shape on the land once home to Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America, while the “Beyond Big Thunder” project will bring Disney Villains into the spotlight.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, construction began in January 2025 on the Tropical Americas project, which will replace DinoLand U.S.A. The new Pueblo Esperanza area is set to debut in 2027 with attractions featuring Encanto and Indiana Jones. EPCOT, meanwhile, has recently completed its extensive overhaul, highlighted by the reopening of Test Track in July, leaving fewer large-scale projects underway at that park.
Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro previewed these sweeping changes at D23 Expo 2024, when he remarked that “dirt was moving” across Disney properties. Those words are quickly becoming reality as Walt Disney World enters a new era of expansion.
With closures, construction, and new projects around every corner, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will look very different come fall 2025, and nearly unrecognizable by 2026.
How do you feel about the erasure of this huge part of Hollywood Studios? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!