And just like that, we’ve made it to September! It may have been a short week with the Labor Day holiday, but it was still an exciting news week for the Disney theme parks.
I don’t know about you, but in my mind, it’s fall. September 1 is like a national holiday in my house — the fall decorations come out, the local cider mill opens (and I’m always the first one in line), and I start preparing my lineup of fall recipes for the NFL season. There’s a lot of fall happenings going on at the Disney parks, too, with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom and Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure. This week’s news roundup includes things you’ll definitely want to hear if you’re planning a 2025 Disney World vacation. Let’s dive in!
New Disney Villains Live Production Coming to Hollywood Studios Summer 2025
Despite the long list of announcements from D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, we’re still learning new things about offerings coming to the Disney theme parks in the coming years. It was announced this week that a brand-new villains live production will come to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the summer of 2025.
The show will move into Sunset Showcase, which is currently the home of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. That means that Racing Academy will close permanently, and its last day of operation will be October 7, 2024. While it’s a bummer for Cars fans that there won’t be any signs of the franchise at Walt Disney World for some time, there’s a huge reimagining at Magic Kingdom taking place in the coming years that will bring Lightning McQueen to Frontierland.
But more about this new villains show!! According to Disney, “the show will feature appearances by dozens of the most infamous evildoers, with fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent each breaking through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers.” Summer 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting time at Walt Disney World — a new nighttime parade called Disney Starlight is also debuting at that time in Magic Kingdom.
READ MORE: EVERY DISNEY PARKS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM D23: THE ULTIMATE DISNEY FAN EVENT
Water Park Seasonal Pass Returns at Walt Disney World
If you missed out on Disney World’s water park seasonal pass this year, good news: it’s back! The seasonal pass is available now for purchase, costing $79 per person. It includes admission to one Disney World water park–whichever one is open–and is good daily through May 23, 2025 (blockout dates are April 12 to April 20, 2025). It was also announced this week that the seasonal switch between Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon will take place on November 4. On that date, Blizzard Beach will reopen for the season and Typhoon Lagoon will close.
There are multiple ways to save on a water park visit at Walt Disney World. Don’t forget that, starting January 1, 2025, admission to a Disney World water park is FREE on your arrival and check in day if you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel for all guests whose names appear on the hotel reservation.
READ MORE: WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT 2025 DISNEY WORLD VACATIONS
TRON Lightcycle/Run to Begin Using Standby Queue
Since TRON Lightcycle/Run opened at Walt Disney World in spring 2023, guests needed to join a Virtual Queue in order to experience the attraction (or, you would need to purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass). Those days of Virtual Queues for TRON will soon come to an end, as Disney World announced that the attraction would begin using a standby queue on September 9, 2024.
According to theme park journalist Scott Gustin, these changes do not apply to the other rides that currently offer Virtual Queue, which is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
So, starting September 9, if you want to ride TRON Lightcycle/Run, you can do so the old fashioned way…just hop in line! The ride’s Lightning Lane will still be available for purchase as an Single Pass if you want to bypass the standby queue.
READ MORE: LEARN ABOUT DISNEY WORLD’S NEW LIGHTNING LANE PASS SYSTEM THAT REPLACED GENIE+
Space Mountain Reopens at Disneyland Resort
After a lengthy one-month refurbishment, Space Mountain has reopened at Disneyland Park. The ride was closed temporarily to receive a number of updates, including upgrades to its lighting and specifically the tunnel at the start of the ride.
Space Mountain is one of a number of Disneyland attractions set for refurbishments. Indiana Jones Adventure will close on September 9, reopening on September 14. “it’s a small world” will close for an extensive refurbishment starting September 16, reopening for the holiday season as “it’s a small world” Holiday, only to close again in January for the remainder of its refurbishment, reopening sometime in spring 2025.
All of these refurbishments will likely culminate with the 70th anniversary celebration at Disneyland Resort. The official anniversary will be July 17, 2025, but the celebration is expected to last several months, if not for the entirety of 2025.
