The Christmas rush is almost over and we’re FINALLY heading into the New Year!

Say goodbye to 2020! (We won’t miss you. Like at all.) You might be welcoming 2021 at Disney World this week. It could get busy as the remaining holiday crowds linger to ring in the New Year. We’re here to help you plan with our weekly refurbishment updates! Let’s recap with everything that’s closed for refurbishment between December 28th through January 3rd, 2021!

Tom Sawyer Island and Liberty Square Riverboat

The Rivers of America has been drained while Cast Members work on the surrounding area. We’ve been watching the river slowly drain and right now it’s completely dry! This isn’t a subtle refurbishment either. You’ll see the muddy river bottom and tracks that guide the riverboat.

Speaking of! Without water, the Liberty Square Riverboat can’t transport guests on its daily tour. The riverboat is temporarily unavailable while the area is refurbished.

You also won’t be able to access Tom Sawyer Island with the river being drained as well. It’s actually an island and you need to take a raft to get there! We recently noticed that scaffolding has been installed around Harper’s Mill on the island.

Both attractions are scheduled for refurbishments until February 28th, 2021.

See more updated photos of the drained Rivers of America here!

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

We hate to break it to you…but the PeopleMover is STILL closed. For those of you just tuning in, the PeopleMover was supposed to reopen all the way back in July with the rest of the Magic Kingdom. (Seems like a lifetime ago, right?) Well, that didn’t happen and we circled the area for a while waiting for any signs of life.

Instead, the PeopleMover got put on the refurbishment list and we cried in our Space Ranger Slushies. We had hope because it seemed that the PeopleMover would reopen the day after Christmas.

Santa didn’t come this year and the closure was extended to January 9th, 2021. We bought another churro to comfort ourselves. We’ll be keeping an eye on the calendar just in case it gets extended again. *Fervently knocks on wood.*

Read more about the PeopleMover closure right here!

Walt Disney World Railroad

We’ve been keeping you updated on all the construction for TRON Lightcycle Run. The tracks are taking shape and it’s starting to look closer to the finished product every day. The good news is: we’ll soon have another high-speed roller coaster in Disney World. The bad news is: construction is interrupting the train tracks at the Magic Kingdom.

The roller coaster is located towards the outside of the theme park which is where the train tracks run. That means that the Walt Disney World Railroad is not currently running at this time.

We don’t have a clear indication when the train will start running again. TRON is set to open in October 2021 so it could potentially reopen at that time. We’ll have to wait and see!

See more TRON construction pics here!

Future Closures

We should also note that Kali River Rapids will be closed starting January 4th, 2021. Some water rides will close during the wintertime to get a little freshening up. It’s also because water rides aren’t super popular in the cold weather.

As of now, Kali River Rapids is scheduled to stay closed until April 1st, 2021.

Read more about the Kali River Rapids closure here!

You’ll notice a lot more construction around the theme parks as well. EPCOT is loaded with construction walls as the park prepares for its massive overhaul. (Except for the front entrance fountain which was just revealed!) You’ll also notice construction at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and a temporary scrim facade over the Main Street Train Station. 

Happy New Year, friends! 

See all of the recent construction updates at Disney World here!

Are you visiting Disney World for New Year’s Eve? Let us know in the comments!