Watch Out for 3 Ride and Restaurant CLOSURES in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT

There’s SO MUCH to do in Disney World — you can hop on the new TRON Lightcycle / Run roller coaster, check out the Broadway-style “Festival of the Lion King” show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and eat around the world at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. But there are a couple of things that you CAN’T do in Disney World next week due to ride and attraction closures.

Cinderella Castle

Disney occasionally has to shut down attractions, restaurants, and certain parts of hotels in order to update and refurbish them. To make sure you’re prepared before your upcoming trip, here’s a complete list of the closures scheduled for next week, from July 30th through August 5th.

Magic Kingdom Closures

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Splash Mountain closed on January 23rd for a long refurbishment. The ride is being re-themed to become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, with a Princess and the Frog theme.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The new ride will reopen sometime in late 2024. We’ll be watching for more updates on the reopening timeline. The tree at the top of this ride has been removed as Disney continues construction, and several new rock structures have been built at the bottom of the drop. There’s a new water tower as well, which says “Tiana’s Foods” on the front and “Never, ever lose sight of what’s really important” on the back. It’s topped with Tiana’s crown, which has two stars on it to represent Ray and Evangeline.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure water tower

We noticed that part of the ride track has been covered up as well.

Part of the ride is covered

If you miss Splash Mountain or want to celebrate the new ride, you should check out our DFB t-shirts! We have a Splash Mountain Farwell Tour shirt…

DFB Exclusive!

…and a Tiana tee as well!

Check out our new Tiana-inspired merch!

You can shop both tees (and lots of other Disney merch) at our online store.

Click here to shop our DFB merchandise store.

Barrel Bridge on Tom Sawyer Island

Over on Tom Sawyer Island, the Barrel Bridge is currently missing.

Barrel Bridge is closed

A Cast Member told us that it has been removed for maintenance, and they didn’t know when it might return. The rest of the island is still open to explore, though!

Something NEW is coming to Magic Kingdom…and we’re very confused.

EPCOT Closures & Reopenings

Note that Refreshment Port and Refreshment Station reopened on July 27th.

Tokyo Dining

In the Japan Pavilion in EPCOT, Tokyo Dining is currently undergoing a major refurbishment. This restaurant is being re-themed to become Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya.

Construction on Tokyo Dining

The new table-service restaurant features a “festive dining experience in a sharable Izakaya-style.”

©Disney

Shiki-Sai is expected to open this summer, so we should hear more news about a specific reopening date very soon.

Click here to learn more about the NEW restaurant coming to EPCOT.

Traveler’s Cafe

Traveler’s Cafe is the old Starbucks location, which closed when Connections Cafe opened in World Celebration. Lately, we’ve spotted some changes to this spot (including a new paint job), so we’re wondering if that could mean it will reopen soon!

Traveler’s Cafe

According to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival map, it looks like this spot will be the location for Swirled Showcase when it opens as a festival marketplace booth on September 22nd.