The Disney World Mistake You'll Make in January

January is almost here, and while we’re excited, we also have no idea how the year passed so quickly.

Cinderella Castle

A lot is happening in Disney World in 2025, and it’s our job to make sure you feel prepared for your upcoming trips! This means making sure you know about all the new attractions on the way, what’s changing, what are the best and worst times to go, and everything in between. If you’re heading to Disney World in January, we KNOW some of you may be gearing up to make this mistake, and but not anymore after reading this post!

The truth is that while Disney World is getting ready to add a bunch of new attractions and rides to their parks over the next few years, that means they’ve got to go through a bit of a rough patch first. Existing attractions have to be refurbished, some are going extinct entirely to make way for new rides and experiences, and that means in January, a LOT of constructions walls are going to be up.

Chip and Dale in Dinoland U.S.A.

On top of that, a total of SIX attractions will be closed around the Disney World parks in the month of January alone. In Animal Kingdom, Kali River Rapids is closing for its annual refurbishment during the winter months on January 6th and TriceraTop Spin in Dinoland U.S.A. will be going away forever on January 13th. That brings this park, which is already short rides/attractions, down two rides. Expect wait times to increase around the park to make up for the closures!

TriceraTop Spin

Over in EPCOT, it was just announced that Gran Fiesta Tour would be beginning a TWO MONTH closure on January 13th, and isn’t set to reopen until March 15th. Meanwhile, Test Track remains closed as it undergoes its retheming. We’re excited for it to open in late Summer, but it’ll be a rougher two months for EPCOT as far as crowds go.

Gran Fiesta Tour

And over in Magic Kingdom, while we still don’t know when Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat will be closing down, Big Thunder Mountain will be closing for a YEAR LONG (at its shortest) refurbishment starting on January 6th. It was also just announced that Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland would be closing for at least HALF THE YEAR starting on, you guessed it, January 13th. It’s current reopening timeline is Summer 2025.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

What do all these closures mean? That you might miss some of your favorite rides on your January trip, sure, but it also means that you’ll start to see construction walls pop up all over the parks beginning in January (it may not seem like they’re coming for Hollywood Studios yet, but they are!). Some of your favorite pathways may be blocked off, or your routes through the park may change to create a new faster way around the chaos.

Magic Kingdom

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the latest Disney World news, so stay tuned to DFB!

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