2026 is happening NOW, and believe it or not, things are changing in Disney World AGAIN.
Cinderella Castle
If we’re being honest, that’s not surprising to us, since Disney World practically changes every week. Sometimes it’s what dining options are offered, the cost of different snacks and meals around the park, the way Lightning Lane works, parade times — the list goes on! However, as each year passes and we head into another one, there are usually some larger changes that happen that are super important to know about before the year begins. If you’re heading to Disney World in 2026, here are three unspoken “rules” (we’re calling them that, anyway) that Disney is enforcing to the MAX this upcoming year.
1. Patience
Starting off VERY strong, we’re all being taught patience this upcoming year thanks to Disney. Why? Because all that CONSTRUCTION! There are two entirely new lands being built in Magic Kingdom, as well as two rides getting ready to come out of major refurbishments. Disney’s Hollywood Studios also has two lands getting an overhaul, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is about to close for many months to be rethemed. Over in Animal Kingdom, DinoLand U.S.A. is about to close for good to make way for Tropical Americas, and while EPCOT doesn’t have any major projects going on, there are construction walls around the park for small projects.
Tons of construction is happening!
That’s not even mentioning the construction going on in Disney Springs and the Disney World hotels, so yes, the walls really are everywhere. That means that, not only are there multiple experiences unavailable at the start of 2026 (and some throughout the whole year), but the pathways you’ll use to walk around the park will often be more crowded, harder to maneuver around, and may cause some frustration.
Walls are everywhere!
We know this is all for the best, and we’re looking forward to what’s coming, but WOW will it be hard to wait months and months until the walls all come down.
Disney Just Dropped 4 MAJOR Updates
2. Have More Fun OUTSIDE The Parks
When people think of Disney World, they often just immediately think of the four theme parks and perhaps the water parks, when it comes to having tons of fun and making the most of their vacation. However, we’ll be the first to tell you that Disney Springs is full of incredible restaurants, shopping opportunities, and even some great live entertainment, so you can have lots of fun outside the parks too. That’s about to get even more desirable, though, once this new spot opens up in 2026!
Construction walls at LEVEL99
Coming to Disney Springs in 2026 is none other than LEVEL99, where you and your friends can experience tons of physical and mental challenges that you can’t find anywhere else in Disney World (and we don’t mean the mental challenge of getting through a 10+ mile park day for the third day in a row, and you’re already exhausted, though, that’s hard too). This will be a great experience for older kids and adults of all ages, especially, and we think it’ll really encourage people to add an extra day to their trip to explore outside the parks.
Everything You Need to Know About LEVEL99 at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World
3. Finding Your Favorite Snacks May Take Extra Work
With so much moving around the parks, or some lands going away entirely (most notably DinoLand, U.S.A., going away in February), some of your favorite snacks may end up moving around the parks to new places. Lucky for you, we track ALL of these changes.
Buffalo Chicken Chips
For example, when Trilo-Bites Snacks closed in October, the Buffalo Chicken Chips moved to Eight Spoon Cafe on Discovery Island, and a variety of flavored DOLE Whip floats moved to Warung Outpost in Asia! Harambe Market will soon be home to some of the food you can find at Restaurantosaurus once it closes permanently on February 2nd.
Rafiki Wildberry and DOLE Whip Orange Float
Need some help planning for your upcoming vacation? Check out our good friends at Small World Vacations — we promise, you won’t regret it!
We’re expecting lots more changes to develop in Disney World in the new year, but we’ll keep track of them all to update you every step of the way. Remember, we’re in the Disney World parks EVERY day, so we’re here to help you make sure that you’re prepared to have the best vacation ever — stay tuned to DFB!
4 Disney World Rules That No Longer Work in 2026
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Not really unspoken rules here. This is more of cope. You can’t admit Disney is way past its hay day and not getting much better. So instead suck it up, don’t expect to get your favourite things and go somewhere else?
IF ANYTHING NEEDS AN “UPGRADE”, IT’S EPCOT! THEY DEFINENTLY NEED TO ADD SOME “THRILL” RIDES TO THAT AREAS ATTRACTIONS! THERE’S REALLY NO MAJOR “RIDE” ATTRACTIONS AVAILABLE, EXCEPT FOR “SOARIN”, WHICH YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO WAIT, LONG PERIOD TIMES TO GET ON!
Haven’t been to Disneyland since ’89. No plans to return in this lifetime. Especially not on Social Security or Disability. They need to stop raising the prices and remaking movies we’ve already seen. Time for something original.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, Disney has lost its focus. In the past most of the attractions were geared to the family experience. Disney has long since lost that perspective as well as patronage. It’s time to remove the blinders and get back to what once made Disney magical.
Yes, regretfully, I have to agree.
It’s really not much fun spending mega bucks to go into a place that got so much ‘remodeling’ going on.
If a person is staying at the resorts where they’re seeing barricades everywhere, fighting crowds on the walkways, listening to hammers and electronic tools and making way for workers moving equipment in the hallways and already crowded walkways outside … just to go to the parks and see the same thing going on …PLUS a diminished experience due to a significant number of their favorite rides being closed ….
Disney should decrease fees to make up for the inconvenience. People come from all over the world to patronize their business, and to find this going on when they get here…well, it’s TOTALLY UNMAGICAL.
I’m a local DVC member with points to burn before my use year ends, so I’ll be over. But it’s doubtful that I will visit the parks. And Im not expecting my stay to be a pleasant one.
Disney has lost there magic. Cast members use to go out of there way to make your stay magical. My wife and I spent our honeymoon at Disney and had a fantastic time. So for our 50th anniversary I called to make reservations at the contemporary hotel. I asked if we could have the same room that we stayed in on our honeymoon, and they said NO. I called to make reservations to eat at California grill and asked for a specific waiter and a windows seat and they said No. It’s so sad we been going to Disney for over 50 years and every year it gets worse. We now stay at the FOUR SEASONS where magic still exists. Unfortunately cast members in Disney parks and resorts need to be retained
Charles,
STOP YELLING AT ME!
If all you want is thrill rides, go to Great America or Universal. I appreciate the “edutainment” of EPCOT and deplore the invasion of cartoon characters.
No major attractions? Try Soarin, Guardians of the Galaxy, Test Track, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure or Mission Space etc, etc.