All the refurbs should we be worried?

[hsmamainva]

We have been to WDW over 20 times but have booked our first Disneyland trip for May.

We booked this trip back in August, before the announcement that the 70th Anniversary would begin on May 16th. We check out of our hotel on May 12th.

We are booked at Pixar Place and now the pool is closed and TBD on the reopening. The railroad and monorail are down TBD and now Small World doesn't appear that it will be open either.

I found out this morning that there are no parades planned for the foreseeable future and there may not be one until the 70th. And rumor is that Peter Pan might be closing too.

We have already booked our flights and to change the dates means we would be paying another $200+ per person to move them to a date later in the summer.

Wondering if we should just cancel the trip altogether and do it next year? Or am I overreacting?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

This is normal this time of year. January to Memorial Day is when all the annual refurbs happen. This is technically the off season. Disney has all the festivals during this time, Lunar New Year, Sweethearts Night etc etc to draw in the locals with new food, new entertainment and new merch while the various refurbs happen. During this time its also normal for fireworks and Fantasmic to be weekends only.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Us WDW vets aren't used to Refurb schedules like this because DLR does a much better job at refreshing and maintaining their rides.

Unless one of them is an absolute dealbreaker for you that's exclusive to the resort, I would still go. Plus, anything you missed is just another excuse to go back.

 

[OlliePop27]

OP, your concerns are valid and I completely understand. I am a DLR vet heading to WDW in March. They keep adding things every few weeks. Test Track I knew about, Big Thunder I expected, then Astro Orbiter, then Hall of Presidents, then the Dumbo playground, waiting for the shoe to drop on the train and ROA.

As for DLR, I doubt everything you listed will be closed. I suspect the monorail, the train, and Small World will all be running when you are there.

My last two trips, here's everything that was closed:

January 2023 - Indy, Small World, All of Toontown (Roger Rabbit, Runaway Railway), Grizzly River Run

July 2024 - Haunted Mansion and Splash/Tiana's and Pooh

You know what? We had an amazing time! There is so much to see and do, that you'll keep plenty busy. There are so many rides in each park compared to WDW, I think you'll be surprised how little you notice the closures. There are only a few rides that I'm devastated about if closed at DLR - Pirates, Big Thunder, Peter Pan, Alice.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Unfortunately, refurbs are part of life at WDW and DLR. Disney tries to limit refurbs during peak seasons, and as you’re arriving shortly before, there’s a good chance all of those attractions will be open. Paint The Night Parade return shortly after you leave, so unfortunately you’ll kiss that.

Don’t get worked up on rumors. Unless it’s an emergency, Disney typically gives plenty of notice on pending closures.

PP pool will be open in May. It’s just being closed during the colder months. Good news is you can use DLH pools, which are much nicer anyway.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I wanted to add:

Last August we went to WDW. We went to MNSSHP and were debating between a 3D or 4D pass that allowed access to one park each. The 4D allowed access to Magic Kingdom, the 3D did not, and was an extra $160 via a discounted ticket service. We ended up doing the 4D, which obviously was fairly expensive day for a family.

Space Mountain and Tron went down early on. And then a lighting storm hit and lasted most of the day, shutting down all the outdoor attractions like Tiana’s, Big Thunder, Mine Train, Tom Sawyer, Libery Belle, etc. Total waste of money. in fairness guest services offered us a comp day, but it had to be within a week and we were flying home at 6AM the following day.

Ride closures are always a risk. Thankfully the weather cooperates more often at DLR, so we don’t see as much down time as WDW.

 

[Mardigras2025]

I actually think you will be lucky - they are probably going to want as much open as possible for the 70th, so many of the refurbs should be done by the time you go. I would expect Small World to be ready, and if Peter Pan goes down in March, it will likely be quick so that’s it ready in time for the 70th (or even peak spring break week). I think the magic kingdom refurb of Peter Pan was fairly quick.

You might even hit a great sweet spot - most things ready for the 70th, but lower crowds since it hasn’t officially began. Unlikely, but maybe you’ll even get some soft openings of festivities!

 

[hsmamainva]

Thank you so much for the feedback! FOMO is a real thing! lol

We ended up deciding to move our trip to May 2026 -- we were going to do WDW again in May 2026; we will just do Disneyland instead and we get Paint the Night and the other 70th goodies!

 

[JerrodDragon89]

SM and Pan are rumored to be getting enhancements for the 70th

Space is at 100% from going down last year, and so is HM

But things have to go down at some point to get maintenance as well...I would take Rise down for a few months to get its canons back but feels like they are waiting for another thing to break before taking it down, same with Mickey the Balloon effect hasn't worked the last few times im there but they rather not bring them down unless they have to or are changing something

 

[maleficent55]

Unfortunately, refurbs are part of life at WDW and DLR. Disney tries to limit refurbs during peak seasons, and as you’re arriving shortly before, there’s a good chance all of those attractions will be open. Paint The Night Parade return shortly after you leave, so unfortunately you’ll kiss that.

Don’t get worked up on rumors. Unless it’s an emergency, Disney typically gives plenty of notice on pending closures.

PP pool will be open in May. It’s just being closed during the colder months. Good news is you can use DLH pools, which are much nicer anyway.

The Disney pools don’t generally close in the colder months, they’re heated year round. The Pixar place hotel pool is just having a planned refurb

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

If it was me, I would probably bite the bullet and go during the 70th to experience all of that too.

 

[LAS2AMS]

The Disney pools don’t generally close in the colder months, they’re heated year round. The Pixar place hotel pool is just having a planned refurb

They close at least one pool most every winter for prolonged refurbishment. Last year, portions of the pools at GCH and DLH were closed, for example. GVH was rather short compared to DLH.