Do you think that closures are getting ridiculous?

[rdaky]

We will be at Disney World in February and the number of rides closed seems to be very high. Some of the best rides are going be down. I know some are permanently closed and others are down for a long time but it just seems like there are a lot down. Slow time of year?

Close while we are there:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Closing January 6, 2025 until 2026
• Astro Orbiter: Closing January 13, 2025 through summer 2025
• Hall of Presidents: Closing from January 20, 2025 through TBA
• Kali River Rapids: Closing January 6 through TBA, 2025
• TriceraTop Spin: Closing January 13, 2025
• Dino-Rama Area: Closing January 13, 2025
• Gran Fiesta Tour: Closing on January 6, 2025, and reopening on March 15, 2025

No, I don't think it's ridiculous. I'm not sure what you expect them to do. If they don't repair and/or upgrade rides, people complain that they aren't working. If they do, people complain that they are being worked on. It's a no win situation.

 

[FeliciaB23]

I’m going in January so in the same boat. My annoyance mainly lies with the fact that so many closures will mean longer lines for everything else, not that rides are actually closed (out of the entire list, test track, BTMR, and three caballeros are the only ones we actually go on lol). A bummer for sure!

 

[tigger2002]

No, I don't think it's ridiculous. I'm not sure what you expect them to do. If they don't repair and/or upgrade rides, people complain that they aren't working. If they do, people complain that they are being worked on. It's a no win situation.

I expect them to do "routine" maintenance to minimize so many rides being down at once.

 

[BorderTenny]

I expect them to do "routine" maintenance to minimize so many rides being down at once.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I expect them to do "routine" maintenance to minimize so many rides being down at once.

But again, you're lumping "closing forever," "closing for major refurbishment," and "closing for routine maintenance" all together, and then arguing that there are too many rides "down at once." Many of those are down for all of 2025 or forever. The long term / forever closures gotta start sometime.

There are 4 rides scheduled for short term maintenance during Feb, per your original post.
Hall of Presidents MUST start it Jan 20th, fair chance it's operational again before your trip anyways.
Kali River Rapids - why on earth would they do this any time other than the coldest month which also coincides with a "slow" time of year?

So you're really talking about 2 rides. Not sure how you propose Disney spreads it out more than that.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

So you had one unfortunate ride....
That doesn't mean it has to close for refurb.

This has become pretty common for HM.

 

[fatmanatee]

Not confirmed exactly, it’s been rumored, but some more details on the permit and timeframe indicate that the BTMM refurb might be a complete track replacement, which DL got a decade ago.

https://blogmickey.com/2025/01/new-big-thunder-mountain-permit-march-2026/

 

[robinb]

I didn’t know about Big Thunder until today. I’m bummed because I’m going in April with a friend that can’t do many of the other roller coasters .

 

[gharter]

Agree, not really higher than most years at this time. However, sad to see how many are long term (permanent) closures

 

[tigger2002]

More confirmation from DFB

The Number Of Disney World Closures Is Getting Out Of Control​

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2025...ney-world-closures-is-getting-out-of-control/


.

 

[wdwnomad]

I am surprised DFB has an opinion. All of their posts are parroting Disney Parks Blog announcements or Disney press releases. I didn't think they were capable of an original thought.

 

[SL6827]

It does seem like a lot for the same time periods. Glad we went last January instead of this January. I understand refurbs need to be done, but this is a good many.

 

[rdaky]

Disney Food Blog is consistently so negative and click bait. I used to read/watch their content more often, but I find that they've become so annoying. The front page of their website is a bunch of whining and I cannot take them seriously.

 

[Minnie1222]

There is nothing out-of-control about the closures, this is what I read from their article:

Big Thunder closes for one year.
Astro closes until the summer.
Hall of Presidents closes.
New Test Track opens in the summer.
Gran Fiesta opens in 6 weeks.
New Mermaid coming in the summer.
New Villains show coming in the summer.
Mama Melrose and Muppets closing permanently in May and June to prepare for a new land.
Tough to be a bug will be closed at some point.
Kali Rapids is closed for the annual refurb and will probably reopen in March.
Dinoland is having a phased closure in preparation for the new land.


The loss would only be for fans of Big Thunder, Mama Melrose, Muppets, and Dinoland. Otherwise, this summer would be a great time to visit.

 

[Smugpugmug]

In retrospect I don't really mind the closures. It's finally giving me the push to head over to Disneyland for a change. Going in September (was going to go in July but had some plans change).

 

[hardcorestitch]

At least these closures are within reason. Disney's competitor Six Flags, which merged with Cedar Fair is now the theme park industry equivalent to Warner Bros Discovery. Cancel WinterFest in Virginia, shut down sizeable amounts of coasters in Carowinds and Great Adventure, and dump your passholders. All over "money".

But again, Disney's parks put in some certainty and valid reasoning as to why they shut certain attractions temporarily, and they actually want to put some consideration into the seasons and the guest's input.

 

[Minnie1222]

It does seem like a lot for the same time periods. Glad we went last January instead of this January. I understand refurbs need to be done, but this is a good many.

Not really! If you're going right now, you're only missing Big Thunder, Astro, and Gran Fiesta, as Test Track, Kali, and Hall of Presidents are not surprised closures. The other attractions listed in the article are still open.

 

[AZMermaid]

We went to Disneyland in Feb 2015. The following were closed at the same time and a lot of this was closed for months:

DL proper
Matternorn
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain
Winnie the Pooh
Canoes
Railroad
Critter Country was walled off just past Haunted Mansion closing all the restaurants and shops
The castle was put under a (retro themed) tarp, only the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough refurbishment was announced ahead of time. This also created traffic flow issues.

DCA
Grizzly River Run
Soarin
All of condor flats was walled off between the hotel and Buena Vista street creating traffic flow issues and closing shops and dining
Luigi’s Flying Tires
Muppet Vision 3D
Blue Sky Cellar
Ariel’s Grotto (had the princess meal at that time)
The Lagoon was completely drained and ugly
No World of Color

We had a good time but the closures made it feel really crowded. My husband said “if I’m not going to be able to see the ground when I walk because there’s so many people, let’s just go in the summer when everything is open!” And we have pretty much stuck to that since

 

[SL6827]

I too think they are within reason.

Not really! If you're going right now, you're only missing Big Thunder, Astro, and Gran Fiesta, as Test Track, Kali, and Hall of Presidents are not surprised closures. The other attractions listed in the article are still open.

Big Thunder is my favorite in all of WDW!!

 

[SL6827]

We went to Disneyland in Feb 2015. The following were closed at the same time:

DL proper
Matternorn
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain
Winnie the Pooh
Canoes
Railroad
Critter Country was walled off just past Haunted Mansion closing all the restaurants and shops
The castle was put under a (retro themed) tarp, only the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough refurbishment was announced ahead of time. This also created traffic flow issues.

DCA
Grizzly River Run
Soarin
All of condor flats was walled off between the hotel and Buena Vista street creating traffic flow issues and closing shops and dining
Luigi’s Flying Tires
Muppet Vision 3D
Blue Sky Cellar
Ariel’s Grotto (had the princess meal at that time)
The Lagoon was completely drained and ugly
No World of Color

We had a good time but the closures made it feel really crowded. My husband said “if I’m not going to be able to see the ground when I walk because there’s so many people, let’s just go in the summer when everything is open!” And we have pretty much stuck to that since

Unreal!