If you can believe it, January is almost over! Less than a week remains in this first month of 2025… but that still leaves an entire year for YOU to make some memories at the Most Magical Place on Earth — Walt Disney World, with its four theme parks, two water parks, massive Disney Springs shopping and entertainment district, over 30 resort options and there is even mini-golf, regular golf, a sports area, and specialty corn dogs to boot!
So, if you need a reason or two to get your trip going, how about I give you 25?
Walt Disney World is known for it’s iconic attractions, from Magic Kingdom’s “…it’s a Small World” to the looming Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios, but if you haven’t taken a coaster ride in the dark, your first reason to visit Disney World is enjoying (1) Space Mountain as it celebrates 50 years of space magic!
Taking (2) Disney’s classic thrill rides on attractions like Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Rise of the Resistance make the journey worth it. And coming later this year, a (3) completely reimagined Test Track opens in Epcot, with homage to the original, legendary World of Motion.
If thrill rides and coasters aren’t your cup of tea, though, don’t worry - there is plenty to do elsewhere, and plenty to be excited about… including (4) The Little Mermaid - A Musical Adventure has Ariel finally returning to Hollywood Studios! After many years of an empty stage, Ariel, Ursula, Prince Eric and more will take the stage via a new array of puppetry and special effects, starting later in 2025!
And if your ears perked up when I said “URSULA”, you may be a fan of the villains - which means you’ll love the upcoming (5) “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After”, a stage show featuring the aforementioned Sea Witch, along with Captain Hook, Maleficent, Gaston and many more of your favorite Evil’doers. Finally, over in Animal Kingdom, if you choose to make your WDW trip during the Holiday season, you can check out (6) Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, a 3D show premiering in the Tree of Life during Winter 2025!
Don’t forget, after many years of missing The Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic (RIP), Magic Kingdom will have a BRAND NEW nighttime parade in 2025!
(7) ”Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away” will feature your favorite Disney friends on vibrant new floats, coming Summer 2025!
Make sure to see Dinosaur and The Boneyard before it’s THE END!
Of course with new attractions coming, we must (8) say goodbye to a few of our favorites — 2025 will be your last chance to experience some beloved attractions, including DINOSAUR (closing to make way for Tropical Americas), It’s Tough to be a Bug (giving way to Zootopia), MuppetVision3D (leading to Monsters Inc Land) and make sure you ride the (9) Rivers of America and visit Tom Sawyer Island one more time, as it will disappear for a new Cars themed area (MuppetVision*3D’s final day will be June 7th… no closing dates announced for any of the rest mentioned, but 2025 is expected for most, if not all)
If events and parties are your reasons for visiting, 2025 is better than ever! (10) The Epcot Festival of the Arts just kicked off and is running through February, your chance to see everything from the painted and sculpted art to Broadway style concerts… and of course, the food booths.
If the next few weeks are too soon, (11) Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival kicks off in March, running through the Spring, with incredible topiary displays, floral decor, warmer weather, the Eat to the Beat concert series… and of course, the food booths.
The fall will bring us (12) Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, a celebration of the culinary arts with cooking demonstrations, fantastic concerts from your favorite artists, cool decor.. and not just food booths, but beverage booths as well!
And of course, (13) Epcot’s Festival of the Holidays, as the Christmas season covers Epcot (and Disney World as a whole), which is not to be missed. Don’t worry. Lots and lots of food booths.
The Holidays bring so much to enjoy at Disney World, including (14) Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the annual Holiday party in Magic Kingdom, and (15) all of the resort holiday displays, like Grand Floridian’s Gingerbread House, the chocolate display in Contemporary, the chocolate carousel at Beach Club and a whole lot more.
Here’s to hoping that Jollywood Nights makes it’s return next Christmas!!!
And while we won’t know for sure, we all expect (16) Jollywood Nights to make it’s 3rd annual return to Hollywood Studios, which makes for one heck of a great Christmas party!
For the spookier Disney fans, back up a little bit in the year, and (17) Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party will return, running from select nights in August through Halloween night.
One of the appeals of going to the extra event parties like Very Merry Christmas, Jollywood Nights, or Not So Scary is the fact they are extra ticketed events - meaning they only sell a certain number of tickets to keep crowds low. Another opportunity for these low crowds throughout the year is (18) After Hours Events happening in Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios on select nights throughout the year. Enjoy access to the most popular rides and attractions AFTER the parks close, with minimal to no wait on just about everything!
For the runners out there, (19) runDisney events happen throughout 2025 as well — Mushu, Mulan, Olaf, Lady & the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty’s three fairies adorn the recently announced Wine & Dine 1/2 Marathon medals - registration begins soon for the fall event!
Other things to look forward to in 2025 is the (20) Spaceship Earth Lounge opening up later this spring, as well as Magic Kingdom’s new spot, a (21) Pirates of the Caribbean Lounge opening up next to the famous ride!
And let’s be real, the (22) Disney merchandise is unbeatable, updating all the time, from spirit jerseys to Ear bands — for much of our Upon a Star team, its Loungeflys, though for me personally, it’s all the Disney button up shirts!) and every time we turn around, there is a (23) new popcorn bucket MUST HAVE.
So, let’s chat about your trip! Through much of 2025, your qualifying package will give you not only your first day of your trip at (24) Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach for FREE, with many of the dates through the Spring, you can get (25) FREE DINING with your package!
And do you want one more reason to visit Walt Disney World in 2025? (26) Working with your favorite Upon a Star Travel Advisor! Everyone on this team gives you personal service (“ConciEARge” service if you will… see what we did there?) with all the knowledge and skills to make your vacation package the most magical it could be - from a few days at Pop Century to a week or more at the Poly, and everything in between!