Should You Visit Disney World in 2026 or Wait Until 2027?

Walt Disney World is open in 2026.

That is not quite the same thing as saying Walt Disney World is finished in 2026.

If you walk through the parks right now, you will find some genuinely good new and refurbished attractions. You will also find construction walls, missing rides, entire demolished areas and several major replacements that will not arrive until 2027 or later.

So if you are planning an expensive Disney World vacation and have some flexibility, there is an obvious question:

Should you go to Disney World in 2026, or wait until 2027?

My answer is fairly simple.

If this is a rare or once-every-several-years Disney World trip, I would probably wait until 2027.

If you visit regularly, find a good deal, or specifically want to experience the parks during this strange transitional moment, 2026 can still be a very good trip.

But right now Disney World feels less like a finished resort than a house where several rooms are being renovated at once.

Disney World 2026 vs. 2027: The Short Version

| Visit in 2026 | Wait Until 2027
Magic Kingdom | Big Thunder and Buzz Lightyear are refreshed, but Carousel of Progress is closed and Rivers of America is gone | Carousel returns; Piston Peak construction will be farther along, although Disney has not announced an opening date
EPCOT | Soarin’ Across America is new; Spaceship Earth still has its current version | More change is likely, although Disney has not announced dates for the Spaceship Earth reimagining
Hollywood Studios | Muppet Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is open; Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14; Muppet*Vision is gone | At least part of Monstropolis is scheduled to open in 2027
Animal Kingdom | DinoLand and DINOSAUR are gone; Tropical Americas is a construction site | Tropical Americas is scheduled to open with Encanto and Indiana Jones attractions
Best for | Repeat visitors, deal hunters, people who don’t mind construction | First trips, infrequent visitors, families waiting for more attraction capacity

Why 2026 Is Such a Strange Year at Disney World

Disney World has always changed.

Walt Disney himself famously did not want Disneyland to become a museum. Attractions have been replaced, expanded, shortened, rebuilt and occasionally improved beyond recognition since the parks opened.

But 2026 is unusual because so many changes are happening at once.

At Magic Kingdom, Disney drained the Rivers of America, removed the Liberty Belle and demolished Tom Sawyer Island to make way for Piston Peak.

Carousel of Progress is closed while Disney rewrites most of the show.

At Hollywood Studios, Muppet*Vision 3D is gone and Monstropolis is rising in its place.

At Animal Kingdom, DinoLand U.S.A. and DINOSAUR are gone while Tropical Americas is built.

And EPCOT now has another major reimagining coming, this time for Spaceship Earth.

We have a much more detailed rundown in our guide to everything changing at Disney World in 2026.

The problem for someone planning a vacation is simpler: Disney is charging you to visit the park that exists today, not the park shown in the concept art.

The Strongest Argument for Waiting Until 2027: Animal Kingdom

This is where waiting makes the most sense to me.

Animal Kingdom has lost DinoLand U.S.A. and DINOSAUR, and their replacements are not yet open.

Disney says the new Tropical Americas area, Pueblo Esperanza, will open in 2027.

The 11-acre land will include an Indiana Jones attraction using the former DINOSAUR ride system and show building, plus Disney’s first Encanto ride-through attraction.

The Indiana Jones attraction now has a name: Indiana Jones and the Myth of the Jade Serpent. Disney says Harrison Ford’s likeness will be used for Indy.

The Encanto attraction is called Antonio’s Fiesta de Encanto and will take guests through Casita and into Antonio’s rainforest room. It will have no height requirement.

There will also be a carousel, El Carrusel de los Animalitos, and a large new restaurant.

I’m still sorry to lose DINOSAUR.

But if you are choosing between seeing Animal Kingdom with a large construction zone in 2026 and seeing the new land after it opens in 2027, this is not a difficult call.

Wait.

Hollywood Studios Is Also Easier to Recommend in 2027

Hollywood Studios is in a peculiar position.

Disney closed Muppet*Vision 3D to build Monstropolis, then moved the Muppets across the park to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

The new Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets opened in May 2026.

I still think this was a poor trade.

A small child could watch Muppet*Vision. Grandma could watch Muppet*Vision. Someone who hates roller coasters could watch Muppet*Vision. Putting Kermit and the Electric Mayhem on one of Disney World’s most intense rides preserves the characters while eliminating much of the audience.

Still, the new coaster exists and Muppet*Vision does not. That argument is now mostly archaeological.

What matters for a 2027 trip is that Disney says Monstropolis will begin opening to guests in 2027.

The land will include Harryhausen’s restaurant, Archie’s Scare Pig Pizza, shops, a Monsters, Inc. stage show at the Glob Theater and, eventually, Disney’s suspended door-factory roller coaster.

Disney has specifically said work on the coaster will continue while parts of Monstropolis open, so I would not assume every component will debut simultaneously.

Even so, Hollywood Studios should have more to do in 2027 than it does during the construction-heavy portion of 2026.

There Is One Good Reason Not to Wait at Hollywood Studios

The Magic of Disney Animation opens September 14, 2026.

I am genuinely looking forward to this one.

Hollywood Studios began life as both a theme park and a functioning production facility. Disney gradually removed most of the actual studio component and spent years replacing attractions about movies and filmmaking with attractions based on movies.

Putting an attraction about animation back into a park called Hollywood Studios is an encouraging development.

If you visit late in 2026, you should at least have that new experience alongside the Muppet coaster.

Magic Kingdom Has Improved in 2026—and Also Lost a Lot

Magic Kingdom makes the decision harder.

Big Thunder Mountain reopened after a substantial refurbishment, including new effects and a new Rainbow Caverns sequence.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin finally received handheld blasters and other upgrades.

Cinderella Castle looks much more like Cinderella Castle again.

Those are all improvements.

But the middle of the park has also lost something enormous.

The Rivers of America are gone.

The Liberty Belle is gone.

Tom Sawyer Island is gone.

Disney is turning that land into Piston Peak National Park, a Cars-themed extension of Frontierland.

D23 2026 made Piston Peak look more ambitious than I expected. The main attraction, Cars Ridge Run Rally, will race through mountains, snow, geysers, rivers and other terrain. A second attraction, Miss Fritter’s Daredevil Spin-Along, will feature a school-bus-sized Miss Fritter Audio-Animatronic.

Disney even built an enormous 225-square-foot model of the land for D23.

It may be terrific.

Disney has not, however, announced an opening date.

So I would not plan a 2027 trip on the assumption that Piston Peak will definitely be ready.

Carousel of Progress Will Be Back in 2027—but It Won’t Be the Same Show

This is another reason I would choose 2027 if I were planning a Magic Kingdom trip today, although I approach this one with considerably more anxiety.

Carousel of Progress is currently closed and is scheduled to reopen in late spring 2027.

Disney announced at D23 that Bryan Cranston will voice John and Jamie Lee Curtis will voice Sarah.

The larger change is the timeline.

The old show moved through the early 20th century before jumping ahead to its perpetually updated final scene.

The new version will move through the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s.

That is a very different attraction.

I want Carousel of Progress to survive. I want it maintained, technologically refreshed and performed for audiences who don’t have to excuse broken effects.

But the original attraction came directly from Walt Disney and debuted at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. Replacing most of its historical progression is more consequential than swapping an animatronic refrigerator.

We will find out in 2027 whether Disney preserved the attraction’s soul or merely preserved its rotating theater.

Either way, you cannot ride it in 2026.

What About EPCOT?

EPCOT is less decisive.

Soarin’ Across America debuted in 2026, replacing Soarin’ Around the World with a new film focused on locations across the United States.

Meanwhile, Disney has announced the first major reimagining of Spaceship Earth in nearly two decades.

The current ride tells the history of human communication. Disney says the new version will broaden that into a story about human connection, extending into the internet age and beyond.

I am cautiously interested.

The current descent has needed help for years. A thoughtful update that carries the story of communication into computers, networks and modern technology could be excellent.

I am less interested in watching the specific history of writing, printing and communication dissolve into a vague message about how we’re all connected.

Disney has not announced when Spaceship Earth will close or reopen.

So waiting until 2027 does not guarantee that you will get the new attraction. Depending on when you travel, you could conceivably get a construction wall instead.

2027 Is Not a Magic Finish Line

This is important.

Waiting until January 2027 does not mean you suddenly arrive at a completed Walt Disney World.

Disney has only said that Tropical Americas opens in 2027. It has not given us a date.

Monstropolis begins opening in 2027, but its roller coaster may not arrive with the first phase.

Carousel of Progress does not return until late spring.

Piston Peak has no announced opening date.

Villains Land has no announced opening date.

Spaceship Earth’s refurbishment has no announced schedule.

If your alternative is August 2026 versus January 2027, waiting a few months may not buy you very much.

If your alternative is late 2026 versus late 2027, the case for waiting becomes much stronger.

Who Should Go to Disney World in 2026?

I would still go in 2026 if:

You visit Disney World fairly regularly

You find an unusually good hotel or ticket deal

Your children are at an age where postponing a year makes a meaningful difference

You primarily care about attractions that are already open

You want to see the new Muppet Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

You are traveling after September 14 and want to see The Magic of Disney Animation

You do not particularly care about DINOSAUR, Muppet*Vision, Carousel of Progress or the former Rivers of America

You enjoy watching the parks change and seeing construction in progress

There is still an enormous amount to do.

Magic Kingdom did not become a six-hour park because Tom Sawyer Island disappeared. Animal Kingdom still has Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris and some of Disney World’s best physical environments. EPCOT remains enormous. Hollywood Studios still has Rise of the Resistance, Tower of Terror and several other major attractions.

A 2026 Disney vacation can be excellent.

It just comes with more caveats than usual.

Who Should Wait Until 2027?

I would wait if:

This is your first Disney World vacation

You only visit every five or ten years

You are spending enough money that construction walls are going to annoy you

Animal Kingdom is important to your family

You want to ride Carousel of Progress

You are excited about Encanto or Indiana Jones

You want Hollywood Studios after Monstropolis begins opening

Your dates are flexible enough to choose later 2027 rather than early 2027

For a family taking a rare trip, I have trouble recommending that they hurry to see Disney World during a period when so much attraction capacity has been removed before its replacement arrives.

What If You Have Young Kids?

This complicates the advice.

There is always a temptation to wait for the next attraction, the next land or the next refurbishment.

If your child is four years old and obsessed with Mickey Mouse right now, waiting until he is six because a new roller coaster might be open is not automatically the better vacation.

Children change faster than theme parks do.

There is also no finished version of Walt Disney World coming.

By the time Tropical Americas and Monstropolis are open, Spaceship Earth may be behind walls. By the time Piston Peak opens, Disney may have announced the next closure.

If 2026 is the year that works for your family, go.

Just know what will and won’t be there.

If I Were Booking Today, When Would I Go?

If the choice were entirely mine and I were planning a big Disney World vacation rather than one of my more frequent visits, I would target the second half of 2027.

That gives Carousel of Progress time to reopen and gives Disney substantially more runway to finish Tropical Americas and open portions of Monstropolis.

It also gives us time to learn more about Piston Peak, Villains Land and Spaceship Earth.

I would not postpone indefinitely waiting for every project to be completed. Disney World will almost certainly have another construction project by then.

But 2026 is an unusually awkward point in the cycle.

Disney has already taken away several major pieces of the old parks.

Much of what is supposed to justify those losses is still behind construction walls.

Is Disney World Worth Visiting in 2026?

Yes.

But that is not quite the question I would ask.

The more useful question is:

If you can take the same expensive vacation in 2027, will you probably get more Disney World for your money?

I think the answer is yes—especially if you can wait until later in the year.

By then we should have Tropical Americas, a reopened Carousel of Progress, at least part of Monstropolis and a much clearer picture of the other projects Disney announced at D23.

Going in 2026 means visiting in the middle of the transformation.

There is something interesting about that.

But if I only got one trip, I would rather see more of what Disney is building and fewer of the walls hiding it.

More Disney World Planning

Disney World Changes in 2026: What’s New, What’s Gone and What’s Coming Next

Disney Single Rider Lines in 2026: Every Disney World & Disneyland Ride

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