Summer hits. Disney keeps going.
Disneyland is still drunk on its 70th birthday. It started in May 2025 and won’t stop until August 9, 2028. No wait. August 9, 2026. Then Halloween. Then holidays. By early 2027 the confetti clears and we pretend everything was normal again.
You’ve got shows. Parades. Fireworks. Mickey looks fancy.
There is merchandise. There are drinks. A giant sculpture of the Castle sits between the two California parks just to stare you down.
But the rides? They’re the point.
Muppets Take the Coaster
MuppetVision 3d died last year. Hard. It had to go for a Monsters Inc land that hasn’t arrived yet at Hollywood Studios. So the Muppets moved. They took over Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster.
The Aerosmith version left on March 1. The new one opens Tuesday, May 26? Or did that happen already? Time gets slippery.
“The legendary ride roars back… dropping guests straight into the middle of The ElectricMayhem’s biggest night yet.”
Fast. Loud. Probably smells like sweat and hairspray.
Meanwhile, at Hollywood Studios, MuppetVision closed permanently on June 8. Monstropolis is still coming. A suspended coaster in the laugh factory. Josh D’Amaro promised we’d ride on the doors. Like Mike and Sully. We will be lifted by claws into the dark. It sounds terrifying. We’ll pay for it.
Flying Across the Middle
Soarin’ Around the World is getting patriotic.
July 2, 2021? No, 2026.
Soarin’ Across America comes to California Adventure and Epcot. Patrick Warburton narrates. He talks about skies and grains. Purple mountains. It’s part of America’s 250th. We float. We smell dirt and cities. We feel a vague sense of national pride before dropping back into the queue line.
Soul in the Sun
Juneteenth hits Downtown Disney on June 19. Yardfest. Drum majors. Music.
It starts Celebrate Soulfully. Runs through July 19. Concerts in California Adventure on select days. Characters hang out Fridays and Saturdays. It’s Black joy, centered.
Bluey is here too. Not just there, but here. A stage show at Fantasyland Theatre. The area is now Bluey’s classroom. A gnome village exists.
Chattermax appears. Unicorse does not speak.
Bluey movies are coming in 2027 until then stream the minisodes and try not to cry.
Star Wars Gets Older
Luke shows up.
So does Leia. Han Solo walks Batuu starting April 29. It changes the vibe. The land used to feel strictly post-Original Trilogy. Now it’s messy. Time collapses.
“Black Spire Outpost will rollback in time several decades… weaving together stories across time.”
Darth Vader is there. Ahsoka. Mandalorian. Grogu. It’s crowded. It’s always crowded.
Mandalorian and Grogu got new missions in Smuggler’s Run on May 22. You fly. You shoot. You pretend you care about the lore.
Space Mountain turned into Hyperspace for a bit. Just for a bit.
Deals and Dollars
Want in? Kids (3 to 9) get summer tickets at $50. One day. Park Hopper. Until September 7.
Adults pay more.
The Explore Key replaced the Enchant Key in California. Open to all state residents. Not just SoCal folks anymore. Costs $999. Down payment of $99. Interest-free for a year if you behave.
It blocks weekends in summer. But Disney claims four visits make it “break even” thanks to discounts on food, parking, and Lightning Lane.
You will use Lightning Lane. You will eat. You will regret spending that much.
Disney World tries harder.
“Cool Kids’ Summer” offers two free hotel nights if you book four. Free theme park days too. Runs May 26 to September 15. Water park tickets drop too if you check in early enough. Free dining for the kids if you feed the adults. It’s a trap, really. A gentle, mouse-shaped trap.
California Adventure turned 25 in 2021. Wait. The park opened February 2001 so the math holds. Sun motifs on Mickey’s outfit. Anniversary snacks. Soarin’ goes back to California themes until July.
Avatar. Avatar. Avatar.
Disneyland expands.
They planned it five years ago. Finally breaking ground.
It eats Downtown Disney parking lots. It swallows the backlot. Monsters Inc. Inside Disney Adventure closes forever in 2027 to make room.
A new Avatar land. Based on The Way of Water. And the newer one Fire and Ash.
It’s going to be huge. A dark boat ride, essentially Pirates but with water stuff. The Pandora land at Florida’s Animal Kingdom worked. Disney thinks it’ll work again. No date for completion. Never is.
A new bridge comes first. Pedestrians walk over Harbor Boulevard this fall. Better view. Less sweat.
More Rides. Why Not?
Coco is coming. Not today. Backstage construction started. A dark ride in Pixar Pier’s neighbor, Paradise Gardens. Animatronics sing. Miguel guides you through death.
Avengers Campus doubles up. Two more rides join Spider-Man and Guardians.
Avengers Infinity Defense battles King Thanos in some multiverse nonsense. Panther. Hulk. Ant-Man. A structural engineer posted the skeleton on Instagram. Columns. Foundations. Projectors waiting in the wings.
Stark Flight Lab involves gyro-pods and robot arms. You fly. Tony Stark watches. Nothing breaks. Probably.
Villains land rises at Magic Kingdom in Florida. Not ready for 2026. Construction is underway though. Gaudi-style curves. Twisted nature. “Cursed” architecture. It sits beside Big Thunder Mountain, hugging Haunted Mansion’s side. Two rides. Food. Bad vibes. Good designs.
Finally Piston Peak.
Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom? Gone. Tom Sawyer Island? Erased.
Pixar Cars gets Florida treatment.
Inspired by the Rockies. Route 66. “Parkitecture.” Towers trees. Snow mountains that don’t melt.
One ride is a rally race. Imagineers drove Jeeps in Arizona dust to test physics. Pete Docter nodded. We wait.
