Why Disney World Could Be Empty in 2026

Disney World has been one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations for over 50 years, but people still ask: What will the crowds be like in 2026?

Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle

We are through the first quarter of the year, and there has been a lot happening at Disney World. Before the year began, we saw a lot of rumors that 2026 would be relatively slow compared to what we’ve seen in the past… but is that what we’ve actually seen, and do we think it will change throughout the year?

So let’s talk about why people might think this year could be slower…

“WALL” Disney World

In 2026, your trip could feel not like WALT Disney World, but WALL Disney World… a theme park with tons, and tons, and TONS of construction going on. And a LOT of that construction won’t be wrapping up any time soon – especially not in 2026.

Just to give you a recap…

Piston Peak

Tom Sawyer Island and Liberty Square Riverboat in Magic Kingdom permanently closed on July 7th, 2025, to accommodate the construction of two new Cars-themed attractions and a whole Cars-themed area – called Piston Peak – branching out of Frontierland.

Piston Peak display in Walt Disney Presents

And beyond Piston Peak, Magic Kingdom is also developing a whole Villains-themed area.

When is Villains Land opening in Disney World?

The Magic of Disney Animation

On September 25th, 2025, Animation Courtyard (including Star Wars Launch Bay and Disney Jr. Play and Dance!) closed for good in Hollywood Studios to make way for The Walt Disney Studios, which will feature The Magic of Disney Animation experience.

©Disney

Learn More about this New Land Here!

Monsters, Inc. Land

Also over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the new Monsters, Inc. Land is making headway. We’ve been keeping up with the progress here, and while we don’t have an opening date for this area yet, we can’t wait to see it!

Monstropolis construction

Here’s a close-up look at the location for the Monsters, Inc. roller coaster!

Pueblo Esperanza

Over in Animal Kingdom, DinoLand, U.S.A. started its phased closures on January 13th, 2025, to start breaking ground for a new land themed to the Tropical Americas, called Pueblo Esperanza. In the first wave of closures, we lost TriceraTop Spin, Fossil Fun Games, and Chester and Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures. Now, the whole land is closed, and Pueblo Esperanza is set to open in 2027.

Pueblo Esperanza construction

If Disney doesn’t add this to its new Encanto ride, we will riot.

We’re not here to sugarcoat things. (Never have been, never will.) Disney World will NOT be in its prime in 2026. And while that doesn’t mean a visit here next year won’t still be fun, you’ve gotta set those expectations NOW and realize you’ll only be getting a slice of these parks instead of the WHOLE park pie for a while.

(Except for EPCOT. EPCOT’s looking sharp lately. But it already had its WALLcot season.)

Journey of Water

2027 and beyond is when we’re really gonna start to see the fruits of this construction labor. So there is a chance that the parks might see FEWER crowds in 2026, just because people are holding off on their big Disney trips until a vacation splurge looks more worthwhile.

If you wanna keep closer track of what the next 12 months in Disney World are gonna look like, we’ve got a Disney World calendar that we update with EVERY new announcement and date drop that you can pick up FOR FREE – RIGHT NOW at the link below!

Attendance Is Still Down TODAY

In Disney’s quarter one earnings call, it seemed like lots of numbers were going up…But don’t automatically assume that an increase in revenue equates to an increase in park attendance. There are OTHER factors at play that show attendance levels may not be up-to-snuff like they once were, which could CONTINUE being a pattern in 2026.

International Attendance

Even though Disney announced during their most recent earnings call that bookings for Disney World for the third quarter of the year were up 4%, Disney has also shared that international attendance at the domestic parks hasn’t gotten back to pre-COVID levels.

While the US Travel Association predicted that foreign travel spending would rise to $200.8 billion this year, outside factors caused it to drop down to $169 billion. So international travel is still down as a WHOLE, which would definitely impact Disney World’s numbers, too. 

Spaceship Earth in EPCOT

One of the major factors that may affect Walt Disney World travel in the months to come has to do with a drop in Canadian tourism. The number of Canadians visiting the United States has decreased for 7 consecutive months. For example, July 2025 saw the number of Canadian residents returning from the United States was down to 2.6 million, marking a 32.4% decrease compared with July 2024. Overall, trips to the United States accounted for 65% of Canadian trips abroad, a decrease of over 24% compared to previous years.

In September, Visit Lauderdale said that Canadian visitors were down 10% to 16% since April, with 13.5% fewer Canadians flying in. Officials estimate that could mean up to a $90 million loss in economic activity.

Orlando International Airport

But will international travel continue to be a downward trend as we continue through 2026?

Well… that’s kind of hard to tell. Some predictions say international travel will INCREASE in 2026 – possibly even beyond pre-pandemic numbers – but even IF international tourism spikes up again, that doesn’t necessarily mean these overseas guests will be piling into Disney World. 

Domestic Attendance

Disney did say that domestic attendance has been helping to make up for the dip in international travel, and yet – despite Disney’s reports of domestic attendance increasing overall – we’ve been seeing SEVERAL promotions going on for hotels, vacation packages, and even Annual Passes that go BEYOND the discounts we’ve seen in years’ past (and are available for not just 2025 guest, but potential 2026 guests, as well).

We’re not saying it’s RARE for Disney to release discounts. Discounts pop up on the Disney World website ALL the time. But the discounts we’ve been seeing on the website lately seem more significant.

Annual Pass

Disney World is offering gift cards of up to $100 when you purchase a new annual pass (sorry – not for renewals, just new passes only) through September 30th. And before THESE AP promotions were ever a thing, Disney also lowered the required down payments for Florida Local APs earlier in the year for a limited time.

We’re ALSO seeing unique discounts at the moment for things like FREE Dining Plan Deals AND special offers specifically for Disney+ members. And then – of course – there’s the free water park deal, which gets all guests staying at a Disney-owned hotel FREE Disney water park tickets on their hotel check-in day (which is a promotion that WILL be returning in the summer of 2026, as well).

Castaway Creek at Typhoon Lagoon

For a vacation destination that’s pretty infamous for regular price increases, these kinds of discounts don’t happen for no reason. Generally, Disney doesn’t need any sort of bribe to get guests to buy up their APs, or park tickets, or hotel rooms; guests just DO it. So when unique ticket deals like these are released, this GENERALLY means numbers are lower than Disney expected them to be, and/or they wanna make sure numbers are STABLE even during a time of decreased interest.

Disney vs. Disney

So wait… what about the major Disney fans out there? Will THEY still be flocking to Disney World in 2026? It seems that one of Disney World’s biggest competitors that’ll potentially drive park traffic down next year could actually be Disney.

Disney Cruise Line

We’ve already had the Disney Treasure up and sailing since December 2024, but the NEW Disney Destiny set sail on November 20th, 2025 – which brought NEW experiences to the DCL like Pride Lands: Feast of The Lion King, Cask and Cannon — a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed bar, and the exclusive Hercules Musical.

©Disney

But there’s also another new ship being added to the DCL lineup shortly AFTER the Disney Destiny plans to set sail! The Disney Adventure – which’ll be Disney’s first-ever ship to not only feature a roller coaster, but also to sail out of Singapore has made its maiden voyage.

Disney Adventure

These new ships can draw crowds away from Disney World.

Disneyland

The crowds came in DROVES for the kickoff of Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Celebration starting on May 16th, 2025. And it’s STILL GOING ON RIGHT NOW (but ONLY until the summer of 2026. So you’ll have to plan a visit SOON if you wanna see all those limited-time birthday offerings before they’re GONE.

Disneyland is 70!

So what can you EXPECT to see during all the anniversary hullabaloo?

• The Paint the Night electrical parade RETURNED after being MIA for SEVERAL years.
• The Wondrous Journeys fireworks show ALSO returned (but if you’re going to the parks SUPER soon, just note that this nighttime spectacular has been temporarily put on pause to make way for seasonal Halloween and Holidays entertainment offerings, but will return at a later date).
• A new “World of Color” show in DCA has made its debut as part of the Anniversary – called World of Color Happiness.

Paint the Night

International Parks

Some of Disney’s international parks have a WHOLE lot more going on next year than what Disney World’s gonna be doing in 2026. The BIGGEST change that’ll be happening is over in Disneyland Paris, where Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris will officially transform into Disney Adventure World in 2026.

Champagne at Disneyland Paris

This massive project includes:

• A Lion King flume ride (which looks similar to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure)
• An Up-themed swinging attraction
• A Rapunzel spinner ride
• A brand-new Frozen land with a major E-ticket attraction

Concept art of the Lion King ride coming to Disneyland Paris.

And other international parks have added BRAND NEW LANDS to their properties within the past few years. This includes expansions like:

• Fantasy Springs in Tokyo DisneySea (which opened on June 6th, 2024, and added three new sections to the park – including areas inspired by Tangled, Frozen, and Peter Pan)
• The World of Frozen opened in Hong Kong Disney on November 20th, 2023.
• And Shanghai Disneyland opened a whole new Zootopia-themed area on December 20th, 2023.

The Tangled ride at Fantasy Springs

Why Disney World Might Not Be Empty

Before we start jumping to the conclusion that Disney World in 2026 is gonna be nothing but construction walls and tumble weeds across deserted pathways, let’s look at why next year at Disney World could still be a WHOLE lot more people-y than you might’ve expected it to be.

There Will STILL Be New Attractions!

The BIG new lands around Disney World aren’t gonna be open and available until 2027 and beyond. But there are STILL quite a few NEW attractions.
In 2026, expect to see…

• The reimagined Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is FINALLY reopening in Magic Kingdom with NEW effects, NEW train cars, a NEW track, and a NEW storyline on May 3rd.
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is now open to give future Galactic Heroes the chance to blast their way through new scenes and targets while using new blaster technology (and learning the ropes along the way, all thanks to a brand new robot character named Buddy)!
• Over in Hollywood Studios, Rock n Roller Coaster: Starring Aerosmith will be closing at the beginning of 2026 to start paving the way for a very Muppet-y takeover. This Muppets revamp should be ready in late summer in 2026.
• Another thing that’ll be happening in Hollywood Studios next year? In honor of the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu movie on May 22nd, 2026, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will offer NEW experiences for those who ride it, beginning on that same date. Your group will also get the opportunity to choose WHERE you travel to during your time inside this “hunk of junk.”

©Disney

And let’s not forget that Disney World has opened experiences in 2025 that maybe folks haven’t had the chance to see just yet (but they’re planning to see them for the first time during their upcoming 2026 vacation)

Zootopia: Better Zoogether opened on November 7th, 2025, inside Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life. This all-new 4D show is replacing the old It’s Tough to Be A Bug attraction in a story that takes place on Zoogether Day – right alongside new and familiar Zootopia characters who’ll join ya on your journey.

Zootopia: Better Zoogether concept art

Over in Magic Kingdom, you can NOW see Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away (which opened July 20th, 2025).  This nighttime parade happens twice nightly (once before and once after the Happily Ever After castle show), so you’ve got double the chances to see it run through Main Street USA, Liberty Square, or Frontierland. 

Disney Starlight

Hollywood Studios kept the live entertainment going strong this year when they opened up TWO new live stage shows this May. Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After stars Captain Hook, Cruella De Vil, and Maleficent in a show where they FINALLY get to tell THEIR side of the story through song and dance – and the AUDIENCE gets to decide who was REALLY treated the “UNFAIREST” of them all.

Captain Hook in Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After

And then – after years of wondering what was gonna happen to the Little Mermaid theater AFTER the COVID closures shut it down indefinitely, Hollywood Studios FINALLY opened The Little Mermaid — A Musical Adventure, which is VERY similar to the stage show that was here before, just with a few additional NEW scenes, songs, and effects.

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure

On July 22nd, 2025, EPCOT reopened Test Track after its year-long closure to give us a FRESH high-speed ride that captures classic EPCOT with more of a futuristic twist.

Test Track

So again, Disney World’s not doing NOTHING right now. Despite all the construction walls, there’s still new stuff to see and do here that’ll stretch on throughout 2026.

The Peak Seasons Will ALWAYS Be Peak Seasons

Let’s say Disney World attendance does drop in 2026, due to construction, price hikes, travel trend changes, or what have you. Regardless of numbers potentially dipping, Disney’s peak season times are still gonna be packed out. Seasons like spring break, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving week, and Christmas through New Year’s Day are always SWARMING with guests, year after year.

Main Street, U.S.A. crowds at Christmastime

So could Disney be empty at SOME points of the year when travel isn’t as prominent? Sure. But don’t plan a 2026 Magic Kingdom trip for, say, the day after Christmas and expect the parks to be dead thanks to all that construction going on over in Frontierland. Because the crowds are STILL gonna come, and you’re STILL gonna want to prepare for them accordingly.

Traveling While The “Waters Are Still”

Sure, “Wall” Disney World season might be frustrating for many. But for others? This could be the PRIME opportunity to go. Disney’s entering into a season that we can only describe as “the calm before the storm.” We’ve seen the types of heavy crowds that’ve popped up after new lands were added to the parks. And we’ve also seen the new rules Disney had to put in place to manage crowd levels as much as they possibly could. (Looking at YOU, Galaxy’s Edge…)

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

So the fact that we have NO new lands coming to Disney World in 2026 means that this could be one of the EASIEST years to actually PLAN a Disney World vacation. Currently, there are no virtual queues to stress over. There aren’t any giant crowds rushing into certain areas and crowding them out to the brink of capacity. There aren’t any striking new ways that you need to plan out your mornings and evenings inside the parks.

Pandora

We are keeping our eyes out and will report any updates as Disney releases them for all of the changes. Be sure to follow us at DFB for more!

What Are the Dates for the 2026 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival?

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WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.

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