Walt Disney World: August 2025

It's now officially August, and the Summer season is beginning to slowly come to a close. (Well, the heat certainly isn't.)

After a hefty update last month at the start of July, August is still just as packed with news and park updates, just on the smaller side of the spectrum. Primarily focusing on both the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, let's take a deep dive into the wonderful world of park updates you should know about in the month ahead, and begin today's article!

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August 2025

Like I said, August still has a good amount going for it, but the updates we're about to discuss are not nearly as significant as compared to the opening of a new nighttime parade at the Magic Kingdom or the reopening of Test Track. The majority of Disney's big calendar dates for 2025 have now gone by the wayside now that July is over and the Summer is ending, but we can still expect a few remaining things taking place over the course of August.

Monday, August 4th

Let's begin at the Magic Kingdom for arguably one of the most important developments happening this month. Over in Tomorrowland, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin will be temporarily closing for a large-scale refurbishment and will not be reopening until sometime next year in 2026.

What will this hefty refurbishment entail, you ask? To put it simply, the attraction will be undergoing a similar situation comparable to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on the opposite end of the park. The attraction isn't going away, but the closure signals more than just your average refurbishment. Walt Disney Imagineering has some big plans to upgrade the attraction in some notable ways to make it better than ever, even going as far to release some concept art for a new scene that will be featured at the beginning of the ride.

Concept Art for New Opening Scene in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (Copyright: Disney)

"As their adventure begins, guests will now be greeted by an all-new character! This friendly robot — aptly named “Buddy” — was created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Pixar Animation Studios to play a key role on the Star Command team. As a support-bot, Buddy makes sure departing Space Rangers are fully prepared for their mission, enthusiastically providing encouragement, final system checks on their Star Cruisers, and a chance to hone their blaster aim. This will be a great time for guests to check out some of the new, interactive target features before blasting off to defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg and save the galaxy."

Additionally, Disney will also be investing in some long-overdue quality of life updates when it comes to the attraction's gameplay. Here's a brief bullet-point list of some other enhancements coming to the attraction, followed by some play-testing photos released by Walt Disney Imagineering:

• New Ride Vehicles: The attraction "Star Cruisers" will receive a facelift with a vibrant new paint-job, complete with new equipped video monitors that will provide real-time scoring updates.

• Handheld Blasters: Each ride vehicle will now include new handheld blasters for even better aim, allowing guests to score even more points. What's even cooler is that each blaster will also feature different colored lasers that vary by ride vehicle, in addition to new lighting, sound, and haptic effects.

• Interactive Targets: The static "Z" targets currently found throughout the attraction will also be upgraded! They'll come to life with new projection effects that will allow them to react and light up when triggered by a blaster.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin WDI Play-Testing (Copyright: Disney)

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin WDI Play-Testing (Copyright: Disney)

The final day to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in its current form will be on Sunday, August 3rd, as the attraction is scheduled to reopen sometime next year in 2026.

At the time of writing this, Disney has not provided us with a reopening timeframe beyond simply "next year." While we have seen quite a few construction permits recently get filed related to the attraction, they each have the standard one-year expiration date that the majority of permits have. However, that doesn't mean we can't speculate.

I mentioned earlier that the updates coming to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin were similar to what's happening over at Big Thunder Mountain. And while not nearly as complicated as completely retracking an entire rollercoaster, they both lie in the category of being large-scale refurbishments beyond just typical maintenance, but fall short of being a complete "reimagining" similar to the likes of the recently reopened Test Track.

With that being said, both Buzz and Thunder are what I'd also consider to be classic, fan-favorite Magic Kingdom attractions that deserve to continue to stand the test of time. And considering that the Magic Kingdom doesn't have much, let alone anything big planned for it next year (for now at least), I believe that both attractions will reopen either on or around the same date.

For Big Thunder, we know the attraction is targeted to reopen in either March or April of next year thanks to some insight from construction permits filed earlier this year. And based on the rate of progress we've seen happening with the coaster so far, Disney will absolutely make that deadline, or maybe even sooner if I may be so bold. Keeping this in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney were to also try and reopen Buzz on or around the same time. Especially if both projects are targeting a potential Spring 2026 completion timeframe, reopening these fan-favorite, high-capacity attractions at the world's most popular theme park right before the Spring Break crowds hit would be in Disney's best interest, especially from an operational standpoint. (Not to mention that both attractions are located on complete opposite ends of the park, too.)

Again, this is just my speculation, but I do think it's a very real possibility. If this does happen to be the case, 7-8 month's worth of downtime for a large-scale update to Buzz Lightyear seems extremely doable, but only time will tell. I'd expect a reopening date by the end of this year, or early next year at the absolute latest. Let me know what you think about this update in the comments below.

Friday, August 15th

Staying at the Magic Kingdom, and we have the debut of one of Walt Disney World's most popular seasonal events, with that being the start of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom!

The spookiest season of the year will return to the Magic Kingdom the evening of Friday, August 15th and run through Halloween night on Friday, October 31st. Here's some more information about party dates provided by Disney:

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party runs only on specific weekend or weekday nights, so be sure to consult the calendar of dates to plan your trip.

2025 Party Dates:

• Aug. 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 29

• Sept. 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30

• Oct. 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31

And while Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is good fun and all, the date of August 15th signals something else [potentially] happening at the Magic Kingdom...

I previously mentioned this in my recent Magic Kingdom summer construction update vlog, but August 15th has been a date that's been up in the air for essentially the entire summer. This date in particular pertains to the new Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired tavern coming to Adventureland, called The Beak and Barrel.

Concept Art for The Beak and Barrel at the Magic Kingdom (Copyright: Disney)

Logo for The Beak and Barrel (Copyright: Disney)

You see, when Disney first released dates and details for this year's Halloween Party event back in May, they initially mentioned that guests who purchased tickets to the party would be among the first to make reservations and experience the new tavern. However, later that same day, Disney quickly and quietly removed this information. And as it stands today, Disney has not released any other details regarding The Beak and Barrel.

So as of right now, August 15th is not the official opening date for this tavern. But at the same time, it still could be. It's all completely up in the air and will continue to be until Disney confirms something (or really anything).

Now we get to the fun part - speculation. In my opinion, one of three things could happen. Either (1), the tavern is ahead of its initial "late 2025" opening timeframe and will open to public (not just party guests) on this date. Or (2), Disney will soft-open the tavern on August 15th and will test the experience for guests attending Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party only before opening it to all guests at a later time. Or (3), neither of these options will come to fruition and the tavern will open later this year like originally planned. Again, I can't quite say for sure what will happen until we hear official word from the mouse.

Until we hear anything official, I'm still going to assume that the tavern is planned to open on August 15th, even though that's almost two weeks from now. Feel free to refer back to this article in the coming weeks when we (hopefully) receive an update about the opening of The Beak and Barrel.

UPDATE (8/05/2025): We finally have a date! The Beak and Barrel will officially open its doors to guests on Friday, August 29th, 2025 at the Magic Kingdom! Reservations will become available starting next week on Thursday, August 14th.

Monday, August 25th

Heading on over to EPCOT, and we have another attraction that will temporarily be closing for a refurbishment.

While not nearly as extensive as what's happening with Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom, the iconic Spaceship Earth will be going under refurbishment for "routine maintenance," but is scheduled to reopen by the end of the year. An exact reopening date still has yet to be announced at this time, but I'd expect sometime in November or December before the holiday rush floods the parks.

Spaceship Earth in World Celebration at EPCOT (Copyright: It's A Small Blog)

There's not really much else to report on other than the fact that we don't know exactly when this classic EPCOT attraction will reopen, other than simply "later this year." However, there is one other thing I would like to touch up upon.

I know there have been a few rumors swirling around that we could possibly see Spaceship Earth receive a lengthy upgrade in the near future, similar to the work that just wrapped up with Test Track 3.0. Well, I'm here to put those rumors to rest.

While I would certainly love to see Spaceship Earth get the loving update it deserves, it's not going to happen anytime soon.

Now, to be fair, before Spaceship Earth was announced to go under refurbishment later this month, I actually did believe these rumors. After all, we don't know what's next for EPCOT. Now that Test Track has reopened, there are currently no projects in development that we know of scheduled for EPCOT. And while I'm hopeful we'll here something new at this year's upcoming Destination D event (more on that in a future article), I'm almost positive it won't be related to Spaceship Earth. After all, even if Disney was planning on upgrading Spaceship Earth in some capacity, why would they close the attraction for 3-4 months and invest the money in performing "routine maintenance"? It just doesn't make sense.

That's all I'll say for now regarding Spaceship Earth. Once again, you have until August 25th to ride this classic EPCOT staple before temporarily closing for a little while.

Thursday, August 28th

Ending today's article keeps us at EPCOT, as August 28th is the official kick-off for the 2025 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival!

This year's festival will be running for exactly 90 days, lasting until November 22nd, 2025. Here's some more details released by Disney regarding this year's festival:

• Eat, sip, and stroll your way through EPCOT by sampling delicious dishes from 35 different global marketplaces.

• Have fun with the return of Emile's Fromage Montage and Remy's Hide & Squeak, two scavenger hunts for guests of all ages.

• The annual Eat to the Beat Concert Series will be performing on select night from August 29th - November 17th, 2025.

• Experience a special overlay of Living with the Land with seasonally-themed displays, featuring ingredients and outdoor kitchens.

Food and Wine Festival is arguably EPCOT's most popular and longest-running festival of the year. Be sure to stop by EPCOT this Fall to experience the international flavors and cuisine of the season.

That’s a wrap on everything happening this month for August 2025! Be on the lookout for an upcoming article discussing my Destination D predictions for Walt Disney World later this month as the event quickly approaches. Thanks for reading everyone!