Disney Parks September 2024 Update: All Scheduled Closures at Disney World and Disneyland

Check out everything that will be closed at Disneyland and Walt Disney World this September.

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Due to the sheer size of the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, it can be quite tricky for guests to actually enjoy everything there is to do. With dozens of rides and attractions, as well as several world-class dining and live entertainment offerings, a single-day trip can easily turn into a weekend, week, or month-long visit.

In addition to four theme parks, Walt Disney World is also home to two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Both of these parks allow guests to relax and take a break from the often brutal Florida heat.

However, unexpected closures and/or refurbishments are also reasons it can be tricky to map out a day at the Disney theme parks, with the company laying out its plans over the next several months.

Guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort can expect to miss out on a few attractions this September, though their vacations will still be filled with fun and magic.

Walt Disney World Resort Closures

• Jungle Cruise: August 26 – October 17
• Test Track: June 17 – TBD
• Blizzard Beach: March 17 – November 4
• Typhoon Lagoon: November 3 – TBD

Guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort this September should be prepared to see two rides closed, as well as a few entertainment offerings get cut short.

At the Magic Kingdom, the Jungle Cruise will be closed from August 26 to October 17, 2024. The “World Famous” Jungle Cruise is an attraction that works overtime to convince guests they’re actually traveling through mysterious rivers. Along the way, guests will encounter various animal animatronics and stunning “natural” beauties, all while a sarcastic and witty tour guide cracks jokes.

Disney describes Jungle Cruise as follows:

Embark on a river cruise where dangerous beasts and dry wit abound. Board a canopied tramp steamer piloted by your trusty skipper, who will expertly navigate you through some of the world’s most treacherous waters.

Steam past lush foliage, butterflies and waterfalls on the Amazon in South America. Glimpse an abandoned camp overrun by curious gorillas on the shores of the African Congo.

Watch for angry hippos, hungry lions and “sleeping” zebras along the Nile and be on the lookout for a missing Jungle Cruise vessel and its helpless passengers. As the cruise continues down the Mekong River, you just might learn that the jungle always gets the last laugh.

It’s a 10-minute, 10,000-mile journey that you won’t soon forget!

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Test Track closed at EPCOT back on June 17, 2024, with the thrill ride’s reopening date unknown at this time. Disney closed the ride a few weeks ahead of the company’s D23 conference, where Disney made several announcements about upcoming theme park projects, one of which was the overhaul of Test Track.

Disney announced it would be redesigning Test Track earlier this year, going back to the drawing board once again for the troubled yet beloved ride. Test Track originally opened at EPCOT in 1999, quickly becoming one of the most popular rides at Walt Disney World.

In 2012, Test Track received a “digitized” makeover, transforming the ruggedness of the ride’s testing facility aesthetic into a new, neon-soaked world evocative of Disney’s Tron films.

Not much is known about the project, but Walt Disney World has promised to deliver a new and exciting experience for both longtime fans and new guests when Test Track 3.0 opens at EPCOT.

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There are currently no planned refurbishments and closures for Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom this September, though Disney certainly has many exciting things in store for these theme parks.

During the previously mentioned D23 event, Disney announced it would construct a brand-new land based on Pixar’s classic 2001 film Monsters Inc., which will reside in Hollywood Studios.

The new area will feature at least one new ride, which will be Disney’s first venture into the world of suspended roller coasters. Disney has not confirmed where this new Monsters Inc. land will be located yet, prompting some fans to worry about how much longer other attractions and experiences, primarily Muppet*Vision 3D, have left at the park.

It’s rumored the new land will take the spot of either Muppets Courtyard or Animation Courtyard.

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There are no refurbishments or closures planned for Disney’s Animal Kingdom this September either, but the park will welcome several new rides and attractions over the next few years. Disney dolled out more information regarding the planned reimagining of DinoLand U.S.A., a project the company first unveiled in 2022, revealing a bold new vision for the prehistoric-themed area.

Dinosaurs will soon go extinct (again) as Disney transforms DinoLand into a breathtaking new area inspired by South America.

As part of this overhaul, three attractions will be built: a carousel, a dark ride based on Disney’s Encanto (2021), and a new thrill ride inspired by Indiana Jones. The carousel and Encanto ride will be completely new, but Disney’s new Indy ride will be a reskinned version of DINOSAUR, a terrifying ride that has been thrilling and scaring guests since 1998, the year Disney’s Animal Kingdom first opened.

Again, not much information is known about the new ride’s specifics. It’s assumed Disney will keep DINOSAUR’s track and ride vehicles but replace the frightening dinosaur animatronics with a new Indiana Jones adventure.

Disney World describes DINOSAUR as follows:

A paleontologist recruits you for a secret mission to bring a 3.5-ton Iguanadon back to the present. There’s just one problem—the giant meteor that wiped out life on Earth is on the way! 

Board a rugged Time Rover vehicle and set off on a thrilling adventure through a primeval forest filled with life-like dinosaurs. Careen through unpredictable hairpin turns. Dart around a fearsome Velociraptor hunting for prey. Avoid the clutches of a Cearadactylus soaring overhead!

As the clock counts down, fiery meteors crash down around you. Will you make your escape before the dinosaurs—and you—become extinct?

Disneyland Resort Closures

• Space Mountain: August 5 – September 5
• Disneyland Monorail: August 12 – TBD
• Disneyland Railroad: August 5 – TBD
• Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln: April 16 – TBD
• Indiana Jones Adventure: September 9 – 13
• Sailing Ship Columbia: September 23 – 26
• it’s a small world“: September 16 – TBD
• Jungle Cruise: September 16 – October 3
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant: October 1 – TBD
• World of Color ONE: September 9 – TBD
• Animation Academy: August 5 – 29

Guests visiting Disneyland this September can expect to see quite a few closures and refurbishments during their vacations, with several large-scale projects currently happening across the entire resort.

At Disneyland Park, Critter Country, which will reopen as Bayou Country, is still closed as work continues on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to officially open in November 2024. The ride is Disney’s replacement for its iconic yet divisive attraction known as Splash Mountain, which closed permanently at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 2023.

The decision to close Splash Mountain was incredibly controversial, though it was not all that surprising given the ride’s problematic nature. Splash Mountain took heavy inspiration from Disney’s somewhat forgotten film, Song of the South (1946).

After decades of controversy for both the film and Splash Mountain, Disney announced in 2020 it would be retheming the legendary water ride.

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Disneyland’s Space Mountain closed on August 5 and will reopen on September 5. The Disneyland Monorail and Railroad both closed indefinitely earlier this summer.

Indiana Jones Adventure will be closed for a brief refurbishment on September 9, reopening on September 13. Indiana Jones Adventure is probably one of Disneyland’s most popular and legendary rides, standing tall next to classics such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Disney describes the thrilling attraction as follows:

Follow Indy’s footsteps into the crumbling Temple of the Forbidden Eye past intricate booby traps. Inspect carvings and frescos that tell the story of Mara, a powerful deity who promises great treasures—and vengeance to those foolish enough to gaze into its all-seeing eyes.

Brave Unimaginable Perils
Board a rugged troop transport and enter the Chamber of Destiny. Confront inconceivable dangers, like precarious precipices over molten lava, screaming mummies, swarms of giant insects, spear-throwing wraiths, collapsing bridges, slithering snakes—and a massive rolling boulder.  

If you find yourself in jeopardy, only one man is brave enough—or crazy enough—to save you… Dr. Jones!

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As for what’s in store for the coming years, both Disneyland and Walt Disney World have several exciting projects in the pipeline, with work beginning very soon. During Disney’s D23 event, the company announced two new attractions would be developed for Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure.

This Marvel-themed area opened in 2021 and invites guests to live out their superhero or supervillain fantasies as they come face to face with some of the most iconic and memorable faces from the Marvel Cinematic Universe ( MCU), such as Loki, Spider-Man, Thor, Black Widow and most recently, Deadpool.

The two new Avengers rides were confirmed to be Infinity Defense and Stark Flight Lab. The former is a multiversal dark ride that sees guests take on King Thanos, a variant of the hulking purple villain who won during his battle against the Avengers. Guests must buckle up and strap in as a wide range of Marvel heroes attempt to take out Thanos once and for all.

Stark Flight Lab is a more tame experience, allowing guests to explore the possibilities of Iron Man flight technology. Using a system similar to that of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Studios, Stark Flight Lab will transport guests using massive robotic arms, propelling them several feet above the ground.

Disney describes the attraction as follows:

If you’re up for another mission, Tony Stark has one for you. And you know Tony, he always wants to try something new and exciting, and it’s going to make you feel like a Super Hero yourself. With the just announced Stark Flight Lab, you’re going to sit in two-person pods and deploy to a test station. Then a robot arm grabs your pod and starts whirling you around in a simulated flight.

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The Disneyland Resort will also soon welcome its own version of Pandora – The World of Avatar, with Disney sharing more information on the exciting upcoming expansion during its D23 event.

Much like Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disneyland’s Avatar land will be a breathtaking new area, allowing guests to escape into a fully realized fantasy world filled with new rides, attractions, and experiences based on James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise.

The exact location of Disneyland’s Avatar expansion is unconfirmed at this time, though many assume the new land will reside in the unused space part of the Disneyland Forward project, an ambitious billion-dollar development that would see multiple updates come to the Disneyland resort over the next decade.

Will you be visiting Walt Disney World or Disneyland soon? What upcoming Disney parks project are you most looking forward to?