Disney invited us to Disney World to learn more about what it has in store for the rest of 2025 and 2026, and we’ve gathered all the big reveals from the showcase right here, including Zootopia: Better Zoogether!’s opening date, the “new magic” headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a new look at Rock ‘n’ Roll Coaster Starring The Muppets, and the improvements headed to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
With everything mentioned above and the revamped Test Track, Disney Starlight, Cool Kid Summer, and the imminent opening of the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge called Beak and Barrel, there is a lot to look forward to at Walt Disney World.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! Opens at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom on November 7
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is officially opening at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom on November 7, 2025. This brand-new 4D show that is replacing It’s Tough to Be a Bug! looks to celebrate Zoogether Day in a big way with Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and many more new and fan-favorite characters from the world of Zootopia.
What is Zoogether Day? Imagine Earth Day meets New Year’s with lots of parties and excitement, and we’ll get to see how a few of the different biomes in Zootopia celebrate. When guests enter the Tree of Life Theater, they will get to see a livestream of the Predator and Prey Ice ballet from Tundratown, synchronized swimming from the Marshmaids of Marsh Market, a mouse drone show above Little Rodentia hosted by Fru Fru and Mr. Big, and a grand finale from Gazelle herself.
The festivities will be hosted by Heidi Howler, a new wolf character with a lot of energy. She was chosen to be a wolf because when wolves “start to howl, you can’t just help to howl along.”
As previously mentioned, Judy and Nick will be part of the show, and they will be voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, respectively, and even Benjamin Clawhauser will join the party as he is a superfan of Gazelle.
The show looks to be very faithful to Zootopia and Zootopia 2, as even co-director Jared Bush co-wrote the script and co-director Byron Howard directed the animation. In fact, some of the same animators who worked on the films are working on this.
The runtime will last around nine minutes and will feature ‘Carrot Vision,’ which will activate four of our senses throughout the show – sight, sound, smell, and touch. Don’t worry, though, as the team promised there won’t be the smell of a stink bug and nothing will poke your back.
Zootopia: Better Zoogether! will hopefully also impart a message on those who leave the theater, and Disney Imagineering Senior Creative Director, Danny Handke, shared a few words as to what that is.
“We wanted to have a message that kind of summarizes everything you get to do in Animal Kingdom,” Handke said. “And we’re all interconnected, right? If anything’s thrown out of balance, well, that affects every biome. So if we protect our environment, we’re all better together.”
Lastly, Judy and Nick will be part of a new meet-and-greet location at Discovery Island near the Tree of Life, and they’ll even look like they do in Zootopia 2, which will be released in theaters on November 26. So yes, that means Nick will be wearing his new tie that Judy got him after their first case together.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Is Re-Opening in 2026 With ‘New Magic’
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom will re-open in 2026 with “new magic,” and we learned a bit more about what new additions will be part of the classic attraction.
The story of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad centers around Barnabas T. Bullion, who struck gold in the Big Thunder Region, and he started the Big Thunder Mountain Company to keep growing his fortunes.
Unfortunately, one day, everything began going wrong, including machines failing, cave-ins, and more. It almost seemed as though Big Thunder Mountain was fighting back. Those who venture on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will learn more of this story when the attraction opens back up next year.
There will be plenty of new things to look forward to as well, as one new area will be an underground section with natural caverns full of phosphorescent pools, stalagmites, stalactites, and the colors of the rainbow all around you. However, a crack of thunder will quickly turn things much more dangerous as the cave turns to an “eerie red,” which is another warning that you shouldn’t be here.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad closed on January 6, 2025, and it’s re-opening is now closer than ever.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Coaster Starring The Muppets Looks to Be A Worthy Successor to Hollywood Studios’ Aerosmith Attraction
The big finale of our Play ‘n’ Preview Showcase was all about Rock ‘n’ Roll Coaster Starring The Muppets, which will debut in 2026 and replace Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.
In this reimagining of the ride, legendary Muppet tycoon and owner of The Muppet Theater, J.P. Grosse, decides to diversify his real estate portfolio and purchase G-Force Records. He then asks his nephew, Scooter, to run the place.
This new ownership will see changes in the courtyard outside of the attraction, as the massive red guitar will now get a new “psychedelic wrap” that’s inspired by a classic Muppet car paint job. Oh, and the piano motif at the bottom of the guitar will feature a gold key in honor of Dr. Teeth.
Speaking of Dr. Teeth, Electric Mayhem will replace Aerosmith and guests will be able to see them jamming out in the recording studio as they did the classic band. What’s even more exciting is that Audio-Animatronics of penguin audio engineers and Scooter will be on-hand to help make the perfect tracks.
Much like the original ride, we will then follow Electric Mayhem in a very fast limo, courtesy of Muppet Labs, and rocket around Hollywood on the way to their concert. This time around, the trip will feature a ton more nods to Muppet history and a soundtrack by Electric Mayhem.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin Returns in 2026 With Improved Ride Vehicles, Blasters, and a New Robot Named Buddy
Following its closure for refurbishment on August 4, we have now learned a lot more about what Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will be like when it returns in 2026 to take guests to infinity and beyond.
Two of the biggest changes will be the new ride vehicle that is wonderfully inspired by Buzz, and guests will be happy to know the blasters can now come off of the vehicle for an even better experience. The vehicles will seat two, and one rider will have a red blaster and ther other will have a green one.
This is important because the targets will also be improved and will flash in the color of the blaster that shot them for more immersive feedback. This will be good, as the competition will be even more fierce as scores will be displayed on a digital screen on the vehicle and riders will now be able to go beyond 999,999 and hit one million points.
As if that wasn’t enough, Imagineering and Pixar have created a new charming robot named Buddy will will welcome guests into the attraction, give them tips and encouragement, and even teach them how to fire the new blaster.
We got the chance to see the ride vehicle and try out the new blasters and targets, and they feel really great in your hand. They still have that laser gun feel, but there is good tactile feedback and it looks to be a big improvement from what was there before.
More Magic Headed Our Way in 2025 and 2026
The presentation also touched upon more experiences headed to Walt Disney World this year and next, including Hollywod Studios’ The Magic of Disney Animation and the new Mandalorian and Grogu mission on Smugglers Run. While we didn’t learn much more about these two experiences, Disney did update the wonderful poster for The Magic of Disney Animation and add Robin William’s Lost Boy from Back to Neverland.
We also got another look at Beak and Barrel, the new Pirates of the Caribbean-themed bar headed to Magic Kingdom on August 29. We’ll have a ton more to share about that soon as we are getting a sneak peek tomorrow, August 22!
Overall, there is a lot to look forward to in 2025 and 2026 at Walt Disney World. While the omission of any news regarding Magic Kingdom’s Cars and Villains lands was notable, we just may learn more at Destination D23 next week or in the near future about these much-anticipated expansions.
For more, check out everything you need to know about Walt Disney World’s Cool Kid Summer (which is returning next year!) and our trip to Germany to see how the Disney Destiny was built.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.
