What’s currently being built at Walt Disney World? Disney is constantly updating and adding to Walt Disney World’s theme parks and resorts. The vacation destination is enormous (it’s basically a small city), which means it can be difficult to keep track of all the current construction projects.
We’ll keep track of everything new that’s going on at Walt Disney World below.
Current Major Construction Projects at Walt Disney World
This list will be updated regularly. Completed projects will be added at the bottom of the article.
Disney Lakeshore Lodge
Disney is building a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort on the shore of Bay Lake. The new 10-story hotel will add hundreds of rooms and is the latest DVC expansion at Walt Disney World. Massive cranes are in place to construct the new hotel. Disney Lakeshore Lodge is expected to open in 2027.
Tropical Americas Land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney is transforming the DinoLand USA area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom into a new space that will be home to Encanto and Indiana Jones. The project is being worked on in phases, with the Encanto construction beginning in early 2025.
Fans of DINOSAUR have longer to say goodbye as the attraction is expected to remain open throughout all of 2025. An educated guess says the new Tropical Americas land will open in 2027.
Completed Construction Projects
Construction projects will be added here once they officially open to the public.
2024
New DVC Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
The expansion of Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties at Walt Disney World continues. A large multi-story tower is going up on the western side of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The DVC addition will completely change the look and feel of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and possibly the nearby Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.
Construction photos show just how large and impactful the DVC tower is at the resort. To date, Disney hasn’t released much information on rooms, dining locations, or any other specifics.
The new tower opened December 17, 2024.
Country Bear Jamboree Update at Magic Kingdom
The Country Bear Jamboree is getting a new act at Magic Kingdom! The updated show will still feature everyone’s favorite bears singing familiar classic Disney songs in a unique style. Disney’s previewed a bluegrass version of ‘The Bare Necessities’ from The Jungle Book.
The updated Country Bear Jamboree will open in Magic Kingdom in 2024.
New DVC Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
Another Disney Vacation Club update is taking place at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. The old cabins will be replaced with new cabins that have a much more modern design. This DVC update will be taking place throughout 2024, with an official opening in Summer 2024.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom
The old Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom was transformed into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The same retheming is also taking place at Disneyland in California. The updated ride follows the same layout, but will instead takes guests through the bayou on a new adventure with Tiana.
The updated ride opened in June 2024.
EPCOT’s CommuniCore Hall & Plaza
CommuniCore Hall & Plaza opened in June 2024. The new spaces, specifically CommuniCore Hall itself, was met with a lot of criticism. The unimaginative, bland design of the building turned most fans off. And, to make matters worse, the Hall apparently serves no purpose besides a seating area during non-festival periods.
The outdoor Plaza wasn’t received too well either. Disney continues to put guest comfort secondary by not including shade in any of their designs. These two spaces deserved more and deserved better.
CommuniCore Hall & Plaza will serve as the new home for festivals at EPCOT, and is expected to host musical performances, live demonstrations, and more.
2023
EPCOT’s World Celebration (Center Spine)
A large portion of EPCOT has been under construction for the past several years. The center spine of EPCOT is being transformed into World Celebration, which has gradually been opening to guests. The bulk of this update opened to guests in December 2023.
The transformation of the center of EPCOT into World Celebration has included changing Innoventions East into the Creations Shop and Connections Cafe. Over on the western side, Innoventions West was demolished to make way for the Journey of Water attraction and the new CommuniCore Hall and Plaza.
EPCOT’s New Fireworks Show ‘Luminous’
Yet another new nighttime spectacular is being developed for EPCOT. Luminous: The Symphony of Us will become EPCOT’s new fireworks show starting December 5, 2023. The new show will take over for EPCOT Forever, which has been bridging the gap between Harmonious ending and the debut of Luminous.
Journey of Water at EPCOT
The Journey of Water walk-through attraction officially opened to guests on October 16, 2023 after weeks of previews. The new addition at EPCOT has received mixed reviews, with some praising the interactivity and lush landscaping in the center of the park, with others criticizing the space for taking too long to build and not being a fit for EPCOT.
