We’re a few weeks removed from a long trip to Walt Disney World, having gone for the kickoff of summer. That included a reimagining of several attractions, Bluey arriving in Animal Kingdom, a new courtyard that looks familiar and more. The offerings continued a trend across the resort, consistently upgrading what’s already there. In this post, we’ll share just how much Walt Disney World has improved over the last few years.

Before we get too far into the post, I want to acknowledge that I’m echoing some of what the resort is saying about itself. There was a wave of articles and posts, both from Disney and other outlets, in the last few weeks about how great this summer’s offerings are or how this was the best time to visit Walt Disney World. All of those came while the beginning of this post sat in my drafts. While some of the content out there has been a little over the top, I don’t disagree with the sentiment.

Improvements have come on the heels of quiet COVID years. The Disney Parks treaded water in those uncertain times with minimal announcements. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Splash Mountain’s replacement, was announced in 2020 but no other major projects were announced until the boisterous 2024 D23 Expo. That left a gap in major openings, meaning fewer things to promote for Walt Disney World. That was fine from a business perspective at first, as revenge travel peaked and pre-pandemic projects opened.

As tourism dropped and expansions fell off until 2027, Disney World needed to make their own waves. They’ve done that on both a large and small scale. Explaining the changes as simply trying to boost tourism feels disingenuous though, as some of the smaller moves surely won’t move the needle with most people considering traveling to Orlando. Things like pools staying open later or making sure there’s drink refill accessibility through all hours of the night at hotels are purely guest satisfaction moves. They do make the resort better and more inviting! Shifting away from grand openings to a little bit of TLC and guest satisfaction was desperately needed at WDW.

That’s been best seen at Epcot, where multiple attractions have seen improvements on rides that were already there. The biggest of those was Test Track 3.0 last summer, a definite upgrade over the previous iteration. Frozen Ever After saw new and significantly better animatronics and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure moved away from 3D. Now both attractions will have a longer shelf life. Even Journey of Water, a brand new attraction felt as if Imagineering understood that they weren’t throwing a Hail Mary, instead looking for a first down to keep the momentum going. Tom Bricker (Disney Tourist Blog) has used a different sports analogy, referring to these improvements as hitting singles and doubles instead of swinging for home runs. That’s spot on.

Soarin’ Across America follows that lead, being a modest upgrade over Soarin’ Around the World. That paired with the always wonderful Living with the Land and the re-emergence of Sunshine Seasons has given The Land Pavilion a newfound energy.

That smaller but needed improvement approach has come to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios this summer. The latter has seen Big Thunder Mountain Railroad open with a smoother track and more color. It’s not a new ride or even a reimagination of the iconic attraction, but it will be the version that guests remember for years to come. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin was also treated to a makeover and now is the best version of an interactive dark ride in Florida, if not the world! The Buzz redo is fantastic, I was truly blown away and the ride jumped into our top 10 attractions at Magic Kingdom.

Those 2 attraction upgrades were preceded by Starlight last summer, a regal nighttime parade back on Magic Kingdom’s streets. Those additions have added needed and quality depth to the castle park. Buzz and Starlight are two of the biggest additions to WDW in the last few years. I haven’t even mentioned the castle’s repainting which looks fantastic!

Speaking of big additions, I’ve written plenty on this website about how much more I like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster now that it features The Muppets. Your mileage may vary there (you’ll get through that mileage fast if you’re on the L.I.M.O.), but it’s wonderful to see the upgrade in animatronics and details that have come to the thrilling coaster. Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run also saw an immediate upgrade once the new mission was implemented. With multiple locations to go to and better gameplay, the Galaxy’s Edge attraction is far more rideable.

Even non-rides are getting in on the fun as Hollywood Studios debuted Animation Courtyard. The space features the return of the large Sorcerer’s Hat (B.A.H.) and will be more complete once the rest of it opens later this summer. Just having more open space that looks good is a boon for Hollywood Studios. The area is nicely paired with the redone Little Mermaid Musical Adventure that opened last summer.

There’s also a noticeable change from a few years ago in entertainment and atmospheric characters. Even 2 years ago felt as if the parks were going with a ride heavy approach with shows put on the backburner. Now there seems to be something for everyone, including a new Disney Jr. show in that same Animation Courtyard. While I’m always a little leery of attending those shows sans kids, that is way better than it has any right to be! Bluey’s Wild World in Animal Kingdom is less successful, in my opinion, but is still a worthwhile addition.

Of course, not everything has been a hit. There’s the infamous Epcot central spine project that might have been the culmination of Epcot’s lowest point. Zootopia: Better Together in Animal Kingdom is okay at best. Walt Disney World still has issues but the upgrades have been many and they’ve all made the resort significantly better!

The cynical take here is that Walt Disney World had to wait until there were no expansions or big projects opening in order to look after what already existed. That’s fair to a degree, even if the timing is incidental. Ideally, we’d have the best of both worlds. The next few years will be interesting in that regard, as there will be at least one major expansion for the next 4 years but needed work all around the resort including Spaceship Earth, Space Mountain and more. D23 Expo in August could tell us a lot about where the focus is heading.

In the meantime, it’s great news that leadership and Imagineering hasn’t sat on their hands while planning for the future. Prior to 2025, I was worried that the resort might be on a downward slope until Tropical Americas, Monstropolis and more debuted. Since then, it’s been anything but, as going to Walt Disney World is a much better experience now than it was 2 or 3 years ago.

What are your thoughts on Walt Disney World’s recent improvements? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below. Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!