Normally, when Disney World releases a big update, I ask one question: is it an upgrade or a downgrade? That’s because the early 2020s were a period of hit or miss. There was plenty to love, but also frustratingly slow timelines and budget cuts that regular guests could feel.
But this summer, Disney did something they’ve never done before. They used to build an entire season around one big attraction update. This summer, there are nine. Five major ride overhauls, 3 new shows, including a Bluey takeover, and a completely reimagined area, all dropping within a few weeks of each other.
I just got back from trying them all, and it’s not hit or miss. It’s only hit. There isn’t a downgrade in the bunch.
So the real question is which upgrade is the best upgrade?
And the bigger question, the one I can’t stop thinking about, is what this onslaught reveals about the current state of Imagineering and the future of the parks. Because Disney isn’t saying it directly, but these refreshes are part of a larger strategy that has everything to do with expansions like Villains Land.
We’ll get to all of it: the ride I rode 11 times and somehow still didn’t see everything on, the roller coaster that made me laugh for the first time in almost 30 years, and the one update that’s been surprisingly controversial. Let’s get into it.
Watch the Full Review
Disney invited me to experience everything new this summer. Below is the written breakdown of all nine; the full video has even more.
Big Thunder Mountain: The Controversial One
Big Thunder just reopened on May 3rd after about a year-and-a-half overhaul, with updated show scenes, restored effects, and refreshed audio-animatronics. (And yes, Disney confirmed the possums that were missing at reopening are coming back.) The biggest change is a completely new track. It’s the same layout that debuted in 1980, but a much more modern, much smoother ride. That new track is a big reason Disney was able to lower the height requirement from 40 inches to 38, the same as Slinky Dog or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Here’s where the controversy comes in. People are saying it’s too smooth, too watered down, even slower. So what did I think? It’s still the wildest ride in the wilderness. It’s definitely speedy, and it does not feel slower. Disney even confirmed to Scott Gustin that it’s actually slightly faster than before. At a media briefing, they said that that lowering the height was a happy consequence of the modern track, not the goal. It feels much smoother and much less rough on your body, but still a thrill.
I much prefer the new track. I get that the rough, shaky profile of the old coaster added to the wildness, and it felt era-appropriate that a runaway train would beat you up a bit. But maybe I’m getting older, or modern coasters have spoiled me, because I get a much stronger feeling of speed from a smooth coaster. The old Big Thunder was a one-and-done for me. This new one, I wanted to go right back on. The biggest loser here is DIY Urology: Big Thunder is not going to help you dislodge your kidney stones anymore. This is a big upgrade that sets the ride up for the future.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: Way More Than the Sum of Its Parts
On the surface, the Buzz refresh seems minor. You hold the blasters now, the targets are digital and light up, there’s haptic feedback and a new score screen, and a new opening scene. The rest of the ride is largely the same, with refreshed effects.
But what surprised me most about this recharged Buzz is that all of these updates are way more than the sum of its parts. Individually they’re quality-of-life improvements, but together they have a huge impact on the feel of the game. The simple change of a red laser and a green laser per vehicle makes it so much easier to tell where you’re blasting and whether you’re hitting a target. That alone makes the game ten times more fun. Behind the scenes, Imagineers used Unreal Engine to power the new scoring, and I think it plays a huge role in the upgraded responsiveness. I went on twice and instantly wanted to go again to chase a higher score. I haven’t felt that in a very long time.
Full breakdown: The recharged Buzz Lightyear, reviewed →
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run: The Star Wars Ride I Always Wanted
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has a new mission with the Mandalorian and Grogu. But this isn’t just Malibu Stacy with a new Beskar helmet. In other words, they didn’t just add Grogu to the old ride and call it new.
The queue and pre-show have subtle changes most guests won’t notice, but once you’re in the cockpit, everything has been overhauled. The graphics jumped to Unreal Engine 5 and new NVIDIA hardware, so the previous mission that looked like a Star Wars video game now looks closer to a Star Wars movie.
The headline change is that you finally pick your destination. Every mission starts on Batuu, jumps to Tatooine as a tutorial, and then an engineer chooses Cloud City, Coruscant, or the Death Star wreckage at Endor. There are branching paths and secrets. The original was on rails with binary interactivity; the new one is still on rails, but the rails are much looser. Best of all, it finally has that classic Star Wars feel the old Corellia mission was missing, with John Williams cues woven throughout. I rode it 11 times and still didn’t uncover everything, which tells you how much they upped the re-ridability.
Full breakdown: The new Millennium Falcon mission, reviewed →
Walt Disney Studios Courtyard: The Biggest Glow-Up
Think about the state of the old Animation Courtyard just over a year ago. The Little Mermaid show had been closed for years, the Disney Junior show tied into shows that were off the air, and the Star Wars Launch Bay still lingered, even after Galaxy’s Edge launched in 2019. It was by far my pick for the worst area in Hollywood Studios, and probably in all of Disney World. A neglected cement cul-de-sac with no charm.
How things have changed. The new Walt Disney Studios Courtyard is packed with charm. Removing the giant Hollywood Studios arch has a surprisingly big impact: the center of the park feels much more open, and the courtyard reads as a natural, inviting extension of the hub. There’s grass, trees, and shade, plus design elements pulled straight from the Burbank animation studios, like the Sorcerer’s Hat and Pluto’s Corner. The background music loop features beautiful arrangements of classic Disney Animation songs, and character statues bring the past and present of Disney Animation together.
The main attraction, The Magic of Disney Animation, isn’t even open yet, but I got a behind-the-scenes sneak peek (I wore a hard hat and everything). It includes a Mary Blair-inspired Alice in Wonderland playground (indoors, and a guaranteed hit with little kids and parents wanting an AC break), character meet-and-greets themed to different parts of the animation process, and a drawing class featuring an Olaf animatronic alongside videos of animation legends teaching you to draw, like Eric Goldberg teaching the genie.
Add in the new staging of The Little Mermaid and the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live show, and this is shaping up to be one of the best areas for families in all of Disney World.
The Family Wins: Clubhouse Live, Bluey, and Jessie’s Roundup
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live is the same show from Disney California Adventure, and my kids absolutely adored it. It’s a big step up from the Disney Junior show that closed last year.
But the biggest deal for little kids is at Animal Kingdom: Bluey’s Wild World, an interactive experience where you play games from the show like Keepy Uppy and Magic Asparagus. Playing with Bluey and Bingo is as much wish fulfillment for kids today as piloting the Millennium Falcon was for me growing up. As a dad of two Bluey-obsessed kids, watching them play with the Heelers was magical.
My favorite returning addition from Cool Kids Summer last year is the seasonal air-conditioned dance parties. GoofyCore is back at Epcot, and the new one is Jessie’s Roundup at the Diamond Horseshoe in Magic Kingdom. Last year Magic Kingdom had a fun open-air circus act, but a fully indoor, fully air-conditioned, Jessie-centered party opening right as Toy Story 5 hits theaters is a clear upgrade and a huge win for families.
Soarin’ Across America
Soarin’ is the most straightforward update of the bunch. The visuals are great, the lineup of locations shows off the beauty and diversity of the American landscape, and the intro is amazing. The transitions aren’t quite as dynamic, though, and it’s the chillest version of Soarin’ yet. Whether it’s your favorite really comes down to personal preference. My wife and son loved it; I still prefer the original California film.
But the big upgrade here is what it does for the future of the attraction. Disney has shown it’s willing to swap out the ride films from time to time, and I hope they keep doing it, because it keeps Soarin’ relevant and gives a great ride a much longer shelf life.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets
I went in skeptical. Moving the Muppets onto an intense coaster with a 48-inch height requirement, just 86 days after the Aerosmith version closed, had me expecting a Muppety coat of paint on an oversized guitar. Then I stepped through the doors of G-Force Records.
The coaster itself is unchanged: same track, same launch, same three inversions. But the queue, the pre-show, the new Electric Mayhem soundtrack, and a brand-new Scooter animatronic make it feel completely fresh. Story lead David Brescia framed it to me as the Muppets doing Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, the same way they did A Muppet Christmas Carol, and that unlocked it for me. It’s both a parody and a sincere recreation, which is why it looks familiar but plays brand new. I’ve been riding this coaster for almost 30 years, and it’s the first time it ever made me laugh.
Full breakdown: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, reviewed →
So Why Is All of This Happening at Once?
The quality and timing of these updates say a lot about what we can expect with Josh D’Amaro as CEO. And no, it’s not because Josh takes over as CEO in March and a few good updates landed a couple months later. It doesn’t work like that. What’s happening now is the result of moves D’Amaro started three years ago, shortly after Bob Chapek left and Bob Iger returned in late 2022.
D’Amaro was instrumental in bringing Bruce Vaughn back to lead Imagineering in 2023, and that year Disney announced a $60 billion investment in its parks and experiences. Soon after that, they entered a strategic partnership with Epic Games, the makers of Unreal Engine, which has powered several of these updates. That combination of creative leadership and investment isn’t just letting Disney make better attractions; it’s letting them do it faster across multiple projects at once. Fast Company recently reported that Vaughn is bringing his tech-startup experience to make Imagineering more nimble, and deploying this many major updates simultaneously is the evidence.
When I asked about it, Disney told me they’re working faster than ever to time these updates strategically: Buzz ahead of Toy Story 5, the Muppets coaster a few months after the smash-hit Muppet Show special, and the Falcon overhaul alongside The Mandalorian and Grogu. On a recent episode of Disney Unscripted, Imagineer Asa Kalama described pitching “a crazy ambitious idea” about 18 months before launch and called it “truly incredible” that the ideas from that first pitch made it all the way across the finish line. That’s the nimbler Imagineering in action: 18 months to revamp a ride on both coasts without ever closing it to the public.
The Bigger Picture: Re-Ridability Is a Capacity Strategy
Here’s the thread that connects Muppets, Millennium Falcon, and Buzz: all three take an existing ride and make it far more re-ridable than before. Muppets rewards repeat rides with new songs and gags, while Falcon and Buzz reward them with gameplay depth and secrets. And I think leaning into re-ridability is part of a bigger strategy that has everything to do with the future of the parks.
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said at a May conference that Disney’s parks are effectively operating at or near capacity. They can’t simply let more guests in without hurting the guest experience, not without expansion. And here’s what most people don’t realize: there’s more than one way to expand capacity. Yes, you can add new rides and lands, and those are coming, like Tropical Americas, Monsters Inc., Piston Peak, and Villains Land. But many of them are years away.
You know what else expands capacity and doesn’t take as long? Revitalizing existing attractions.
All these refreshes renew guest interest. More people are drawn to them, and when the experience is genuinely improved and rewards re-riding, guests want to do them again and again. That leverages capacity Disney already has, and it prepares the way for the big headliners. When Cars or Villain’s Land opens at Magic Kingdom and causes a spike in crowds, the rest of the park can absorb them. People can have a great time on Buzz or Big Thunder while they wait for a Lightning Lane or a virtual queue for the new headliner. Disney has now proven it can bring multiple updates online quickly without sacrificing quality, and using these refreshes as a complement to the massive expansions is a genuinely smart strategy.
The Verdict: The Biggest Upgrade and the Best Upgrade
There are actually two awards to hand out here.
The biggest upgrade, by far the most improved thing at Disney World in terms of what was there before versus now, is the Walt Disney Studios Courtyard. It went from one of the worst areas in all of Disney World to one of the most charming, and it restores a huge part of the heart of Hollywood Studios. More of this, please.
The best upgrade is at a ride, and there are three real contenders, each of which left me with that “I can’t wait to go on this again” feeling: Buzz, Millennium Falcon, and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Buzz revitalizes a 27-year-old ride. Millennium Falcon delivers the Star Wars experience I’ve dreamed of my whole life. But I have to go with my heart, and it’s the Muppets coaster. I didn’t think Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster was a natural fit for the Muppets, and I was so surprised by how well it works, not just as a reskin but as a genuine Muppets ride. It’s funny, it’s quotable, it’s a party, it’s chaos. Muppets belong in the parks, and I hope this launches them into an exciting new era.
So, are we back? Yes. There isn’t a downgrade in the bunch, and the strategy behind them suggests this pace is here to stay.
Quick Reference: The Nine 2026 Summer Updates
- Big Thunder Mountain (Magic Kingdom) — new track, smoother ride, height lowered to 38″; reopened May 3
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (Magic Kingdom) — handheld blasters, Unreal Engine scoring, no score cap
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios) — full Mandalorian & Grogu overhaul, pick-your-destination; debuted May 22
- Walt Disney Studios Courtyard (Hollywood Studios) — area transformation; The Magic of Disney Animation still to come
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live (Hollywood Studios) — new family show
- Bluey’s Wild World (Animal Kingdom) — interactive Bluey play experience
- Jessie’s Roundup (Magic Kingdom) — indoor, air-conditioned dance party; Goofy Core returns at Epcot
- Soarin’ Across America (Epcot) — new American-landscape film
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets (Hollywood Studios) — full Muppet re-theme; opened May 26
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the 2026 Disney World summer updates worth a trip?
Yes. With nine updates landing at once across all four parks, this is one of the strongest waves of refreshes Disney World has seen in years. The Walt Disney Studios Courtyard, the Muppets coaster, refreshes at Buzz and Big Thunder, and the Millennium Falcon overhaul alone are worth building a trip around.
Which 2026 summer update is the best?
There are two ways to answer it. The biggest upgrade is the Walt Disney Studios Courtyard, which transformed the worst area of Hollywood Studios into one of its best. The best individual ride upgrade, in my book, is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, narrowly over the new Buzz and Millennium Falcon.
What’s the controversial 2026 update?
Big Thunder Mountain. Its new track is much smoother, and some fans argue it lost the “wild” feel or even got slower. In reality, Disney confirmed it’s slightly faster than before; it’s just smoother and more accessible, with the height requirement lowered to 38 inches.
Which parks got 2026 summer updates?
All four. Magic Kingdom (Big Thunder, Buzz, Jessie’s Roundup), Hollywood Studios (Millennium Falcon, Walt Disney Studios Courtyard, Clubhouse Live, the Muppets coaster), Epcot (Soarin’), and Animal Kingdom (Bluey’s Wild World).
Why is this a big deal?
The bigger story is what these updates all point to: a $60 billion investment, a faster-moving Imagineering, and a strategy of using re-ridable refreshes to expand effective capacity ahead of major expansions like Villains Land.
This kind of breakdown, the strategy behind the magic, is exactly what I do every week in my newsletter, The Tip Board.
Which 2026 update is your favorite, and is there anything you don’t think is an upgrade? And what classic attraction do you hope Disney refreshes next? Let me know.
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