July 2025 is a huge month at Walt Disney World. It’s the biggest of the year for closings & openings, changes, events and more. This covers everything happening next month, and how it will or will NOT impact wait times, crowds & congestion in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
If you’ve already booked a trip to Walt Disney World in July 2025 and are regretting that choice on the basis of the words “big” and “crowds” in the title, don’t worry. While several things on this list absolutely will impact crowd levels and wait times, most are not across-the-board increases, as we explain.
Moreover, we want to start by underscoring the reality that July has not been a busy month for the last few years. This is something we’ve covered in several posts, including the feature: Summer Is NOT Peak Season at Walt Disney World Anymore. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that Memorial Day through Labor Day is the busiest stretch of the year in Florida, summer crowds haven’t been as bad as in the past. That post offers several potential theories explaining the why of this. The bottom line is that we do not expect July 2025 to be the month that finally bucks that several-years-running trend of lower summer crowds, even if there are some isolated exceptions, as discussed below…
Independence Day
This ‘contrary to conventional wisdom’ bit about lower summer crowds applies to Independence Day at the very start of July 2025. That long weekend used to have 10/10 crowds and be among the busiest holidays of the year. It has become below-average.
Independence Day 2023 was downright dead at Walt Disney World. It was such a hot topic that it drew an explanation from CEO Bob Iger, who attributed the slowness to an exhaustion of pent-up demand in Florida as a whole and unseasonably bad weather. He wasn’t wrong…but he also wasn’t completely correct. Pricing and aggressive ticket blockouts were the bigger culprit.
Independence Day 2024 crowds were again unexpectedly low, even minus blockouts. Walt Disney World as a whole had an average wait time of 26 minutes on July 4, 2024. That was down as compared to the last two weeks of June, which had average wait times of 35 minutes (second to last week) and 31 minutes (last week).
It’s a near-certainty that July 4-6, 2025 won’t be as bad as many past years. It simply will not compare to 2019 or earlier, back when the parks were truly busy. We’d nevertheless expect higher crowd levels than the last two years, by virtue of the holiday falling on a Friday and Walt Disney World offering enticing discounts as opposed to blockouts. But the holiday weekend not being truly busy shouldn’t catch anyone (who has been paying attention) by surprise. The lower crowd levels should be very much expected by this point.
Nevertheless, there will be Independence Day entertainment and fireworks, like always. Full details have yet to be announced, but we’ll cover them in our Fourth of July 2025 Survival Guide. What we know right now is that Magic Kingdom will close at 11 pm on both nights, but no other parks will see extensions to their hours. (Unsurprising given the lack of crowds the last few years.)
“Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” will be performed on July 3-4 at Magic Kingdom, replacing Happily Ever After. A simultaneous fireworks display over nearby Seven Seas Lagoon creates an unforgettable experience for guests in the park and nearby Magic Kingdom Resort Area hotels. This special fireworks show will take place July 3 and July 4 at 9:20 p.m.
Rivers of America Closes
The Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island, and Liberty Square Riverboat will all close on July 7, 2025. The last day to experience any of these attractions and locations at Magic Kingdom will be July 6, 2025. Once the rivers stop flowing and are filled in, they will form the foundation of the Cars land (now known as Piston Peak National Park) in Frontierland and a portion of Villains Land.
Along with that, “shuttle mode” operations of the Walt Disney World Railroad will begin on July 7, 2025. That’s also when the Frontierland Station will close on a temporary basis for Cars and Villains Land construction. This means that the last date to experience the Grand Circle Tour of the WDW Railroad (or stop at Frontierland Station) is July 6, 2025.
Whenever anything at Walt Disney World closes, fans turn out in full force for the final day. That was true of Stitch’s Great Escape, so it’ll certainly be true of something people actually love. Because of this, we always hear from readers who are worried wait times will skyrocket on that day. And they will! For the Liberty Square Riverboat and rafts to Tom Sawyer Island, and only those two attractions.
Nothing else will be impacted. We saw this most recently with the final day of MuppetVision 3D. The line for later showings of that stretched all the way back into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. There were reports that Mobile Order for PizzeRizzo was effectively “broken” and guests were waiting 2 hours for their food. (I’m not sure whether slow-aging under the heat lamp would make PizzeRizzo better or worse.)
And yet, wait times for everything else were almost exactly in line with the days before and after. When hardcore fans turn out for these final days, they’re largely locals and they’re mostly there for the thing itself and the camaraderie around closing. By and large, these fans are not going to be doing quick stops at Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square Riverboat as part of an aggressive itinerary that also includes Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Country Bear Musical Jamboree, and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
Instead, it’ll be localized congestion throughout the day in Frontierland and Liberty Square with zero impact on wait times in the rest of the park. Expect to see higher utilization of the “secret” seating area at Columbia Harbour House, but that’s really about it. This might’ve been a different scenario if the closing was announced further in advance or happened after Starlight–or coincided with anything else allowing more tourists to plan farewell trips, but that’s not the case. Overall crowd level impact will be negligible.
V.I.Passholder Summer Days
V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days (or VIP Passholder Summer Days, if you want to sound it out and remove the yelling) is a limited-time offering just for Annual Passholders at Walt Disney World Resort. It’s the company’s way of saying ‘thank you’ for being a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder!
V.I.Passholder Days will occur now through July 31, 2025. The in-park focus of the ‘event’ is EPCOT, owing to there being no summer festival once again. APs will be able to take advantage of exclusive perks and discounts throughout the parks and resorts during the month-long appreciation event, with one highlight being a special character meet & greet (NOT Duffy), free magnet, and restaurant discounts.
By the time July rolls around, VIP Passholder Summer Days will have been going on for over a month. The initial rush will be over, and Annual Passholders will largely have lost interest. Last year, July was the second-slowest month after August at EPCOT, and there’s no reason to expect anything different of July 2025. Diet EPCOT dooms the park from a crowds perspective. With one big exception (discussed below), the park will be dead during July 2025.
Fireworks Time Changes
From now through July 5, the showtime of Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom is 9:20 pm. This is the normal summer fireworks time, which shifts progressively later in the spring due to later sunset times. Normally, 9:20 pm is as late as the fireworks get. Nothing to see here.
This year, the showtime of Happily Ever After moves to 10 pm starting on July 6, 2025. This move was made in anticipation of Disney Starlight Night Parade, which missed its opening target of that date. But because Starlight missed that date, park hours were not extended for most of July, meaning that Magic Kingdom closes at 10 pm.
Personally, I prefer earlier showtimes for Happily Ever After. Like clockwork, wait times drop for other attractions as guests grab dinner and then stake out spots for Happily Ever After. Then there’s the park-exodus as a high percentage of guests leave following the fireworks. The earlier all of this happens, the better–it means there’s more time that rides have shorter lines. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, as earlier showtimes also mean more crowded viewing areas for Happily Ever After.
The huge downside to fireworks at park closing is that the Magic Kingdom post-fireworks park exodus will occur all at once. This should lead to chaos and crowds exiting the park, and long lines for buses. You really want to either beat this rush or wait it out. Honestly, I’m a little surprised Walt Disney World didn’t move Happily Ever After back to 9:20 pm once it became clear that Starlight was delayed until late July.
Flavors of Florida Kicks Off
If there’s a flavor that comes from Florida—peppers, citrus fruit, cheeses, seafood, and more—you’ll find it at Flavors of Florida. The Sunshine State’s culinary event returns to Disney Springs from June 27 to August 10, 2025. With over 45 participating locations and 90+ unique menu items, Flavors of Florida is filled with locally-grown ingredients and fresh flavors that will leave you saying yum and wow every 5 seconds.
Flavors of Florida also offers a weekly culinary series where you’ll be able to see chefs from Disney Springs restaurants as they demonstrate how to make some of their dishes from the event. These complimentary cooking demos are held on select Fridays. Also returning for 2025 are food & beverage pairing events, offering a wide variety of classes with something for everyone–from the Paella-making class at Jaleo to the cocktail-making class at The Edison.
Honestly, we haven’t spent a ton of time at Disney Springs in the last two years. We spent a ton of time here as locals, visiting multiple times per week, to now going months without visiting. So I can’t speak with complete current authority, but our past experience was that summer is the slowest time of year at Disney Springs. There’s not enough shade and locals largely avoid it, especially during the daytime hours.
That’s precisely why Flavors of Florida was introduced in the first place. If the event does increase crowds this year, and it will probably boost them a bit, it’s localized to Disney Springs and likely still well below the baseline for other times of year. There’s no impact on the rest of Walt Disney World. (On a side note, everything I’ve seen for Flavors of Florida looks promising! I might actually make an effort to cover it this year.)
Starlight Night Parade Debuts
Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away is the new nighttime parade coming to Walt Disney World this summer. Floats are brought to life through the power of the Blue Fairy’s magic, you’ll watch favorite classic and contemporary characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney Pixar films, some for the very first time in a Disney nighttime parade.
Starlight is the continuation of Walt Disney World’s legacy of nighttime parades, with bits of nostalgia for Main Street Electrical Parade and SpectroMagic sprinkled throughout a dazzling procession that raises the bar for the future. Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away debuts on July 20, 2025.
Out of everything on this list, the new night parade will have the biggest impact on crowds. Walt Disney World has already introduced a policy to restrict Annual Passholders, and they’ve blocked out Cast Members on every single night Starlight will be performed through (at least) the end of August 2025. All of these are unprecedented measures due to “anticipated high demand” according to Walt Disney World.
While demand for Starlight absolutely will be high, the parade will not have an immediate, across the board impact. One thing that we’ve observed with MNSSHP and MVMCP is that entertainment offerings can create isolated congestion on Main Street and along the parade route, while hollowing out other areas of Magic Kingdom. Meaning that a scenario with higher attendance but lower wait times for rides at night in Magic Kingdom starting July 20 is entirely possible.
There’s also the question of how Starlight will impact forward bookings and occupancy. The debut date was announced less than 2 months in advance, and that’s insufficient lead time for most guests planning summer vacations. However, the same is not true for tourists taking Christmas-time vacations–meaning the biggest impact among non-locals might actually occur from November 2025 through March 2026.
The bottom line is that you can expect chaos and crowds along the parade route in Magic Kingdom starting July 20, 2025. But it’ll likely be isolated to that area of that one park, and will not adversely impact wait times anywhere at Walt Disney World. The real increase to overall crowd levels will occur later, as Starlight is one of a couple things that could drive bookings for the home stretch of the year.
Reimagined Test Track Reopens
Test Track 3.0 will feature six distinct exhibits, and within each room celebrate the vehicles that push the envelope and help get people to our next chapter in our motion journey. New show scenes will be added showcasing technological advances and how lifestyles and relationships to mobility connect everyone.
On the reimagined Test Track, guests will enjoy a joy ride through scenes focusing on onboard technology, customization and personalization. Followed by a trip through a scenic outdoor route reminding us all of the joys of driving, taking in the world around us and spending quality time with friends and family. This attraction update will debut an all-new musical score, as well as new scenes that highlight technology making cars smarter and life more fun.
Fans won’t have to wait too much longer, as the construction walls have already come down and Test Track is testing! Walt Disney World announced that Test Track will officially open on July 22, 2025.
As with Starlight, the reopening of the reimagined Test Track will have a localized impact on crowds. It’s too late for most tourists and out-of-state fans to plan trips for its reopening, but locals will show up in full force. Test Track hitting a 240-minute wait time on July 22 wouldn’t surprise us in the least, but that peak should be short-lived.
Since July 22 is Diet EPCOT, we would not expect Floridians to stick around for long once they’ve experienced Test Track. Some will do full days, but the capacity added by Test Track should more than offset that. Consequently, we do not expect elevated wait times at other attractions. Bel0w-average waits for everything except maybe Cosmic Rewind is more likely.
It’s rare for an opening/reopening day to adversely impact wait times of other attractions. Test Track will see elevated popularity throughout the remainder of July, and we’d expect it to see a spike in popularity lasting throughout the remainder of 2025. But we’re talking a 10% to 20% increase, not anything massive. And along with Starlight, it could also help drive bookings for late 2025.
Bourbon Steak Opening
The next new restaurant coming to Walt Disney World is Bourbon Steak Orlando by Michael Mina, which opens in July 2025 and is located in the WDW Swan & Dolphin Resorts. Advance Dining Reservations are now available on OpenTable.
The first date guests can make reservations for the signature steakhouse by award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Mina is Saturday, July 26, 2025. Note that the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resorts have not yet announced an official opening date for Bourbon Steak, so it’s possible the restaurant soft opens prior to then.
It’s going to be a race against the clock to convert this space into Bourbon Steak Orlando. The new restaurant is replacing Shula’s Steakhouse in the Walt Disney World Dolphin, which just served its last guests on June 14, 2025. Scrims went up immediately around the venue after closing, and work will need to happen fast with a little less than 6 weeks of turnaround time. Still, Swan & Dolphin work fast, so soft openings are possible!
At the risk of stating the obvious, Bourbon Steak Orlando will have zero impact whatsoever on crowds at Walt Disney World. It might make the already dire parking situation at the Swan & Dolphin even worse, but that’s about it.
Extended Evening Hours Returns to Animal Kingdom
Extended Evening Hours will move from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom on Wednesdays, starting with July 2, 2025. The reason for this is the same as the Happily Ever After move–laying the groundwork for Starlight, which was then delayed. In any case, here are the July dates when Animal Kingdom will host Extended Evening Hours:
- Wednesday, July 2, 2025
- Wednesday, July 9, 2025
- Wednesday, July 16, 2025
- Wednesday, July 23, 2025
- Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Extended Evening Hours are normally much more popular during the summer months, regardless of lower crowds, due to higher temperatures. However, that’s also when guests get an extra two hours of late nights in Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. Animal Kingdom is presently scheduled to close at 6 pm throughout the summer, and there’s no reason to believe park hours will be extended. Meaning that these ‘extra hours’ will end before sunset. Zero impact on crowds.
Cool Kid Summer Continues
“Cool Kid Summer” is the new summer event at Walt Disney World aimed at families with children, which runs from now through September 1, 2025. “Cool Kid Summer” features DJ-fueled dance parties, surprise character appearances, hands-on activities and nonstop summer vibes.
To make a visit to Walt Disney World during “Cool Kid Summer” even easier, there are several special offers aimed at young families:
- 50% Off on Kids Tickets: You can purchase a 3-day or longer kids (ages 3-9) standard ticket for 50% off. This deal is available for visits now through September 20, 2025.
- 3-Day, 3-Park Ticket: Get a 3-day, 3-park ticket starting at $89 per day ($267 total, plus tax) for visits now through September 22, 2025. This ticket is for admission to EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom (one theme park per day, not valid for admission to Magic Kingdom).
- Disney Resort Room Deals: Save up to 30% on select Disney Resort hotel rooms when you stay longer for visits beginning August 1 through October 11, 2025. Special deals on rooms are also available for Florida Residents and Annual Passholders.
- Huge Streaming Special Offer: Disney+ subscribers can save on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels – starting from $99 per night at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort – when staying two nights or longer most nights from June 29 to July 31, 2025.
Basically, “Cool Kid Summer” is the marketing package to tie those discounts into something bigger picture that also fits with the new stage shows at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (which also have not impacted overall crowd levels) and Starlight night parade at Magic Kingdom.
In terms of the crowd impact, there hasn’t been one thus far from “Cool Kid Summer” and we wouldn’t expect that to change in July. The character experiences, dance parties, and various activities are nice plussings or value-adds–but no one is rushing to book a trip for any of this. If anything, the more aggressive discounts in the month of July might move the needle a bit on occupancy, but that’s unlikely to translate to crowds.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Looking forward to July 2025 at Walt Disney World? Excited for what’s opening, changing or coming to Walt Disney World in the month of July? Disappointed in what’s closing, or excited for the future? Agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
