Yesterday was a MASSIVE day for Disney news, and we were front and center to hear it all and report directly back to you!

We heard about Disney’s current ride refurbishments and upgrades, got the opening date of the new show coming to Animal Kingdom, AND learned that new meet-and-greets are coming, plus SO much more. If you were offline yesterday, here are the seven MASSIVE news drops you missed!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Starting off strong, we got several updates straight from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This Magic Kingdom attraction is currently under refurbishment through sometime in 2026. It’s getting an updated new look, and Disney even showed off some new concept art for the ride!

You know it as the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness, but do you know the story behind it? 🚂 pic.twitter.com/K2yakymfNW

— Walt Disney World (@WaltDisneyWorld) August 21, 2025

The new concept art shows that when you go through that iconic tunnel (the one with the bell ringing loudly, you know the one), new magic is being added. Disney teased, “phosphorescent pools, shimmering and illuminating iridescent stalagmites and stalactites.” But beware! The Rainbow Caverns are beautiful, but there may be a menacing rumble from deep within the mountain. OOH!

Be prepared to see why this ride is REALLY the wildest ride in the wilderness!

We can’t wait to hear more about this ride and its new look as we get closer to its reopening next year (official date not yet confirmed)! To learn MORE about the new story of Big Thunder Mountain, check out our post below!

Disney Reveals CHANGES Coming to Big Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster in Magic Kingdom

Zootopia: Better Zoogether!

We finally have an opening date for Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, the new show taking residence in the Tree of Life Theater. Up until earlier this year, this spot was occupied by It’s Tough to Be A Bug. The show will open on November 7th!

Zootopia: Better Zoogether! makes its debut November 7 at Disney's Animal Kingdom 🐰🦊 pic.twitter.com/tRRuPPW07K

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) August 21, 2025

That’s not all, though — Disney also announced that with the new show’s arrival, a meet-and-greet with Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde will also be arriving at the park!

BREAKING: OPENING DATE Announced for NEW ‘Zootopia’ Attraction in Disney World

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with The Muppets!

We also got a new look at concept art for the new version of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2026! The show will no longer star Aerosmith; this new version is hosted by The Muppets, and now we’re starting to see exactly what that will look like.

The Muppets are ready to make some awesome music together, and The Electric Mayhem is getting ready to headline their biggest Hollywood concert ever, but — OH NO — the band is nowhere to be found! You know what that means? It’s gonna be a wild ride!

Disney confirmed that Scooter and the two Penguins seen in the new ride’s pre-show will be animatronics. G-Force Records is now under new management by The Muppets, now that Scooter’s uncle J.P. Grosse has taken charge. 

The giant guitar outside the ride will stay put, but it’ll be getting a psychedelic new look inspired by the famous car paint job from The Muppets movie, and the piano motif will feature a golden key in reference to the band’s fearless leader.

We can’t wait to hear more about this ride, so stay tuned!

Disney Reveals NEW Concept Art for Muppets Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

We also got a look at the new ride vehicles coming to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin when the ride reopens with its new look and upgrades next year! They’re inspired by the Star Command colors, better fitting in with the theming of the ride — not to mention it includes handheld blasters and a digital screen that updates your score in real time.

If the numbers on the screen are to be believed, it’s possible that the highest score of 999,999 will no longer be the highest you can get, so we’ll all have to work much harder to become a Galactic Hero!

NEW LOOK at the Ride Vehicles for Disney’s Buzz Lightyear Attraction in Magic Kingdom

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

Disney also expressed how excited they are about the new adventures coming to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run on May 22nd, 2026. There are new destinations and storylines coming to the ride (that you can read more about here!), but now it’s been confirmed that the engineer will get to pick the location of your adventure!

You’ll be able to team up with The Mandalorian, Grogu, and Hondo in these new adventures. The storyline is that Hondo Ohnaka just found out about a deal on Tatooine between ex-Imperial officers and some pirates. There’s a bounty for their capture, so you’re going to “borrow” the Millennium Falcon and team up with Din Djarin and Grogu to track them down.

We can’t wait to visit these new locations and experience the updated ride — come on, May 2026!

JUST ANNOUNCED: CHANGES Confirmed for Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Animation Courtyard

Disney previously announced that Animation Courtyard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios would be receiving a major update to turn into The Walt Disney Studios, including adding a new playground for kids and a new spot called The Magic of Disney Animation. We got an updated poster for the new addition that you can check out below, and it features a NEW character — Robin Williams’s Lost Boy!

The new building will resemble the Roy E. Disney Animation Building at Disney headquarters in Burbank, California, but will show guests what being a Disney Animator is really like. It’ll also have a storyline — it’s a studio where the animators have temporarily stepped away, and the characters have come to life to take over. An experience where you can learn to draw your own character sketch will also be included!

We’re so excited to see this arrive sooner rather than later, especially since it’ll be in the section of the park that truly used to be a live filming studio!

JUST ANNOUNCED: Learn More About the CHANGES at Animation Courtyard!

Cool Kid Summer

Finally, Disney announced that Cool Kid Summer would return for summer 2026! This is a great addition to the parks, as it added more entertainment, activities, and more across all four parks that were a big hit with kids.

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney World news and beyond!

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Take a New SNEAK PEEK at This Year’s EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Merchandise

Which of these are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney World to attend their Play ‘n’ Preview mediaevent. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ