Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2025 Preview: New Shows, Some Permanent Closures and…Bluey?

As we get ready to turn the page to 2025, we wanted to compile a series of articles looking at the year ahead to get an overview of what to expect. In this article, we’ll take a look at what Walt Disney World has officially announced for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, along with some of our own predictions on what 2025 has in store for Disney World’s most densely-packed theme park. This will be a living article, updated as we learn more about what’s planned for Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2025!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2025 Preview

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is on the precipice of some significant changes (and capital) as Disney looks to balance the park out and provide some relief to the many headliners at the park. In the meantime, there will be two new shows debuting in 2025, but we’ll start with the question on everyone’s mind right now: how much longer do we have with MuppetVision 3D?

Last Chance to Experience MuppetVision 3D | Maybe Sometime in 2025

In short, we don’t know when MuppetVision 3D will be closing, but Walt Disney World has previously said that “construction begins in 2025” for the Monsters Inc.-themed land that will replace MuppetVision and the Muppets Courtyard area. Even in the article where Disney confirmed our speculation that MuppetVision 3D would be gonzo, Disney said that guests would have “enough time” to catch MuppetVision 3D before its curtain call.

Ultimately, the question is: will Monsters Inc. land be built in phases? If the answer to that is yes, then there is a chance that MuppetVision 3D will operate for at least part of the year in 2026. If the answer to that is no, and we think it might be no, then chances are that MuppetVision 3D will permanently close sometime in 2025.

Monsters Inc. Land Construction Begins | Sometime in 2025

As we previously noted, Walt Disney World has said that construction Monsters Inc. land will begin in 2025. The working theory is that Disney will want to open Monsters Inc. land sometime in 2028, so they won’t want to drag their feet in closing Muppets Courtyard and MuppetVision 3D.

If we had to guess, I would think that Disney World would want to begin construction later in the year, before the holiday season, but after the start of the new fiscal year, which begins in October. A mid-October closing date for MuppetVision 3D and the surrounding Muppets Courtyard area would sort of fit that timeframe, but again, this is pure speculation.

Either way, we were promised shovels in the ground next year and I think that Disney will have a lot of incentive to stick to that timeframe given the fact that Epic Universe will be open down the road, and there will be a rather significant amount of work required to build Monsters Inc. land.

New Villains Show | Summer 2025

Ok, enough with the doom and gloom. Let’s talk about something new that is brewing for next Summer. An all-new Villains stage show will debut in the Sunset Showcase flex space that has housed the Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy for the past few years. The new show will be titled “Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After”, and it will feature a number of Disney villains, with some even making an appearance on stage.

The Sunset Showcase will be transformed into the mysterious, reflective realm of the Magic Mirror. The show will feature appearances by dozens of the most infamous evildoers, with fiendish foes Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent each breaking through the glass to take the stage in live production numbers.  

While we’re certainly very excited about the show, the fact that it exists at all is rather interesting. The Sunset Showcase seems like a perfect spot to put MuppetVision 3D should Disney want to preserve it in a theme park setting. The Muppets will be taking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (more on that in a bit), and putting MuppetVision 3D in the Sunset Showcase right next door to the high-speed roller coaster makes a ton of sense.

Furthermore, it is interesting that Walt Disney World wants to introduce Villains to Disney’s Hollywood Studios when an entire land is going to be built at Magic Kingdom. To be fair, it’s going to take some time for Villains land to be built, but I doubt that Disney will want there to be a Villains-themed show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios once Villains land opens at Magic Kingdom.

If that’s the case, then the clock is ticking for Unfairly Ever After before it has even debuted. Maybe those villains are right and life is unfair after all.

Either way, the new show debuts next Summer, and Walt Disney World has not announced that it will be a limited-time offering as of publish time.

New Little Mermaid Show | Summer 2025

In case it isn’t obvious, Walt Disney World is doing exactly what everyone thought that they would do to “respond” to Epic Universe by opening up entertainment acts next summer. Between the new Villains-themed show that we covered above and the new nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom, there are a few reasons for guests to spend some time at Walt Disney World next year. We’ll add one more new entertainment offering to the mix (for now) with the addition of an all-new Little Mermaid-themed show debuting next Summer at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The new show will be called The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, and it is a fully reimagined theatrical production inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios classic “The Little Mermaid.” Follow the beloved story of Ariel’s journey to be part of the human world. “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” will have guests flipping their fins to musical numbers inspired by the film, including “Part of Your World,” “Kiss the Girl,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” and more.

When it opens, the show will feature stunning new set pieces, cutting-edge effects, and a bold new design that captures Ariel’s imagination and emotions through her unique view of the world around her.

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure was originally set to be open by now (Fall 2024), but Walt Disney World delayed the opening until next Summer.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Closing | Maybe Sometime in 2025

Going back to an unknown, we have the status of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Walt Disney World has previously announced that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will be closed to remove the Aerosmith theme and introduce a Muppets theme. Officially, Walt Disney World has only said that “there’s still enough time to catch a super-stretch limo to the Forum to enjoy Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith”. That’s not very helpful, especially when they’ve confirmed that the DINOSAUR attraction, which we also know will eventually be closed for a retheme, will be open for all of 2025.

In the absence of an affirmative announcement similar to the one that DINOSAUR received, we have to assume that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will close at some point in 2025. In terms of timing, the Villains-themed show will open next to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster over the Summer, and I can’t decide if I think that’ll be a good time to close the roller coaster or if Disney should keep it open for a little while to absorb some crowds that will be in the area thanks to the new show.

Bluey Makes Walt Disney World Debut | Sometime in 2025

An 11th-hour announcement from The Walt Disney Company has added a new item to this list: Bluey! Disney has announced that the blue heeler will make her Disney theme park debut in 2025 and the only place at Walt Disney World that makes any sense to me is Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but Walt Disney World has not confirmed any details or locations for how guests will be able to encounter Bluey. We could see one of two locations used for the inevitable meet and greet.

The first location that everyone seems to be targeting is the Animation Courtyard area. With Disney passing on the Animation Courtyard location for Monsters Inc. Land, fans were wondering what Disney’s longterm plans for the area might be. We don’t think it’s Bluey, but perhaps I’ll be proven wrong shortly.

The most likely scenario to me would be to remove Olaf from the Celebrity Spotlight meet and greet location and make this Bluey’s meet and greet spot. The concept of Celebrity Spotlight was to be a rotating venue for characters, which is why it wasn’t themed to Frozen, but only Olaf has taken up residence over the past eight years. Disney would have to create a new set for Bluey, but the Olaf set isn’t exactly complex, as seen below during a physically-distanced meet and greet during the COVID-19 reopening period.

Using Celebrity Spotlight would mean long lines as the meet and greet venue isn’t really set up for efficiency, but I’m not sure that it’ll matter much once Bluey comes to town.

Special Events

Disney’s Hollywood Studios plays host to special events during the year. Walt Disney World has already confirmed that Disney After Hours will return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on select nights from January 22nd through September 3rd.

Additionally, we expect that Disney Jollywood Nights will make a return for the 2025 holiday season, but Walt Disney World has not confirmed that it’ll return yet.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!