The summer tourist season at Disneyland is technically still in full swing, but the offseason is right around the corner once schools start going back into session next month. Ahead of this, Disneyland has added a several projects to the closure calendars. This covers the latest refurbishment dates & details, along with other changes around the resort.
The good news is that, as reflected in recent updates to the 2026 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar, there really aren’t many major refurbishments happening right now. Even though summer is not the peak season that it used to be, it’s still the longest stretch of the year when tourists are the target demographic at Disneyland and DCA.
Accordingly, Disney tries to minimize ride closures during this time to make a favorable impression on first-timers, who typically have less, ahem, tolerance for downtime than do locals and Annual Passholders. This is nothing like it once was, when Disneyland front-loaded most refurbishments at the beginning of the year and had minimal downtime during the summer, but a less-pronounced version of that dynamic does still exist. However, we’re starting to see more added to the schedule, along with other significant changes (that don’t quite warrant their own full posts).
More Price Increases
A couple weeks ago, we reported on Hundreds of Menu Price Increases at Disneyland. That seemed fairly widespread, impacting 917 items across 178 dining locations at Disneyland Resort. At the same time, we were pleased to see several of our favorite restaurants emerge unscathed from the price increases.
As it turns out, that relief was premature. Another wave of price increases hit this week, with 291 price increases at 13 table service restaurants, lounges and bars at the Disneyland Resort. Per ThemeParkIQ, the average increase is 6.5%. There were also similar price increases on alcohol and snacks, with $20 cocktails being common and most snacks up by $1 (or nearly 10%). This puts many snacks at or above $10.
This is particularly interesting to us given that Disneyland’s core demographic is not a captive audience, but rather, consists largely of locals. While inflation has hit hard everywhere, some of these prices are nevertheless tough to stomach.
I remember not that long ago when a Matterhorn Macaroon cost $1.99. Now it’s $8.29. A single square of Churro Toffee is $9.50 (it’s overrated, anyway, if you ask me). It’s hard to blame that exclusively on inflation. Maybe Disney has found that demand is inelastic, but I doubt that. We find ourselves dining in the parks far less “for fun” and instead opt to eat while before going to the parks or while heading home.
It would seem that this year’s round of restaurant price increases is now complete. Last year’s major price increase occurred in late July, so this one is pretty comparable to that–but with more of a drawn out approach. Disney typically raises food prices prior to the big bump on everything else that happens around the time of the new fiscal year.
Speaking of which, our expectation is that prices will go up around October 7, 2026 on park tickets, Lightning Lanes, Magic Keys, and more. The last two increases happened on October 8, 2025 and October 9, 2024, so that date would be consistent with those.
Offseason Crowds Already Arrived
One interesting wrinkle worth mentioning as we discuss the upcoming arrival of offseason is that Disneyland is arguably already in the midst of it. At the start of the year, Disney released its best Disneyland ticket deal in over a decade, which dropped the per day cost of a Park Hopper to $68. That was wildly popular, significantly spiking crowd levels until it ended on May 21st.
Since then, crowds have been lower. There are countless theories as to why, but the explanation strikes us as rather simple and straightforward: Disneyland made the perplexing decision to not release a California resident deal for this summer, for the first time in years.
Instead, they relied on the $50 Kids’ Summer Ticket Deal along with an unprecedented but extremely limited $59 evening ticket and the annual Anaheim resident ticket deal. None of that was enough, and since discounts are the biggest drivers of attendance, it’s been a slow summer. Even slower than the ‘new normal’ that has emerged over the last few years.
On top of the lack of deals, there’s also a dearth of $104 single day ticket dates, and those are another big driver of crowds. Most 1-day tickets throughout the summer are expensive, ranging from $149 to $199. These elevated prices persist until August 18, 2026, which is the next $129 day. The next $104 dates aren’t until September 8-9, 2026.
The higher summer price points further limits the pool for the aforementioned $50 Kids’ Summer Ticket Deal, since (obviously) children cannot visit alone. On top of all this, Grad Nites ended last month, there’s no major special event to draw crowds now that the 70th Anniversary is over a year old, and no new rides debuted in 2026.
Most importantly for the purposes of this post, lower attendance projections open the door for more last-minute ride refurbishments and other projects being added to the calendar. That’s more or less the dynamic we saw last summer, when more attractions taken offline than we’d normally expect for this time of year.
In the meantime, it’s mostly good news. Here’s an update on several refurbishments that have recently been scheduled at Disneyland Resort for August 2026 and beyond…
Plaza Inn
The only in-park character meal at Disneyland is “Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park,” which is held at Plaza Inn on Main Street. The seating is indoor and outdoor, with views of Sleeping Beauty Castle and Tomorrowland, depending upon where you’re seated. As suggested by the name, this is hosted by Minnie Mouse and features her “friends.” Let me tell you: Minnie Mouse rolls deep. This is a veritable smorgasbord of characters, and always an eclectic crew.
The biggest pro of this meal is the sheer quantity of characters and the zaniness of the encounters. As you can see and read about in our full Review of Breakfast in the Park with Minnie and Friends, Plaza Inn offers a robust roster of characters. The biggest downside is food quality–this has the weakest food of any of the meals.
In any case, “Minnie & Friends – Breakfast in the Park” will be temporarily unavailable starting August 17, 2026, and is expected to return in late September. This was previously calendared with a start date of August 10, 2026, but was pushed back for whatever reason.
There’s no actual refurbishment scheduled of Plaza Inn. Presumably, the restaurant will still be open the rest of the day, and possibly even at breakfast (but minus characters). The cause of this change is unclear. Our assumption is that it relates to staffing as Disney makes the seasonal switch from the 70th to Halloween, along with D23 Expo. There’s a lot happening around then, and with rehearsals on top of the switchover, entertainment might be spread too thin. That’s just a guess, though.
My fear is that Disney wants to test demand without characters, both at Plaza Inn and the impact at the hotel character dining experiences, and this will change from a temporary change to a permanent one if it pencils out. That’s probably/hopefully unlikely, but nothing would surprise me given the gradual erosion of the Disneyland dining scene.
Indiana Jones Adventure
The latest major addition to the refurbishment calendar is that Indiana Jones Adventure closes starting September 8, 2026. There is currently no reopening date set for the headliner attraction.
This is a ride that seems to get a refurbishment about every year (sometimes more frequently) and we’d argue that it could probably use more regular maintenance than that. Indiana Jones Adventure has a lot of problematic effects that are routinely broken, and once again is in need of some TLC.
For reference, the last closures of Indiana Jones Adventure were December 1-3, 2025, March 17 to April 24, 2025, September 9-13, 2024, November 27-30, 2023, and January 9 to March 16, 2023. It has had one or two refurbishments every single year (minus 2020, when the parks were closed) since at least 2010.
Many of these projects, including the refurbishment two Septembers ago, were brief closures lasting less than one week. Others were more extensive multi-month projects with more consequential improvements. It’s unclear which kind the upcoming closure is.
On a positive note when it comes to headliners, the Matterhorn Bobsleds have reopened as of late July. No other major attractions in either park are currently scheduled to be closed during the Indiana Jones Adventure downtime. Knock on wood.
Haunted Mansion Holiday
As happens every year, both Haunted Mansion and “it’s a small world” close in the late summer and fall for installation of their seasonal overlays. Already on the calendar is Haunted Mansion, which officially closes for refurbishment on Saturday, August 8, 2026. It’ll reopen on August 21, 2026 as Haunted Mansion Holiday.
These are annual projects, with the downtime necessary to install the seasonal overlays and convert the attraction from their normal versions to their holiday overlays. This typically takes roughly 10 days to two weeks for each attraction, with the downtime being staggered.
“it’s a small world” isn’t on the calendar yet, but it typically goes down from late October through mid-November for installation of “it’s a small world” holiday. Last year’s dates were October 31 to November 12. This year, Christmas starts on November 13 (moved forward from November 18, 2026), so it’s safe to expect very similar dates for that.
Likewise, expect ‘mirror image’ closures staggered in Winter 2027 after the holiday crowds depart to remove the overlays. Haunted Mansion Holiday typically closes first since it’ll have been running for several months by January.
70th Entertainment Ending
The Disneyland 70th Anniversary celebration is winding down, and will officially come to an end on August 9, 2026. With this, the cavalcades and smaller scale entertainment ends, decorations come down (that’s actually already happening), and other offerings conclude. Along with that, World of Color – Happiness concludes, and World of Color – ONE returns to DCA beginning August 10, 2026.
The good news is that you’ll be able to enjoy Paint the Night parade and Wondrous Journeys in Disneyland for a little longer, through August 20, 2026. That extension is due to the D23 Expo, which is held in Anaheim from August 14-15, 2026; before that, D23 Day at Disneyland is on August 13, 2026.
After that, both Paint the Night and Wondrous Journeys go into the Disney Vault for an undisclosed amount of time. Probably 18 months to 4 years, give or take. While the Halloween and Christmas slates are pretty well locked-in, we’re expecting to learn more about Disneyland’s 2027 entertainment at the D23 Expo. Our hope is that a lesson has been learned by this year’s slow summer, and a reimagined Fantasmic and more are on the horizon.
Other Ongoing or Upcoming Refurbishments
There are several more (in our opinion) minor refurbishments that start or continue next month. For starters, Main Street Cinema closes on August 10th and reopens on August 28, 2026.
On the Rivers of America, both the Sailing Ship Columbia and Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes will be closed on weekdays during the first two weeks of August. The Columbia will be closed Monday through Friday (downtime: August 3-7 and August 10-14, 2026) whereas the canoes will be unavailable those same dates, except the Fridays of both weeks. The cause of these closures is unclear, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s crowd (or lack thereof) related.
Silly Symphony Swings has been closed since late April, and still has no reopening date. It’s likely to be closed through at least September 11, 2026. That’s as far out as the current calendar goes, and it doesn’t have hours for any day through then.
Speaking of which, Frontierland Shootin’ Exposition will reopen on September 11, 2026 after a closure of a little over two months. Meanwhile, the Mark Twain Riverboat will close a few days earlier, going down for refurbishment on September 8, 2026 (reopening TBD).
Ultimately, don’t be surprised if there are more refurbishments added to the calendar for the next few weeks. The ‘window’ for ride closures is literally right now, minus a few days ahead of the D23 Expo (August 14-16, 2026). Halloween starts only one week later, and is increasingly popular with each passing year.
Still, the worst of the crowds won’t arrive until the second half of September and into October, so the next month-plus is often a time when Disneyland tries to knock out as many refurbishments as possible. This is the calm before the storm, with crowds picking up for Halloween and then Christmas. After that, there’s Winter 2027 and Spring Break. All of those stretches are busier than summer and offseason, so it makes sense to get as much work as possible done before then. We’ll keep you posted!
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the upcoming or ongoing ride refurbishments at Disneyland? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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