Typhoon Lagoon remained the most-visited water park in North America in 2025 at 1.76 million visits, just ahead of Universal’s Volcano Bay at 1.6 million. Blizzard Beach attendance jumped 50.5% to 1.35 million as Disney opened both water parks simultaneously for the first time since 2019. It was also the first year Disney Resort hotel guests received complimentary water park admission on check-in day.

Globally, Disney still dominates the attendance rankings. Magic Kingdom was No. 1 worldwide with an estimated 17.8 million visits, followed by Disneyland at 17.4 million. Disney had *8* of the world’s top 10 most-visited theme parks in 2025.

The Simpsons appears to be taking on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. The Nov. 8 episode, titled “The Kosmic Kruiser,” is described as Bart and Lisa breaking into Krustyland’s “most notorious and failed attraction.” Jenny Nicholson will provide a guest voice.

Six Flags will add seat belts to Goliath and similar coasters following the fatal incident at Six Flags Over Georgia. Goliath remains closed, along with eight rides at five other parks, while independent safety reviews continue.

NEW: Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom will no longer offer a Single Rider line beginning Sept. 21. Disney says testing of a new loading process resulted in lower average standby wait times, making the Single Rider line less useful. The change does not impact Single Rider offerings at other attractions.

Walt Disney World will soon begin testing a new vacation planning experience on DisneyWorld.com, developed with Google Cloud and featuring AI-powered tools designed to make planning and booking a trip easier. One of the biggest changes: Guests will be able to search by month or season instead of repeatedly checking individual dates and rates. A new pricing and availability calendar will also make it easier to see if shifting dates could save money or open up more options. Guests can also search for specific characters, a preferred style of room, describe their ideal pool, or other specific interests to find the best resort. The AI-powered tool can then recommend resorts based on those preferences. In one demo, a family planning their first Walt Disney World trip said their son loved The Lion King and they wanted a good pool and easy park access. The tool suggested Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and its Lion King family suites and included details about the resort, etc. Guests will also be able to compare resorts side by side, including transportation, dining, nearby parks and resort benefits, and ask follow-up questions about things like walking access to EPCOT, dining options or how the pools compare. And if you’re comparing anything to Beach Club’s pool, sorry, there really is no comparison. Other new features include a map showing resort locations/rates and new shareable planning links that allow someone to price a vacation and share a new trip planning link with family and friends. The tool can also indicate if a better offer is available during the booking process. Disney says AI is being used selectively to align resort features with what guests are searching for, not throughout the entire experience. The initial beta is focused on resorts, tickets and vacation packages and will not include Lightning Lane or dining reservations. Disney says the beta (which will be launching soon) will initially be available to a very limited number of randomly selected guests in the U.S. and Canada, with Disney planning to expand it in phases based on feedback from users. It’s also worth noting the existing booking tool is not going away. Guests will still be able to use the regular website tools, travel agents and the call center. No changes there.

NEW: Booking dates for Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge at Walt Disney World: Oct. 6: Disney Vacation Club members Oct. 7: Annual Passholders Oct. 8: Reservations open to all guests Note: DVC Members will be able to make points-based reservations at a later date.

NEW: Disney's Lakeshore Lodge officially opens July 1, 2027. Disney shared a first look at some of the rooms: