For more than 50 years, Walt Disney World has grown and evolved tremendously across nearly 30,000 acres in Central Florida. In this time, Disney has approached change with the simple yet powerful philosophy to protect the deep connection guests have made with the brand, while creating compelling reasons to return.
At a recent media panel, Disney World executives shared how teams across the resort are using this philosophy to reinvest in its classic experiences, combining data, creativity, and operational expertise to elevate the guest experience for future generations while honoring what repeat guests love most.
A Resort of This Scale Requires Investment
Today, Walt Disney World Resort includes 100+ attractions and experiences across six theme parks and water parks, along with 25+ resort hotels and more than 29,000 hotel rooms — all part of a destination designed to keep guests immersed in Disney stories from arrival to departure.
To keep the resort of this size relevant and reliable year-round, Alec Ras, Director of Facility Asset Management, shared that Disney invests hundreds of millions of dollars each year in its existing attractions, resorts and experiences.
He explained this investment is carried out by more than 4,000 Cast Members who complete thousands of projects each year. From engineers, architects, and construction managers, to horticulturists, carpenters, and painters, these Cast Members deliver disciplined, and many times invisible, results 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“Our work includes both big projects, like replacing the entire steel track of Big Thunder Mountain, and small projects, like a simple carpet replacement overnight in a queue space,” Alec said. “Every detail matters to us when tasked with preserving the quality, care and attention to detail guests have come to expect from us.”
Keeping The Guest Experience Top of Mind
Just like new developments and expansions, these reinvestment projects are planned with the same rigor and long-term thinking. Sarah Riles, Vice President of Magic Kingdom, shared that teams work together to build schedules years into the future. Their goal is to protect the guest experience, preserve capacity across the resort and invest where and when it matters most.
Kelly Blakely, Vice President of Resorts Operations, added that resorts face a unique challenge of completing these projects all while guests are present 24 hours a day.
“Our resorts are a home away from home for many of our guests,” Kelly said. “It is really important to me that our guests know that they are going to get those comforts of home when they come and experience our resorts.”
Her team looks for creative solutions to minimize the guest impact when projects are in progress, including taking that rigorous planning even further with phased closures — like at the recently refurbished Disney’s Pop Century Resort — where they were able to maintain the overall experience while just one piece of a resort is temporarily unavailable.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios took a similar approach when Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster recently went through its Muppets makeover. The teams responsible for the project kept the attraction open longer by closing the attraction in phases — first the preshow, where there would be more technical changes, then the ride itself. The result was an impressively short 3-month downtime.
Sarah concluded that a great example of being creative to get the work done on schedule but with minimal guest impact was the recent transformation of Cinderella Castle.
“While most of the work was completed overnight, we had to keep those high reaches and lifts up through morning. But by noon every day, we took them down so if you were in the Castle hub or on Main Street U.S.A., you’d still get that picture perfect view.” She also praised the Disney PhotoPass team for creating a new AI model that removed the cranes from photos captured in the morning, providing another option for guests.
Balancing Nostalgia and Progress
It wasn’t lost on any of the executives on the panel that some Disney fans can be skeptical of change, especially when these attractions and resorts are woven into the very core of their childhood memories. Michael Hundgen, Portfolio Executive Creative Producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, shared that “we try to be incredibly aware and thoughtful of that when we make changes.”
Michael explained that with each reinvestment project comes the task to balance nostalgia with modern appeal. His team is focused on preserving the classic spirit of a resort or attraction while ensuring these experiences continue to feel relevant, meaningful and ready for future families to fall in love with them.
Sarah added that a lot of thoughtful research goes into the decision to update attractions, as well. “We use data, guest research and feedback to really help inform where we choose to reinvest versus when it is time to reconcept,” Sarah Riles, Vice President of Magic Kingdom, said.
Sarah went on to describe just how powerful these reinvestments can be, sharing that Country Bear Musical Jamboree, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have all seen notable improvements in Disney guest satisfaction scores after their respective reopenings.
Kelly mentioned the same success has been found when refurbishing rooms and common areas at resorts like Pop Century, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Port Orleans – Riverside and Bay Lake Tower.
More Reinvestment Projects On The Horizon
More reinvestment projects are on the horizon including updates coming to Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress in 2027.
In addition to the Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure first revealed at Destination D23 in 2025, Michael shared that Imagineers will also be updating all the attraction scenes to new time periods — including the 1960s, 1980s and The New Millennium — where guests will get to see what John, Sarah, and the rest of the family are up to as they navigate ever-changing technology in new decades. This upcoming work marks the fourth major refurbishment of the attraction since 1964.
“Know that when we touch a classic like Carousel of Progress, our Imagineers take the utmost care in thinking about how we approach that,” Michael said. “The team on this project is phenomenal. They care a lot about the legacy of the attraction and plan on infusing some great new optimism into it for future generations to enjoy.”
Kelly and Michael also teased that more is to come at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s Boardwalk, as well.
Revealed on the Disney Parks Blog after the event, the work at Disney’s BoardWalk is underway and with some new additions set to open in late 2026, including a new lounge, Hurly-Burly, that will welcome guests for fun-filled afternoons and glamorous evenings inside a historic seaside theatre with a vibrant BoardWalk story that spans over a century, and Basin on the BoardWalk, offering a sensory shopping experience that feels both timeless and distinctly new.
There’s even more to come, with a new quick-service restaurant also coming soon to Disney’s BoardWalk.
“I think we should always be held accountable to a standard that is, ‘if you’re going to touch something that is beloved, then you must leave it better than you found it.’” Michael said.