Visiting Walt Disney World in October 2025

In recent years, visiting Disney World in October has become quite popular. This is partly due to Halloween festivities occurring all throughout the resort, including Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. And if that wasn’t enough, the summer heat also begins to subside this month, giving guests cooler days and evenings at the parks.

If you’re planning a trip to Disney World in October, you’ll want to be prepared for some rain, as it’s still technically rainy season in Florida. You’ll also want to pay attention to Halloween festivities and ticketed events as they can affect park hours.

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Planning a Disney World vacation in 2025? Be sure to check out our guide to all that the Walt Disney World Resort has to offer this year!

In This Post

October At-a-Glance

October Events

October Refurbishments & Closures

October Weather

October Disney World Crowd Calendar

Ready To Start Planning Your Visit To Walt Disney World In October?

October At-a-Glance

Be prepared for some rain. As October can still be warm and humid, rain happens. Ponchos are a great thing to keep handy for afternoon showers!
Mornings are a great time to visit the pools. Due to the warmer temperatures, the pools can get quite busy during the heat of the day as well as in the evenings when guests return from a day in the parks. Consider visiting in the mornings when they will be less busy.
Major refurbishments are not typically common in October. Disney tends to schedule their refurbishments during less busy months, but that doesn’t mean closures can’t or won’t happen in October.
The Food and Wine Festival is quite popular with locals. Consider visiting Epcot on weekdays if you’re trying to avoid the crowds.

October Events

Halloween arrives early at the Disney World Resort! A highlight of the season is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, which takes place on select nights from August 15 through October 31. The very popular ticketed event lasts from 7:00 PM to midnight and features trick-or-treating, a special Halloween parade, fireworks, specialty menu items, not-so-scary entertainment, your favorite characters dressed in their Halloween attire, and so much more.

Another festival to be aware of is Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place from August 28 through November 22, 2025. This is a highly anticipated event at the park, featuring a wide variety of food and beverage booths to satisfy the most discerning palates. In addition to dining options, attendees can take part in scavenger hunts, enjoy live music, participate in the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, and explore exclusive festival merchandise.

Also taking place in October as part of this festival is the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Taking place October 23-26, 2025, this popular race usually features a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and the Disney Two Course Challenge (10K and Half Marathon). Virtual options will be available as well!

Walt Disney World (as well as ESPN Wide World of Sports) typically hosts several athletic events each month. These events don’t usually have a major impact on crowds in the parks, but they will likely affect resort availability and crowds at Disney’s value resorts. Here’s a look at what’s currently scheduled for October:

Disney Season Kickoff Soccer Tournament – October 11-12, 2025

Other notable dates for October include Columbus Day weekend, which falls October 11-13 in 2025. Columbus Day will be the first major holiday since the end of summer vacation, so this weekend will undoubtedly be one of the busiest of the month. October 31 is another notable date, as many try to attend Disney’s Halloween ticketed event.

October Refurbishments & Closures

*We’ve included all current refurbishments here on this list… even ones that may be open in time for October 2025. (Please note that this list could change at a moment’s notice.)

Magic Kingdom

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be closed until 2026. An opening date has yet to be announced.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin will be closing for enhancements from August 2025 until 2026.
Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade is permanently closed.
Liberty Square Riverboat and Tom Sawyer Island are permanently closed.

EPCOT

Spaceship Earth is currently closed for refurbishment and is scheduled to reopen on October 25, 2025.

Hollywood Studios

Voyage of the Little Mermaid is permanently closed and was replaced with a fully reimagined production called “The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure” on May 27, 2025.
Jedi Training Academy: Trials of the Temple has permanently ended.
Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy is permanently closed.
Muppet*Vision 3D permanently closed on June 8, 2025.
Disney Junior Play and Dance! will be closed from May 25, 2025, through 2026.
Villains Unfairly Ever After Show opened on May 27, 2025.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith will be closing at some point in 2026 for reimagining. The newly reimagined attraction starring The Muppets will debut in Summer 2026.

Animal Kingdom

It’s Tough to Be a Bug is permanently closed and will be replaced with Zootopia: Better Zoogether, which will open on November 7, 2025.
DINOSAUR will permanently close on February 2, 2026.
Kali River Rapids will close for refurbishment from October 6, 2025, through December 2025.
Primeval Whirl, TriceraTop Spin, and The Boneyard are permanently closed.
- Dinoland USA, as a whole, will likely close at some point to make way for a major expansion. Disney has announced that the replacement will be “Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom.” Concepts include Encanto and Indiana Jones, and DINOSAUR will be converted into an Indiana Jones attraction.

Other

Disney Skyliner will be closed January 25 through January 31, 2026, for routine maintenance.
Blizzard Beach Water Park is closed for the season.

October Weather

The weather shifts greatly in the month of October. We finally get some relief from the summer heat! The average high is 85 degrees, and the low is typically around 65 degrees. Rain is starting to let up, and October marks the end of hurricane season.

One other thing to keep in mind is hurricane season. While it is rare that Disney World needs to close due to hurricane-related weather, it HAS happened in the past. Since 1971, the Walt Disney World parks have had to close around 13 times due to hurricanes. We’ve seen three closures in August, six in September, three in October, and one in November. Closures are typically only a day or two, but it is certainly something to be aware of when planning your October vacation.

October Disney World Crowd Calendar

Crowd calendars are very popular, but they can also be a bit unpredictable. It’s best not to completely rely on them when making your Disney World vacation plans.

While crowd calendars can be a big help in knowing what to expect, keep in mind that they are predictions at best. When designing our calendars, we take a look at events, school calendars, ticket prices, park hours, holidays, and typical monthly patterns. But unfortunately, our crowd calendars cannot predict other things, such as weather, travel advisories, pandemics, or last-minute openings or closings of shows and attractions.

On top of that, many are choosing to travel differently these days. Quiet months have become popular due to runDisney events as well as other Disney events and promotions, while busier seasons have seen a downward trend in the last couple of years.

The crowds in October 2025 will most likely be moderate and steady. While there are no major holiday weekends, Halloween festivities do bring many to the parks, as well as Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival.