Our 2025 in Photos: Epic Universe, Universal Kids, and Walt Disney World
As has become tradition, we’re recapping the year the best way we know how: through photos.
2025 gave us plenty of photo-worthy moments. We made three trips to Walt Disney World, spent two glorious days exploring Epic Universe, and logged more evenings than we can count walking the perimeter of Universal Kids Resort.
I took thousands of photos along the way. Some worked. Some definitely didn’t. I hope I only included the good ones below.
My equipment
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Epic Universe
Over two days in September, I spent 26 hours in Epic Universe. And I still didn’t photograph everything on my list. The park is packed with incredible details and three of my favorite rides. Sounds like I’ll need to go back in 2026.
Celestial Park
Stardust Racers didn’t supplant VelociCoaster as my favorite thrill ride, but it sure did come close.
Isle of Berk
Other than Radiator Springs, Isle of Berk is my favorite themed land. It’s also the most complete of Epic’s five worlds, offering three attractions, a world-class show, hand-carved benches, and mac and cheese cones. The views from Isle of Berk are spectacular, both inside and outside the land.
Stardust Racers is very present, even inside the Viking village. Also, check out the tornado-like blur that is Dragon Racer’s Rally on the right side of the photo.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders was an instant hit with my family. The coaster weaves in and out of Berk’s iconic landmarks as John Powell’s score makes you feel like you’re really flying on the back of a dragon.
Berk is filled with dragons of all ages.
I love the Viking and dragon statues in this land, as you can probably tell.
The Untrainable Dragon is a phenomenal show in every way. A flying Toothless?! Seriously!?
Dark Universe
While most of my Epic photos lack blue skies and sunshine, the overcast weather served me well in Dark Universe.
After Stardust Racers, Monsters Unchained is my second-favorite Epic Universe ride. Inexplicably, it consistently has the shortest lines in the park. Its ride operations are mind-bogglingly great.
Darkmoor Village’s Burning Blade Tavern lived up to the online hype. It’s always surrounded by people holding up their phones, waiting for the perfect flame-filled video.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
The scale of Epic’s Harry Potter portal is on a different level. The towering Haussmannian buildings quickly immerse you in a Paris from a century ago.
I didn’t mind the long lines for Battle at the Ministry. At all. Like Rise of the Resistance, the queue isn’t just something you endure. It’s part of the experience, pairing enormous scale with tiny details.
Le Cirque Arcanus’ preshow, while incredibly crowded, introduced us to an amazing character, a Demiguise. No photos of the show, but the set stage and its curtain are the stars.
Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World might not be my favorite land, but that’s only because the competition in Epic Universe is so stout. I loved being immersed in the video games of my childhood.
Bowser’s Challenge isn’t my favorite attraction, but wow. Its queue is impressive.
The best aspect of Nintendo is the various mini-games available throughout the portal. One of those involves Rambi, a character from the classic Donkey Kong Country video games.
Mine Cart Madness is a D-ticket coaster masquerading as an E-ticket headliner. It has some of the most unexpected twists I’ve ever encountered on a ride.
Universal Kids Resort
I’m fortunate to live a couple of miles away from a brand-new Universal theme park. No, I’m not the target demographic, but that won’t stop me from visiting when it opens in 2026.
Walt Disney World
While bigger things are coming in the future, Disney World in 2025 did have some new rollouts, including a few shows, a parade, and a parrot hanging out in a bar. Those debuts were tempered by the sad feels that came when we said goodbye to the Muppets (for a while), a beautiful river, and parts of DinoLand.
Magic Kingdom
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was down for much of the year, so we had to admire it from afar. Unfortunately, those views were marred once the Rivers of America was drained and Tom Sawyer Island was razed. But it did provide for some unique pics.
I snapped a few pics of crews installing a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad track segment in April.
These photos, taken during a Festival of Fantasy Parade in November, are surreal.
We don’t want that to be the lasting 2025 memory of Maleficent, so here she is breathing fire on Main Street, U.S.A. in April.
We’ve arrived at our Magic Kingdom photo dump. No theme, just iconic, random views.
Magic Kingdom got a new parade in 2025, the beautiful Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away.
2025 also saw the debut of The Beak and Barrel. After a rocky reservation rollout, the Pirates-themed lounge opened to rave reviews. It’s not hard to see why.
Finally, let’s admire Cinderella Castle. This icon will soon go retro with a throwback paint job. So these will be my last photos of her wearing those rose pinks and golds.
EPCOT
Other than an updated Test Track, 2D rat food, and a Spaceship Earth scene cleanup, it was status quo for EPCOT in 2025. No matter, it’s always beautiful.
Test Track 3.0, which debuted this summer, feels like a love letter to cars. That must be why so many bikes were added to the ride. I kid, but it’s true.
My favorite update might be the window that connects the start of the ride with the queue.
And now, a bunch of unthemed photos…
Hollywood Studios
Two new shows debuted at Hollywood Studios. If they hadn’t, this entire section would be dominated by Millennium Falcon and Muppets pics. But we’re starting with sad memories. We said goodbye to Muppet*Vision 3D in June…
…and a net full of Jell-O.
We also said goodbye to PizzeRizzo and its awesomely average pizza.
Star Wars Launch Bay also closed, but not many people were too upset about that. Darth Vader was evicted but quickly found a home in the Ewok Village.
Let’s keep the Star Wars theme going. I used a trash can tripod to snap this long exposure of a fan wielding his lightsaber.
I finally snapped the perfect Chewbacca shot when he posed for me in front of the Millennium Falcon.
Kylo Ren made a dramatic exit.
We also met Grogu and Mando. I took the first shot on May the 4th. I can’t imagine ever going back to Hollywood Studios on Star Wars Day. It was… a lot.
The backside of the Millennium Falcon!
This BB-8 pic might be my favorite of the year.
Tracks from a trackless Rise of the Resistance. I shared that joke on Twitter last month. It didn’t go well.
Hollywood Studios welcomed two new shows. First up is The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure, a retelling of the 1989 film. It beautifully blends puppets, live performers, and screens.
The second new show, Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After, features dozens of digital Disney villains and three live performers, all vying to be the most poorly treated. Maleficent won the title the day I snapped thse pics. But looking at them now, I think Cruella was robbed.
Hollywood Studios knows how to decorate for Christmas. Its mid-century aesthetic is as unique as it is beautiful. We especially love celebrating the holidays on Echo Lake with Gertie.
Speaking of the holidays, we took in Jollywood Nights for the first time this past November. Our evening began with a Life Day Chewbacca hang and ended with an S.E.A. party.
What’s This?, the party’s Nightmare Before Christmas sing-along, features a jaw-dropping Jack Skellington puppet reveal.
It also includes a chaotic Oogie Boogie sequence.
Miss Piggy and Kermit star in Disney Holidays in Hollywood, a show featuring a live band.
The Pixar Disco features Frozone and several other Pixar favorites.
We capped the night off with an unexpected S.E.A. party.
Hollywood Studios also delivered one of our favorite moments of the year, thanks to Jaime – our favorite tiny artist – and the Cast Members at 50’s Prime Time Café. As we were leaving, the CM in the center of this photo ran after us. She’d heard about the tiny creations from our server and wanted to see them for herself.
And finally, a reminder that sometimes the best shots are behind you.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom will always be my OG, but 2025 was a rough year for the park, and 2026 is shaping up to be even tougher. DinoLand’s closure has created more than a few operational headaches. Still, for now, let’s focus on the positives in this always-stunning, animal-centric haven.
We met Bakso, a baby Sumatran tiger.
And I snapped this macaw from a hundred feet away. It was pure luck.
For the first time ever, I took my camera on Expedition Everest (safely secured to my wrist). I love the aerial shot of Anandapur from the main lift hill.
And here’s a random photo of a Festival of the Lion King fire dancer.
Thanks to Extended Evening Hours and a Moonlight Magic party, I was able to photograph Pandora at night. We’re hopeful that Animal Kingdom stays open later once Tropical Americas debuts in 2027. Everyone deserves to enjoy these nighttime vibes in person.
Extended Evening Hours also allowed me to snap this shot of a mostly empty Flight of Passage queue. We never stopped walking until we heard the “and, uh, fly” guy. I live for those moments.
We never wait in line for Na’vi River Journey, but I’ll never turn down a chance to photograph the Shaman of Songs when it’s a walk-on.
In addition to meeting Bakso, we also met three young lions on Kilimanjaro Safaris. This beautiful female was interested in something backstage.
Tucker, a baby giraffe, stole the show on the savanna.
Kevin never disappoints.
As great as Hollywood Studios’ holiday vibes are, Animal Kingdom’s might be even better. From Harambe Village’s recycled Christmas trees to India’s Diwali lights to Discovery Island’s Merry Menagerie, this park is even more stunning than usual late in the year.
Unfortunately, 2025 was the last year for the Dino Institute Christmas party.
DINOSAUR goes extinct at the end of the day on February 1, 2026. So I was sure to snap hundreds of pics in the dark, hoping to get lucky. I deleted most of those blurry messes, but a few turned out.
Like DINOSAUR, Restaurantosaurus will soon close forever, to be replaced by a hacienda-style quick-service restaurant. I hope the theming is as good as its predecessor.
Animal Kingdom also welcomed a new show. Zootopia: Better Zoogether replaced It’s Tough to be a Bug. This bonkers scene was totally unexpected.
Now it’s time to honor the most beautiful park icon in the world. The Tree of Life never disappoints.
A carved wildebeest herd charging up the Tree of Life. This is my favorite example of forced perspective in any Disney park.
Resort Hotels
When planning our Epic Universe visit, we toyed with the idea of staying at one of Universal’s newer hotels. But then I channeled my inner Derek Burgan and booked Cabana Bay instead. This retro hotel lived up to the hype.
Derek also inspired me to visit a Disney World Resort hotel. His Art of Animation SAT SIX article made me regret not visiting that hotel in over a decade. So I Skylined over one November afternoon and spent a couple of hours photographing Lightning McQueen, Crush, and the rest of the characters living at that resort. This place has next-level theming.
Finally, Kidani Village was our temporary home during two of our stays. We love the peace this resort provides at the end of long park days. It looks like the animals appreciate the quiet, too.
So that’s our 2025 in photos. Before you say anything… this is the edited version. There were many more photos in earlier drafts. I’ll try to do better in 2026. Maybe.
