July 2012 at Disney World - Events, Crowds, and Ride Closures

July is here, and summer at Walt Disney World is officially in full swing. Whether you're a fan of fireworks, free concerts, or flying elephants, there's something for you happening at WDW in July. Be sure to check out our rundown of all the special events, ride and restaurant closures, and crowd levels for Disney World in July 2012.

Check out the Walt Disney World Park Hours for July 2012.

What's Going on at Walt Disney World in July

Dueling Dumbos' (Delayed?) Debut

With last month’s debut of the water-play area known as Casey Jr. Splash Zone, Storybook Circus is taking shape and becoming a more than worthy successor to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. The arguably biggest addition to Storybook Circus is the “Dueling Dumbo” opening officially this month. The first carousel of flying elephants opened to Disney World guests back in March, and the second spinner has been in soft opening for the last couple of weeks. There’s also a new indoor interactive queue that looks like a lot of fun for kids to play around in while waiting for their turn on the ride. Finally, Dumbo now even has Fastpass (distribution is located by Mickey’s PhilharMagic). Check out our guide to the changes at Magic Kingdom’s Dumbo for a full report on everything that’s different.

The dueling spinners are slated to officially open sometime in July, but it seems that a design flaw in the first Dumbo carousel that opened in March is causing the back left leg of the ride vehicles to get scratched and sometimes for the attraction to stop (you can see it if you look closely at the picture above). It’s somewhat baffling that the attraction would have been opened to the public in this state. Disney plans on temporarily closing that spinner to fix the flaw once the second one is officially up and running. So the official Dueling Dumbo debut might be delayed, but hopefully we’ll see it this month.

Celebrate July 4 at Walt Disney World

July 4th is an amazing time to be at Walt Disney World, since three of the four parks are going all out with Independence Day Celebrations. Here’s the rundown.

On July 3rd and 4th at 9 p.m., Magic Kingdom with present “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky.”
Over at Epcot, the always patriotic Voices of Liberty will be performing their 4th of July Concert at the American Pavilion in the World Showcase. Then on the night of July 4th, IllumiNations will be “enhanced” with “The Heartbeat of Freedom,” an celebration of America that will be added to Epcot’s pyrotechnic show. IllumiNations with The Heartbeat of Freedom will be performed at 10 p.m. on July 4th.
Finally, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will celebrate the USA with the all-new “Rockin’ 4th of July Celebration” Led by a performance of Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, this fireworks and special effects show promises to “bring a new twist to celebrating Independence Day.” The show performs 9:45 p.m. Before the show, DHS will have a performances of Fantasmic! at 9 p.m.

Our recommendation would be to check out the fireworks at Magic Kingdom on the 3rd, then go over to Epcot or Hollywood Studios on the night of the 4th depending on if you would rather see a special IllumiNations or a Rock and Roll show. Sadly, Animal Kingdom has no special celebrations, probably because the park normally closes well earlier than the other 3 parks. Hopefully, Animal Kingdom will gain a unique 4th of July celebration in the coming years.

Sounds Like Summer Concert Series Kicks off at Epcot

Are you a fan of free concerts? Then you should head over to the American Gardens Theatre at Epcot for the Sounds Like Summer concert series, which features a lineup of tribute bands every night from July 1st until the 28th. Showtimes are at 5:45, 7:00, and 8:15 p.m., except for July 4th, which has special times of 5:15, 6:30, 7:45 and 9 p.m.

July 1 to 7: Slippery When Wet ~ The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute
July 8 to 14: The Police Experience ~ A Tribute to the Police
July 15 to 21: SouthBound and Company ~ A Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
July 22 to 28: 2U ~ A Tribute to U2

Crowd Levels at Walt Disney World in July 2012

Crowds in July are going to be among the biggest throughout the year. Be prepared for a lot of people in all the parks. To avoid long wait times, be sure to take advantage of FastPass. Our recommendation for the hot and crowded summer days is to get to the parks before or right as they open. Crowd levels and lines tend to be the most manageable during the morning hours. Take a break during the afternoon. Maybe head back to the hotel or grab lunch and relax. This will be the hottest and most crowded time at Disney World's parks, and a break will give you a chance to escape getting overheated or claustrophobic. Then return to the theme parks in the evening.

Find out which parks have Extra Magic Hours in July by checking out the Disney World Park Hours in July 2012.

Disney World Attraction and Restaurant Closures and Reopenings

Magic Kingdom

Snow White's Scary Adventures - Closed permanently May 31, 2012

Epcot

Test Track continues its lengthy reimagining. The Test Track All Stars, an a capella group, performs daily in front of Test Track, which is scheduled to re-open Fall 2012.
Bistro de Paris - Closed July 1, 2012 until September 30, 2012

Disney's Hollywood Studios: None announced

Disney's Animal Kingdom