Construction Walls Go Up Around Pete's Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom

Gallery / 5 Photos
Pete's Silly Sideshow refurbishment - January 5 2026

Posted: Friday January 9, 2026 1:25pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Construction walls went up this week around Pete's Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom as refurbishment work gets underway.

The work will focus on replacing the tent covering, which has faded from weather exposure over time.

Pete's Silly Sideshow refurbishment - January 5 2026

Character Meet-and-Greets Relocated

The Dashing Disney Pals and Daring Disney Pals meet-and-greets that normally operate inside Pete's Silly Sideshow are unavailable during the closure.

Donald and Daisy Duck meeting outside

You can still meet Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, and Goofy at alternate locations around Storybook Circus:

Minnie and Goofy are meeting together at the entry to Storybook Circus
Daisy and Donald are meeting near the Train Station at the back of Storybook Circus

Goofy and Minnie Mouse meeting at Storybook Circus Entrance

Disney has not announced a reopening date for Pete's Silly Sideshow, or said if additional Storybook Circus locations will be affected by the work in the coming months.

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wdwmagic13 days ago

Construction Walls Go Up Around Pete's Silly Sideshow in Storybook Circus at Magic Kingdom https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/petes-silly-sideshow/news/09jan2026-construction-walls-go-up-around-petes-silly-sideshow-in-storybook-circus-at-magic-kingdom.htm

HMF22 days ago

That has a more realistic shot but also unlikely. Pinocchio is a much darker film than it gets credit for.

doctornick23 days ago

I’ve long suggested copying the Pinocchio ride from DL.

networkpro24 days ago

Maybe from a structural engineering perspective ? For a small elephant each ear would have to have an area of ~ 9 square meters (thats about 97 square feet) each just and additional physical structure would be needed to replace their primary physiological function as heat dissipation (aka cooling) surfaces.

jah495524 days ago

I admit I got excited for "dark ride." I also admit I never liked the movie Dumbo. Many, many, many unrelated reasons.

jah495524 days ago

Still nothing but "tents" over those exact footprints since 1988.

Biff21524 days ago

There is a structure underneath, so the visible tent is more decorative than anything. https://wdwmagic.twic.pics/ElementGalleryItems/attractions/Fullsize/Fantasyland_Full_15419.jpg?twic=v1/resize=710

WDWhopper24 days ago

Are those things actually tents?! I thought that was just for theming and that there’s actually buildings under there. Man, that sure was cost effective when they threw those up.

HMF24 days ago

That would likely never happen in this day and age.

Mr. Sullivan24 days ago

The trade off to that though is it's gonna make the entrance to FL even more of a chokepoint than it already is, just like Orbitor does to TL at Disneyland.

drew8126 days ago

Maybe a Dumbo dark ride.

jah495526 days ago

I wish they'd replace these tents outright with something nice.

wdwmagic26 days ago

Disney Pals Meet-and-Greets Move Out of Pete's Silly Sideshow Beginning Early January 2026 https://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/petes-silly-sideshow/news/16dec2025-disney-pals-meet-and-greets-move-out-of-petes-silly-sideshow-beginning-early-january-2026.htm

jah4955Dec 18, 2025

Disney basically did a geographic swap (M&G location becoming Snow White & Snow White becoming M&G location) (it was actually a good choice in this regard...it's easier to swap out princesses in a relatively generic building than to see Rapunzel in Cinderella's house). .... and they found an excuse to keep the tents that were meant to come down when Mickey turned 61. He's almost 100. (how's that for going back on topic?) :cool: