2022 Disney World Hotel Reopening Dates
Walt Disney World continues to update the resort reopening timeline for 2022, with revised dates for hotels that were TBD. This looks at the schedule, how refurbishments and construction are delaying opening dates, and offers predictions for what’s next. (Updated December 22, 2021.)
As a quick recap, all Disney Vacation Club resorts welcomed guests back during the summer, before the parks even reopened. This included the DVC units in hotels that were–and still are–otherwise closed. The most extreme example of this is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is operating at about ~10% occupancy because the hotel rooms are not in use.
In the months since the parks reopened, Walt Disney World has resumed operations at numerous hotels, starting with those on the Skyliner gondola and monorail routes, and also opening some other properties that are only connected to the parks via bus transportation.
Let’s start with a look at the resorts that are currently operating at Walt Disney World, followed by the hotel reopening timeline for 2022…
Walt Disney World Resorts – Now Open
Here are the Disney Vacation Club & Deluxe Villa resorts that are currently open at Walt Disney World:
- Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort
- Beach Club Villas
- BoardWalk Villas
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge
- Old Key West Resort
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Riviera Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort
- Villas at Grand Floridian Resort
Here are the hotels open at Walt Disney World:
- All Star Movies Resort
- Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House
- Art of Animation Resort
- Beach Club Resort
- BoardWalk Inn
- Caribbean Beach Resort
- Contemporary Resort
- Coronado Springs Resort & Gran Destino Tower
- Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Polynesian Village Resort
- Pop Century Resort
- Wilderness Lodge
- Yacht Club Resort
Note that it might appear some hotels are listed on the ‘currently open’ list above and the ‘reopening timeline’ below. However, that’s because some resorts have both standard hotel room wings and Disney Vacation Club villa wings. In many cases, only the DVC wings of the properties are open, with the hotel side yet to open.
2022 Walt Disney World Resort Reopening Timeline
Since our last update, Disney’s All-Star Music Resort, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside, and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter all reopened as scheduled. These were 3 of 4 major hotels scheduled to reopen in the last quarter of 2021.
The only hotel left to reopen at Walt Disney World is now All Star Sports Resort, which was pushed back from its original return date. However, during the week of Christmas, Walt Disney World announced that All Star Sports Resort will reopen on March 31, 2022.
Note that if you have a stay booked at All Star Sports prior to then, Walt Disney World will relocate you. Usually that means to another Value Resort, but it depends upon where there’s availability.
Back when All Star Movies reopened, there was a lengthy stretch when that hotel was overbooked and Disney was regularly moving Movies guests to Grand Floridian as that was the resort with the best availability. Don’t count on that happening again, but the point is that upgrades are possible!
The likely reason that All Star Sports is reopening so much later than the other hotels is to accommodate its room reimagining. As noted above, this was scheduled but had not yet started when the closure occurred.
Undertaking this overhaul while the resort is not operating would expedite the project and mean that it doesn’t negatively impact guests. No one likes active construction at a hotel where they’re staying. So, bad news that All Star Sports won’t be back until 2022, but good news that it’ll be freshly-refurbished upon returning.
Additionally, Walt Disney World has announced revealed what offerings and experiences will be available when Disney’s All Star Sports Resort reopens:
Dining
- End Zone Food Court
- Grandstand Spirits
Shops
- Sport Goofy Gifts and Sundries
Activities
- Pools
- Poolside Activities
- Movies Under the Stars
- Playground
Transportation
- Bus transportation is available from this Disney Resort hotel to the Disney theme parks, Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park and the Disney Springs area
To our knowledge, that’s pretty much everything!
Prior to this, All Star Music Resort reopened as scheduled.
During the closure, All Star Music’s renovations project was finished. (See our Photos & Video: Newly Reimagined Rooms at the All Star Resorts post for more on the room overhaul.) In addition to the guest room overhaul, All Star Music also received a lobby refresh.
Additionally, the sister Port Orleans Resorts–Riverside and French Quarter both reopened.
Walt Disney World has expedited the return of the College Program and has gone on a hiring blitz, which facilitated the return of both hotels shortly after Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary Celebration kicked off.
Before that, Animal Kingdom Lodge returned. This might seem insignificant since the Disney Vacation Club villas in Jambo House have been open for over a year. However, the vast majority of Jambo House is hotel rooms (~1,200 hotel rooms v. ~200 villas), so this is a lot of inventory for Walt Disney World to bring back online.
Along with the hotel rooms reopening, Boma – Flavors of Africa and Victoria Falls Lounge have both reopened, while Jiko – The Cooking Place remains closed. See our Boma Review: Walt Disney World’s Best Buffet is BACK! for more on our recent experience eating there.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort returned in late July. We stayed in the new rooms at the Poly following its reopening, and share our thoughts, photos & video in Review: New Moana Rooms at Polynesian Village Resort.
Note that the porte-cochere, entrance, and monorail station are all finished, as well. Moreover, monorail service is now operating at the Poly!
Ultimately, it’s great to see almost all hotels at Walt Disney World now have returned. With the Port Orleans and All Star Resorts now back, that means another ~10,000 hotel rooms can come back online if those hotels book to capacity.
Obviously, this is a very significant number of rooms, and Walt Disney World does not have the staff to fill all of them. Hopefully, that will change in 2022 if the company is able to hire more housekeepers, food court workers, and other Cast Members.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about these reopening dates for Walt Disney World hotels? Any surprises on this list for you? Excited that Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter now have dates? Happy more Value Resorts are returning with the remaining All Stars set to reopen? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World this year, or are you waiting until 2022? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I think you report on the value hotels mixed up some hotel names. It was pop century that had all the overbooking issues. In addition you state that Movies would be first then use Music in the next sentence. 😀
I just noticed that over our dates in October that club level rooms are available at the animal kingdom to the best of my knowledge there’s been no announcement on when the club level would be made available animal kingdom. Is this correct?
@Marisa. The only thing the employees on the phone can see is the start date for when guests can begin booking rooms. That is the July 19 date. However, Disney has delayed reopening plans for other hotels and rebooked people who had reservations to other hotels. So it is possible that could happen here. I think with a late August trip you are probably okay, but folks with July reservations may be out of luck.
I have written before and am very concerned about no opening date yet for the Poly. My trip starts 8/22. When I booked my Boo Bash tickets on the 8th, I expressed my concern to the cast member helping me. He told me it was slated to open July 19th and that date has been on their books for several months. I told him I had asked several times previously and the best I get is end of July. He said again that he has seen the information for months, so I don’t know what to make of it? I am getting very worried though.
POFQ is the only resort my sister & I want to stay at when we visit! Hope it is available to reserve for fall 2022 soon. Riverside is alright, French Quarter is better to us
I can’t wait to get more information on the two Port Orleans resorts. They are favorites for my husband and myself and we are waiting to have our years’delayed honeymoon there.
I am coming to WDW in July and will be staying on property at Shades of Green. What I’m mainly curious about is, of the hotels that are opening WILL ANY of the on property hotel spas be up and running also, if they are then will that include “steam rooms, saunas, and thermal pools”?
I’ve looked and even called to no avail.
I agree that if you are paying out the nose for a deluxe resort experience at Kidani or Jambo house, you should absolutely have some reasonable dining options available. Wish we hadn’t booked here for October but too late to change our plans.
Yes club level any info?? Please. Hoping for mid July
Why can’t I book the Polynesian for 2023? The booking availability seems a mystery
I read on another blog that they are waiting for Contemporary and Poly to get back to full availability. May or may not also wait for full park hopping. I was at The Contemporary last Sept (2020) and it was a def bummer needing the bus to EP. Going back this Sept (2021) but staying at the Beach Club. Hoping it is back up by then!
I hope to move from CBR to POR or POFQ during our Feb 2022 trip. CBR only had pirate rooms and preferred rooms available for the time we booked so it doesn’t surprise me that they need to open another moderate resort.
Do you think more inventory will be added for this coming fall?
Most likely not until they either finish (or mostly finish) the construction work behind Spaceship Earth. Maybe to hide any surprises? Disney has stated the work should be finished no later than early to mid 2023. I hope before then also!
ZW: The Mara is open for both breakfast and dinner. It’s just not open continuously from early morning to late at night. Plus all the DVC villas have either kitchenettes or full kitchens so guests can even prepare their own food.
I’ve stayed at Jambo House and Kidani Village a few times since reopening, and the biggest issue was the lack of dining options – currently only Sanaa and a pool bar. If they’re having DVC guests staying at both, they should have a reasonable dining option at both. I understand why they wouldn’t want to open Jiko or Boma (the former because there might not be demand, and the latter because of the buffet), but they could at least have the Mara as an option for Jambo House guests. I was really hoping they would have more options at AKL by November 2021, but it’s not looking good.
Eeeek! Ee are booked for Allstar Movies in a couple of eeeks. It would be great to be upgraded to the Grand Floridian. Lol!
Any insights on if/when club/concierge floors/rooms will come back? We are set for mid-September and booked through your team at the Beach Club but so far just 2 standard rooms. Hoping to convert those two club level by the time our trip comes around. Thanks, Mike
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Riverside for next August!!
Will the Monorail system ever return to Epcot ?