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!
Hi Tom!
A friend just told me to look online because she saw the DVC side of Poly is closing for renovations. I found a brief post but nothing official. Any chance you can get your crystal ball to show you whether this will affect a December booking?
When do you think the monorail service will be available? We have a Christmas trip booked through DVC and don’t want to be disappointed…
Thank you JoS. Will take your advice and stay put in the Poly.
I really, really hope Port Orleans French Quarter opens this fall. We need more moderate options. Plus I miss the beignets!! Please!
Arlette: If you plan to use DVC points, you need to make your reservation no later than seven months out, closer to 11 months out is better. If you are looking at cash, SSR is a DVC resort that is sold out to owners. So you might not find much cash availability. It all depends on when you looking to book your trip.
We are finding no available villas at Saratoga Springs which is very unusual. Do you think it’s that busy or because all resorts are not at 100% occupancy?
It’s that busy, plus SSR has rooms out of commission for refurbishment–but it would be fully booked (or close to it) regardless.
Linda Friday, stick with the Poly. The kids will love the pools there too and taking the monorail will be easier than busses from AKL.
Port Orleans Riverside is has been being used for Cast Member training.
We have reservations for a week in mid October at Coronado Springs. We have always stayed at POR except for one time at Contemporary. We love POR! If POR reopens by October 1, will we be able to change our reservation? We have paid for a preferred room.
Would Disney reopen the All Stars without restarting the room overhaul? How long did it take at ASM?
Animal Kingdom Lodge opening up for Memorial Day! Hopefully this will further open up the restaurants, as that’s a great resort to visit for a couple of hours even if you aren’t staying there.
It’s great to see some hotels and restaurants opening back up, and gives me hope for our trip in the late summer. Did I miss an announcement or is it still prohibited to visit/dine at a hotel unless you have an ADR at a table service restaurant inside the resort?
Hi Tom – as always a great post !
As I have previously said we are travelling from the UK next April. This holiday was orginally scheduled for 2020 – then 2021 – now 2022! We were orginally booked into Animal Kingdom Lodge. When the booking was carried forward it was re- arranged for the Poly as AKL was not avaiable.
Having not stayed at either property before – plus the price hike each year I need advice.
Should we stick with the Poly or move back to AKL ??
We are travelling with 3 young children who love the pools ! HELP !!!
Tom, Any predictions on if or when Disney will release AP room discounts for late summer and fall?
Disney is in desperate need of another moderate resort that holds 5 guests per room. Caribbean Beach is constantly booked, or just not appealing, and it’s the only one at this price point that holds 5. They need to open POR yesterday!
Tom,
So I booked the Poly for Spring Break of 2022. I know, I know, it’s the the worst time to go…but being a New Englander, I will not go to Florida in the summer and my wife is a school teacher, so those are our only 2 options. I booked the Poly because this may be the last time we go in a while and I’ll be celebrating my 50th birthday and I want it to be special, plus my wife and son’s birthdays are in the first 2 weeks of April also so they will be celebrating as well. It’s so great that I’m celebrating my 50th the same time as Disney. I just looked now at the resort and there are no reservations available for the Poly for the April 10th week, so I’m glad I booked when I did. At the time, the only option I had to book was a standard view room. Do you think there is any chance I would be able to change that to a TPV, and if so, what’s the best strategy to do that? BTW, you’re blogs are the best. I view yours and the other real popular one with food, and I like to see the contrast of your posts and theirs. Please keep up informing us as you do. It really means a lot. Thanks.
Any rumblings about Top of World Lounge?
Thanks for giving me that info on the Poly. I wonder why they wait so long to tell people. Their engineers must know sooner whether or not they can make a deadline. It’s a lot of money to spend to find out you’re not getting the vacation you paid for, it specially when you keep asking for updates and everyone tells you everything is great and on schedule.
Now I’m getting nervous. Our reservation at the Poly is for August 5-9. We have always wanted to stay there! It would be such a disappointment to be relocated.
I’m really hoping for POrt Orleans Riverside opens soon!
Oops. I was wrong. Disregard my last comment. Ha