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 have a reservation for All Star Sports for December 2021 and I have not received any communication from Disney. I just called Disney reservations and the employee said that she had not heard a thing about the opening being delayed.
I am booked in February at Sports and haven’t heard anything yet.
Thanks Tom. I saw a post from someone who has a reservation for April and they have been notified. Mine is in May. Thanks again.
Thanks Tom. I saw a post from someone who has a reservation for April and they have been notified. Mine is in May. Thanks again. I appreciate all you do.
@Mandy – I would book one night at an off-site hotel just to be safe if you’re set on flying on the 21st because of the cost of the flights. I’ve already flown in late on a Friday night and stayed at the hotel inside MCO and taken the Magical Express in the morning for check-in. Or you could try to book the Swan & Dolphin if you have an earlier flight and want to be on Disney property. If you book refundable rates you can cancel the off-site hotel if/when a room opens up. My December plans have more flexibility now so that’s what I’m doing (just booked a Disney Springs Hilton yesterday) and will keep checking back on DIsney’s site.
@Tina – I’d assume that they’ll find somewhere on property for you. It could be that they blocked out those dates for new bookings because they know it’s a high volume week and they’ll get you accommodated before taking any new bookings. I worked in the travel industry prior to COVID and that how resort closures worked for us.
My husband and I are going to WDW the week of Thanksgiving and staying at Saratoga Springs. We are currently booked Monday 22nd -Monday 29th, and had been waiting for flight prices to drop so we could maybe add on another day to our trip. Flight prices dropped today, and we are now trying to go Sunday 21st-Monday 29th. We called Disney and there is not one hotel room available for the night of the 21st, at any Disney resort. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Do we think rooms will open up?
i routinely go to disney right before Thanksgiving. Most times i look there are no hotels available at all for the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Today i saw there was Key West for 700 a night and Animal Kingdom villas for 900 a night?
Do you have any information as to this?
That is very high considering we also cannot book a dining plan which i also used to do
I was booked at All star sports for April 2022 and received the email yesterday about changing resorts
I was booked at All Star Sports for the week after Christmas. I got the notification yesterday that they weren’t reopening. Currently there are NO available rooms for that time frame. Do you think Disney will accommodate us and find something or should I be thinking about alternate dates?
Tom, how long do you think Sports will be delayed?
If they aren’t opening it for the busy Christmas season, there’s probably no point in bringing it back in January or February…so likely March at the earliest.
Booked at Music Sept 27-30 and nothing has changed. I called customer service to check & they told me there is no delay in the opening.
I have an All-Star Music reservation for November 14th-21st & haven’t heard anything from Disney yet. We will see what happens!
Any speculation on why there seems to be lots of availability on line in early October, but virtually nothing in early November??
I think there is an issue with the WDW website. I’m a TA and when I look through the TA website for Disney, all star music has availability all round. Opening weekend has rooms. The week before the 50th still has rooms at the summer discount rate. But when I look at the standard site it shows nothing. I think there’s a glitch in the system.
We’re taking our daughter for her birthday in January 2022 and we’ve booked a Royal room at Riverside – I was so excited to read that a refurbishment to those rooms was likely taking place! Are you thinking it will be more like a soft goods refresh or something more?
I think the price gouging has alot to do with this. Maybe they might want to rethink this before they blame masks.
My niece and I had reservations for All Star Music for October 8-12th. We got a call from Disney Reservations asking if we’d like a complimentary upgrade to Caribbean Beach which we were happy to do since that was our first choice originally. The Reservationist was very vague about why they were making the change but she was very pleasant!
My group had 4 reservations for All Star Music for Oct 14-18. We got a call Monday 8/23 from Disney wanting to upgrade us, originally some of the reservations to Caribbean Beach and some to Art of Animation. We worked it out that all 4 would be moved to the same place, Art of Animation in the Cars Family Suites. The Disney call agent couldn’t say why we were being moved, but I assume it was due to Disney not being ready or willing to reopen All Star Music during our reservation dates.
I’m booked for Oct 12 at Music and haven’t heard anything from Disney.
I was just checking out your Priceline tip and am seeing All-Star Music on there in September. Checked the same dates (9/25-9/29) on Disney’s website and it was there as well.