Disney World Resort Reopening Dates
Walt Disney World has revised the reopening timeline of its resort hotels, pushing back dates for a couple of hotels and removing them entirely for others. In this post, we’ll take a look at the schedule delay, why it’s likely happening, and offer some commentary about the changes.
To quickly recap, all Deluxe Villas and Disney Vacation Club resorts welcomed guests back at the end of June. (This includes the DVC wings of resorts listed as closed below.) We’ve done a couple of stays and have visited many of these resorts, and it’s clear that they are operating with a small fraction of their normal guest load. To that point, most have plenty of availability for the next few months.
Following that, Walt Disney World resumed operations at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Pop Century Resort as Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopened. Guests with existing hotel or vacation package bookings, regardless of where they booked, were relocated primarily to these two resorts, plus some of the DVC resorts. Beyond that, the other Walt Disney World resorts were given reopening dates…
Let’s start with a look at the resorts that are currently operating at Walt Disney World, followed by the hotel reopening timeline for August through November 2020…
Walt Disney World Resorts – Now Open
Here are the resorts that are currently open at Walt Disney World as of August 1, 2020:
- 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
- Caribbean Beach Resort
- Contemporary Resort
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge
- Old Key West Resort
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Pop Century Resort
- Riviera Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort
- Villas at Grand Floridian 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.
Walt Disney World Resort Reopening Timeline
Here’s the current timeline for Walt Disney World resort reopenings:
- August 24, 2020 – Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- September 21, 2020 – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- October 4, 2020 – Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- October 14, 2020 – Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- November 1, 2020 – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Additionally, the following resorts now do not have reopening dates, at all:
- Disney’s All Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
To be clear, this is not due to the NBA, MLS, or any other professional sporting event being held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. To the contrary, it’s worth noting that the resorts presently occupied by sports leagues are among the only resorts not seeing their reopening delayed.
This is presumably because those hotels have already resumed operations for the aforementioned leagues. It’s easier to just transition to regular guest operations than to undergo the process of shutting down followed by the process of reopening again later. (If anything, thanks NBA!)
While Walt Disney World might spin it differently, this schedule delay is all about demand.
Not only has Walt Disney World not filled up the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Contemporary, and Pop Century, but occupancy rates for on-property hotels are dropping rather than rising.
One thing we’ve noted is how Disney Vacation Club resort bookings would help backstop attendance. Due to the “use it or lose it” nature of points, DVC members have more of an incentive to visit this year than other guests. Because of the transparent nature of the room inventory for Disney Vacation Club, those bookings offer some insight into greater tourist trends.
In late June, we noted that there was still a ton of DVC availability for most resorts in July, August, and September. Way more than normal, which will present its own future problems (see our Disney Vacation Club’s Point Pool Problem). These months are all still wide open. You could book reservations next week for pretty much anywhere, which is something that never happens in a normal year.
At the time, October was the real turning point for Disney Vacation Club bookings, with that month plus November and December having far less availability. Consequently, we speculated that existing resort bookings for fall and the holiday season would account for around 5-10% of park capacity (meaning another 15-20% would be available for Annual Passholders).
Our expectation was that the remaining October through December DVC rooms would quickly fill up once the parks reopened and apprehensive members had the chance to observe Disney’s health safety protocol. Instead, here’s a glimpse at what inventory looks like as of this morning:
I wish I would’ve taken a screenshot of October through December when I checked inventory last month, but this is significantly more availability than a month ago. It’s also significantly more than at the end of last year or beginning of this year. (It should go without saying, but normally availability goes down closer to travel dates, not up.)
In fairness, this is Saratoga Springs Resort, but other popular resorts that would normally need to be booked 11 months in advance for some of these dates–like Beach Club, BoardWalk, Polynesian, Bay Lake Tower, and Grand Floridian–also have availability most dates. Only Disney’s Riviera Resort is light on availability, but most of its units haven’t sold and been declared by DVC, which is why it’s the outlier.
Keep in mind, Disney Vacation Club resorts are more likely to book up than other hotels at Walt Disney World. If this is how DVC availability looks, it’s safe to assume the situation is worse for traditional hotels.
In speaking to someone with knowledge of an on-site third party luxury resort, that’s exactly the case. After an influx of fall reservations when the reopening was first announced, occupancy rates there have plummeted as cancellations have far outpaced new reservations. Numbers are so low that a re-closing of that hotel for several months–not due to safety but due to economic realities–is now on the table.
Given all of that, it’s now our expectation that many of these resorts that have “TBD” dates won’t reopen this year at all.
We’d be surprised if any of the All Stars or Port Orleans Resorts operate in 2020 given the former’s reliance on special events and group bookings (all of which have been cancelled) and the latter’s layout and transportation. Disney’s BoardWalk and Beach Club Resorts seem more likely given their locations and that their sister properties are already operating, but who knows. (We really hope Wilderness Lodge opens.)
Of course, Walt Disney World could offer huge general public discounts to incentivize tourists to book trips and fill unsold hotel rooms. That’s exactly what Disney has done with the “Rediscover the Magic” Deal of up to 40% off Hotel Rooms for Annual Passholders and Florida Residents.
The problem with extending this deal to the general public is optics. Walt Disney World already was hammered in the media for reopening at the same time Florida cases spiked. Timing wise, it wouldn’t be a good look to offer deals enticing tourists to travel to a hotspot right now. And conversely, tourists are understandably unwilling to pay full price for a reduced experience. In the immediate future, there’s no good solution to this dilemma.
Ultimately, this is not a huge surprise given what we’ve observed at the Disney Vacation Club resorts, hotels, and in the parks thus far. In fact, the entire commentary section of this post was lifted from another post I’m in the process of writing: “It’s Eerily Uncrowded at Walt Disney World,” which discusses the current attendance levels, their sustainability, and predictions for the rest of the year. That should be coming later today, but then this news broke, “undermining” some of the speculation I made in that post.
Suffice to say, the trends we’re observing are concerning and could be a harbinger of more cuts throughout the Central Florida theme park industry. At least Walt Disney World is able to alter course here before reopening more resorts that would operate at a loss, with occupancy rates at a fraction of their normal levels. We remain hopeful that Walt Disney World’s safe and methodical phased reopening plan can continue, but we’re nonetheless nervous. It might be slower going than previously expected, as it’s simply not pragmatic from a business perspective to resume operations as “aggressively” as once planned. Stay tuned for more on this…
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? Disappointed that Art of Animation and the Poly are being pushed back? Think any of the TBDs will end up opening later in 2020, or are those resorts looking at 2021? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World this summer or fall, or are you waiting until next year? 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!
When modifying my Beach Club reservation I tried to move it to Later in 2020 or 2021 and res said no bookings being taken for Beach Club period! Makes me wonder if they are renovating!?
Tom, any word of point resale prices dropping? I would expect that to happen if supply far exceeds demand. (And it would be another indicator of level of demand, too.)
It hasn’t happened. Yet.
Well Tom, also take into account that all international tourists and DVC members (yes there are international dvc members who’d very much would like to travel if it is safe) are not allowed to travel to WDW, that also counts for some capacity drops. It’s all so sad but hey, we have hopes for next year…
We’ve stayed at the Polynesian and at off-site vacation homes and the latter is much better for us. With so much uncertainty about cancellations and distancing at Disney properties, and transportation questions, I highly recommend renting off-site. There are thousands of such properties within a 20-minute drive of the parks. A rental home is spacious, often accommodating 10 or more people, with a full kitchen, laundry, and many have fully screened-in pools, often heated (yes, you need that in Florida in the winter). A nice-sized rental house like that will run you about $1,200 – $1,500 for a full week; compare that with what you’ll pay for two or more small rooms at any Disney resort. No crowds, pool occupied only by your own family, and with either your own vehicle or a rental you have the simplest and healthiest way to get to the parks. Staying at the Poly was fun, walking to the TTC was nice, but we won’t do that again. The upside of staying in-world to us is far outweighed by the privacy, space, economy – and, now, safety – of staying in a vacation rental.
My family was booked for an 8 night stay on property next week with sit-down meal reservations at least once but often twice a day. We had to cancel because Disney banned n95 masks and my daughter’s allergies have made it so the n95 is the only mask that allows her to breathe comfortably and not build up pollen in her mask.
We are passholders and won’t be going back now until masks are not required and will not be renewing are passes in September. We aren’t afraid to travel with the virus, but it seems Disney can’t attract those who are afraid and is turning away those that would come.
I totally understand your daughters issue. I too am struggling with the masks but I am wearing them when I need to and avoiding going and staying out for long periods. We wore masks for 2 days at our local theme parks and I was soaked completely in sweat more so then normal due to the masks. I hope things get easier but I am not sure. Good luck. I wish the N95 were allowed. Mine all have the carbon filters which is more than I can say about the mere fabric ones.
We were at legoland this past weekend, and I like the way they were doing it. Everyone 8 and up were required to wear the masks. If you were walking and were 6 feet from everyone you didn’t necessarily have to have your mask on your face, but if you couldn’t maintain the distance, before you enter waiting ques, or before getting on any ride the mask were mandatory. It made for a better experience!
We had a June reservation pushed back to November due to the closure. However, the 30% discount on the room at beach club villas that we had for returning guests evaporated with the date change. It is insane to pay full rate for the hotel with reduced park experience. One advantage of staying within walking distance of Epcot is to eat in the World Showcase, which you now can’t do because of no hopper tickets.
Overall, without a reduced room rate or other incentives, this trip is going to be pushed back to next year. Of course if the pandemic is still in full bloom, no way would we go to the epicenter of disease regardless of cost.
My wife and I are booked for the All Star Movies resort starting Dec. 10th. Also we are coming in from NY. So, we have to watch for the possibility of the extension (again) of quarantine, as well as the opening of the resort. If the resort does not open, we assume Disney will decide where we will be staying — likely they will not cancel us — but I still would want a hand in the decision. The dates we made for reservations to the parks for when we will be there were somewhat dependent on where we were staying. (For example, the last day we are there, we chose to go to Hollywood Studios, as this is closest to the Movies resort and would have the most time on our last day than at any other park.) Does anyone know if Disney simply decides where you will go if the resort you booked is not open?
Same question! I’m booked for ASM in September. I likely will cancel, but was curious when I’d be hearing from Disney about the resort being closed.
My thoughts for what is worth …they will keep value for value, moderate for moderate and deluxe for dulexe. So value resort guest will
Be moved to Pop and/or Art of Animation unless they are out of rooms and the my best guess is they will likely move you to
a DVC resort room or Caribbean Beach Resort. It depends on availability.
I was switched to The Yacht Club. My original reservation was Wilderness Lodge. Give them a call they go on the level of resort you are staying at. My reservation is December 9 thru 16,. My wait time was less than 5 minutes. Good Luck!
Tom, I am trying to figure out how to help out some of my cast member friends who are in that 30% That have applied for unemployment and keep getting the pending response. They have had no income coming in for months now. With your background you might know how I could set up a go fund me page for at least the cast members that I know of that are in this situation. I am sure some of your fans also know cast members in this situation and would like to figure out how they could help.
So we have a reservation to AoA on 10/24-29. We are DVC but we don’t have points right now. Are they going to cancel our reservation or what do you think will happen?
If you don’t cancel your reservation, Disney will automatically rebook in comprarable-or-better accommodations at another resort. If you’re in a standard room, they’ll probably shift you to Pop Century. If you’re in a family suite, they may move you to a DVC villa. Either way, your rate will not change.
So glad I follow you and get updates! I got this email this morning and told my husband CALL and fight for what we want because they are going to move us. We had a family suite at AOA and were REALLY looking forward to the two bathrooms and the option of having transportation besides the buses- which I hate with a passion, but that’s a story for another time. They at first offered us a cabin at Fort Wilderness which I DID NOT want. I hate the bus system and here you have to hop on the internal bus to get to the station to take a bus to parks. As I already hate the way the bus transportation works, I was not a fan. We have stayed there before, didn’t want to again. They then offered us a smaller room at Caribbean Beach or a 1 Bedroom Villa at Kidani Village… I was very tempted to stay at CB for the skyliner, but the room at KV looked TOO amazing to pass up. Wondering if you or anyone else could give some info on the bus system here and if it would be quicker to take a car. I am hoping with the reduced capacity that the bus situation won’t be as bad as previous years. Also- do you know if they are planning on not sharing buses from Jambo House and Kidani. I’ve read that one bus makes stops at both, but with the reduced capacity I’m wondering if each one will have a dedicated bus. Thanks for any info you can provide AND thank you for the quick updates! I feel like because we were able to jump on it quickly we were able to secure something that better coincided with our wants/needs. THANK YOU.
I would just keep in your considerations that each bus can only hold a max of six parties, even if the party is one or two people.
I really love Animal Kingdom but the transportation situation is rough (it’s so, so far from Magic Kingdom! And then a lot of rooms in Kidani are so, so far from the bus stop!), so I’d probably seriously consider renting a car. (Plus, one less contact point in an enclosed space with other people.) When we went to Florida we got a crazy deal on a rental car because demand is low.
Most people I know that are going in the near future are local enough that they are driving down to avoid flying and avoid the bus transportation option. I’d say if you really despise the buses, renting a car you can disinfect and transport your family in through the trip is not a bad idea.
Are you flying or driving? Either way I would suggest taking the car instead of the bus. The underground parking garage makes it really convenient to get to your car from your room. I would also suggest taking a lot of food. You’ll have a full kitchen and there are very limited food options. Aside from limited food options, Kidani Village is terrific! I loved having the washing machine and dryer in the room so that I could wash our clothes when we returned from the parks each evening and you’ll still have the two bathrooms.
My husband and I visited WDW July 15 – 21 and had a wonderful time. We booked Kidani Village at the last minute through renting DVC points, thinking that if things ever felt too crowded for us, we could just hang out on our balcony and enjoy the savannah view. We are annual pass holders who live in Virginia. We drove our own car down – almost straight through, except one 15-minute break for fuel and restroom. We visited a park on five days, usually arriving in the morning. We were very pleased to see everyone doing a good job wearing the masks and social distancing. We sat outside to eat most of our meals, but we did do Skipper Canteen and Brown Derby for lunch to have a nice AC break. At both of those, I felt comfortable with the amount of distance I had between me and others. I had only two situations where I felt uncomfortable with how crowded it was. One was at Disney Springs. The World of Disney store was a little too crowded for us, so we left and took some take-out back to our savannah balcony. The other was at the resort pool in the early evening. Fortunately, I didn’t really care about swimming, because it seemed like a lot of people in the pool. (Keep in mind, I’m a little more cautious than most people I know.). There were, however, plenty of chairs in the shade had I wanted to hang out and read, etc. We had a salad and sandwich at the pool bar and really enjoyed that – again, plenty of tables spaced far enough apart – and we had the added bonus of seeing the okapi while we dined.
Assuming we don’t develop symptoms in the next couple of weeks, I would seriously consider going again fairly soon. It would be a last-minute trip again, allowing us to monitor the situation up until pretty close to time to go. And in case anyone is wondering, yes, we are staying home for 14 days.
I’m still trying to decide what to do. We have a stay at All Star Music in early December, so I’m thinking I need to switch the hotel reservation since there’s no set date for reopening. However, I don’t know if it’s worth the effort if we’re just going to cancel the trip anyway (assuming things do not improve substantially before then). I just want to enjoy the Christmas festivities at Disney!
Hi Tom,
We have Beach Club booking for September 13 and received email today that it would NOT be open that date and that they will contact us to opt for a different resort about a month before our date.
Thanks for all the wonderful info you both provide.
Debbie
For mid-May, 2021, the following resorts are available for booking:
Pop Century
Coronado Springs (NOT Gran Destino)
Art of Animation
Yacht Club
Contemporary
Polynesian Village
Grand Floridian Resort
Old Key West
Riviera
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Wilderness Lodge
Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Caribbean Beach
Beach Club Villas
Saratoga Springs
Ft. Wilderness Campsites
Cabins at Ft. Wilderness
Boardwalk Villas
Bay Lake Tower
Animal Kingdom Villas-Kidani Village
Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
Swan & Dolphin are both offering packages
NOT available for booking for mid-May, 2021, as of 7/27/2020:
The only difference between Tom’s list as of 7/27/2020, is:
Animal Kingdom Lodge
All the resorts listed on Tom’s list are also not available for spring.
To me, the change that jumps out is Beach Club not being available. If I had to guess, I’d say that the resorts which were just removed from the listing are probably the first ones up for re-opening.
The pushback of the ever popular Polynesian and the family-oriented Art of Animation, plus the taking off the table of Beach Club and Boardwalk Inn tell me that there’s no big demand for deluxe hotels that can’t be covered by what’s open plus DVC, and there’s no demand for family suites right now.
My guess is that this is a direct result of the current virus spike, not just in Florida, but around the country. It’s the old “foot bone’s connected to the leg bone” chain, with some Catch-22 thrown in for good measure. People aren’t going to back until they have a chance to have a full WDW experience, and they’re not going to go back with all the virus uncertainty. WDW isn’t going to restore the full experience until they have the demand to do so, and until the virus gets under control better than it is now.
So, I think any rebound WDW thought was coming has just been pushed back 2-3 months minimum, which creates for a very interesting Thanksgiving/Christmas/Holiday Season.
It also means that the odds of even better deals to spark the return to WDW of the general public is also going to be even more likely, but also possibly delayed so as not to get bad PR.
I’d love to see Disney offer DVC members a deal on an AP or similar reduced theme ticket prices. This would entice me to fly to Disney. Otherwise, even though the crowds are low, the experience isn’t the same for the $. I could be enticed with the right ticket offer.
They already do. DVC owners can purchase the Gold Pass which is normally just for Florida residents.
That pass has block out dates.
We used to get a discount on the AP without block out dates.
It would be nice for that to come back.
Tom, Thanks for keeping us all up to speed on Disney. Your civil and respectful approach is refreshing. Wondering if you have any insight as to why I’m finding no availability in Animal Kingdom Lodge for a family of 5 on 6/17/2021 – 6/19/2021. I was able to book Poly and Boardwalk for dates preceding that (split stay). Should I sit tight and keep trying or give up and try another location for those dates? sneyI’ve never been able to get into AKL so trying early. I’d be grateful for any advice you might have.
There may be other reasons people aren’t going. Please don’t jump on me, but a lot of people aren’t comfortable WITH all the safety precautions. Masks, 6 ft rule, temperatures, quarantines, so much sanitizing chemical. Its just wrong, and vacation should feel right.
I think that’s very true Steve. We have a trip booked in December and won’t go if masks are still in place. I guess I’m ok with sanitizing although I do worry we’re creating some major super, chemical-resistant bugs with all the sanitizing going on, but I digress. We had to wear masks all day last weekend in 90+ degree heat and none of us enjoyed it. When I go on vacation and spend tons of money, I just want to escape, relax, and not sweat until I break out like a 15 yr old again 😉 I also love seeing my family’s faces when we see something new or in all the photos we come home with. If we were locals and AP holders that would be different, but for a once every two years trip, it’s just not worth the money to be uncomfortable. And before anyone jumps on me, we follow all rules and regulations regarding masks and distancing, we just wouldn’t want to on vacation 🙂 Happy Disney-ing to all and I hope we get back to our Happy Place sooner rather than later!!
For any DVC people wondering. I called and cancelled a November 2020 trip yesterday. I was only on hold for about 3 minutes and the points that I borrowed from 2021 were put back in 2021 despite this being generally against the rules. Overall a great phone experience with the DVC rep.
Tom what do you think the situation will be for new Florida residents and annual passes? I’m trying to think about whether I should buy a 2 day pass or wait for them to sell these annual passholders tickets again.
Not Tom but hi Maria!
My opinion is that if you really really wanted to visit soon understanding fully what that experience would be like, and being totally OK with it… I would just buy and visit with the two-day pass. Otherwise, you’ll need a good dose of patience.
If you are OK with waiting it out indefinitely and would be a frequent visitor once you have one, then it would be worthwhile to wait for an annual pass when they are back on sale. This will likely mean things are more stable and potentially less restricted. But who knows when this may be an option?
My parents just cancelled a “point burning” DVC trip around Jersey Week, though that’s more because the 2+ hour waits now are still better than the 6+ hour waits when they cancelled our multi-family trip in May.
Good catch in regards to the NBA. The only remaining resorts to be opened this fiscal year (ends Sept 30) will have those opening costs paid for by the league!
Festivus Eve at Saratoga Springs is out this year. Sorry!