2024-2025 Hotel Construction & Refurbishments at Disney World
Hotel refurbishments, resort construction, and character-inspired makeovers continue at Walt Disney World through 2024 & 2025. This resource provides info on room renovations, what to avoid, where to book, and what to expect in terms of hotel work at Walt Disney World. (Updated November 26, 2023.)
Walt Disney World continues to undertake refurbishments as staffing shortages preclude full occupancy of the resorts. Consequently, there are a number of smaller-scale projects that take certain buildings or a portion of rooms out of commission as part of more-targeted, rolling refurbishments.
We do Walt Disney World monthly hotel stays, usually emphasizing resorts where there are new things, changes, or ongoing construction to see how that harms, improves, or otherwise impacts the guest experience. If you’ve yet to book a hotel for your upcoming Walt Disney World vacation and want to be notified about all of the latest resort changes, sign up here for our FREE Disney newsletter here.
When booking a Walt Disney World vacation, we highly recommend taking into account recently-completed and ongoing construction projects at the various resorts, as these absolutely can impact the quality of your trip. Booking a hotel with a closed pool or construction noise and cranes right outside your window is obviously going to be a worse experience than a resort that just finished its big refurbishment and still has that fresh feeling and ‘new hotel’ smell.
Note that this does not include DVC villas if they do not impact the hotel side of a resort. For those projects, see our 2024 Disney Vacation Club Resort Refurbishments & Construction Timeline. That covers all of the room reimaginings at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond that we just announced at the condo association meeting. Those projects also impact Boulder Ridge, Bay Lake Tower, and both Crescent Lake DVC resorts.
Suffice to say, a lot is happening on the hotel front at Walt Disney World. Let’s take a look at all of the current and upcoming major hotel projects that have the potential to impact guests…
Ongoing or Upcoming Hotel Refurbishments
All Star Movies – While the room renovations at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort are now finished, more updates are expected in the next couple of years.
Looking way down the road to early 2025, the Fantasia Pool at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort will be closed for routine maintenance from January 2025 through April 2025. Guests may see or hear construction work during daytime hours. During this time, hotel guests are welcome to swim in the Duck Pond Pool at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.
NOTE: This refurbishment was previously scheduled for Winter 2024, but bumped to 2025. Just drawing your attention to that, as literally the only thing about the bulletin that has changed is the year, the months and all other details are the same. Just one full year later, which is a pretty big difference, but an easy one to miss!
Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resorts – Bad news, as the Disney Skyliner Gondolas Close for Routine Refurbishment in Early 2024. Closures will occur in phases from January 16-27, 2024.
This routine downtime of the “Most Magical Flight on Earth” affects all of the Skyliner routes and resorts. These gondolas service two Walt Disney World theme parks (Hollywood Studios and Epcot) plus four resorts (Art of Animation & Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, plus Riviera Resort & Caribbean Beach again) via 5 stations.
We strongly recommend switching resorts if you’re staying at a Skyliner hotel during those dates. As discussed in that article (link above), the Skyliner is the selling point of those resorts, and why they charge premium prices. We’d also recommend not booking any of those resorts in mid to late January 2025, as another Skyliner refurbishment is likely at that time.
All Star Sports – The room refurbishment at All Star Sports is now almost totally finished.
This wrapped up at most buildings by early this year, but they still haven’t started on Building 1 for some reason. No clue why–it would’ve been done by now if they stuck to the schedule.
Beach Club Resort & Villas – The soft goods refurbishment and lobby refresh of Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Villas is now finished. Not much changed–there’s new carpet in the hallways, and inside the room the carpet has been replaced by a laminate flooring.
There’s also new furniture–chairs and couch–as well as new curtains, Donald Duck wall art, and other refreshed surfaces. That’s all I noticed. These rooms were bland before, and they’re still pretty bland now–but minus carpet and plus better on-theme artwork.
With that said, a huge closure is on the horizon: Stormalong Bay Pool is Closing in 2025 for Refurbishment. From January 2025 through May 2025, Stormalong Bay and Shipwreck Pool at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts will be closed for routine maintenance. Guests may see or hear construction work during daytime hours. During this time, Guests are welcome to swim at the Tidal, Admiral and Dunes Cove leisure pools.
BoardWalk Inn – This resort is current in the midst of a multi-year reimagining. No timeline has been given for when the work will end, but our expectation is mid-2024. The room renovations are now finished (see our Review, Photos & Videos of the New Rooms at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn) and work is occurring along the BoardWalk itself.
Walt Disney World is also adding and changing elements of the beloved turn-of-the-century promenade and inside the Deluxe Resort, including a new lobby design, nearby coffee bar, delectable dining options, refreshed guest rooms, and more.
Inside Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, it’s difficult to discern whether work on the lobby is finished. Carousel Coffee has opened and Belle Vue Lounge has been refreshed, with both being done in half-measure. It seems that the same has also happened with the lobby, but it’s truly tough to tell. Very little changed.
The biggest project at the BoardWalk is the new Cake Bake Shop Restaurant will replace ESPN Club, and is slated to open in early 2024. (Judging by the actual pace of progress, it may slip into spring or even summer.) This isn’t the only new “restaurant” coming to this area: pickle-stuffed corn dogs (you read that correctly) will soon be coming to the BoardWalk courtesy of Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs.
Caribbean Beach – The Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort have been retired and have been all replaced by ‘Under the Sea’ Inspired Little Mermaid Rooms. Crews have since moved on to other buildings around Caribbean Beach and are doing soft goods refurbishments to those. We’re pretty sure this is also finished–we didn’t see any construction here in November 2023.
From January 2024 through April 2024, the Fuentes del Morro Pool at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will be closed for routine maintenance. Guests may see or hear construction work during daytime hours. During this time, hotel guests are welcome to swim in any of the 5 leisure pools at Caribbean Beach Resort.
Fort Wilderness Campground – Walt Disney World announced New DVC Cabins Coming to Fort Wilderness Campground. The proposed plans call for more than 350 new cabins to replace the existing cabins at the resort, turning the resort side of the campground into a Disney Vacation Club property. In so doing, a “collection of improvement projects” are underway at Fort Wilderness aimed at enhancing the guest experience, including proposed pool and walking trail improvements.
Work on the Disney Vacation Club cabins has not yet started, and the current cabins are still available to reserve through late 2024. This makes sense, as the current cabins were pre-fabricated off-site and installed unit-by-unit, not built on location. The same will almost certainly be true of the new cabins–it’ll be a matter of swapping out the old cabins for the new ones, which will likely occur in phases next year.
To prepare for the influx of DVC guest$, Walt Disney World reimagined the restaurants in Pioneer Hall. That work is now finished, and both Crockett’s Tavern and Trail’s End have reopened. The latter is now quick-service and a grab-and-go marketplace instead of sit-down restaurant.
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – Disney Vacation Club overhauled the Big Pine Key building of hotel rooms at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort. This building has since reopened and the new rooms have debuted–see Grand New Rooms at Walt Disney World’s Flagship Resort for a look inside.
These reimagined rooms have since debuted on the regular resort side of the Grand Floridian, and all of the outlying buildings are now finished. Crews have now moved into the main lobby, which is being done in phases. Crews paused their work for the Christmas 2023 season, and we’re anticipating that they’ll resume in January 2024. How long it’ll take is anyone’s guess–it really depends upon how involved the project is. We’re guessing it’ll last for at least the first half of 2024.
We’re also guessing that 1900 Park Fare and the Grand Floridian Tea Room will not return until after the reimagining is finished. In a logical and ideal world, those venues would be reimagined alongside the lobby, and open in time for Spring Break 2024. At present, there’s no indication that’s the intent–no construction activity has been observed in or around either.
Grand Floridian will receive a substantial overhaul with “Enchanted Gardens” as the unifying visual style. The scope and scale are not yet known, but the most likely scenario is the main lobby receiving an aesthetic and new carpet comparable to the smaller outlying buildings. See our Grand Floridian Resort Reimagining Report for more details.
Polynesian Village Resort – Walt Disney World is building a new DVC tower at Polynesian Village Resort between the existing Polynesian longhouses and Wedding Pavilion, near the Grand Floridian.
In light of this, Walt Disney World’s official site has this message: “As we prepare for the proposed expansion at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, you will see and hear construction at certain times of day. To minimize disruptions during your stay, activities that may create noise will not start earlier than 9 a.m.”
If you’re staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort anytime in the next 2 years, we’d recommend requesting a room that is not in the Aotearoa, Fiji, or Tuvalu longhouses. Those buildings are adjacent to the construction site, and the only ones that should be impacted in any material way. The DVC tower construction is visible from other locations in the resort, but the impact is otherwise minor.
Actually, we recommend avoiding the Polynesian completely for the next year. As explained in Worst Hotels at Walt Disney World for 2024, the construction impact will be ongoing and it’s likely that smaller projects will be undertaken in addition to what’s already been announced to prepare the resort infrastructure for the tower and its added DVC guests.
Prior to this tower, work wrapped up on the Great Ceremonial House, porte-cochère, new monorail station, and gardens. Room refurbishments were also part of the Poly’s overhaul and those are now finished. See our Review, Photos & Video: New Moana Rooms at Polynesian Village Resort for a tour and thoughts on the changes from our most recent hotel stay.
Port Orleans French Quarter – From January 2024 through April 2024, the Doubloon Lagoon pool at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter will be closed for routine maintenance.
Guests may see or hear construction work during day time hours. During this time, hotel patrons are welcome to swim in the Ol’ Man Island pool at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside. (That’s about a 10-15 minute walk from Port Orleans French Quarter.)
Yacht Club Resort – No room refurbishments or common area construction scheduled in 2024.
However, the same Stormalong Bay Pool closure that’ll impact Beach Club will impact Yacht Club in 2025. We’d avoid staying at both resorts during that project unless significant discounts are offered. That’s one of the main selling points of these hotels, and its ‘value’ is built into room rates.
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
Have any recent observations or experiences with hotel construction at Walt Disney World you’d be willing to share? Where at Walt Disney World are you staying in 2024 or 2025? Any resorts you’re intentionally avoiding? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments of these resort refurbishment or reimagining projects? 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!
We just checked out of the Grand Floridian on Monday August 8th
Now Boca Chica building is closed and is receiving the same new, beautiful renovations that Big Pine Key did
A Bellman told us every single building will be completed by October 2023.
Main building will be last
Such a bummer about CBR! We already booked full price rooms there for next March break!! I wish you could use any of the resort pools at Disney if you are staying onsite! At least the ones in the same category! ie if you’re staying at a moderate hotel then you can use any of the moderate pools.
We are paying a lot of money to stay onsite and it stinks not to have a themed pool. We are somewhat limited to the hotel we stay in because we are going with another family that has three kids. Disney sure doesn’t make it easy for families with more then two kids!
Thanks for the update Tom!
Just reread and the dates are for 2024!!!! Yeah for me!! However, I still think if you stay onsite you should be able to pool hop between the same category of hotels!! It’s unlikely many would be it could be “sold” as an onsite perk!!
It’s odd they keep restoring the garden wing at the Contemporary. They need to build a matching second DVC tower.
@Jill -thanks!
Looking forward to the convenience, particularly after the Christmas party. 😉
We are staying at Contemporary for the first time in a few months. Looks like the construction is finished there for now. I hear you can walk to MK from there- any truth to that?
Absolutely! It’s a nice easy walk.
Hello Tom!!
I would like to know if Disney’s All Star Sports is still under refurbishment…
If yes, do you know which areas? I’m heading there in a few days so just want to be prepared
Thanks
Tom, It appears the Wilderness Lodge Creek and waterfall are under refurbishment. Do you have any details on when it will be back up and running?
Unfortunately, I do not.
That’s something Walt Disney World would consider routine maintenance and they don’t provide timelines for that type of work.
CBR offered me a. pirate Room for September 2022
We snagged an amazing deal at CBR back when the skyliner construction was taking place. Any construction discounts expected with the projects you outlined (especially interested in the Poly)?
HAHAHAHA! Discounts and Poly. Sadly, no that isn’t a thing. They are sold out for most days through the year and into 2023.
“Beyond this, it’s rumored that Grand Floridian will receive a substantial overhaul in 2022 or 2023 with “Enchanted Gardens” as the unifying visual style. This could encompass the lobby, guest rooms, and more.”
Oh, wow! Is this a new rumor, or did I miss the post about this?
Hi Tom, in regards to the Treehouse Villa pool; is a refurbishment.just a general clean-up? I’m hoping it will stay the same and not a complete reimagining as its one of my family’s old favorites. Enjoy the blog, thanks for your hard work its appreciated!
FYI – Pirate rooms are back in inventory for mid-November 2022
Anyone have any new updates on AKL and the kindani village pool update. It’s completed but I can’t find reviews or pics of it. Thanks.
ALL Contemporary garden Wing rooms are remodeled? or are there at least one that does not have the Incredibles theme? This is so frustrating…
Garden wing rooms are not Incredible’s themed at all. I believe they’re like a modern black and yellow scheme. Pics are up on Disney contemporary site.
I stayed in the Garden Wing in April and it was Incredibles themed room. They were in the midst of refurbing more rooms.
Hello
I’m coming in February. With 5 people
I’m looking for 2 rooms but only want newly refurbished rooms from the past month or so
Can you help?
Thank you
I truly value you insight. Thank you. In doing research I noticed another blog that literally lifted almost word for word this particular post on their site. Minus your lovely editorial comments, clearly your information posted as their own. No reference given to you, Perhaps that is not truly a concern of yours but was startled when I read it knowing hmm…I already read this and alas I had because it was yours! I don’t wish to be critical online nor accusatory, but if interested in knowing the “other” source feel free to e-mail me.
Any more info on the Beach Club permit that was recently acquired?
I am happy for all the refurbishments. I stayed at Saratoga Springs the time before last and I love the rooms. The Murphy bed is such a huge improvement to the pull out cough. Now I have to tell you. I just recently stayed at my other home resort Animal Kingdom. I believe it’s time they take a look at restoration there. I noticed some things that are broken, worn out. Its time.
We have reservations at Board Walk for September….not sure if I want to keep it. No wonder the price was decent for a deluxe.
Hi Tom,
Have you heard if the main pool at Caribbean Beach Resort is going to be closed for rehab? I received my final itinerary for our trip during the summer and under the arrival date (July 8th) it says “Pool will be closed for rehab). I am hoping that this is not so and just something that they have not taken off their form letter.
Thanks for the great job you do.
The good thing is CBR has lots of quiet pools if main pool is closed. We found that both times we stayed at CBR we used the quiet pools a lot.