2026-2027 Hotel Construction & Refurbishments at Disney World
Hotel refurbishments, resort construction, and character-inspired makeovers continue at Walt Disney World from now through 2027. 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.
Walt Disney World continues to undertake refurbishments in an effort to modernize or refresh several of its resorts, as well as finish deferred maintenance that was postponed during the phased reopening. Consequently, there’s a growing 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 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, starting with the latest updates…
Ongoing or Upcoming Hotel Refurbishments
Disney Skyliner – From January 24, 2027, through January 30, 2027, Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment. Complimentary bus service will be available.
Impacted Resorts:
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
We strongly recommend avoiding Skyliner resorts during this time, which does not include the Crescent Lake hotels. See Disney Skyliner Gondolas Closing for Quick Refurbishment in 2027 for more info and detailed advice.
All Star Movies Resort – Beginning in late May 2026, the rooms at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort will undergo planned refurbishment through the end of January 2027. During this time, Guests may see or hear construction work in the area, and alternate paths of travel may be in place.
This will almost assuredly by a soft goods refurbishment similar to the one recently completed at Pop Century. That means updating furnishings, including but not limited to wall coverings, flooring, linens, decor, and some furniture. The redone rooms at Pop Century look great: First Look Photo Tour of New Rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort.
This is also almost assuredly the start of a phased multi-year soft goods refurbishment to all of the All Stars. See Walt Disney World Gearing Up for Years-Long Value Resorts Room Refurbishment, Likely Lasting to 2028 or 2029 for more.
All Star Sports Resort – From now through late April 2026, the Surfboard Bay Pool and the kiddie pool at Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort will be closed for maintenance.
During this time, the Grand Slam Leisure Pool (pictured above) at Disney’s All-Star Sports will continue to be available. Additionally, Guests are welcome to use the other pools throughout Disney’s All-Star Resorts, including the Calypso Pool, Piano Pool and kiddie pool at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort; and the Fantasia Pool, Duck Pond Pool and kiddie pool at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.
We’re big fans of the Grand Slam Leisure Pool, but it’ll probably be busy as a result. Accordingly, our second-favorite All Star pool is Calypso Pool at Music. Duck Pond at Movies is also a winner.
Animal Kingdom Lodge – From now through May 2026, guest rooms at Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge will undergo refurbishment, followed by refurbishment work at Jambo House from May 2026 through January 2027. During these times, guests may see or hear construction work in the area. All amenities will remain available throughout the refurbishment.
We covered what to expect from this construction at length in Room Reimagining at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge through 2027. What’s still unclear about this project involves the hotel side of Animal Kingdom Lodge, or just the Animal Kingdom Villas. The latter is the DVC side of the resort, and what is overdue for a refurbishment. Even so, by the time the DVC work is done in 2027, the hotel rooms might be due for another refresh.
Beach Club Resort – This hotel is undergoing visible exterior maintenance through late 2026, which will impact views from various locations throughout the resort, and at times, require alternate paths of travel.
As part of this work, the Tidal leisure pool will be closed for routine maintenance through early May 2026. Guests may see or hear refurbishment work in the area until the work is complete.
BoardWalk Inn – Throughout 2026, refurbishment work will take place in select areas of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. While Guests may see or hear work during daytime hours, most Resort amenities—including dining, recreation, and merchandise locations—will remain available.
Walt Disney World still has not revealed what, exactly, this project entails. Based on what BoardWalk needs done, there’s a wide range of possibilities. At minimum, we know it’s a major project by virtue of it lasting throughout 2026. As for possibilities, see our comprehensive discussion in Big BoardWalk Mystery Construction Project in 2026.
From January 11, 2027 to April 2027, the Luna Park Pool, the Luna Park Crazy Play Area, and Leaping Horse Libations at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn & Villas will be closed for routine maintenance. Guests may see and hear construction until the work is complete. However, the Villas Pool and the Inn Pool will remain open for Guests to enjoy.
Luna Park Pool is the feature pool at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, and it was last redone back in late 2020 to remove the “creepy clown” from the water slide. Hopefully this project is to reinstall that beloved, dead-eyed, spaghettios-haired clown!
Contemporary Resort – From now through late 2027, refurbishments will occur in select areas of Disney’s Contemporary Resort—including Bay Lake Tower and the main A-frame atrium. Please allow for extra travel time. Guests may also see and hear construction during their stay.
This multi-phased project has been underway for over a year already, and previously revolved around BLT. That’s finished now, and the description has been updated to drop the Convention Center and add the atrium. No visible work has begun in the A-frame, but is expected to start soon.
Additionally, from now through early May 2026, the Bay Cove Pool, the water play area and the whirlpool spa at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will temporarily be closed for maintenance. The Bay Lake Pool, the Cove Bar, the feature pool, the water play area and the whirlpool spa at Disney’s Contemporary Resort will remain open for Guests to enjoy.
From now through Late May 2026, there will also be exterior elevator landing repairs taking place at Bay Lake Tower. Consequently, the Skyway Bridge connecting Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary Main Tower will be closed Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., reopening daily after 5 p.m. and remaining available evenings and weekends through May 1, 2026. Guests may need to use alternate paths of travel at times and may see or hear construction activity while work is underway.
Fort Wilderness Campground – Walt Disney World has introduced New DVC Cabins to Fort Wilderness Campground. More than 350 new cabins have replaced the old cabins, turning the resort side of the campground into a Disney Vacation Club property. This occurred loop by loop over the last two years and is now finished.
From now through mid-2026, construction will take place near the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool area. The Meadow Swimmin’ Pool and Wilderness Swimmin’ Pool will remain open for Guests to enjoy. During this time, seating availability around the Meadow Swimmin’ Pool may be limited and Guests may see or hear construction in the area. The nearby tennis courts, volleyball court and the Meadow Playground may be closed temporarily. Please note that Guests may see and hear construction in the area until the work is complete.
Right next door to Fort Wilderness is the construction of Disney Lakeshore Lodge (formerly Reflections), which has now reached its top height of 10 stories tall! This quite literally towers over the Settlement area, and construction has an outsized impact on Fort Wilderness guests, as cranes build that massive new resort about 100 yards from Fort Wilderness.
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.
As part of the ongoing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, refurbishment work will continue in select areas, including the porte cochere, through early 2027. Guests may see or hear refurbishment work during daytime hours or need to take alternate paths of travel. This project was recently extended from mid-2026 to early 2027 with the “including the porte cochere” line.
As part of this work, from mid-July through October 2026, Grand Floridian Cafe will temporarily close for a refresh. During this time, brunch will continue to be offered but will temporarily move to Cítricos. All other dining locations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will remain available for Guests to enjoy. Guests may see or hear refurbishment work during daytime hours and may need to take alternate paths of travel.
The main fruit of this project is the lobby overhaul, which is now completed. This includes “The Perch,” or the Birdcage Bar that replaced the iconic aviary in the lobby.
Old Key West Resort – Now through late April 2026, the South Point Pool and Spa, BBQ area and playground at Disney’s Old Key West Resort will be closed for routine maintenance.
During this time, Guests may see or hear maintenance activity during daytime hours and are encouraged to use the Sandcastle Pool or one of the resort’s other two leisure pools – the Turtle Pond Pool and Miller’s Road Pool.
Speaking of which, this follows the completion of the Turtle Pond Pool, Turtle Pond Pool Spa, the BBQ area refurbishment. It seems that Old Key West might be doing a phased refurbishment to its leisure pools.
Polynesian Village Resort – The good news is that the Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows between the existing Polynesian longhouses and Wedding Pavilion, near the Grand Floridian, is now open. The bad news is that work at the Polynesian isn’t finished.
Through 2026, some areas of the Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows are being refurbished. This work includes the reconfiguration of the front entrance roadway and bus area. While construction activity will be noticeable during daytime hours, efforts will be made to minimize disruptions.
Walt Disney World filed permits for a new entrance to the Polynesian (which would also impact the parking lot and bus loop), and there’s major work being done to re-route and expand Floridian Way, so that’s probably what’s referenced for the construction and refurbishments through 2026. This will be a lengthy project that is very minimally impactful to both the Poly and Grand Floridian.
Additionally, some views of the theme parks and other surrounding areas may be impacted. This is now noticeable around the Great Ceremonial House, to the point that Walt Disney World is warning guests who book ‘Ohana about impaired views of Magic Kingdom. Although this impacts ‘Ohana, we recently dined at the adjacent Tambu Lounge and enjoyed unblemished views.
Finally, there’s a new construction notice that was just added: from May 11, 2026 through late June 2026, the boat dock at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will undergo routine maintenance. The dock will be closed and boat transportation to suspended from May 11-June 5, 2026. Please allow for extra travel time when arriving at or leaving the Poly.
We’d recommend heeding this ‘allow extra travel time’ warning, especially when leaving the Poly during peak periods. We already encountered long lines more than once for the monorail at times in April 2026, and that was before the boat dock refurbishment started. Without that to help absorb some of the crowd, the monorail station will be even busier.
Pop Century – From now through late April 2026, the kiddie pool deck at Disney’s Pop Century Resort will be closed for routine maintenance. During this time, the Hippy Dippy Pool and all other amenities will remain available. Guests may see or hear maintenance activity in the area during daytime hours.
The good news is that Pop Century is otherwise in tip-top shape, with the year-long resort refurbishment having wrapped up. We stayed at Pop Century this month (April 2026) prior to the pool deck closure, and the resort is looking fantastic!
Port Orleans Riverside – Walt Disney World has started its next slate of room reimaginings at Port Orleans Riverside, from now through August 2027.
The first phase of this project, impacts the Magnolia Bend rooms, which are mostly the Royal Rooms. When Magnolia Bend is done (which should be really soon), it’ll be time for Alligator Bayou to receive its next round of room redos and crews will move to that side of the resort. Accordingly, making a room request for Magnolia Bend in Spring 2026 and beyond will mitigate exposure to the second phase of this project.
Although not officially confirmed, it’s a near-certainty that the normal rooms in Alligator Bayou receiving a hard goods refurbishment is the second phase of this project. See Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort Room Reimagining Extended by Year-Plus to 2027 for more.
Saratoga Springs – Through mid-September 2026, The Turf Club Bar & Grill and The Turf Club Lounge at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa will be under refurbishment. During portions of the refurbishment, some areas will be temporarily closed, including:
- Through early August 2026: The Turf Club Lounge (The Turf Club Bar & Grill will remain open with a pop-up bar serving a modified Lounge food & beverage menu)
- Early to mid-August 2026: The Turf Club patio
- Mid-August – mid-September, 2026: The Turf Club Bar & Grill (The Turf Club Lounge will remain open)
Turf Club Bar & Grill is the restaurant itself, so the notable portion of this refurbishment doesn’t start until August 2026 and should wrap up in the span of a month. Fortunately, there’s ample options a short walk away at Disney Springs.
The tennis courts at Saratoga Springs are now closed for refurbishment and are expected to reopen in June 2026. During this time, the basketball court will also be closed.
Wilderness Lodge – Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge are undergoing exterior refurbishment work expected to continue through late 2026. These enhancements may impact views from various locations throughout the Resort. While most resort amenities will remain available, Guests may see and hear construction work during daytime hours.
The exterior work could actually impact Wilderness Lodge until 2027 if permits are accurate. As we discuss in greater detail in this post about Wilderness Lodge construction, that doesn’t really give us pause about staying there. With room requests, you may not notice any of the work at all.
In addition to this, there’s the above-mentioned resumption of work on Disney Lakeshore Lodge on the former River Country water park site. That will be less impactful to guests staying at Wilderness Lodge than Fort Wilderness, but there will be audible and visible construction from the Boulder Ridge side of the resort, especially.
From now through late July 2026, the boat dock at Wilderness Lodge will undergo routine maintenance. The dock will be closed and boat transportation temporarily suspended through May 1, 2026. This is the second phased closure of the boat dock this year, and bus transportation was available as an alternative during the first. We’d expect the same this go-round.
Yacht Club – Disney’s Yacht Club Resort is undergoing visible exterior maintenance through late 2026, which will impact views from various locations throughout the resort, and at times, require alternate paths of travel.
As part of this work, from now through early May 2026, the Admiral leisure pool will be closed for routine maintenance. Guests may see or hear work in the area during daytime hours until the refurbishment is complete.
In addition, Crew’s Cup Lounge is now closed, and is expected to reopen in May 2026. Following that, Yachtsman Steakhouse will temporarily close for a refresh in May 2026 and is expected to reopen by August 2026.
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 this year or in 2027? 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!
Port Orleans French Quarter Pool Maintenance from Jan through to April 24 – Are the maintenance timelines ever quicker – we go 22nd April
so for a few years in a row, the skyliner has been down for a week in late January which was announced very far in advance. I haven’t seen anything about that yet for 2024. would you expect the skyliner to still be closed that week?
Just wanted to share that if you’re traveling to a resort that’s undergoing construction with someone who is unusually sensitive to noises or on the autism spectrum, if you let the GM know in advance, it’s not guaranteed, but they will do their best to keep you away from the loud areas. We were at the GF during renovation and did not hear a thing.
Hi Tom,
We are making a visit in September, recently planned. We typically do a park day, pool day, park day etc. as being older we just cannot do park after park. Would you consider doing a post on best hotels on disney property to visit maybe because their theme and decor is interesting to look at or they have great shopping etc. because I would find it useful to visit a few resorts on our off day just to soak up some atmosphere. We are staying on property at Saratoga Springs and will visit Disney Springs but I can see us doing a hotel day and would love some suggestions.
Will the pool refurbishment at Caribbean Beach last through all of April? We’re planning a trip for mid-April and had been leaning towards CBR over Pop specifically because of the pool…
We have a trip planned for the end of april. Disney website says late March now:). Fingers crossed!
The gold that I mined from this particular article (there’s always gold in Tom’s articles) is PICKLE STUFFED CORN DOGS. Believe it or not, this has been on my bucket list of things to try since I read that they were at some state fair or something. Yes!! Thanks as always, Tom, for updates large and small.
Incidentally, though, and more subject-specific: All of those stark-white, no-frills beds all look so blah. I suppose it’s so the washing of all the sheets are interchangeable? I know it’s Florida, but it makes me cold just to look at them and imagine sleeping in them.
I’m trying to book a dinner at Citricos for this summer. It’s seems no dates are available. Is the restaurant closed?
I stayed at Beach Club May 1-4 2023 on the 4th floor and heard VERY LOUD construction above us. It started before 9 am. We called the lobby and were informed they were working on the villas/rooms directly above us.
Hi Tom, love the blog!
I was wondering if your April 3rd reopening date for Fort Wilderness pool is accurate? I am hoping it is! The WDW website says “early April” and we have a trip planned for April 11th. Hoping the pool area is up and running!!
Thanks!!
Some 40+ years ago, my family visited Disney World and stayed at Contemporary. Both my husband and myself are architects. We were impressed by Disney’s “urban planning” experiments – particular in the hotel structure being a “mega-structure frame” insert with pre-fab hotel suites. Now my grand son is interested in architecture and urban planning. Where can we get information of Disney “Pre-fab units” and “mega-structure frame” construction details and development? How well the system function? Has it been re-used or improved? Time flies, but Disney is still ahead of time. Love to learn more.
We stayed in Boca Chico at GF last month. Rooms imo are drop dead gorgeous! The rooms kind of feel like the “old Disney “ in terms of theming. The Mary Poppins art it is lovely but subtle and a penguin shaped lightbulb in the chandelier is a priceless touch.
We have another stay booked for when Narcoossee’s is up and running again. Citrico ‘s was delightful.
Any thoughts on what’s going on at Kidani in 2023? I just booked two nights there in March and this message was active. The only information that I can find on Kindani refurbishment relates to the work done in 2022.
“From February 1, 2023 through September 2023, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village will be undergoing refurbishment. During this time, you may be able to see and hear construction during the daytime hours.”
We have had our stay booked for awhile for March and that message just popped up. We have a little one who needs naps and planned to spend more time at the resort than most probably do. Upon a Google search, WDW news today is reporting it’s a roof refurbishment.
is there any time frame when Animal Kingdom resorts Kadani and Jambo house will be up for refurbishment. I have been a member there since 2012 and I have noticed peeling of walls and vanity items in the bathroom walls falling off. These resorts definitely need an update.
Jambo was refurbished in 2018-19
Only the cash rooms at Jambo were refurbished. Eric Peters is referring to the DVC rooms it sounds like. Eric – the DVC rooms were due to refurbished this year but it appears they’ve pushed the refurb back to 2024.
I agree, we love kidani but after our last stay in. 2021 my husband said he didn’t want to stay there again until it’s refurbed. The master bathroom in particular is really feeling old 🙁
Some adds: At this point, I believe that Boca Chica is also done at the Grand Floridian, and work on Boulder Ridge renovations continues to progress.
Additionally, at the DVC annual member event in early Dec, the renovations at Beach Club and Boardwalk Villas were listed for 2023, with the Contemporary’s Bay Lake Tower (which is in definite need of an overhaul) on the books for 2024.
Yep–covered all of that in this post: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-vacation-club-resort-refurbishments-construction-timeline/ (as mentioned up top). 🙂
Appreciate the clarification, and I’m sorry I missed that notation at the top. Generally speaking, though, why separate out the construction/room refurbs for non-DVC hotels/sections of hotels and DVC? They’re all bookable using dollars and those considering a stay in one may certainly “cross shop” another. For me, a holistic understanding of the latest and greatest in Disney resorts is definitely valuable.
Hi Tom. This article refers to 2022/23 hotel refurbishments but the comments for Port Orleans French Quarter says the pool will be down from January 2024 to April 2024. Is the 2024 a typo? Trying to figure out if we need to change hotels if the pool is down in 2023. Thanks
There was work being done at the Dolphin around the beginning of October. While mostly limited to the convention center area (and whatever they did to the Fountain’s ice cream counter), it was impossible to walk directly to the Yacht Club. I had to cross over to the Swan and walk towards the Boardwalk Inn to get to Crescent Lake. (Until that work is finished, the “five minute walk to WDW transportation hack” only works from the Swan.)
We are scheduled for a 1-bedroom in Boulder’s Ridge 4-10 december. Do you think this will be impacted by the refurbishment? What happens in those cases in your experience?
Rather than the ugly DVC tower at the Polynesian, they should have built a second DVC tower at the Contemporary in place of the garden wing. Two matching towers would be better overall at that resort.
I love the Garden Wing!
Hi Tom, there are reports that refurbishments started today (August 16, 2022) at Boulder Ridge Villas. Do you have any scoop on this, and how long these types of refurbishments usually take?
We are booked to stay at The Boardwalk Inn in September for our 30th anniversary. It’s first time we will be staying there and I read it will be refurbished. Any idea of exactly when this Fall? Are they nice or just really old hence why they need to be refurbished? Was hoping for a really nice place to stay. And right now there isn’t any availability at the Beach Club or Yacht Club. And we would prefer to stay at an Epcot resort. We usually stay at Swan or Dolphin and I know there not owned by Disney but they use to use the Disney busses. Just found out at our stay there last week that Swan and Dolphin no longer use the Disney Busses (just the boats) and their new bus drop offs are terrible compared to the Disney ones. We were told that these resorts (Marriot chain) did not renew their contract for the Disney busses when they re-opened after the shut down.