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!
AKL rooms look great. I hope when refurbishments are done at any deluxe resorts, they are including the DVC villas in these.
Hi. Planning on coming to Disney in 2021, thinking either May or September. Does anyone have an idea if the refurbishment of the All Star Music Family Suites are likely to be finished by then? Currently can’t decide between there or Art Of Animation but if there’s a risk of getting an older style suite at All Stars I know where I’d rather stay.
We are booked for All Star Music first week
Of September, Standard room. Is there a certain building we should request if we want to try for a refurb? I don’t know what buildings contain the diff room types!
Thanks!!
Does anyone know if the Jazz building at All Star Music has been completely refurbished yet? I understand the Calypso building is completely done but have not seen any updates on if or when the Jazz building may be completed? We have a trip booked for Sept and thinking of switching to a suite at Music, however the old suites at Music are horrendous so I’m not willing to switch without a guarantee of a refurbished suite and can’t get a guarantee without all the suites being completed.. lol Anyone have any inside info for me? Thx in advance.
Does anyone know when they are going to refurbish the Saratoga Springs Resort and spa?
Saratoga Springs rooms are currently under renovation, with the Congress Park section done. I am not sure of progress on other sections, but you can read a great review of the renovations right here on this very blog:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/new-rooms-saratoga-springs-resort/
Thank you that info is very helpful.
Just tried booking a room for November at Polynesian and only villas and Bungalows available. Then looked both backwards and ahead and found same for middle of September through middle of December! Didn’t see anything about refurbishment there – anyone know what is happening?
Make sure you’re looking at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Not Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows
Only the villas at Polynesian are open. The main hotel is not taking reservations. This is the same situation at the beach club.
No update on the grand Floridian walkway to magic kingdom?
We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge last week. Unfortunately, we had a room on the 6th floor directly underneath the rooms being remodeled. Our room was basically unusable during the day due to the tile removal and floor scraping directly above. It was impossible to even have a conversation, yet they were fully booked so we weren’t able to change rooms until the last day. I would have thought they would know not to book rooms adjacent to construction, but it doesn’t seem like they cared much.
I have stayed at most of the resorts over the years, most recently Lion King and Cars Suites at AoA, and I find the renovations at the resorts to be cold, sterile, and unimaginative. I hate the lack of carpeting even though I know it is popular now and easier to keep clean. But I know these changes are not meant to please a 70 yr. old and will be beloved in memory by those visiting now someday. Times change. 🙁
My whole family is going May 2021 and planning to stay in Art if Animation – 2 suites and I am so excited any thoughts? I already saw the big blue pool will be refurbished starting in fall of this year but didn’t say for how long my guess is 4-6 months.
Thank you. If anyone knows differently please let Laura and I know.
Just booked club level for Beginning of December 2020. Would you estimate that we might benefit at this time with new rooms? Obvious just a guess but just curious of your professional thoughts!
Everyone has their own tastes and needs. I HAVE to get away from all the Disney over stimulation, We love OKW because it’s relaxing and gives you time to chill without always seeing so much colour and stimulation for the kiddies to just keep bouncing off the walls. That is why they have different places. Thankfully otherwise we’d have to stay offsite!
I really really hope that once all is said and done, Ft.Wilderness returns to the Serene getaway that it’s always been. We absolutely love it there. We would stay there even without going to the parks. Ft.Wilderness is like the place that time forgot and I want it to stay that way…and I think the majority of the regular guests would agree.
We have a trip to Disney planned for this summer. Arriving July 6th until July 17th. We will be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in a Pool View Room. Is this area under construction? Have all the rooms in this area of the lodge been refinished/updated? Have all the rooms at Jambo House Lodge been redone? Jambo is the main lodge, right? In advance, thank you for a response.
I chatted with a cast member on the Disney website a couple of days ago about construction at Animal Kingdom Lodge (because we are also staying there in 2020), and she assured me that there are no construction projects currently happening at that resort. I would assume that means that the construction talked about in regards to Animal Kingdom in this blog post has been completed. Hopefully the person I spoke to was correct!
The website folk have no idea what is going on at the resorts. Call the onsite front desk for current info.
I was just there the second week of December and there were entire sections of hotel rooms walled off for renovation.
I’m not sure what’s up with the DVC Value Studios. Those should not be under renovation so soon after they just had one.
Hello,
I am planning a trip to Disney for the middle to end of October. I was hoping to stay at the Wilderness Lodge but am concerned about the renovations. Since they are starting now is it likely they will be mostly completed by October or not a chance? Still worth staying there? Looking online, there aren’t very many room types available for the dates I’m looking to go, so I’m wondering if there won’t be as much space as usual. Thoughts?
Thanks for your advice!
We are staying the week of November 29th. Surely they will be done by then, right??
Have you been to Animal Kingdom Lodge recently to confirm that the construction is still underway? I was chatting on the Disney website with a cast member today and, because we are considering AKL, asked when the construction at Kidani Village was expected to be finished. The cast member I was chatting with said that there are no construction projects currently happening at AKL. Then I read this, and now I’m concerned that maybe the cast member I chatted with was incorrect?
I called too Laura (also planning a spring 2020 AKL stay) and it sounded like they had no idea. At first they said there isn’t any construction at AKL, but it soon became clear the two people I spoke with were unaware of any of the ongoing or recently completed projects at AKL. I explained what work was being done and I asked to speak to someone on property who could look out the window and confirm whether the lobby exterior is covered in scaffolding, etc. They were unusually unhelpful, and essentially said they don’t know, they aren’t told timelines, and they will no longer transfer calls to the property as of last month.
We were just there last month. Our room at Jambo faced Kidani. The first two days, there was scaffolding and porta-potties outside of Kidani, but they were gone later in the week. We never saw any further signs of construction in either Jambo or Kidani. We left on Dec 22.
We are going back on Feb 6 – 12. Remind me then and I’ll give it a look. But there was nothing going on at all that was disruptive there.
Lissa- You are currently at AKL as per your post. If it is not too much trouble, much inconsistency on what TRULY is happening with continued room refurbishments: or are they complete; other construction projects: Villas (namely value studios and Jambo House Villas) and anything else at AKL, AKL-Jambo House Villas, and Kidani Villas. So much confusion and a set of eyes there now might assist. Thanks! Have a grand vacation!
The new hotel at the Fort Wilderness area is named Reflections? Obviously Disney is not familiar with the Senior Assisted Living group that uses Reflections for their Dementia category. Maybe they should have done more research?
Greetings from Canada!
First all I just want to say I love your newsletter! So very informative.
We will be staying at the Beach Club Resort, garden view in July. Can you recommend a room that has a good view? This will be our first time at this resort.
Warm regards,
Tara
I called to book a bunk bed room at Wilderness Lodge for end of April 2021, I was told they’ll all be gone by then, so sad my kids love that
Had a great visit the second week of December 2019. Stayed at POP and loved the new rooms and the skyliner was great!
A couple of disappointments which emphasis the need to always double check information. We had lunch at Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge and were disappointed because we could not see the animals because of the construction. All we could see were the giraffe heads above the screening as they walked by. We had picked the restaurant to be able to view the Savannah.
another disappointment: we went to Fort Wilderness to visit the Draft Horse Barn but it was closed (actually in doing research after discovered it has been closed since August 2019). The draft horses have been moved off property. It was recommended by a Disney staff person who didn’t know it had been closed.
Love this blog because it helps eliminate surprises and make choices. Thanks!
Do you know when the Broadway and Jazz buildings at All Star Music is supposed to be done? We are going in May and would love a new room, but wondering if it’s worth it to switch to Sports to not have to deal with refurbishment at all?
Boma restaurant does not have a view of the Savannah. It can be viewed from an area just off the lobby, or one can walk down the halls to any of several viewing/sitting areas. There’s another viewing area behind the pool, by the hot tub and playground as well.