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!
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.