Things at Disney World are constantly changing.
Whether you’re looking to stay at a Disney hotel during your next visit, or just looking to stop by to grab a meal at one of the hotel restaurants, these are the 5 updates that could change your vacation plans.
1 — Lots of Changes at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows are currently open and available for guests. Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (meaning non-Vacation Club rooms) was most recently set to reopen on October 4th, but we shared with you yesterday that the resort will not be reopening until summer 2021.Â
While the resort is closed, refurbishment work will be completed. As part of the refurbishment, guest rooms will get a Moana-inspired makeover. Enhancements will also be made to the Great Ceremonial House. Work on this project is expected to begin in October.
Also in October, the Monorail station at the Polynesian will close temporarily and remain closed likely until 2021. But, bus transportation to Magic Kingdom will be provided to guests at this hotel starting in October. Monorail access is one of the greatest perks of staying at a deluxe resort like the Polynesian, so if hopping on the Monorail every morning to rope drop Magic Kingdom was part of your vacation plans, you’ll have to consider whether you should stay at another resort.
If you were planning to stay at the Polynesian Resort in 2020 or even early 2021, your vacation plans will definitely be impacted by these changes. Disney will be accommodating guests who are affected by this at a different Disney World Resort hotel for no additional charge. If you had an upcoming reservation at Polynesian Village Resort, keep an eye out for an email from Disney.
Although the Villas and Bungalows will remain open, guests staying there will also be impacted by these changes. Parts of the hotel, including the Great Ceremonial House, will be undergoing refurbishment, meaning there will likely be a bit more noise and commotion in those areas at certain times of the day and shopping and dining in this area could potentially be impacted.
Other guests will be impacted by these changes as well. If you had plans to end your Magic Kingdom park day with a quick hop on the monorail and dinner at Kona Cafe, that won’t exactly be a direct option anymore. Guests will still be able to take the monorail or ferry from Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center, and then walk over to the Polynesian, but it would just require a bit more planning and effort.
Once construction is complete, however, fans of Moana may actually want to change their reservations to be able to stay at the Polynesian instead of whatever hotel they were booked at to enjoy the remodeled spaces. We’ll definitely keep an eye out for any more updates from this hotel.
Click here to learn more about the refurbishment coming to the Polynesian!
2 — Temperature Checks at Disney Resort Hotel Restaurants
In July, Disney announced that it would be instituting temperature screenings for guests dining in table-service restaurants at Disney Resort hotels. Guests have to undergo these screenings prior to entering dining locations.
Any guest with a temperature of 100.4 F or above is then directed to additional rescreening. If their temperature remains high, they, along with their party, won’t be permitted to enter. Temperature checks are now required at the theme parks, Disney Springs, and table-service restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort hotels.
The temperature check is just something to keep in mind as you make your plans to dine at a hotel restaurant. Most importantly, you’ll want to be mindful that if anyone in your party has a temperature of 100.4 F or above, your entire party will not be allowed to dine at the restaurant.
Click here to learn more about temperature checks in hotel restaurants
3 — In-Room Dining
Room service has been unavailable at all Disney resort hotels since the reopening.Â
But, recently we got confirmation that in-room dining had in fact returned to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The room-service menu is currently limited, but it is still interesting to see that it has returned.
While we have not seen any official announcements from Disney, it’s possible that in-room dining will slowly begin again at other resorts on property. If you love sleeping in late, ordering room service, and enjoying a relaxing meal in your resort room, you’ll definitely want to keep in mind that this is not an option at any of the Disney hotels except the Yacht Club at the moment.
But, it may become available in the future. This may be a particularly nice option for those guests looking to enjoy a meal in a more private location for purposes of maximizing social distancing. We’ll definitely be on the lookout for more updates there.
Click here to learn more about in-room dining returning to Yacht Club!
4 — Hotel Reopening Date Changes
Aside from the Polynesian, other resort hotels have had their reopening dates change in the past. Initially, Art of Animation Resort was set to reopen on August 12th. Now, Art of Animation is set to reopen on November 1st. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is currently scheduled to reopen it’s non-DVC rooms on September 21st, and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is set to reopen on October 14th.
Although Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s BoardWalk Inn were both supposed to reopen August 24th and October 1st respectively, they have now both been removed from the reopening calendar. The All-Star Resorts are still awaiting reopening dates as well.
As we noted before, things in Disney World are constantly changing. So, it’s possible that some of these resorts’ reopening dates will be changed, and it’s possible that those resorts that have been removed from the reopening calendar will remain closed for an extended period of time.
We’ll definitely be watching for more updates from Disney to see if they issue any updates related to these resorts. While Disney’s Yacht Club Resort did in fact open as scheduled recently, it’s possible that more changes are still in store for those resorts that have not yet reopened.
Click here to learn more about the delayed hotel reopenings
5 — Resort Hopping: Can You Do It Anymore?
If you’re like us, grabbing lunch at one resort, merchandise at another, and a mid-day snack at a third sounds like a dream day. We could easily spend our entire vacation just enjoying the resort hotels. But, can you resort hop anymore with all of the new rules in place?
According to the Disney World website, just to get INTO a Disney World hotel right guests will need a confirmed room reservation, or a confirmed dining reservation (if you’re a day guest not staying overnight).
So, can you really resort hop anymore? The answer is yes and no. Our experience has really varied depending on what resort we’ve tried to get into. Oftentimes, it depends on the Cast Members you encounter when you’re trying to enter the resort.
One of our biggest recommendations to accomplish your resort hopping plans is to have a dining reservation or a Mobile Order placed for pick-up at the resort you’re trying to visit. Generally, the Cast Members we’ve encountered have been fine with us being at the resort if we were dining in or picking up some delicious treats.
Keep in mind, it’s also easier to hop to certain resorts like those on the Resort Monorail loop or those with access to Disney’s Skyliner because you can avoid having to use a car or rideshare to get there. Other hotels, like the Beach Club and Yacht Club are also easy to walk to from EPCOT.
If you don’t have a dining reservation, you can now put your name on a waitlist for some resort restaurants which could also enhance your resort hopping experience. If you love to spend some of your vacation exploring the resorts, just be sure to keep these rules in mind. If you’re driving to a resort in your own car or through the use of a rideshare service, be prepared to potentially be turned away if you don’t have a reservation or mobile order.
Consider visiting the resorts that are easier to access without your car if you want to simplify your resort hopping experience.
Click here to read our other tips regarding resort hopping.
We’re always on the watch for more updates and changes affecting the Disney parks and resorts. Keep coming back for the latest in Disney World news.
Click here to read about the 6 biggest changes Disney World has made since the reopening!
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Will you be staying at or visiting a Disney resort hotel during your next visit to Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
Lani Beltrano says
We enjoy going to Fort Wilderness Campground to see the Halloween and Christmas decorations at the campsites. Is that possible?
Bruce says
We stayed at WDW in August. We had no problems resort hopping. We parked at HS and went to all of the Skyliner resorts. We did a split stay at BLT and the Poly so we had no problem touring the monorail resorts. We were able to drive over to WL and eat at Geyser Point. We also drove to AKL but we had an ADR for Sanaa.
Steve McDonough says
Wondering what is going on with the Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. We had reservations at the Riverside for December and were moved to Coronado Springs but cannot book these for 2021 yet.
Are they being refurbished? We are concerned as that has been one of our favorites and have stayed there many times.
Travis says
Are you allowed to hop on any resort bus from Disney Springs or are you needing to prove reservations prior to boarding the bus? Scanning of Mickey band?
Lorna says
I am considering a Disney vacation week of Dec 7 , 2020
Can you tell me what hotels will be open to stay at ?
DFB Sarah says
Lorna, you can find information about hotels here.
DFB Sarah says
Travis, they are not checking for Resort reservations when you board.
DFB Sarah says
Steve, we don’t have any update on the Port Orleans Resort. To my knowledge, we haven’t heard about renovations at the Resorts, and Disney hasn’t released reopening dates.
DFB Sarah says
Lani, you could use Disney transportation to go between Resorts.
Margaret says
I have also been wondering about Port Orleans – we changed our December reservation to Art of Animation. My big question is: With the resort staying closed, will somebody – anybody – start offering Mickey Beignets?
Louise Gregory says
Hi! Any word if/when the boats between the Poly, Magic Kingdom and Grand Floridian will begin running again?
Thanks,
Louise
Zaundra says
Can you find out about Ft. Wilderness? We were there last week for 11 days and half the resort was closed off but when you try to book it says no openings.
DFB Sarah says
Louise, as far as I know, we don’t have any new information on that. DisneyWorld.com still just says water taxis are unavailable.
DFB Sarah says
Margaret, at this time, we aren’t seeing Mickey Beignets anywhere.
SueBlue42 says
Beach Club Villas also offers the same room service menu as Yacht Club. It mostly contains items from the Ale and Compass menu – flatbreads, cheeseburger, pasta, truffle fries, 9-layer cake, mango spice cake…
DFB Sarah says
Thanks, SueBlue42!
Janice Stewart says
We stayed at the Swan on August 22-23, we walked to the International Gateway (Friendship boats not operating) to get onto the Skyliner to have breakfast at the Riviera Primo Piatto (quick service). The cast member was reluctant to permit us to board the Skyliner. After he consulted another cast member we were permitted to board.
Great breakfast and a walk around the resort.
Returned to the International Gateway to go to EPCOT and saw the same reluctant cast member and informed him about our time. It was all good.
Nick says
Bring back In-Room Dining Already!!! Considering how hard it is to get a reservation, they should have room service. Expensive hotels and no in room dining is just insane. Room service would help make them money and keep guests happy. I am going to the Poly in Oct and now with the ongoing construction, no in-room dining, and lack of splash park is really starting to grate one me. We were hoping to do a staycation but that now seems unlikely since no Twilight Feast, no splash park, no monorail, and construction at the Ceremonial House. Disney needs to start offering room service and have their restaurants offer to-go. This will help bring in more money and keep guest happy since getting restaurant reservations are insanely hard to come by.
Nick says
Hi Louise, Ferry service will only be running to the Poly since they are losing the monorail for now. I am pretty sure they are the only resort with a boat ride, unless you walk to the Poly or TTC to take the ferry.
DFB Sarah says
Nick, Table Service to Go just appeared on My Disney Experience today!
Bruce says
Janice Stewart, how were they checking? We rode the skyliner the week before you were there. We stayed at the Poly and drove to the DHS parking lot . We rode the skyliner to every stop and were never questioned.
Deanna says
Port Orleans Riverside is in fact under refurbishment. We were booked there and got moved to Beach Club and now more than likely getting moved again.
Deaun says
We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge Kadani Village sept 21-27th and our temperatures were never checked. Also ate at a few restaurants at Disney Springs and never had a temperature check at any of them, the only temp checks were at the parks.
Sadly food was scarce at the resort, and it wasn’t until half way thru our stay they realized they had many guests that were hungry and angry so they kept the store and pool bar (4 food options) open until a whopping 9pm 🙄
Lines for any type of food/snacks/drinks were extremely long at all 4 parks since most walk ups aren’t opened and capacity has been significantly raised.
I suggest anyone going take food and drinks with you.