Update: Though heavy construction continues on the exterior of the hotel, it seems that the construction within the lobby has ended and the construction walls have been removed.

Could one of the most ICONIC holiday displays in Disney World be in danger this year?

The holiday season typically brings a number of unique decorations and celebrations to Disney World. At EPCOT, 2023 will bring the return of the International Festival of the Holidays. This year, we’ll also see the return of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and the start of the NEW Disney Jollywood Nights party. The holiday fun extends beyond the parks with decor, snacks, and more at Disney Springs and Disney’s hotels. But we’re very worried about one particularly iconic holiday display this year…

Disney has already confirmed that holiday decorations including “gingerbread displays” will adorn some of the lobbies and guest areas in select Disney Resort hotels.

One of the most iconic gingerbread displays that typically pops up is the one at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa!

This gingerbread house is HUGE — taking up a good chunk of the hotel’s lobby. While the gingerbread house itself is covered in incredible details to look for, it’s also a functional space — serving as a spot where you can buy specialty holiday snacks.

In one update about the holiday offerings coming in 2023, Disney specifically included a photo of the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian Based on all of that, it seems that Disney is likely planning to bring back this epic creation in 2023. But we’re a little worried about this particular holiday offering.

Why? Well, the Grand Floridian isn’t exactly in its normal shape right now. There is a BUNCH of construction going on at the hotel at the moment. While some of that is taking place on the outside of the resort…

…there’s also a substantial amount of construction happening on the inside of the lobby — right where (you guessed it) the gingerbread house is typically constructed!

MAJOR parts of the lobby are currently surrounded by construction walls, covered in wood or other construction materials to protect the floors/carpeting underneath, and/or otherwise covered in tarps and more as construction work is done. Once the construction is all wrapped up, the Grand will have refreshed rooms.

The Grand Floridian lobby is also set to get some refreshed touches. Disney said that the new look of the lobby “will maintain the classic theming [guests] know and love with some fresh new enhancements.” Thus far, it’s not clear just how much of that refurbishment may be worked on or completed now, versus how much may be left for a future date. But what we do know is that the Grand Floridian’s lobby isn’t exactly in the right shape at the moment to host the giant gingerbread creation.

Now, it’s not all bad news. In 2022, we didn’t really see construction at the Grand Floridian’s gingerbread house begin until early November. That gives Disney a few months to wrap things up and get things in order within the lobby so that the gingerbread house can be constructed and opened here. The question is — can Disney make it in time?

We’ve seen Disney open certain things “on time” in the past, but other promises have been broken (remember that time when Disney said parking lot trams would return to all of the parks by the end of 2022, but 2 parks STILL don’t have trams and won’t have them until September 2023?). Construction schedules can get delayed or sidetracked for unexpected reasons and sometimes uncontrollable factors. Is it possible that Disney will hit a snag that’ll set back its construction and impact the gingerbread house built here?

At the moment, the future is unknown. Disney still has plenty of time (theoretically) to wrap up the construction that’s blocking the lobby at the moment, clean things up, and get things ready for the gingerbread house’s arrival. But, we’ve seen construction projects take MUCH longer than expected in the past (*cough* TRON *cough*) so anything is possible.

This gingerbread display is so iconic that we have a feeling Disney will be working diligently to make sure it returns, but we will certainly keep an eye out for more news to let you know what we find.

Interestingly, one of our team members has an upcoming stay booked at the Grand Floridian in mid-December 2023. Disney recently sent them an email saying “you will see or hear construction around Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa — including our lobby — during daytime hours.” It’s interesting that they sent such a message ahead of a visit booked for December.

Update: Though heavy construction continues on the exterior of the hotel…

…on a more recent visit to the Grand Floridian, we noticed that the construction within the lobby seems to have been wrapped up (for now anyway) and the construction walls have been removed!

That could be very good news for the future return of the Gingerbread House here! But of course, things are subject to change.

We’ll keep watching for any other updates.

In the meantime, click here to see a FULL LIST of changes announced for Disney World’s hotels, and stay tuned for all the latest Disney news.

Click here to get in the holiday spirit with some advent calendars on Amazon!

Have you ever seen the giant gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort? Tell us in the comments.