To paraphrase the company’s founder, Walt Disney World’s flagship resort refurbishment will never be completed as long as there are lace doilies left in the world. After previously extending the project to mid-2026, the multi-year overhaul of the Grand Floridian that began several years ago has once again been extended to 2027. Here’s the latest.
This has been quite the project, soon entering its fourth CEO tenure. It actually started shortly before the closure of Walt Disney World with the Beauty and the Beast lounge, and continued shortly after reopening with more restaurant reimaginings. Then with the pause of what’s now Disney Lakeshore Lodge, the company determined it “needed” more Disney Vacation Club points to sell, leading to the DVC overhaul of the Big Pine Key building in 2022.
Following that, all of the outlying buildings in the hotel were redone in a similar style through 2023. Then there was an approximately two-year pause for reasons still unknown, before Walt Disney World resumed work in earnest on the main building overhaul last spring. That culminated last Christmas, with the grand opening of the Birdcage Bar and more.
The good news is that the Grand Floridian is no longer a construction zone. At least, not for now. There are a number of ways the Grand Floridian now looks and feels fresh, and is once again worthy of being considered the crown jewel of WDW resorts. See our Review: Walt Disney World’s Flagship Hotel Finally Fits Its Status & Sky-High Prices.
With the debut of the Birdcage Bar, only a few outstanding elements of the overhaul remained, and Walt Disney World updated the construction warning for Grand Floridian. Here’s how that looked as of November through the last week:
As part of the ongoing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, refurbishment work will continue in select areas through mid-2026. Guests may see or hear work during daytime hours. Efforts will be made to minimize disruptions, and most pools, dining, and other amenities will remain available for Guests to enjoy.
As renovations continue at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the gingerbread display will not be available during the 2025 holiday season.
Fast-forward to the first week of February 2026, and Walt Disney World has updated the construction warning again. Here’s the new one:
Renovations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 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.
The good news is that we are not expecting major guest experience impacts as a result of this project. The lobby is materially finished, and the only reason we’ve added the ‘materially’ weasel word is because, technically, Garden View Lounge hasn’t reopened and Grand Floridian Cafe is lobby-adjacent (see below for more on both).
But for all intents and purposes, the actual lobby is done. It’s unlikely anything major will happen here aside from Grand Floridian Cafe, if you even count that. The rooms are also completely finished, so it’s highly unlikely those or any other restaurants will be touched. From a guest perspective, your stay is unlikely to be adversely impacted in a major way by all of this.
Let’s discuss what work does remain outstanding at the Grand Floridian, and potential impacts from now through 2027…
Porte Cochere
While the bulletin indicates “select areas” (plural) will be renovated through early 2027, the porte cochere is the only one called out by name. It’s thus pretty safe to say this is one of the larger, if not the largest, project that’ll occur during the added ~6 months of the overhaul.
It could just be coincidence, but it sure seems like there’s a porte cochere team and check-in desk team competing with one another to see who can spend the most money. Rebuilding porte cocheres presumably costs a lot more, so my money is on that team. Joking aside, it’s an interesting window into current priorities and power at Walt Disney World. It’s fascinating how many of projects of this nature have been greenlit in the last several years.
We just saw the partial rebuilding of the porte cochere at Disney’s Beach Club Resort. This project didn’t garner a lot of coverage, but it was pretty ambitious for what was labeled a refurbishment. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Grand Floridian porte cochere is similar in scope and scale.
Frankly, the most disruptive part of the Beach Club porte cochere project was the timing. It was largely done during the summer through early fall, and pushing arrivals farther away from the front entrance into an uncovered area during the hottest and rainiest time was not ideal.
If Grand Floridian’s porte cochere will need to close during construction, my sincere hope is that this project either starts immediately or that they wait until like October. Hopefully it doesn’t need to close in the first place, though, as that could also impact the monorail station and there’s no indication (yet?) that’s going to happen.
Gingerbread House
Back when the lobby reimagining and the Birdcage Bar were announced, Walt Disney World also revealed that there would be No Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian for Christmas last year. Disney usually starts building this life-sized edible creation in mid-October, so it made sense that it wouldn’t appear.
However, it’s been our suspicion from the beginning that the Gingerbread House would never return to the lobby. As discussed in that post, it’s not a huge hit with everyone. Not only that, but the lobby is already busy thanks to the Birdcage Bar; bringing back the Gingerbread House would make it feel incredibly cramped, crowded, and chaotic.
Our hope is that the Gingerbread House returns to the Grand Floridian Convention Center at Christmas 2026, but it wouldn’t surprise us if that does happen. What’ll be interesting to see is whether this construction extension is used as justification for not bringing it back. Honestly, we’re also fine with some of the more far-flung resorts getting love.
Garden View Lounge
The Garden View Lounge has been closed since March 2020, and is finally reopening 6 years after closing, with new touches from Alice in Wonderland and a refreshed interior.
Walt Disney World has now announced that the Garden View Lounge will reopen on March 19, 2026. Advance Dining Reservations will open on February 19, 2026. This is sure to be popular, so get your ADRs ASAP if you’re interested.
In case you missed it, Walt Disney World recently posted the full menu, and the Tea Experience will cost $79 per adult or $49 per child. That’s pricey, but it’s actually slightly less expensive than we predicted. Less than Cake Bake Shop!
It’s also worth noting that work on Garden View Lounge is materially finished and has been since late last year, so none of the ongoing construction relates to that. The delay in reopening appears to be related to staffing and training of Cast Members, not the space itself.
Grand Floridian Cafe
Although the porte cochere is referenced directly in the new construction bulletin, it’s worded in such a way that it’s one example of ongoing construction (“select areas, including…” as opposed a statement specific to the porte cochere). We fully expect that the other main select area, that Walt Disney World just isn’t ready to announce for whatever reason, is Grand Floridian Cafe.
This is nothing new. As we’ve been saying for a while, one remaining piece of the puzzle after the Garden View Lounge reopens is Grand Floridian Cafe. It really sticks out in the redone hotel, looking like a vestige from a different era (the 1990s, not the Victorian era).
With Garden View Lounge reopening, I wonder if the resort will finally take Grand Floridian Cafe offline for an interior refresh. Honestly, I also wouldn’t mind a menu update–so long as my beloved Buttermilk-Fried Chicken stays. (At the very least, bring back the Lobster Thermidor Burger.)
Realistically, the most logical time to close Grand Floridian Cafe for refurbishment is after the Spring Break rush. We were previously skeptical that this timeline would be plausible while still finishing the overhaul by mid-2026. The extension through early 2027 makes that much more realistic.
This could easily be accomplished by reimagining Grand Floridian Cafe between mid-April and mid-October. We consider that to be about the optimal window for losing this fan-favorite mid-tier table service restaurant. Here’s hoping Walt Disney World agrees!
Ultimately, we’re cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the Grand Floridian reimagining, as a whole. Walt Disney World’s flagship hotel has been modernized nicely, with a good balance of elegance, sophistication, charm, and whimsy. It finally feels worthy of its status–and price tag.
The project’s extension through early 2027 is a bit disappointing from the perspective of further dragging out a project that has already been going on for a long, long time. But we also expect this to mostly revolve around the porte cochere, with the lobby not being impacted, unless you count Grand Floridian Cafe (presumably) closing and being closed off.
The bottom line is that, unless there’s an unexpected announcement from out of left field, we do not expect the ongoing overhaul at the Grand Floridian to impact the guest experience (except when arriving by car and first unloading luggage) at any point between now and 2027. We would not hesitate to stay at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort; to the contrary, we once again highly recommend it!
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
Thoughts on the overhaul to Walt Disney World’s flagship resort once again being extended, this time to early 2027? What do you expect to be added to the scope of work during that extra ~6 months? Have you stayed at the Grand Floridian since the lobby overhaul? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
Get our free newsletter!
Sign up for news, Disney deals & free planning tips
