Art of Animation Room Refresh Gets Dates, Disney World Says Resort Will Stay Open

Disney's Art of Animation Resort is headed for a long room update, and Walt Disney World has now put firm dates on it. Guests planning stays from mid-June 2027 through October 2028 should expect phased work, with the hotel remaining open as crews move through the resort.

What Disney confirmed

Walt Disney World has posted an official notice for a room refurbishment at Disney's Art of Animation Resort. The project is scheduled to run from mid-June 2027 through October 2028, putting exact dates on the summer 2027 timeline Disney first shared during a May 2026 media briefing about its classic-attraction reinvestment strategy.

Disney says the work will be handled in phases, with one themed area refurbished at a time rather than shutting down the entire Value Resort. That plan covers all four lodging sections at Art of Animation: Finding Nemo family suites, Cars family suites, The Lion King family suites, and The Little Mermaid standard rooms. Disney has not said which area will go first, and it has not published a phase-by-phase calendar for the roughly 16-month project.

The company describes the update as a hard goods refresh. In practical terms, that means new furniture and fixtures, not just lighter cosmetic changes. It will be the first major hard-goods overhaul for the resort's rooms since Art of Animation opened in 2012. Walt Disney World also showed a piece of concept art to media earlier this year, but that artwork has not been released publicly.

What it means for guests

For travelers, the biggest operational detail is that Art of Animation is expected to remain open throughout the refurbishment. Disney's notice says guests may see or hear maintenance in the active work area during daytime hours.

That affects anyone booked during the project window, especially guests choosing the resort for a specific movie themed section. Because Disney has not released phase dates, future visitors do not yet have a way to match a travel week to a particular wing under construction. The phased approach should keep other sections open and bookable while work moves across the resort, but the current notice does not offer more precise timing by area.

So, the change that starts in mid-June 2027 is clear: Art of Animation's rooms are getting a resort-wide refresh that continues through October 2028. What Disney has not shown yet is what those refreshed rooms will look like once each section reopens.