The Walt Disney World Resort is delaying the reopening of a few of its on-site hotels.
Last month, Disney announced a phased reopening plan for its hotels, with most of its properties reopening between June 22 and October 14. However, Disney now has pushed back or withdrawn the proposed opening dates for four locations.
The Beach Club and Boardwalk join Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Disney's Port Orleans - French Quarter and Riverside, and Disney's All Star Resorts in not having announced reopening dates. The Beach Club's sibling Yacht Club is one of three hotels currently hosting the NBA "bubble," along with the Grand Floridian and the Coronado Springs' Gran Destino Tower.
When the Disney World theme parks began reopening earlier this month, Disney had a backlog of thousands of postponed vacations that it needed to help guests to reschedule. But with international travel restrictions still in place and many Americans reticent to leave home or spend the money for a vacation in the middle of this pandemic, demand is down sharply across the travel industry. As of now, here are the proposed reopening dates for the remaining Walt Disney World hotels:
Already open:
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney's Pop Century Resort
Disney’s Riviera Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Reopening tomorrow: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Aug. 24: Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Sept. 21: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
Oct. 4: Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
Oct. 14: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Nov. 1: Disney's Art of Animation Resort
TweetThis article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
I'm curious if this is just a case of supply and demand or if Disney doesn't want to invest in retrofitting these resorts with the necessary safety features. My guess it's supply and demand, but I find it curious that they would further delay opening resorts that are either on the Monorail (Poly), Skyliner (Art of Animation), or within walking distance of parks (Beach Club and Boardwalk). It also seems odd that instead of reducing prices or providing complementary upgrades to guests that had their trips postponed, they are artificially limiting room supply to keep room rates essentially unchanged from where they typically are this time of year (and in some cases even higher considering guests cannot take advantage of the free DDP promotion).
Also, I believe I read elsewhere that CMs that are assigned to work at the affected resorts could put in to be reassigned to other resorts and/or positions.