Disney's Art of Animation Resort is getting a significant overhaul, and now we know exactly when it begins. The Walt Disney World property is scheduled to undergo a "hard goods refurbishment" — a more thorough update than a standard refresh — starting in mid-June 2027 and running through October 2028. Crucially for guests, the resort will remain fully open the entire time, with Disney tackling one themed section at a time to minimize disruption.
The beloved room themes aren't going anywhere. Family Suites will stay themed to The Lion King, Cars, and Finding Nemo, while standard rooms will keep their Little Mermaid styling. Disney shared concept art for an updated Little Mermaid room at an earlier executive media panel, and by all accounts the new design is just as detailed — if not more so — than the current version, a reassuring sign for fans who worried the whimsy might be dialed back.
Beyond aesthetics, Disney is rolling out some practical guest-room improvements as part of this and future refurbishments. Complimentary bed bumpers for young children are already available, and stepstools will be added to all refreshed rooms going forward. USB outlets are also being incorporated into wall sockets to better serve today's travelers. Any construction noise is planned for daytime hours only, and guests may occasionally need to use alternate pathways while work is underway in individual sections.
The Art of Animation project follows a recently completed overhaul of the neighboring Pop Century Resort, where guest rooms, the lobby, and common spaces were all updated while the hotel remained open. Disney noted at the same media panel that the company has refreshed 10 lobbies and roughly 18,000 rooms — about 62% of all on-property rooms — over the past five years alone.
Planning Your Trip
Undercover Tourist is an authorized seller of Orlando theme park tickets, often at a discount off gate price.
Information for this story was sourced from Mickey Visit.
