Walt Disney World launched room recategorization data for the mid-tier resorts, with modifications occurring for 2026 bookings. The brand new choices will likely be provided at Caribbean Seashore, Coronado Springs Resort, and Port Orleans Resorts – French Quarter and Riverside. Listed below are full particulars plus a number of key takeaways about this initiative.
In keeping with Walt Disney World, the modifications are being made to 2026 bookings to simplify room classes and to enhance friends’ check-in expertise. To perform this, Disney will likely be adjusting the room classes at Average Resorts, which incorporates Disney’s Caribbean Seashore Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort—French Quarter and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort—Riverside.
The primary room classes shifting ahead are Normal Room, Most popular Room, or King Mattress room (Normal Rooms supply 2 queen beds by default). Walt Disney World additionally revealed that choose Average Resorts will proceed to supply further classes–for instance, the “Royal Visitor Room” class at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside.
Room classes have gotten sophisticated on the Average Resorts, which have been categorizing rooms by location and consider. Which means that the above room classes beforehand existed, however so too did choices like “Pool or Water View.”
Walt Disney World friends will nonetheless have the ability to make particular requests throughout the check-in course of or upon arrival. This consists of resort buildings, views, ground numbers, and even particular room numbers. As all the time, particular requests should not assured and are topic to availability. Moreover, the request should fall throughout the class booked–that means you possibly can’t e-book a Normal Room after which request a selected room quantity that’s really a Most popular Room.
We extremely advocate making room requests, particularly on the sprawling Average Resorts. See these posts for recommendation:
We’re hoping to have one thing related for Port Orleans Riverside as soon as the continued room refurbishment is full. I feel it’s considerably overkill for French Quarter, as that extra compact resort doesn’t actually have areas to keep away from, per se. Room requests there ought to be rather more intuitive.
This room recategorization is hardly stop-the-presses information, but it surely caught my eye and there are a number of fast takeaways value sharing:
First, that is very clearly nonetheless a piece in progress.
When looking for rooms on disneyworld.com, each the previous and new classes present up, making it arguably much more complicated earlier than. Extra notable, although, is that there isn’t a lot availability for a lot of dates and resorts.
That is virtually definitely an error. There’s merely no manner resorts are already completely offered out for random nights within the low season throughout September 2026. It’ll be months earlier than even traditionally high-occupancy journey dates promote out at common resorts. What we’re seeing is a glitch, presumably because of the system changeover of the room classes. When you’re having points, don’t freak out about your dates already being booked–simply verify again in a number of hours or days.
Second, this modification might be being made in response to visitor satisfaction. I’d hazard a guess that many first-timers pay additional, not realizing what the view class really entails, after which have a “that’s it?” response upon arrival.
It’s all the time been a bit odd to me that resorts with exterior hallways and no balconies have view classes. Now we have by no means paid additional for a greater view at a Average, nor have we even loved one when upgraded without cost. It’s simply such an odd setup with different friends strolling previous your room, and it’s not like you possibly can see regardless of the ‘upgraded’ view is from a logical location within the room, anyway.
Heck, we don’t even endorse Most popular Rooms for many friends, which made our checklist of the Worst Wastes of Cash at Walt Disney World. However no less than the superior location has some worth. Paying for a view at a Average is rather like throwing $1,000 on the bottom and leaving three days early. The one room sort I do actually like at Average Resorts is the nook room, because it means an additional window, which is good for having a bit extra pure mild.
Most curiously to me, this strongly suggests the Royal Rooms will live on in 2026!
As we beforehand reported, Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts Room Refurbishments Are Underway Till 2026 (really 2027 as soon as all is alleged and completed). Walt Disney World solely introduced that this impacts the Magnolia Bend rooms, that are the “Royal Rooms.” It was beforehand unclear whether or not these highly-themed rooms are being refreshed in an identical type, or going away in favor of ordinary rooms.
What we did know is that the Royal Rooms are due for a tough items refurbishment, imply they’re being gutted. On condition that and the truth that Walt Disney World has since ended the “experiment” within the Pirate Rooms at Caribbean Seashore, I used to be frightened that the Royal Rooms would go away for good. It’s nonetheless attainable they are going to and this itemizing is in error, however I doubt it. Walt Disney World is normally on prime of those modifications.
Followers of the Royal Rooms most likely lucked out that this refurbishment has been delayed by a number of years. Typically, the timing of the Royal Rooms has been very fortuitous. They had been created simply earlier than the blandification of Walt Disney World resort rooms, and at the moment are being redone simply because the pendulum has swung again within the path of extra themed design in rooms. Nonetheless doesn’t assure the top consequence will likely be pretty much as good as what it’s changing, however I’m simply glad the Royal Rooms will (seemingly) nonetheless exist when our daughter ages into them!
Conversely, there’s nonetheless no reserving class for the ‘Underneath the Sea’ rooms at Caribbean Seashore!
In case you’re unfamiliar with these rooms–and there’s a superb likelihood you aren’t except you’re a CBR fan or occurred to see evaluations when the conversion first occurred–Caribbean Seashore changed the aforementioned Pirate Rooms with Little Mermaid-inspired rooms a pair years in the past.
These rooms are dramatically completely different from the Normal Rooms or different fifth Sleeper Rooms at Caribbean Seashore. They’re extra like Disney Trip Membership-style Studios. They’re not for everybody, however we love them. (See Assessment, Pictures & Video: New Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Seashore Resort.)
Sadly, the typical visitor wouldn’t even know the Underneath the Sea/Little Mermaid rooms even exist by looking disneyworld.com. They’re not talked about or pictured, nor are they a definite reserving class. The one approach to get ‘assure’ getting one (or keep away from getting one) is through a room request.
That made a point of sense whereas the reimagining was nonetheless in progress, however they’ve been completed for some time. It’s virtually like somebody forgot so as to add the room class to the web site. For such a taste-specific type of lodging, I feel it makes extra sense to have these be a reserving class than the previous ‘Pool or Water View.’ That is extra equal to the King Room vs. Normal Room distinction.
Frankly, placing in a ‘plug’ for the Little Mermaid rooms was considered one of my major motivations for protecting this matter. We actually like these rooms, and suppose they’re an excellent possibility for a lot of households in search of a Average Resort with the space-saving design options of DVC studios. This actually fly beneath the radar because of a scarcity of selling, however they’re value trying out!
Lastly, it’s attention-grabbing to as soon as once more see Walt Disney World follow the Worth, Average, Deluxe and Villa classes. There have been rumors roughly 7 years in the past that this could go away in favor of resort areas, and it was anticipated to occur after the Skyliner opened.
Whereas I can see the worth in retaining the tiers (and it definitely makes my life simpler–a whole lot of posts must be overhauled in the event that they had been deserted!), I additionally suppose they’ve arguably outlived a few of their usefulness. Are the Artwork of Animation Household Suites actually a price? Is Gran Destino Tower the identical because the Alligator Bayou part of Riverside? Is it extra helpful to attract consideration to Pop Century being on the Skyliner to clarify the excellence from the All Stars?
You might simply argue that the present tiers may very well be inferred from pricing. That extra worthwhile ‘at a look’ data for first-timers would come through resort districts (e.g. Magic Kingdom Space, EPCOT Space, and so forth.) or different key options (Skyliner Resort, Monorail Resort, and so forth.). Maybe that may additional complicate an already complicated course of, and there are additionally resorts that may defy categorization with these strategies.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study resorts on our Walt Disney World Lodges Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To economize on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every thing you might want to know!
Your Ideas
Ideas on Walt Disney World recategorizing resort rooms for 2026? Optimistic that this implies the Royal Rooms will return subsequent 12 months post-refurbishment? The place at Walt Disney World are you staying in 2026? Any resorts you’re deliberately avoiding? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
