Walt Disney World continues building on the foyer reimagining on the Grand Floridian Resort, the point of interest of which might be a brand-new birdcage bar. This shares new building photographs to indicate you what to anticipate when you’ve got an upcoming resort keep for instance the visitor impression of the ‘enchanted backyard’ overhaul of the resort.

Again in early April, Walt Disney World introduced the development timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there have been impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship resort, beginning in mid-April. These are presently anticipated to increase by means of November 2025.

Past the development partitions for the foyer reimagining and Birdcage Bar, Walt Disney World additionally introduced No Gingerbread Home at Grand Floridian for Christmas 2025. Disney normally begins constructing this life-sized edible creation in mid-October, which will certainly overlap with the overhaul–and there’s the prospect that this venture will lengthen even past that. It’s additionally our suspicion that the Gingerbread Home will by no means return to the foyer. As mentioned in that put up, it’s not an enormous hit with everybody.

This venture has been a number of years within the making. It really began shortly earlier than the closure of the parks with Enchanted Rose Lounge, and would’ve continued that spring with extra restaurant reimaginings. Then with the pause of what’s now Disney Lakeshore Lodge, the corporate decided it “wanted” extra Disney Trip Membership factors to promote, resulting in the DVC overhaul of the Massive Pine Key constructing.

All the outlying buildings within the resort have since been redone in an identical type. (See Grand New Rooms at Walt Disney World’s Flagship Resort for a glance inside.) That occurred building-by-building roughly two years in the past, and was anticipated to culminate with the primary foyer. That didn’t occur.

Quick-forward a few years, and Walt Disney World is lastly getting began. Our expectation is that the completed Grand Floridian foyer will resemble these of the outer buildings as soon as all is claimed and performed, as these are additionally the ‘enchanted backyard’ type. However it’s unattainable to say, as ~2 years have handed and preferences (or artistic leads) may’ve modified.

Anyway, it had been just a few months since we final shared a building replace on the Grand Floridian, however we had been lately there in late July and seen loads of adjustments which can be value shortly sharing. Since we’ve already lined this venture at size within the above-referenced posts, I’m going to largely let the development photographs communicate for themselves:

As you may see, about one-third of the foyer is presently walled-off for constructing of the Birdcage Bar. It’d seem slow-going, because it has taken three months to get from eradicating the aviary to getting ready the inspiration for the brand new bar. At this tempo, it’d seem to be there’s no approach that is constructed by November.

Nevertheless, there was loads of infrastructure work that wanted to be performed. Final time we had been on the Grand Floridian, this space was actually filth as piping was being performed and new helps put in for the inspiration of the bar. Our expectation at one level was that far much less groundwork was going to be performed, and it will be extra akin to plopping a prefab construction down. Clearly, it’s extra concerned than that.

I’d additionally add that initiatives usually take longer in these early phases, then go vertical shortly. At the very least, that’s a development we see with new attraction building, however I’d assume it’s an identical story with Birdcage Bars within the foyer of flagship resorts. Maybe it’ll be delayed, however there’s nonetheless 4 months till Thanksgiving. That’s loads of time to get this performed.

What we’re extra interested by at this level is the remainder of the foyer venture. As you may see within the above photographs, building partitions (or in some circumstances, see-through scrims) have been put in all through the foyer. These are nonetheless sufficiently spaced in order that it doesn’t really feel just like the foyer is an lively building zone exterior the Birdcage Bar space. That portion does, particularly when trying down from above and seeing the work.

The opposite areas the place work is being performed haven’t yielded something to talk of simply but, other than a pair areas of latest wallpaper. We might count on these partitions to be round for just about the size of the foyer venture, with extra partitions popping up elsewhere across the foyer for shorter durations to perform different features of the reimagining. This might be performed in phases to reduce the disruption, and keep away from taking an excessive amount of of the foyer out of fee.

It is smart to time essentially the most vital work round August and September, the 2 slowest months of the yr at Walt Disney World. That can in all probability be the height of the venture. However crews are going to have to select up the tempo if that is going to be a significant replace to the foyer, as efforts have to be made to reduce disruptions. The opposite various is the venture pausing in November and resuming once more in January, after the high-occupancy vacation season. That’s one thing we’ve seen occur with numerous different Walt Disney World resort building initiatives, together with the Grand Floridian.

If there isn’t a venture pause and resumption in Winter 2026, it’s trying more and more probably that new carpet, wallpaper and furnishings would be the bulk of the venture exterior the Birdcage Bar. Past that, the Backyard View Tea Room is behind building partitions and it seems that appreciable work is happening there. Walt Disney World beforehand indicated that might be a part of this venture, however didn’t share specifics.

In the end, we’re cautiously optimistic concerning the finish results of this foyer reimagining. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is essentially the most well-rounded Seven Seas Lagoon property, with fewer drawbacks than the Polynesian or Modern and less-dated components even at the moment, pre-reimagining. As long as widespread areas and remaining eating places are modernized in a respectful type according to the outlying buildings, the Grand Floridian will emerge from this as a greater choice than earlier than, and a resort really deserving of the flagship distinction. However there’s nonetheless so much to get performed if someday in November 2025 actually is the completion goal!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Wanting ahead to the Birdcage Bar? Upset concerning the present and upcoming building impression, or the cancellation of the Gingerbread Home? Do you assume Walt Disney World’s flagship resort wants a foyer refresh, or are you frightened it’ll lose its persona and richly-themed areas within the course of? Have you ever stayed on the Grand Floridian because the new rooms debuted? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Different ideas or considerations? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!