Anyone stay at a resort while construction/refurb was going on?

[lvthemouse]

We will be staying at the Yacht Club this December and it looks like the rooms will be under construction at that time. Has anyone stayed at a resort while it was undergoing a refurbishment? I was just wondering about noise ect.. Any thoughts you can share good or bad will be appreciated.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Lots of people do.

How much it impacts you varies significantly based on a lot of factors:

• How much resort time you're planning
• if any amenities you care about are impacted
• if it's soft goods or a full refurb
• if you are assigned near the sector currently undergoing work
• if you hate construction smells

How much any of these things impact a resort can vary by day of week.

 

[Jetku]

We stayed at the Grand Floridian during major construction in October 2012. I don't recommend it. So many things were closed, little food options, and construction walls/equipment everywhere.

 

[rosiebean]

Stayed at Poly during their renovation and DVC construction in 2014. We had no issues with our stay, because the timing of our stay vs what was being renovated worked for us. We had fine food options, and Captain Cook's and the Dole Whip window renovations were completed by the time we went. The main pool was closed, but we weren't going for the pool. The large part of the lobby was blocked off, but we weren't hanging out in the Grand Ceremonial House that much anyway. We were there for the huge rooms, location to MK and to the TCC, and for the rather large room discount we received.

Before I went, I researched where to request a room so that we would be as far away from construction as possible. We got our room request, and other than walking along one walled outside area every day around the pool, the construction wasn't really 'in our face'. Our balconies looked out at the monorail or toward GF, and as we are big room loungers/balcony sitters, the renovation didn't really affect us.

I would not have booked if Captain Cook's had been closed or it had been impossible to get a room away from construction. Nor would I have booked without a significant discount.

 

[anjalee6]

We stayed at Beach a Club last summer while the room refurb was going on. We didn't notice much noise, even though they were working on rooms right below us. My main problem was the dust from the construction that traveled through the ventilation system. I ended up with major allergies which lead to a sinus infection. I was miserable. I don't know if I'm just super sensitive, but it's something to think about.

 

[csmom]

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge in February while they were doing a room refurb. We received a letter ahead of time about the refurb and potential noise, etc. I was a little concerned, but we were there 6 nights and never heard a thing. Saw one sign at the end of a hallway that the area was being refurbished. Other than that, if not for the letter, I would never even have known it was going on.

 

[johnnyr]

I stayed a GF and the Poly during refurbs. Never again will I stay at a resort with major construction going on! We paid a lot of money to stay at both resorts and there were walls everywhere, transportation disruption, closed activities and recreation areas just to mention a few things. I learned the hard way. Now I book elsewhere if there is a refurb scheduled for a resort I want to stay at.

 

[Babsy]

We stayed at the YC during a refurb. The noise was deafening every day. It was just outside our window. We tried to stay because we had CL at a good price. However, when we woke up one morning and looked out our open balcony door to see a worker on our balcony, we decided enough!

We asked to be moved and were moved to the BC. It was a huge relief. I vowed to never stay with construction again. It really ruined the trip for us. I know that not everyone will be as sensitive to the noise, but we return to our resort during the day often to rest and relax. That was inpossible here. Also, we like to sleep in on vacation. That was also impossible.

I think that a lot of people that do not mind the renovations are not located right next to them like we were. Also, they may be rope drop people that leave early and miss the joy of waking up to a jackhammer outside their door!

So, if you are commando style in the parks all day, and, if you don't mind looking at construction machinery from your balcony instead of the lagoon view that you paid for, then the construction shouldn't bother you at all. OR if you are lucky enough to be situated far away from the construction, then it should be fine.

We went before they started sending out emails. We had no idea before arriving that this would be going on during our trip and we had no thought of asking for any compensation or complaining. We simply stuck it out the first 5 days and then were moved for the last two, when we finally asked to be moved. Just too stupid to think, or maybe it was all the deafening noise that made it impossible to think! LOL

Anyway, our experience was the extreme, I believe. But it did teach me a lesson: Never stay in a resort with construction again. Not even for free. My time alone is worth better than that!

Just my two cents. Lots of other people are fine with staying in construction. If you don't see or hear it, then you are one of the lucky ones and will be fine. Or, if you end up in a situation like us and ask to be moved earlier then you should be fine. Just don't try to 'stick it out' like we did. Just an awful experience, IMO.

 

[Silvermist999]

We stayed at the VWL recently and there's major construction going on. But didn't bother us at all. The amenities that were not available didn't bother us as we weren't planning to use them anyways. We requested a room away from construction and got just that. Our room was in a quiet corridor with a pretty nice view. No noise at all. The resort was not crowded and made enjoying the restaurants, pool and boat/bus transportation so much easier. Made for a very pleasant and enjoyable first stay!!

 

[PSUGuy]

At BW last Oct/Nov outside painting was going on. As we're rarely there during the day and they finished up 4ish we weren't put out. A lift vehicle they used for upper floors was parked on the lawn but again, didn't put us out.

Bill From PA

 

[nkereina]

We've stayed at both POR and CBR during refurbishments, and neither were an issue for us. Didn't even notice the ones at CBR. At POR, the biggest bummer was that the quiet pool at our building was closed however we were able to use the others further away. Not a big deal.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We stayed at the BC when they were doing their recent refurbishments. Our room had been recently refurbed and the main construction was just down the hall from us. We heard some noise from the electric chisel they use to remove tile. We also were blocked from using the main elevator and had to use a smaller and slower elevator that made it a little inconvenient. But other than that, the construction didn't bother us too much. There wasn't a loss of amenities during this refurbishment.

We also stayed at the WL in January, which has some major construction going on. I really didn't like the fact that the views of Bay Lake from the upper balconies were blocked off. The views are one of my favorite things about staying there. And the beach was closed off so I could no longer watch the Wishes fireworks or the Electric Light Parade. Those things bothered me more than the actual construction. We didn't hear any construction noise but the loss of some of my favorite amenities made us decide to wait until construction is finished before staying there again.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We stayed at the Poly 2 year ago when it was a total mess. It was fine. We didn't have any noise problems. Things were just fenced off everywhere and it was like navigating a maze around the resort.

 

[Jubaby]

We were at WL last year when they were renovating the pool area. From our room you wouldn't have know a thing, no noise. When walking around outside, the lobby, food court, and boat docks - it was horribly noisy, walls up everywhere, limiting seating for the food areas, etc. If I had it to do over again, I would have moved to another resort.

 

[chigirl]

I stayed at WL when the main pool construction was on, in late 2014. There were barricades and such, but it was toward the end of the construction. I did get a discount since the construction was announced after I booked it.

 

[henry72]

We have been at CBR during a refurb but didn't even notice it going on. If I hadn't read about it on DIS then I probably wouldn't have even known about it.

 

[Boopuff]

Stayed at Poly last Oct. during the major pool refurb. It wasn't very pretty. In fact I felt all the construction fences deter from the beauty of the Poly. We were in Pago Pago and had to walk past the quiet pool construction daily. I think if we were on the other end of the resort would would've much happier and construction free. IMO don't do it!

 

[IrishNYC]

We were at CBR during their refurb when they converted to Queen beds, and changed out the furniture, plumbing, and decor. The buildings that were being worked on at the time were blocked off, and the equipment and supplies were far from the buildings in another blocked off area. We could hear noise when we passed by, but it stopped by evening.

 

[fla4fun]

Yes, I have. It really depends on the scope of the renovation and how close you are to where the are actively working. I've had rooms where I heard no noise at all, and rooms with so much noise, the floor and furniture would vibrate. If all they are doing at the time are room renovations, then the public area aren't affected much at all. But when they are refurbishing the public areas, such as the big rehab at Poly when they gutted the lobby, shops and restaurants, it can be more of a challenge.

You have a few options. You can choose a different resort, or you can request a quiet room location away from the main construction, or just plan for some disruption so you are prepared. I've had some really good rates at resorts under construction.

 

[Turtlemom]

I'm about to book a room for late July and was considering the Wilderness Lodge Villas. The site notes that it is being renovated and that the pool at the villas will be closed, main pool looks like it would be open though. Does anyone have any idea how extensive the renovations are at the Wilderness Lodge and how disruptive it would be to stay in the villas? Any information would be much appreciated! (if it looks like its going to really affect our stay, I guess I will opt for Saratoga Springs.). Waiting to hear! Thanks!!!