Disney’s HUGE (But Quiet) Hotel Makeover

A HUGE transformation has been taking place with some of Disney World’s hotels, but the changes have been made so quietly, you might not have fully realized they’re happening.

We’ve already seen Moana rooms open at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, some character touches added to the rooms at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Incredibles rooms in Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Mary Poppins-inspired rooms at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. But what’s next on this hotel updates tour? We’ve got all the details you need right here.

Some of the rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort are about to look VERY different. It all began back in June of 2022, at which point we learned that the Pirate Rooms at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort would be unavailable after 2022.

Later in 2022 (in October), Disney announced that some of the rooms at Caribbean Beach would be given an UPDATE inspired by “fan-favorite characters from under the sea.”

Specifically, this refurbishment will be made to some of the rooms in the Trinidad area of the resort. At that time Disney also shared that the updated rooms would be able to accommodate more guests and would have new furnishings. Construction was set to begin on October 3rd, 2022, with the new rooms expected to open in 2023.

Fast-forward to November of 2022, and we FINALLY got a big update. Wondering what “fan-favorite characters from under the sea” will be featured in these updated rooms? Well, it turns out it’ll be characters from The Little Mermaid!

Disney shared some images of Cast Members who have gotten a peek at these rooms. Behind the Cast Members in the image below, you can see what appears to be a murphy bed in its upright position. You can see the handles on either side of the structure, which would allow a guest to pull down the bed to provide additional sleeping space. While in its upright position, the murphy bed structure has a beautiful design on it, showing the fish from The Little Mermaid swimming toward the bright surface.

Disney notes that these will be 5th sleeper rooms. You can also see what appears to be a light seafoam couch below the murphy bed, which the Cast Members are sitting on.

According to Disney, some “fin-tastic touches” have been added to the guest rooms. They shared a look at one of the updated rooms, which you can see below.

The updated rooms appear to have wood floors (or laminate/other material made to look like wood), that seafoam coach with what appears to be a murphy bed pull-out on top, a storage chest, a set of storage drawers on the right in another structure that appears to hold a pull-out bed, a larger bed in the back, more storage, and bright colors to remind you of the sea.

It’s definitely more in line with the “modern” rooms we’ve seen put in place at various Disney hotels, but especially with some of the value resort upgrades.

Another photo shows more of that storage area to the back (closer to the bathroom/tv), where there are more decorations featuring fish and undersea critters from The Little Mermaid. This is where it appears you’ll find your coffee maker and ice holder.

Remember that these changes are ongoing and, per Disney’s previous announcement, the rooms are expected to be available in 2023. But dates can change, so stay tuned for updates.

Caribbean Beach already had those Pirates-themed rooms, so it’s not as though these changes take a hotel from no theming to suddenly having themed rooms that tie to a ride or movie.

But Pirates of the Caribbean started as a Disney ride and then became a film franchise at Disney, so that’s a little less direct than something like this — a room directly themed to something that started as a Disney animated film.

And it potentially reveals something important about what Disney is doing with its hotels. In one announcement, Disney noted that these changes are “the newest of the ongoing enhancements happening at our Resort hotels all around Walt Disney World!”

As we shared above, we’ve already seen Disney’s movies incorporated into hotel rooms in various ways. If this is just one of the “newest of the ongoing enhancements” — what could be next? We’re already seeing more Disney IP being added to hotels elsewhere, like with the transformation of Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland Resort into Pixar Place Hotel. Will Disney continue to incorporate more characters and films into its hotel properties?

We’ve also seen Disney incorporating more Disney Vacation Club rooms into its existing hotels — this was done at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and is in the works at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see just how Disney continues to update, evolve, and change its hotel offerings in Disney World (and beyond). We’ll keep an eye out for updates.

Check out the video below to learn about more hotel changes! 👇