WARNING: Think Twice Before Booking This Disney World Hotel For Your 2026 Trip

Already planning out your 2026 hotel stay at Disney World?

There’s so much to look forward to like the ambiance, the food, enjoying all the amenities, and more. Now, as you’re working (and reworking) the plans for you 2025 Disney World trip, we want to warn you about a closure that could affect where you stay.

If you’ve ever been to Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort, you know that the Surfboard Bay Pool and the kiddie pool are happening places. The pool is designed to make you feel like you’re at the beach and there are even 3-story surfboards lining the pool area. It’s quite a site.

They’re definitely a highlight if you’re booking a stay at All-Star Sports. That being said, you may want to avoid them for the first quarter of 2026.

That’s because Surfboard Bay Pool and the kiddie pool will be closed for maintenance from January 2026 until late April 2026. Don’t worry that these will be permanent closures as they/re listed reason for the closure is “routine maintenance.”

Now, don’t fret. All is not lost because the Grand Slam Leisure Pool will still be open. Also, Disney shared that if you’re a guest at All-Star Sports, you are welcome to use the pools at the other Disney’s All-Star Resorts. For example: the Calypso Pool, Piano Pool and kiddie pool at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort; and the Fantasia Pool, Duck Pond Pool and kiddie pool at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.

Now, if you really want to swim in the All-Star Sports Surfboard Bay Pool, it may make sense to change the dates of your trip. Your other option would be to book another hotel with an amazing pool. For instance, we’d recommend Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts’ Stormalong Bay — but we know this is a HUGE price difference! So, if you really want to swim at that pool buy don’t have the budget for a Deluxe room you’re entire trip, maybe consider a split stay!

All of that being said, you won’t be able to book your 2026 hotel stay quite yet. At the moment, the furthest out you can book is for October 2025 (Nov./Dec. 2025 are still not open for booking). According to Disney, that booking information could be available “in early 2025.” However, anything is possible. The dates and pricing could even be released when the post-October 2025 dates are finally announced.

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

We’ll keep you up-to-date about every closure happening in Disney World so stay tuned to AllEars for more.

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