These Will Be the Hardest Disney World Hotel Reservations to Get in 2026

If you’re planning a Disney World vacation in 2026 and are planning to stay on property, you’ve got over 20 hotels to choose from!

We’ve got reviews of every single hotel on our blog, as well as our YouTube channel to help you decide which is best for you, but we’ve got to warn you about a few of them. If you’re looking to book reservations at these five hotels, they’ll be some of the hardest to grab!

Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel and Spa

While the Grand Floridian is a little rough right now with the lobby refurbishment going on, that means that come 2026 when it’s complete, it’s going to be better than ever!

People are 100% going to want to see what the newly reimagined lobby looks like, not to mention that this hotel is on the Magic Kingdom Monorail loop (just one stop away from the park!). You can even walk to the park if you’d like.

It’s one of the fanciest and high-end hotels on property, so finding reservations here during busier times of year is already more difficult on a normal year, but right after a refurbishment? Yeah, we’re expecting it to get even more harder.

What I Wish I Knew Before Staying at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

Disney’s Pop Century Resort

If you’re looking to save some money staying on property, you’ll want to look at the Value Resorts. In 2026, the most popular resort in this category will no doubt be Pop Century Resort, because the WHOLE resort has recently undergone quite the refurbishment.

Guest rooms at Pop Century are under refurbishment through March 2026, but the hotel’s store and food court’s renovation is complete. The lobby is currently undergoing the final stages of its refurbishment, and should be ready to go well in time for 2026 to begin.

If you want to avoid all construction here, we’d suggest waiting until after March when all the rooms have successfully been completed, but we also feel that’s when this will easily become the most sought-after Value Resort of the year.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Debuts More CHANGES in Hotel Lobby

Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Speaking of room refurbishments, Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort also just recently completed room refurbishments, and we’ve gotten a chance to check them out. Let’s just say, we can totally see why people will be vying to book these in 2026.

However, we really think this hotel will become extra popular in the second half of 2026, as The Bay Cove Pool, the Cove Bar, the water play area and the whirlpool spa at Bay Lake Tower are currently undergoing refurbishments through May 2026. At this time, Disney hasn’t announced any additional refurbishments at this location, so after May has passed and all these updates have been completed, we have a feeling the booking rate will skyrocket.

This hotel is also on the Magic Kingdom Monorail loop, and is also one of the closest hotels to Magic Kingdom. However, we think this hotel is also great for people who want to spend a decent amount of time in EPCOT, too, as you can travel one stop on the Monorail to get to the TTC, where you can then hop on the Monorail to EPCOT.

FULL TOUR of the NEW Rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Magnolia Bend at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside

More hotel room refurbishments are currently taking place in the Magnolia Bend section of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort, and once these are complete, we know they’ll be wildly popular.

This is a fantastic Moderate Resort, and as it’s the only one in this category with updates happening right now, we have a feeling it’ll shoot to the top of everyone’s must-stay list if they’re eying a Moderate resort. Moderate resorts are often great for those who want something that’s a little step up from a Value Resort, but don’t want to spend a fortune on Deluxe Resorts.

The refurbishment is expected to last through February 2026, which means 10/12 months of the year will see totally updated rooms in this section of the resort. Again, at this time, Disney has not announced any additional construction for this hotel, so it’s looking like once these rooms are completed, the resort may be free of refurbishments for awhile.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

As the only Magic Kingdom monorail resort that isn’t under construction right now, and currently isn’t scheduled to be in 2026, we’ve got a feeling the Polynesian will be very popular, especially earlier in 2026 before the other hotel’s refurbs are complete.

Additionally, as this hotel arguably has the most Disney-theming out of the three Magic Kingdom monorail resorts, this also makes the hotel extra popular with families at all times of the year. Not to mention that the Island Tower addition is still relatively new, having only opened in late 2024, so many Disney fans are still booking their first trips at this new section of the hotel.

This hotel is also home to some of our absolute favorite dining options that very rarely let us down, and we’ll often leave Magic Kingdom or other parks just to make our way over here for a reservation.

What I Wish I Knew Before Staying at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

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 be keeping a close eye on all the Disney World hotel news in 2026 so you know what you expect on your vacation, so stay tuned to AllEars!

A Disney World Hotel Perk Is Set To Change in 2026

Which of Disney World’s hotels are you planning to stay at in 2026? Tell us in the comments!

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