If you’re planning to stay at a Disney World Resort, there are a few things you need to research beforehand.

Contemporary Resort

You’ll want to make sure you know what amenities come with your room type and that you’re familiar with your resort’s transportation options. You may also want to check out which restaurants are available nearby, so that you know where you want to eat. But above all of that, you DEFINITELY want to know if your hotel will be having any scheduled construction or refurbishments!

It’s not uncommon to see hotels undergo refurbishments, either for improvements to the lobby, updates to the hotel rooms, or general maintenance for things like pools and restaurants. Typically, the Disney World website will list this on your hotel’s webpage far in advance of your travel dates. And if you’re staying at one popular hotel in 2026, we’ve got a new warning for you.

Disney’s Bay Lake Tower

From January 26th, 2026 through May 2026, the pool offerings will be unavailable at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. During that time, the Bay Cove Pool, the water play area, and the whirlpool spa will all be closed for maintenance. 

Cove Bar

However, the water offerings will remain open next door at Disney’s Contemporary Resort for Bay Lake Tower guests to use. This means that the Bay Lake Pool, the feature pool, the water play area, and the whirlpool spa will all be operating at the Contemporary.

Contemporary Feature Pool

Bay Lake Tower is essentially an extension of the Contemporary Resort, made up entirely of Disney Vacation Club studios and villas. Bay Lake Tower and the main building of the Contemporary are connected by both a walking path on the ground and a walking bridge partway up the buildings. To walk from Bay Lake Tower to the pool area at the Contemporary would take you about 5-10 minutes, depending on your room’s location.

Contemporary Resort

It’s important to note that this pool closure will not take place until 2026, so you have plenty of time to plan your vacation for a different resort. At this time, bookings have not opened for 2026 Disney World vacations. We’ll be interested to see if this closure affects crowds at the resort. It will likely make the Contemporary pool areas more crowded for a few months.

Contemporary Resort with Bay Lake Tower

We’ll make sure to keep you updated with any other pool closures, so stay tuned to DFB!

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