What’s New at Disney World Hotels: Major Progress on the New DVC Tower

Just like the Disney World theme parks, the Disney World hotels are changing all the time. Some major changes are coming to certain hotels soon, but we’ve also noticed lots of smaller updates as we visit the resorts on property.

Grand Floridian

Come along with us to lots of Disney World hotels to see everything that’s NEW since our last visit!

Disney’s Contemporary Resort Food Updates

Contempo Cafe

We recently tried a few new treats that arrived just in time for spring! We had the Peanut Butter Egg for $5.29

Peanut Butter Egg

…and the Spring Bunny Tart for $5.49.

Spring Bunny Tart

You can check out our full review of these treats here.

Click here to read our full review of these treats!

Disney’s Contemporary Resort Construction Updates

If you’re visiting this hotel, make sure you stop by the fourth floor to check out the Easter egg display!

Contemporary Resort Easter Egg Display

There are lots of incredible designs here — it’s definitely worth a visit.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort Merchandise Updates

Bay View Gifts

At this gift shop, we spotted a Maps of the Disney Parks book for $40

Maps Book

…an Alice in Wonderland pet toy set for $24.99

Dog Toys

…a Rabbit collection pet collar and leash set for $34.99

Pet Collar Set

…and a Mickey Beach Basket.

Beach Basket

The beach basket was $14.95.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Food Updates

Capt. Cook’s

We recently stopped by Capt. Cook’s to try out a few items on the menu (read our full review here!), and while we were there we spotted the Pineapple Cupcake for $6.49.

Pineapple Cupcake

This treat was added to the bakery lineup recently to replace the 50th Celebration Cupcake (quite a few 50th anniversary items have gone missing from Disney World lately!).

Pineapple Cupcake

The cupcake is a Vanilla Cupcake with a DOLE Whip® Pineapple Cheesecake center, Pineapple Buttercream, and White Chocolate Décor.

Read our full review of the Pineapple Cupcake here.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Construction Updates

Disney Vacation Club Tower

There’s a new building coming to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort just for DVC members. We’ve been keeping a close eye on the construction, and a lot of progress has been made!

DVC Tower Construction

The new DVC villas are expected to open in late 2024.

Temporary Walkway

There’s a temporary walkway at the Polynesian Village Resort in order to accommodate some of the construction going on here.

Signs

We noticed a few new signs added to this walkway during our last visit.

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Merchandise Updates

Boutiki

At Boutiki, we found a Moana throw blanket for $59.99

Moana Blanket

…and a Tommy Bahama Minnie shirt.

Minnie Tee

The shirt was $69.50.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Food Updates

Gasparilla Island Grill

There were a few seasonal treats at Gasparilla Island Grill, including a Vanilla Bean Cupcake Sampler for $16

Cupcakes

…and a Cream Cheese Carrot Coffee Cake.

Carrot Coffee Cake

The Coffee Cake was $9.50.

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Construction Updates

We also spotted some construction going on around this hotel, including scaffolding surrounding a few of the buildings.

Grand Floridian Construction

You may see construction if you stay at this hotel soon!

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Merchandise Updates

Basin

At Basin, we found several new Flower Power Bath Bombs.

Flower Power Bath Bomb

The new bath bombs are $5.99 each, or you can get three for $14.

M.Mouse Mercantile

Here, we found a Little Mermaid shell hat for $29.99

Ariel Hat

…and a t-shirt that says “Believe in Magic.”

Believe in Magic Tee

The shirt was $39.99.

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort Merchandise Updates

Settlement Trading Post

There were several new items at this shop, including a Fort Wilderness Corkcicle bottle for $49.99

Corkcicle

…a Teacher’s Day Yoda pin for $17.99

Teachers Day Pen

…a Bambi “Cute by Nature” t-shirt for $19.99

Bambi Shirt

…a Baby Yoda cat collar for $17.99

Star Wars Collar

…a Mandalorian pen for $17.99

Star Wars Pen

…and a Disney 100th anniversary dog collar.

100th anniversary collar

The dog collar was $19.99.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Merchandise Updates

Ink & Paint Shop

This gift shop had a Lion King mystery pin set for $17.99

Lion King Pins

…and a Disney villains pin set for $29.99.

Villains Pins

We also spotted a Little Mermaid backpack.

Little Mermaid Backpack

The backpack was $29.99.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort Merchandise Updates

Everything POP Shopping & Dining

Pop Century had some new Walt Disney World postcards for sale.

Postcards

You could buy the set for $19.99.

Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Food Updates

Screen Door General Store

At the General Store, we spotted some character-inspired Rice Krispy Treats.

Mickey Treats

The Mickey s’mores Rice Krispy was $5.99.

Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Construction Updates

The Cake Bake Shop

The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers is a new restaurant coming to Disney World’s BoardWalk in 2023We stopped by the construction site to see how progress is coming!

Construction

This table service spot will serve items for brunch, lunch, and dinner featuring both sweet and savory menus. Afternoon tea service will be offered as well. Disney notes that the new eatery will present a “whimsical atmosphere that complements the magic of the idyllic charm of Disney’s BoardWalk that guests know and love.”

We’ve already written a FULL REVIEW of another Cake Bake Shop location — read it here!

Funnel Cake Stand

The Funnel Cake Stand at Disney’s Boardwalk has been empty for a while now, so we stopped by to see if anything has changed.

Funnel Cake Stand

So far, there’s been no change or update at this spot, but we’ll keep watching!

Lobby Construction

The Boardwalk Inn lobby is going through a pretty major refurbishment, and right now the bathrooms in this area are still under construction.

Bathrooms still closed

Several parts of this hotel are being affected by updates and refurbishments — click below to learn more.

Read about more changes coming to the Boardwalk Inn here.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Merchandise Updates

Kidani Village — Johari Treasures

We spotted a few new Lion Kin pins here, including a Rafiki pin for $11.99

Rafiki Pin

…a Scar and Zazu pin set for $17.99

Scar Pin

…and a Hakuna Matata pin.

Lion King Pin

The Hakuna Matata pin was $14.99.

Jambo House — Zawadi Marketplace

This gift shop had a new Disney pin for $14.99.

Disney Pin

We also found a 100th anniversary coloring book for $15.99.

Disney100 Coloring Book

There were some new Lion King jewelry sets, including some BaubleBar earrings for $50

Lion King Earrings

…and some BaubleBar bracelets.

Lion King Bracelets

The bracelets were also $50.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Construction Updates

At Coronado Springs, we saw that Bus Stop #2 was under construction.

Bus Stop

The bus driver advised us to use Bus Stop #3 for the time being, as the internal shuttle and other buses will not be stopping at the 2nd one for now. This mainly affects Casitas buildings three through five.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Merchandise Updates

Panchito’s Gifts and Sundries

We found a new Villa Del Lago hat for $29.99

Cap

…a Coronado Springs Tommy Bahama polo for $110

New Shirt

…and a Nike polo for $80.

Nike Polo

There was also some new jewelry here, including a Disney treats bracelet for $24.99

Disney Snacks Bracelets

…a Disney treats necklace for $24.99

Disney Snacks Necklace

…a set of earrings for $19.99

Earrings

…a set of necklaces for $29.99

Necklaces

…and some iridescent bracelets.

Bracelets

This set was $24.99.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Merchandise Updates

Calypso Trading Post

At the Calypso Trading Post, we spotted a new Caribbean Beach Corkcicle bottle.

Corkcicle

The bottle was $44.99.

Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel Construction Updates

At the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, there was some construction going on at the pool.

Pool Construction

We also spotted scaffolding on the side of a building located near the pool.

Scaffolding

Watch out for these areas if you plan to visit this hotel soon!

Click here to check out the NEWEST restaurant at the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotel.

Those were all the updates we found on our last visit. We’re always looking out for new things when we visit the Disney World parks and hotels, including merchandise, construction changes, and (of course) snacks and treats! Stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news.

Check out our definitive ranking of Disney World hotels here.


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The post What’s New at Disney World Hotels: Major Progress on the New DVC Tower first appeared on the disney food blog.