Walt Disney World has announced that the Garden View Team Room, which has been closed since March 2020, will finally reopen in 2026 as a new hotel lounge in the lobby of the flagship Grand Floridian Resort! This shares full details plus brand-new construction photos as of November 2025, and our thoughts.
This is the latest of several updates on the Grand Floridian, as the resort winds down (while also extending) its massive overhaul. In case you missed it, Walt Disney World previously announced that the project, which was originally slated to be finished this month, would now continue in “select areas” through mid-2026. Today’s news concerns one such select area of the hotel.
This isn’t a colossal surprise. We’ve been tracking progress on the Grand Floridian enhancements, and the lobby as a whole is shaping up nicely and the birdcage bar will be finished very soon. A lot of improvements have already been made throughout the common areas, and the project is about 97% finished. The most noticeable impact in the lobby at this point is a curtain–not even a construction wall–around the birdcage lobby.
Speaking of which, another ‘in case you missed it’ update is that Walt Disney World has revealed the official name for the birdcage bar, which will officially be called “The Perch.” This birdcage bar has been under construction since Easter, and is finally nearing completion.
Walt Disney World has announced that The Perch will open on November 10, 2025. Just in time for the tail end of the Veterans Day long weekend! The new-news about the perch is that Walt Disney World has teased menu options:
Sip and savor from a light menu featuring champagne, wine, beer, and two signature cocktails: the Sunshine State Rum Sazerac and the Floridian 75. For a refreshing non-alcoholic option, the Blueberry and Basil Iced Tea is a delightful blend of lemon, blueberry, and basil tea.
Now let’s turn to the latest on the Grand Floridian’s iconic tea room:
In early 2026, The Garden View Lounge will reopen with a refreshed look that complements the new lobby design. The space will offer a new tea experience with whimsical Disney touches for guests of all ages.
Here’s a look at progress on everything as of yesterday:
The only change as of today is that the second set of curtains in the lobby, below where the “GF” lettering was being done, are gone. However, there’s now a second set on the opposite end of the lobby, doing the exact same lettering. Expect that to be finished later today.
The Perch looks like it could soft open at any point, with a bunch of managers frequently popping through the curtains to check on detailing and final punch-list items, presumably. All told, the Grand Floridian lobby is in much better shape (and sound) than it was even a couple months ago.
As for the Garden View Lounge, it’s notable that the walls that were previously up around the tea room are gone. In their place, there are much more discrete walls blocking the entrance and windows (in looking back at my previous construction photos, these aren’t new–there was a separate set of construction walls outside of them).
Our best guess is that the Garden View Lounge is going to receive new carpet, fresh paint, and likely new wallpaper and hand-painted details. Also probable is new tables, chairs, and other furniture.
Otherwise, we don’t expect a ton of material changes. Garden View Lounge is like an extension of the lobby. It’s not a clearly-separated space like the Enchanted Rose. It’s unlikely to have its own visual identity; it’ll look like the lobby, just as it did before. The turnaround time on its reimagining should be fairly quick once work gets started.
Walt Disney World has already indicated that the Garden View Lounge will reopen in early 2026. It’s difficult to narrow that timeline any further, as this looks like the type of project that Walt Disney World could have done whenever they so desire.
I’m slightly surprised that’s not in time for the holiday season, but then again, Walt Disney World could’ve reopened the Garden View Tea Room at any point in the last 5 years, even on a seasonal basis. Why they haven’t is beyond me, especially with fancy experiences and upcharges becoming increasingly popular. An afternoon tea service strikes me as a license to print money.
As for the Garden View Lounge reopening in early 2026 as opposed to Christmas 2025, perhaps they’ve had to reallocate resources towards having the lobby and the Perch done by Veterans Day.
Grand Floridian Cafe Reimagining?
It’s also worth noting that Walt Disney World’s latest update suggests the Grand Floridian overhaul will last until mid-2026, not early 2026.
The one remaining piece of the puzzle after the Garden View Lounge reopens is Grand Floridian Cafe. It really sticks out in the redone hotel, looking like a vestige from a different era (the 1990s, not the Victorian era). Then again, Enchanted Rose also sticks out, so maybe they’ll leave Grand Floridian Cafe as a 1990s time capsule. Guess we shall see!
No Gingerbread House at 2025…and Beyond?
Beyond the lobby reimagining and the Perch Birdcage Bar, Walt Disney World also announced No Gingerbread House at Grand Floridian for Christmas 2025. Disney usually starts building this life-sized edible creation in mid-October, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t appear this year.
However, it’s our suspicion that the Gingerbread House will never return to the lobby. As discussed in that post, it’s not a huge hit with everyone. Our hope is that it returns to the convention center at Christmas 2026, but honestly, we’re also fine with some of the more far-flung resorts getting love.
Grand Floridian Reimagining
As a whole, the Grand Floridian Resort reimagining project has been several years in the making. It started shortly before the closure of the parks with Enchanted Rose Lounge, and would’ve continued that spring with more restaurant reimaginings.
Then with the pause of what’s now Disney Lakeshore Lodge, the company determined it “needed” more Disney Vacation Club points to sell, leading to the DVC overhaul of the Big Pine Key building. Citricos and Narcoossee’s also got the reimagining treatment prior to their reopenings post-COVID, albeit in more restrained and thematically-fitting manners than Enchanted Rose.
All of the outlying buildings in the hotel have since been redone in a similar style. (See Grand New Rooms at Walt Disney World’s Flagship Resort for a look inside.) That happened building-by-building approximately two years ago, and was expected to culminate with the main lobby. That didn’t happen.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and Walt Disney World is finally finishing up. It’s nearly-completed as of the start of Christmas 2025, with just a final few pieces that’ll continue into 2026.
Ultimately, we’re cautiously optimistic about the end result of this lobby reimagining. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort is the most well-rounded Seven Seas Lagoon property, with fewer drawbacks than the Polynesian or Contemporary and less-dated elements even today, pre-reimagining.
So long as common spaces and remaining restaurants are modernized in a respectful style consistent with the outlying buildings, the Grand Floridian will emerge from this as a better option than before, and a resort truly deserving of the flagship distinction. We can’t wait to see the end result!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Looking forward to the Garden View Lounge reopening? Disappointed about the cancellation of the Gingerbread House? Have you stayed at the Grand Floridian during the lobby overhaul? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!