The Fall 2025 refurbishment has begun on Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas and we've got the latest intel on which rooms are being renovated first, when the first updated rooms are expected to be available for guest stays and how long the project will take to complete.
In October 2025, Disney began a major refurbishment of the Disney Vacation Club villas at Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village. According to cast members at Kidani, all villas on all floors on the south side of the lobby (the side closest to Jambo House and Animal Kingdom Lodge) have been taken out of operation as Disney conducts a hard goods refurbishment of the villas.
Guests can still access the Community Hall, the Arcade, and the guest laundry room on Kidani’s second floor. All of these amenities are open for guests to enjoy and use. But access to the rest of the second through fifth floors on the south side the resort is now blocked by construction barricades.
In addition, construction crews have taken over a portion of Kidani’s underground parking for their equipment and supplies, thereby limiting the number of parking spaces available for guests. However, the reduced parking is somewhat mitigated by the fact that a significant number of villas are currently not available to guests.
Tentative plans call for some of the refurbished villas to be released for guest occupancy in early January 2026. Work will then begin refurbishing the villas on the north side of the Kidani lobby. If the work remains on schedule all 324 rooms at Kidani Villas should be refurbished by May 2026. Construction crews will then move to Jambo House and refurbish those villas from May 2026 to January 2027.
The Animal Kingdom Villas are expected to receive the pull down convertible sofabeds. Other updates should encompass floor coverings, wall coverings, furniture and fixtures. Upgrades to the kitchen and bathroom are also typical for a major refurbishment of this nature.
Wil Lovato is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2009. His DVC Home Resorts include Copper Creek Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, and Aulani. He can be found posting on many Disney discussion forums under the username of “wdrl.”
