Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village is preparing for a phased refurbishment that will temporarily close portions of the resort’s lobby and several nearby guest areas from mid-August through early November 2026.
The work is scheduled to begin Aug. 17, when the main lobby and primary entrance are expected to close through Oct. 9. During that period, resort check-in will move to the Palace Library, giving arriving guests an alternate location while construction is underway. The project will be completed in stages rather than through one continuous closure of the entire lobby complex.
Johari Treasures, Kidani Village’s merchandise location near the lobby, is also scheduled to close from Aug. 17 through Aug. 28. The temporary shutdown will overlap with the first phase of the lobby project, creating additional changes for guests arriving during the second half of August.
Another phase is planned for Sept. 28 through Oct. 9, when the north lobby corridor will be unavailable. That closure will also affect access to the second-floor lobby elevators and the outdoor terrace observation deck. Guests staying during those dates may need to use alternate routes through the resort, particularly when traveling between the lobby and nearby accommodations.
The final scheduled phase will focus on the south lobby corridor from Oct. 26 through Nov. 6. During that period, several amenities and common areas are expected to be unavailable, including Community Hall, the laundry room, lobby restrooms, the outdoor terrace observation deck, the Palace Library and Safari So Good Arcade.
Because the Palace Library is scheduled to serve as the temporary check-in area earlier in the project, its closure during the late-October phase marks a separate operational change. Disney has not detailed the check-in arrangement for that portion of the schedule in the information currently available, so guests with stays near the end of October or beginning of November should review their pre-arrival communications for updated directions.
Guests may also see or hear construction activity during daytime hours while the refurbishment is in progress. The phased schedule should help limit the number of areas closed at the same time, but the work will still affect several heavily used spaces around Kidani Village’s central lobby.
The lobby project follows a previously announced refurbishment period for Kidani Village guest rooms, which Disney listed from October 2025 through May 2026. Refurbishment work at the neighboring Jambo House was scheduled to follow from May 2026 through January 2027. Together, the projects represent an extended period of updates across Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge resort area.
Kidani Village is known for its savanna-facing setting, African-inspired design and shared resort amenities, making the lobby and observation spaces an important part of the guest experience. The temporary loss of the outdoor terrace observation deck during two separate phases may be especially noticeable for visitors who use the area to view the resort’s animals.
The currently published schedule runs through Nov. 6, although refurbishment dates can change as work progresses. Guests staying at Kidani Village between Aug. 17 and early November should pay close attention to resort notices, signage and check-in instructions so they know which entrances, corridors and amenities are available during their visit.