Credit: DisneyUpdate: 3/23/20
Several Disney Springs Resort area hotels have followed Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace’s lead, suspending operations and no accepting any reservations until after April 30.
According to a notification posted on the Disney Springs Hotels website:
These Disney Springs® Resort Area Hotels have temporarily suspended operations and are not accepting reservations through April 30, 2020*:
- Best Western Lake Buena Vista – Disney Springs® Area
- Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace – Disney Springs® Area
- Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista – Disney Springs® Area
- Holiday Inn Orlando – Disney Springs® Area
We apologize for any inconvenience and are here to support your changing travel plans. Please contact the individual hotels for more information. We look forward to welcoming you in the future.
*This date is subject to change.
Disney Springs Resort Area hotels are owned and operated by third-party companies who are free to make decisions beyond those made by the Walt Disney World Resort itself.
Original Story: 3/21/20
As of 5:00 p.m. March 20, 2020, all of the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels are now closed after the Magic Kingdom and the other Disney World theme parks closed on March 16.
But what about the non-Disney-run hotels on-property?
The independently-owned-and-operated Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels were not forced to close down. So, many of them remain open. However, one of Hilton’s hotels has decided to close and is not accepting any reservations until the end of April.
Related: Aulani Temporarily Closing Due to Pandemic Concerns
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
Official statement on the website:
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace has temporarily suspended operations and is not accepting reservations through April 30, 2020. We apologize for any inconvenience and are here to support your changing travel plans. Please contact Hilton Guest Assistance. We look forward to welcoming you in the future.
Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels Adjust Cancellation Policies
As for the other six resorts in the area, they remain open and some have taken an understanding to the current situation by adjusting their cancellation policies.
Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista & DoubleTree by Hilton
We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances we are making additional adjustments to our individual booking policies to give you extra peace of mind:
- Government Restrictions. In regions affected by government-issued travel restrictions, we will continue to waive change fees or offer full refunds.
- Existing Reservations. All reservations – even those described as non-cancellable (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are scheduled for arrival before April 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.
- New Reservations. Any reservation you make – even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are booked between today and April 30, 2020 for any future arrival date, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival.
If you need to adjust reservations made via the Hilton website, app or call center, please contact the Hilton Guest Assistance team. If you need to adjust reservations made through another travel site, please contact them for assistance.
Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista
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Guests traveling with new or existing direct bookings for stays in any of our hotels through April 30, 2020 will have their cancellation or change penalties waived if the request is received at least 24 hours (or less if permitted by the hotel’s policy) prior to arrival.
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Guests who are prohibited from traveling to their booked hotel under applicable law will have their cancellation or change penalties waived on direct bookings.
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For new or existing direct bookings with arrivals after April 30, all of our properties are required to accommodate non-cancellable rate reservation changes if the request is received at least 48 hours prior to arrival and the same number of room nights or more are booked for a future stay.
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We are pausing the expiration of any Wyndham Rewards points scheduled to expire between now and May 31, 2020 and have extended current Wyndham Rewards Member Levels (status) for all members in the Greater China and Southeast Asia Pacific Rim regions through the end of 2021.
Holiday Inn
Given the flexibility our guests and customers need right now we have implemented the following policies:
We are waiving cancellation fees for existing and new bookings at all IHG hotels globally for stays between March 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020(see below for further important information including Groups & Meetings bookings):
Important Information:
- For bookings made through a travel agent or online booking platform (e.g. Booking.com, Expedia) please contact them directly – we have advised these companies of our cancellation policy and you should refer to their terms and conditions.
- Groups & Meetings Bookings: We will work with customers to manage any changes needed to Group & Meeting bookings on a case by case basis. Our hotels are actively supporting groups and meetings organizers to address the needs of each group, including moving event dates to another time, in line with terms and conditions of that booking. Please contact the hotel the booking was made with to discuss further.
We continue to monitor the evolving situation and will be keeping this policy under review.
Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels
Walt Disney World hosts a select number of hotels that are owned and operated by third party hotel companies. Most of them are gathered together in a section of the property known as the Disney Springs Resort Area.
These resorts are akin to the “Good Neighbor Hotels” found in close proximity to the Disneyland Resort. While they are completely not owned by Disney, they are considered official Disney World hotels and have a special partnership that includes some special perks for those who stay on-property. Those perks include bus transportation to and from the parks, Extra Magic Hours, and FastPass+ booking option up to 60 days in advance of your visit.
Related: Disney Springs is Still Open (But You Can Only Visit Three Storefronts)