As covered recently, Refurbishment Season is in Full Force at Walt Disney World. Winter is a common time for ride closures and resort maintenance projects, and there are several that just started or were recently calendared.
When it comes to the hotels, the big ones this time of year are usually pools. This makes sense, as cold weather makes pools less desirable in winter. And of course, there are rolling room refurbishments, facade projects, and everything else. See our list of 2026-2027 Hotel Construction & Refurbishments at Walt Disney World for a rundown.
Hotel projects are announced fairly far in advance to provide sufficient notice so that guests can switch resorts or make room requests. Each of the last two years, there have been a lot of these projects scheduled in November, with only minor updates thereafter.
The biggest exception to that is pools–those seem to be scheduled either a full year in advance or a few days in advance, with little in-between. And the latter typically occurs when either the weather presents a window of opportunity or there’s urgent, unplanned maintenance.
In addition to the unsurprising trio of pool closures that Walt Disney World just added to the calendar, they’ve also added a few restaurant-related projects. We covered the more impactful of these in Two of Disney World’s Best Restaurants Closing for Multi-Month Changes in 2026, which pertains to lengthy refreshes of Yachtsman Steakhouse and Crew’s Cup Lounge at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.
Today, we have new notice of a project at the Polynesian, which will impact fan-favorite ‘Ohana:
Beginning January 15, 2026, portions of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort will undergo exterior maintenance. During this time, views of the Seven Seas Lagoon from ‘Ohana may be partially or completely obstructed. We apologize for any inconvenience.
That bulletin isn’t quite accurate, in that the exterior maintenance did not just start a couple of days ago. Rather, it just moved to such a position around the Great Ceremonial House that it has the potential to obstruct ‘Ohana.
Here’s the full bulletin for Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort:
From May 2025 through 2026, some areas of the Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows are being refurbished. This work includes the reconfiguration of the front entrance roadway and bus area.
While construction activity will be noticeable during daytime hours, efforts will be made to minimize disruptions. All Resort dining, pools and amenities will remain available. Additionally, some views of the theme parks and other surrounding areas may be impacted. Please allow for extra travel time when arriving at or leaving the Resort.
Far and away the biggest component of this project is the reconfiguration of the front entrance. During a recent stay in the Island Tower, our room overlooked this work, and it was a massive construction zone. This new entrance to the Polynesian also impacts the parking lot and bus loop, and there’s major work being done to re-route and expand Floridian Way.
That’s not all, though. Over the last several months, we’ve seen some other exterior work taking place. During that same stay at the Island Tower, we noticed roof work on the adjacent Aotearoa Longhouse; crews also completely rebuilt the exterior staircase.
I’m not sure whether they’ve moved on to other longhouses or if it was simply Aotearoa that needed extra attention. I didn’t think to take photos, but I seem to recall other roofs having flags up suggesting they might be next up. Not that this really matters to the ‘Ohana project; but honestly, I’m also not sure what’s going on around the GCH, or how long it’ll last.
As for ‘Ohana, we first received a heads up about this project from a reader with an Advance Dining Reservation later this month who received an email with the notice. There’s no indication as to how long the work impacting the views from ‘Ohana will last. I’d be curious to know if anyone else with upcoming ADRs at ‘Ohana did or did not receive the notice.
Although that wouldn’t necessarily be conclusive of project dates, it would give us a window into Walt Disney World’s thinking with this project. It could also be totally meaningless–they could’ve sent a blast to everyone with ‘Ohana ADRs in the next 60+10 days, even if the project is only likely to last a couple of weeks. We really don’t have any clue.
The inevitable question with a project like this is whether you should avoid ‘Ohana due to the construction. That kind of depends.
In our recently-updated list of the Best Restaurants with Magic Kingdom Fireworks Views, we wrote the following of ‘Ohana:
One thing that’s often overlooked about ‘Ohana is that it’s the objectively-best restaurant at Walt Disney World for Magic Kingdom fireworks viewing. It’s pretty close to a dead-on view, meaning the show is nearly centered. The large bursts from the fireworks outside Magic Kingdom do appear a bit to the left of Cinderella Castle, but only slightly.
The reality–at least what we’ve experienced–is not quite as good. Since this is the most family-friendly restaurant on this list, demand for window tables here is the highest. This means requests for window seats are less likely to be fulfilled, meaning you have to arrive earlier if you want a guaranteed window table. It also means that if you do luck out and get a window table, don’t be surprised if you acquire new “family” members once the fireworks start.
Personally, I do not view ‘Ohana as great fireworks view restaurant, even if it is on paper. We do not dine there for the views; to the contrary, we favor finishing before Happily Ever After starts so that we can watch from elsewhere at the resort.
For the last ~5 years, this blog’s position has been that ‘Ohana is overrated. With that said, there are reasons to dine at ‘Ohana, whether you’re a first-timer or longtime fan. And if any of those apply to you, my view is that the view doesn’t really matter.
Basically, that if it made sense for you to eat at ‘Ohana before this obstruction news…it still does. This doesn’t move the needle one way or the other, except maybe in borderline cases where the view was a big part of the appeal and you would’ve made a table request.
As always, we have two recommendations for anyone wanting an ‘Ohana alternative: Sebastian’s Bistro and Wailulu Bar & Grill.
The latter is located in the nearby Island Tower and has a better view of the fireworks and more reasonably priced cuisine. When it comes to restaurants we revisit, Wailulu Bar & Grill in the Island Tower is our current favorite at Walt Disney World. I’d recommend Wailulu over ‘Ohana even in the absence of this news.
Sebastian’s Bistro is not a fireworks view restaurant in the traditional sense of the term, but we have seen the EPCOT pyro from here before. We love Sebastian’s Bistro as a culinary counterpart to ‘Ohana, and our most recent review pretty much tells the story: Sebastian’s Bistro is Better, Cheaper & Easier Than ‘Ohana!
Both of these restaurants make our list of the 26 Best Restaurants at Walt Disney World for 2026. ‘Ohana does not. Make your ADRs accordingly…or not! A lot of fans love ‘Ohana, and will argue that it’s great right now and not just resting on its laurels. We plan on revisiting ‘Ohana sometime in 2026 for a fresh review.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you book ‘Ohana for its fireworks or Magic Kingdom view? Or do you agree that obstructions at ‘Ohana don’t really move the needle on whether to eat there? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
