Disney World Confirms Grand Floridian Cafe Closing Date & Citricos Brunch Change

Walt Disney World has announced the closing date for the fan-favorite Grand Floridian Cafe, which will soon undergo a 3-month restaurant reimagining as part of an overhaul to the flagship resort now scheduled to conclude in 2027. Here are dates, details & brunch changes during the refurbishment.

The Grand Floridian Resort reimagining has been a lengthy project, entering its fourth CEO tenure with Josh D’Amaro now at the helm (Iger, Chapek, Iger, D’Amaro). It began before the COVID closure of Walt Disney World with the Beauty and the Beast lounge, followed by Citricos around reopening, and then room reimaginings and major refurbishments to the outer buildings.

The project culminated last Christmas, with the debut of the new lobby, opening of the Birdcage Bar. With the reimagined Garden View Lounge finally reopened this spring after a 6-year closure, only one restaurant remained: Grand Floridian Cafe. And now, that too will soon be reimagined. There are a number of ways the Grand Floridian now looks and feels fresh, and is once again worthy of being considered the crown jewel of WDW resorts. See our Review: Walt Disney World’s Flagship Hotel Finally Fits Its Status & Sky-High Prices.

As of June 2026, here’s the construction warning bulletin for the Grand Floridian via Walt Disney World:

Renovations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will continue in select areas, including the covered entrance, through early 2027.

As part of this work, from mid-July through October 2026, Grand Floridian Cafe will temporarily close for a refresh. During this time, brunch will continue to be offered but will temporarily move to Cítricos. All other dining locations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will remain available for Guests to enjoy. Guests may see or hear refurbishment work during daytime hours and may need to take alternate paths of travel.

We now have confirmation of the Grand Floridian Cafe’s closing date, along with details for brunch at Citricos…

Grand Floridian Cafe Closing Date

Grand Floridian Cafe now has a confirmed closing date, courtesy of the Walt Disney World dining reservation system and restaurant hours. This reveals that the mid-tier table service restaurant’s last day serving dinner will be July 19, 2026. Grand Floridian Cafe will be closed as of July 20, 2026.

Here’s the calendar for Grand Floridian Cafe from now through July 19, 2026:

• Brunch – 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
• Dinner – 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Here’s the calendar for Grand Floridian Cafe from July 20, 2026 through at least August 8, 2026:

• Brunch – 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM
• No Dinner

As noted above, the refurbishment runs through October 2026, so there’s no reason to expect hours to appear for dinner anytime soon. The reason brunch hours are still listed, but not dinner, is because only brunch is moving to Citricos. Speaking of which…

Citricos Brunch

As noted in the construction bulletin, brunch “at” Grand Floridian Cafe will be relocated upstairs to Citricos. It is safe to expect that shift to start on July 20, 2026 given the end of dinner service on that same date.

Brunch is continuing but dinner is not because there are no other standard table service options for breakfast or lunch at the Grand Floridian, whereas there are numerous dinners. The only other alternative in the morning hours is 1900 Park Fare, and that’s a character meal.

All of the Signature Restaurants are open only for dinner and, presumably, are viewed as satisfactory alternatives. Not only that, but with those spaces all in use for dinner, there’s no open venue for relocating Grand Floridian Cafe’s menu in the evening hours.

It was a similar story a few years ago when the Wave was reimagined into Steakhouse 71. During that time, Walt Disney World relocated that breakfast and brunch menu upstairs to California Grill. We did that breakfast a few times, taking advantage of the opportunity for a $30 to $45 meal (for two) in one of our favorite settings in all of Walt Disney World.

The shift from Grand Floridian Cafe to Citricos is not nearly as extreme. You’re just moving up one floor into a newer dining room with slightly-elevated views. The Mary Poppins-inspired dining room is nice, but it’s not like going from the windowless basement to the rooftop, as was the case with the Wave’s brunch at California Grill.

Nevertheless, I’ll be doing the brunch at Citricos for the sake of Very Important Research, and will report back with a review of the experience. At the same time, my guess is that it’ll comport with expectations, which is the current menu in a new setting.

It’ll almost certainly be the same food, served slightly higher up. Brunch at Grand Floridian Cafe is good, so I recommend it on that basis, but it’s not a ‘drop everything and book this ADR’ must-do as was the case with the Wave to California Grill.

I’d love to be wrong and for this to be a Signature-caliber brunch, as we’ve lost so many of those over the years. I’m honestly a bit surprised that neither Citricos nor Narcoossee’s do brunch. Even with table service restaurant demand on the decline, Grand Floridian Cafe is often slammed in the mornings. I could see a higher end brunch doing surprisingly well, especially given the lack of competition.

When Will Grand Floridian Cafe Reopen?

The big question is when will Grand Floridian Cafe reopen? This project strikes me as one being done on a rather tight timeline, especially given all of the work that needs to be done to refresh the interior. That could take a full three months, if not longer.

Nevertheless, mid-October still strikes me as a likely target date. Columbus Day weekend is the kickoff of Fall Break, and typically the start of a 3-month stretch that’s lucrative for resorts and restaurants at Walt Disney World. Logic and proper project management would dictate starting from that target and working backwards to determine the closing date. Summer isn’t as busy, so there’s really no difference between closing on June 20 vs. July 20, 2026.

Having Grand Floridian Cafe reopen by October 9, 2026 will be the goal if at all possible. If that isn’t achievable, we’ll question why the restaurant didn’t just close earlier. Having it open for as much of October as possible makes much more sense than keeping it open for most of July.

There are still no guarantees. With the tendency of projects to be delayed and seemingly tight timeline, I wouldn’t bank on the restaurant reopening until the weekend before Veterans Day, around roughly November 6, 2026. That’s when Birdcage Bar soft opened last year, for reference.

The bottom line is that you should plan for Grand Floridian Cafe to reopen by November 6, 2026 with anything before that treated as a pleasant surprise. Even if the logical target is Fall Break, this is a pretty ambitious overhaul and we’ve seen those be delayed even without as tight of turnaround times.

Grand Floridian Cafe Closure Commentary

It’s great to see Walt Disney World finally announce a refresh to the Grand Floridian Cafe. This isn’t surprising; the one remaining piece of the puzzle after the Garden View Lounge reopened is Grand Floridian Cafe.

I know Grand Floridian Cafe has a legion of loyal fans, some of whom are going to hate to hear this, but it’s time. It’s beyond time. The restaurant really sticks out in the redone hotel, looking like a vestige from a different era.

Grand Floridian Cafe feels dated. And not in the way a Victorian design is inherently dated-looking. It’s as if some decorations look like they were pulled from the style pages of a 1993 issue of Country Living Magazine. It does not remind me of the casual table service restaurant at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort; it’s a fancier, less-cluttered and more Victorian Cracker Barrel.

There’s a lot going on in terms of floral patterns, textures, wallpaper, and furnishings that is less reminiscent of a Victorian meets modern Floridian design and more like a quaint but affluent farmhouse done up in a Victorian style.

Admittedly, there’s also a certain charm to Grand Floridian Cafe. It is imbued with a certain ‘Florida’ quality to the space that’s tough for me to articulate. Maybe the country style, natural light, and Victorian flourishes give it the quality of a family-run bed & breakfast?

In fairness, Grand Floridian Cafe is also cozy and comforting, especially on the rare quiet mornings or late nights. It’s like coming home again, so it’s easy to see why so many longtime WDW fans love it and have sentimentality for it. At the same time, my assessment of this space when I first reviewed it nearly 15 years ago was that it was badly dated. It has not aged like fine wine since. I’m very ready for a change, even if I now have a soft spot for the (again, badly dated) space.

Expect new carpet, curtains, tables and chairs, decorations and detail-work. My best guess is that we’re looking at an overhaul on par with Garden View Lounge when it comes to the new-look Grand Floridian Cafe.

The only wildcard is whether Disney tries to weave in some IP. If so, I’d still expect that to be on the subtle side. While I’m fine with a tasteful update and no characters, I also wouldn’t complain if Grand Floridian Cafe got a light Aristocats integration. A bunch of feline fixtures and stained glass sounds groovy to me, and it’s such an underrated movie with no representation at Walt Disney World.

Honestly, I also wouldn’t mind a menu update–so long as my beloved Buttermilk-Fried Chicken stays. At the very least, bring back the Lobster Thermidor Burger.

Ultimately, we’re cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the resort reimagining, and especially Grand Floridian Cafe. Walt Disney World’s flagship hotel has been modernized nicely, with a good balance of elegance, sophistication, charm, and whimsy. It finally feels worthy of its status and cost.

The project’s extension through early 2027 is a bit disappointing from the perspective of further dragging out a project that has already been going on for a long, long time. But I visited the Grand Floridian over the weekend en route to the Polynesian, and there was no noticeable work on the resort side. Just the arrival area. Losing Grand Floridian Cafe for a few months will definitely put strain on the other restaurants, but brunch at Citricos should take care of the worst of that.

Unless there’s an unexpected announcement from out of left field, we do not expect the ongoing overhaul at the Grand Floridian to impact the daily guest experience at any point after arrival between now and 2027. We would not hesitate to stay at Walt Disney World’s flagship resort; to the contrary, we once again highly recommend it!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Will you be booking an ADR at Grand Floridian Cafe before it closes on July 20, 2026? Looking forward to its return with a fresh look in October 2026? Are you disappointed that the familiar, fan-favorite is getting redone after so many decades? Or do you agree with us that it’s (beyond) time for an update? HDo 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!