Guests staying at Disney's All-Star Sports Resort will lose their main poolside watering hole starting September 18, as the Grandstand Spirits Pool Bar closes for a multi-week refurbishment that is expected to run through mid-December 2026. The closure hits the resort's main pool deck just as families gear up for fall theme park trips, but Disney says a temporary bar will keep drinks and snacks flowing nearby while the work is underway.
According to WDW News Today, the refurbishment will keep Grandstand Spirits shuttered for roughly three months, with Disney confirming that a pop-up bar will operate nearby so guests aren't left without poolside service. The outlet also notes that guests may see or hear construction activity in the area during daytime hours while crews work.
Grandstand Spirits sits directly behind Stadium Hall at the Surfboard Bay Pool, the resort's primary swimming pool. The bar is unusual in that it features dual-sided ordering windows, letting cast members serve guests both outside on the pool deck and inside the adjoining End Zone Food Court, according to Disney Food Blog. The bar's menu includes specialty cocktails like the Hibiscus Rita and Banana Cabana, along with draft beers, sangria, Mickey pretzels, and Italian subs, per The Mouse For Less.
A Pool Deck Still Recovering From Its Own Overhaul
This isn't the first disruption to hit Surfboard Bay this year. The 242,471-gallon pool underwent its own four-month closure and concrete resurfacing project from January through late April 2026, according to Resorts Gal. That earlier project drained the basin, replaced deck concrete, and installed new blue padded lounge chairs. The Grandstand Spirits closure effectively marks a second phase of work on the same pool deck within the same year.
All-Star Sports opened on April 29, 1994, as Walt Disney World's first Value Resort, with 1,920 sports-themed rooms spread across 10 buildings, according to Favorite Grampy Travels. It was also the last Disney World hotel to reopen after pandemic-era closures, welcoming guests back on March 31, 2022, following a two-year shutdown, per WDWMagic. Because All-Star Sports is an entry-level Value Resort without sit-down table-service dining, its on-site food and drink options include quick-service counters and pool bars like Grandstand Spirits.
Alternatives While the Bar Is Closed
Guests won't be entirely without options. The resort's secondary Grand Slam Pool, a baseball diamond-shaped pool featuring a water-shooting Goofy pitcher fountain, is located in the Home Run Hotel section, according to Build A Better Mouse Trip. Guests at All-Star Sports can also use pools at sister resorts All-Star Music and All-Star Movies; Resorts Gal says resort guests can use any pools at the three All-Star resorts.
The Grandstand Spirits refurbishment involves the pool bar.
Recent Scrutiny at the Resort
The pool bar closure comes months after All-Star Sports drew unrelated attention over guest maintenance concerns. In March 2026, a hotel guest filed a negligence lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in Orange County Circuit Court, seeking over $50,000 in damages following alleged bed bug bites during a May 2022 stay at the resort, as Hoodline previously reported. That lawsuit claimed staff lacked proper training to conduct frequent room checks and failed to use insecticidal dust, an active mattress liner, or mattress encasements. It remains a separate matter from the current pool bar refurbishment.
For now, Disney has framed the Grandstand Spirits closure as a temporary inconvenience rather than a lasting disruption. Construction noise is expected to be limited to daytime hours, and with a stand-in bar and multiple pools still available across the shared campus, families booked at All-Star Sports through mid-December should still have plenty of ways to cool off and grab a drink.
