BED BUGS Reportedly Invade Another Disney World Hotel

When visiting Walt Disney World Resort, one of the exciting parts of planning your stay is picking what hotel you want to make home for the duration of your stay. There are more than 25 hotels on property, and there are some to fit almost every budget. While many are owned by Disney, there are a few that are on property, but owned by other companies, like the Swan and Dolphin hotels and the Four Seasons Orlando.

For those who want to save on their hotel, there are Value Resorts like Disney’s All-Star Movies and Pop Century Resorts. Those who want a few more amenities without breaking the bank can stay at Moderate Resorts like Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach Resort. Then, for those who want to splurge, Disney has Deluxe Resorts like Polynesian Village and Animal Kingdom Lodge.

One of Disney World’s most popular Value Resorts is also one of its newest — Disney’s Art of Animation, which opened in 2012. The hotel embraces and honors the magic of Disney and Pixar animation. The hotel has different sections that honor popular films like The Little Mermaid, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Lion King. 

Art of Animation features traditional hotel rooms, as well as suites, that can accommodate up to six guests. One couple recently decided that the hotel would be perfect for their one-night “staycation” (meaning they lived in the area). They checked into their Resort, ready to relax and enjoy their time at The Most Magical Place on Earth. Unfortunately, the staycation didn’t end as well as it had begun.

According to the poster, when they went to leave their hotel and head to the parks, they allegedly discovered they had unwelcome guests with them — bed bugs. The full post reads:

So I was hesitant to post this but I just thought I’d let everyone know. This weekend my boyfriend and I stayed at Art of Animation for one night as a staycation. Everything was going well up until check out. We stayed in the cars room (we got randomly upgraded from the little mermaid room and that was awesome at the time). I pulled the sheets off the bed to help out housekeeping (I always do that) and a little bug popped out. We’ve never seen bedbugs before so we looked it up and confirmed it was one. We called the front desk and they had the exterminator confirm that it was in fact one. We had to leave all of our stuff at the hotel so they can launder and clean our stuff and they’re going to ship our items. It was a very troubling incident and was very inconvenient. It definitely ruined our last day because we were suppose to go to MK. However, Disney did take care of us because of our trouble. They reimbursed us for our room, provided us $400 for new items and clothes since we had to leave everything. Bags and shoes and all except for our crocs (since I guess they only cling on to fabric. We got taxied to target to get everything new and had to shower and change clothes. They did also give us comp park hopper tickets to any park that’s valid until 2025, it did put a damper in our trip BUT I’m really happy that they were able to hold themselves accountable and help us out. So just for everyone to know CHECK YOUR BEDS PLEASE . I usually always check but I trusted Disney too much

EDIT: we did not have any bites on ourselves from inspecting so it was very weird since we slept on the bed.

2nd Edit: I am in no way complaining or blaming them, I just wanted to let the group know about our experience and how they were able to help us. Since we had to go get clothes and they had to go through all the steps with everything we weren’t able to use our tickets since we were done with everything at 4pm and that’s why they comped us (MK closed at 6)

I would stay at a Disney resort hotel again, our experience up to that point was amazing

Unfortunately for the poster, someone who stayed in the room prior to them most likely brought the bed bugs with them. Once bed bugs are detected, all clothing and personal items must be washed and/or cleaned to make sure all the bugs are removed and killed. That meant that the poster and her boyfriend were left with nothing, and they were set to spend their day in the parks.

Thankfully, Disney’s amazing cast members came to the rescue and tried to make the reported experience as pleasant as possible. The poster claimed that not only did cast members refund the cost of their hotel room, but they also gave them $400 to buy new clothes and bags for their day. They also called a taxi to bring the guests to Target, so they could purchase everything they needed. The poster claims were also given complimentary park tickets to use sometime in the future.

Despite the damper the bugs put on their trip, Disney did its best to make the guests’ remaining time with them magical.

Sadly, this is not the first time that Disney guests have claimed to have issues with bed bugs. Last year, Disney paid out $100,000 to a guest who suffered numerous bed bug bites during their stay at the Disneyland Hotel at Disneyland Resort. Another Walt Disney World guest also reported that they found bed bugs in their room during their stay at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort.

Bed bugs love to travel, so they will frequently hitch a ride on suitcases, clothing, purses, and (especially) used furniture. Many people who spread bed bugs are not even aware that they have done so. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Disney Parks every single day, making it nearly impossible for Disney to prevent such things.

Disney hotel rooms undergo a thorough cleaning after each and every stay. However, bed bugs are incredibly small and burrow themselves into certain areas. That means that, sometimes, they cannot be seen until the problem is too out of control or, like in this case, one pops out that a guest happens to notice. If you do notice one, call the front desk of your hotel immediately and inform them of the problem.