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Scat Cat’s Club Cafe and Scat Cat’s Club Lounge at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort French Quarter will close for a multi-month refurbishment beginning October 6, 2026, BlogMickey reports, citing a Walt Disney World announcement. WDW News Today independently confirmed the same split calendar: the cafe is expected to reopen in December 2026, and the lounge is expected to stay closed until January 2027.
Anyone holding a French Quarter reservation from early October through New Year’s now has a concrete food and nightlife change to plan around, not a rumor about construction walls. Mickey-shaped beignets and coffee are moving to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory for the cafe’s closure, and a temporary bar will sit near the cafe from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. while the lounge is dark. Guests comparing rooms should start with Deep Arrival’s Port Orleans French Quarter booking guide before treating the lobby cafe as a sure thing.
- What closes: Scat Cat’s Club Cafe and Lounge at Port Orleans French Quarter.
- Start date: October 6, 2026 for both spaces.
- Cafe return: expected in December 2026.
- Lounge return: expected in January 2027.
- Beignets: relocate to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, with Ghoulish Delight through November 1.
October 6 Starts a Split Reopening Calendar
Both halves of Scat Cat’s Club go dark on the same morning, but they are not coming back together. BlogMickey says Disney is pointing to a December reopening for the cafe and a January 2027 return for the lounge, which leaves a gap when beignets may be back at the usual counter while the jazz room next door is still closed. Breakfast, coffee, and the evening bar are not on the same clock.
Walt Disney World’s public dining page for Scat Cat’s Club Lounge still lists 5 p.m. to midnight hours and live jazz from 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. That page has not yet been rewritten to match the October 6 closure, so treat the specialist reports as the current notice and keep checking the official listing. The cafe had a shorter 2024 refurbishment, which is context, not a promise this round will be equally brief.
No interior scope has been released. Neither BlogMickey nor WDW News Today has details on finishes, menu changes, seating, or whether live entertainment returns in the same form. Until Disney publishes that, the decision is the calendar, the substitute locations, and the temporary bar hours.
Beignets and Coffee Move to Sassagoula Floatworks
The snack most people cross the resort to buy is not closing with the cafe. Disney is shifting Mickey-shaped beignets and specialty coffees to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, the French Quarter food court a short walk from the lobby, for the cafe shutdown. WDW News Today and BlogMickey both describe this as the same beignet service, not a replacement pastry from another kitchen.
Seasonal Ghoulish Delight beignets, the cookies and cream version with a marshmallow creme drizzle, will also be sold at Sassagoula Floatworks through November 1. Guests arriving after that date should expect the standard Mickey beignets at the food court until the cafe returns in December, if Disney hits the window.
Sassagoula is a full quick-service food court, not a quiet pastry window, so lines and dinner traffic sit next to the order. That is a small change for a family grabbing breakfast, and a larger one for an off-site guest who came only for the snack. The French Quarter versus Riverside hotel comparison is the next page if the food-court setting is a reason to sleep next door.
Temporary Bar Covers Evening Hours Near the Cafe
Disney is also standing up a temporary bar near the cafe to cover the lounge’s longer shutdown. It is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., two hours shorter than the lounge’s posted midnight close and without a published cocktail list. BlogMickey notes that exact offerings remain unannounced, so guests should not assume the current lounge menu, glow-cube drinks, or 7:30 p.m. jazz sets automatically move to the temporary stand.
The lounge currently advertises Southern-inspired cocktails, craft beer, and appetizers including Cajun shrimp and barbecue wings, plus Baton Rouge Beignets finished with Baileys Irish Cream. None of those items have been confirmed for the temporary bar. Until a menu posts, the safe plan is evening drinks in a simpler setup, not a jazz-club reservation substitute. Live entertainment Thursday through Sunday is the piece most likely to vanish until January 2027, because a temporary bar next to a closed room is not the same venue.
Because the cafe is due back in December while the lounge stays closed another month, the temporary bar will probably outlast the beignet relocation. December guests may get the cafe counter again and still find the jazz room dark. That is the planning wrinkle for holiday week: powdered sugar can return before the nightlife does.
Fall and Holiday Stays at French Quarter Change
October 6 sits inside many fall-break and Halloween itineraries already booked at moderate resorts. Guests arriving October 5 still have a normal Scat Cat’s Club morning. Guests arriving October 6 walk into the substitute pattern on day one. The food court move keeps the snack and removes the lobby cafe ritual.
December for the cafe and January 2027 for the lounge are expected windows, not ticketed showtimes. Anyone whose trip straddles late November and Christmas should assume Sassagoula for beignets unless Disney posts a firm cafe date. New Year’s Eve guests should assume no lounge and a shorter temporary bar, then verify again in December.
Port Orleans Riverside remains a boat ride away and keeps its own dining, including Boatwright’s Dining Hall, if the French Quarter lobby pattern feels too disrupted. Deep Arrival’s Port Orleans Riverside guide is the next read for guests willing to change buildings rather than just change snack locations.
Off-Site Guests Face Extra Access Friction
Off-site visitors who make a special trip for French Quarter beignets already had a harder path after Disney limited some Disney Springs buses and boats to booked resort guests in 2026. That access change is still in force, as Deep Arrival reported when Disney Springs restricted resort buses and boats to registered guests. Closing the cafe window and folding beignets into a food court used mainly by people staying on property makes that extra trip less efficient, not impossible.
A table-service reservation elsewhere on the Port Orleans property can still be the cleanest way for a non-staying guest to be on the grounds with a purpose. The cafe itself has not taken Advance Dining Reservations, which is why the beignet run was always a walk-up. During the closure, there is no separate pastry window to aim at, only Sassagoula’s regular quick-service line. If the only goal is the snack, staying on property or pairing the food court with another booked meal is the honest plan.
None of the current reports say Disney is blocking hotel guests from Sassagoula or changing mobile order for the relocated beignets. Those would be new facts if they appear. For now the friction is location, hours, and access rules that already existed, stacked onto a closed cafe.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Stay at French Quarter from October 6 through November | Get beignets and coffee at Sassagoula Floatworks; use the temporary bar 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; do not count on lounge jazz. |
| Want Ghoulish Delight beignets | Go to Sassagoula Floatworks through November 1, then expect the standard Mickey beignets after that date. |
| Stay in December 2026 | Watch for the cafe reopening; assume the lounge is still closed and the temporary bar may still be running. |
| Booked New Year’s week for the lounge | Plan on no Scat Cat’s Club Lounge until January 2027 and verify hours again in December. |
| Visit from off-site only for beignets | Pair the food-court stop with a booked reason to be on property; the cafe walk-up window will not be there. |
October 6, 2026 is the closure start. Both the cafe and lounge shut that morning, and beignets move to Sassagoula Floatworks the same day.
November 1 is the Ghoulish Delight cutoff. After that date, plan on standard Mickey beignets at the food court until the cafe returns.
December 2026 is the expected cafe return, and January 2027 is the expected lounge return. Verify both windows before a holiday stay, because neither date is a posted hour yet.
When does Scat Cat’s Club close at Port Orleans French Quarter?
Both the cafe and the lounge close beginning October 6, 2026, according to BlogMickey and WDW News Today citing Disney’s notice. The two rooms share a start date and then follow different return windows.
Where can I get Port Orleans beignets during the closure?
Mickey-shaped beignets and coffee move to Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, the resort’s quick-service food court near the lobby, for the cafe’s shutdown. Ghoulish Delight beignets are listed there through November 1.
When does Scat Cat’s Club Cafe reopen?
Disney is expected to reopen the cafe in December 2026. That is an expected window, not a ticketed hour, and the official dining page had not yet posted the closure at the time of these reports.
Will the lounge still have live jazz this fall?
The lounge is expected to remain closed through January 2027, and no report has confirmed that Thursday through Sunday jazz moves to the temporary bar. Plan as if live entertainment is paused until the lounge returns.
