(2014-2020) Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA + VILLAS Information & Questions

[Pooh2]

We have a long weekend booked at the Grand Floridian in Outer Bldg, Lagoon View category.
Is there handicapp parking near the room?
On the map, it looks like the parking lot is a distance from the outer Buildings?

 

[trishadono]

We have a long weekend booked at the Grand Floridian in Outer Bldg, Lagoon View category.
Is there handicapp parking near the room?
On the map, it looks like the parking lot is a distance from the outer Buildings?

The parking at the grand is pretty far from the rooms.

This makes for great views but not so good for parking.

 

[trishadono]

Ok, Mr. Peter Werner posted his review.

I have to say he wasn't totally wrong. I still LOVE the Grand Floridian and I don't think anyone but myself could change my opinion. I just have so many beautiful memories there and its not just the rooms that make my stay magical.

I would love to hear what everyone thinks.

So I can’t do the whole thing, what a whiner!

Lol, I’m a half glass full girl.

Interesting to hear others perspective . However some people are never happy.

 

[robfaded]

Very interesting review. We’ve just returned from a split stay at the GF and BWI and were blown away with the GF (in a good way!). We had none of those service issues and already can’t wait to return (while conversely we had issues at the BWI).

 

[dachsie]

Ok, Mr. Peter Werner posted his review.

I have to say he wasn't totally wrong. I still LOVE the Grand Floridian and I don't think anyone but myself could change my opinion. I just have so many beautiful memories there and its not just the rooms that make my stay magical.

I would love to hear what everyone thinks.

He really skewered them. I was disappointed to hear that review. Its been a dream of mine to stay there. I was thinking of renting DVC for it so maybe that will be better. I do have to say that the theme park view room at CR I just stayed in last month did seem a lot better than that room he had.

 

[crvetter]

He really skewered them. I was disappointed to hear that review. Its been a dream of mine to stay there. I was thinking of renting DVC for it so maybe that will be better. I do have to say that the theme park view room at CR I just stayed in last month did seem a lot better than that room he had.

Most of the stuff he was complaining about were non-issues or issues created by himself. For instance he should read the Boards a bit more and he would have known it is suggested no to list yourself as lead guest (same MDE account) on two rooms (also I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't allow this, and check-in will be denied on a room), as it is known to cause issues with MDE. Basically his biggest complaint all stems from the fact he had himself listed on two rooms and MDE can't handle that I believe. This likely was the problem with his mom not being checked in from square 1 and his magicBand stopping working after his mom's room was checked in; MDE was just accepting only 1 room at a time. I'd bet Bay Lake Tower just took him off as lead guest of the room when he had no issues over there claiming to have done the same thing. It's possible the CM at the desk told him this but he insisted it wasn't an issue (I gather he must have been told this was the issue because he brings up the topic) so she left it as he requested.

I have had nothing but 0 issues with GF. In fact there was an error in booking ADR for Thanksgiving day at Grand Floridian Cafe and the GM's team called me to apologize and worked with me to create a new reservation time at the Cafe. So I wouldn't say the service is lacking any means. I do the think the rooms are showing some wear but the nicest of hotels will always eventually show wear (especially hotels operating at 80+% capacity a year. The plushier interiors like the Grand have will generally show wear faster too.

 

[kylenne]

Most of the stuff he was complaining about were non-issues or issues created by himself. For instance he should read the Boards a bit more and he would have known it is suggested no to list yourself as lead guest (same MDE account) on two rooms (also I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't allow this, and check-in will be denied on a room), as it is known to cause issues with MDE. Basically his biggest complaint all stems from the fact he had himself listed on two rooms and MDE can't handle that I believe. This likely was the problem with his mom not being checked in from square 1 and his magicBand stopping working after his mom's room was checked in; MDE was just accepting only 1 room at a time. I'd bet Bay Lake Tower just took him off as lead guest of the room when he had no issues over there claiming to have done the same thing. It's possible the CM at the desk told him this but he insisted it wasn't an issue (I gather he must have been told this was the issue because he brings up the topic) so she left it as he requested.

I have had nothing but 0 issues with GF. In fact there was an error in booking ADR for Thanksgiving day at Grand Floridian Cafe and the GM's team called me to apologize and worked with me to create a new reservation time at the Cafe. So I wouldn't say the service is lacking any means. I do the think the rooms are showing some wear but the nicest of hotels will always eventually show wear (especially hotels operating at 80+% capacity a year. The plushier interiors like the Grand have will generally show wear faster too.

I really appreciate this perspective. I have to admit I was scared to watch the video when it came up on my YouTube feed. The GF has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and I’ve been so excited since we decided to try this split stay. I know nothing is perfect, but I’m worried when I hear about such negative experiences

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

I really appreciate this perspective. I have to admit I was scared to watch the video when it came up on my YouTube feed. The GF has been a dream of mine since I was a kid and I’ve been so excited since we decided to try this split stay. I know nothing is perfect, but I’m worried when I hear about such negative experiences

Don't be!!! It is amazing. I agree with the poster above re the review.

 

[rteetz]

Can you post a link?
Sorry, I’m clueless who he is lol.OR where to find him.

Pete is the owner of this site.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Most of the stuff he was complaining about were non-issues or issues created by himself. For instance he should read the Boards a bit more and he would have known it is suggested no to list yourself as lead guest (same MDE account) on two rooms (also I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't allow this, and check-in will be denied on a room), as it is known to cause issues with MDE. Basically his biggest complaint all stems from the fact he had himself listed on two rooms and MDE can't handle that I believe. This likely was the problem with his mom not being checked in from square 1 and his magicBand stopping working after his mom's room was checked in; MDE was just accepting only 1 room at a time. I'd bet Bay Lake Tower just took him off as lead guest of the room when he had no issues over there claiming to have done the same thing. It's possible the CM at the desk told him this but he insisted it wasn't an issue (I gather he must have been told this was the issue because he brings up the topic) so she left it as he requested.

I have had nothing but 0 issues with GF. In fact there was an error in booking ADR for Thanksgiving day at Grand Floridian Cafe and the GM's team called me to apologize and worked with me to create a new reservation time at the Cafe. So I wouldn't say the service is lacking any means. I do the think the rooms are showing some wear but the nicest of hotels will always eventually show wear (especially hotels operating at 80+% capacity a year. The plushier interiors like the Grand have will generally show wear faster too.

I agree. Any room can have dust on top of a molding. Just because GF is $$$$ compared to other resorts, that does not mean it is perfect. Would that be great and ideal for the price tag? Absolutely! But IMO, you are mostly paying for the location, the deluxe room size (in WDW scheme of things) and to be on the monorail. To expect cast members to not make mistakes BECAUSE they work there, that to me is not a reasonable expectation. When we stayed at the GF last year, for 8 days, when I was disappointed with my room, they upgraded me to a lagoon view for free. I was so thankful and it was really kind of them to care about my disappointment.

 

[rteetz]

Most of the stuff he was complaining about were non-issues or issues created by himself. For instance he should read the Boards a bit more and he would have known it is suggested no to list yourself as lead guest (same MDE account) on two rooms (also I'm pretty sure Disney doesn't allow this, and check-in will be denied on a room), as it is known to cause issues with MDE. Basically his biggest complaint all stems from the fact he had himself listed on two rooms and MDE can't handle that I believe. This likely was the problem with his mom not being checked in from square 1 and his magicBand stopping working after his mom's room was checked in; MDE was just accepting only 1 room at a time. I'd bet Bay Lake Tower just took him off as lead guest of the room when he had no issues over there claiming to have done the same thing. It's possible the CM at the desk told him this but he insisted it wasn't an issue (I gather he must have been told this was the issue because he brings up the topic) so she left it as he requested.

I have had nothing but 0 issues with GF. In fact there was an error in booking ADR for Thanksgiving day at Grand Floridian Cafe and the GM's team called me to apologize and worked with me to create a new reservation time at the Cafe. So I wouldn't say the service is lacking any means. I do the think the rooms are showing some wear but the nicest of hotels will always eventually show wear (especially hotels operating at 80+% capacity a year. The plushier interiors like the Grand have will generally show wear faster too.

If you listened/watched he said he has done this several times before and not had an issue not just Bay Lake Tower.

The glitches of course are pretty common and MDE is always a problem for most. The thing I think the biggest take away is the CM customer service. The CM didn't seem to be the greatest by his account and the manager didn't seem much better. Sure she could've been having a bad day but at the same time it is the Grand.

I also think it is worth noting that Disney's always giving out FP's as a guest recovery which seems to be the go to for anything these days.

 

[rteetz]

I agree. Any room can have dust on top of a molding. Just because GF is $$$$ compared to other resorts, that does not mean it is perfect. Would that be great and ideal for the price tag? Absolutely! But IMO, you are mostly paying for the location, the deluxe room size (in WDW scheme of things) and to be on the monorail. To expect cast members to not make mistakes BECAUSE they work there, that to me is not a reasonable expectation. When we stayed at the GF last year, for 8 days, when I was disappointed with my room, they upgraded me to a lagoon view for free. I was so thankful and it was really kind of them to care about my disappointment. Based on that, I did not complain when they brought me a DIRTY crib (although I should have but I had a backup crib I rented and used that instead because I had a bad vibe about using a hotel crib anyway). I just accepted that someone made a mistake and mistakes happen anywhere.

Pete didn't knock them for the dust in the one spot he found it. He did knock them for the couch though.

I certainly would love to stay at GF but like Pete's mom said the rooms don't wow me. I prefer the look of other rooms and some at a much lower price.

You can pay less at the Contemporary many times which IMO has a better location. You can walk to MK from CR and can't do that from GF.

 

[crvetter]

If you listened/watched he said he has done this several times before and not had an issue not just Bay Lake Tower.

The glitches of course are pretty common and MDE is always a problem for most. The thing I think the biggest take away is the CM customer service. The CM didn't seem to be the greatest by his account and the manager didn't seem much better. Sure she could've been having a bad day but at the same time it is the Grand.

I also think it is worth noting that Disney's always giving out FP's as a guest recovery which seems to be the go to for anything these days.

Sure he has done it I didn't deny that. I suggested that the other resorts behind the scene may have changed him off the lead guest to make it work with MDE or it is a sporadic thing where the issue pops up. Though I don't consider it a GF problem since the IT infrastructure isn't done internally at GF, but Disney at large (so in theory could happen at any resort). Considering he offered it up in his review it was either 1) something he knew could be a problem or 2) was something he was told was a problem. It is a documented problem if the lead guest is the same (and sometimes same MDE account taking ownership) that check in and room access will be an issue. In fact I have been told this by CRO when I've booked rooms. Should the CM have fixed it and taken him off lead to make sure it wouldn't have been a problem, maybe but then if he found out it happened what are the odds he would have been happy with that. Personally the MagicBands not working properly can likely be attributed (at least partially) to his doing because of himself as the lead guests on two rooms. Perhaps the CM could have handled it better or perhaps he could have, I wasn't there or involved in the conversation to know who was in the wrong (wasn't passing judgement on that part), but it is known the same lead guests causes check in issues for rooms. My other reason for taking the review with a grain of salt is he says it 3-4 hours after checking in before the issue was resolved, but what is clear is he left the room during that time so in actuality how long before he brought it to the attention of the resort that his band stopped working did they fix it? He admits the band opened his mother's door not his, a magic band can only open one room at a time, something again reported first hand on the boards here.

My point was his major complaint and concern about GF seemed to stem from this one issue (sure the sofa but he already was upset which biases views) which is controllable by following normal policy of different lead guests on a room. Also personal opinion is he consistently mentions the price he paid (which comes across weird) and consistently calls the CM a witch, which seems sexist and uncalled for.

I also don't think the free FP is an issue to be noted in anyway, IMO. There is always going to be problems at any resort, especially a large resort like WDW. Disney by most accounts goes above and beyond to fix issues and offers something to make it right. FP, upgrades, gift baskets those are not the fixes to the problem but rather extras.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Pete didn't knock them for the dust in the one spot he found it. He did knock them for the couch though.

I certainly would love to stay at GF but like Pete's mom said the rooms don't wow me. I prefer the look of other rooms and some at a much lower price.

You can pay less at the Contemporary many times which IMO has a better location. You can walk to MK from CR and can't do that from GF.

I know. I just mean the checking for the dust aspect. I dont think it's odd to find dust on top of a picture. Would it be great if it was clean? Yes! But that just wouldn't occur to me to check. Now when I stayed at the Poly 6 years ago, OMG, that room was not cleaned properly. I didn't have to seek out dust by running my finger on top of pictures, it was all over the headboard, etc. But I will be staying there again soon despite it's flaws although this time I may be more vocal if the room is dirty in basic regards.

About the couch, have they seen better days? Probably. But I NEVER sit directly on any couch (clean looking or NOT) in a hotel room. I always put a clean sheet on it to sit on. You can pay less at the Contemporary but the hotel itself and grounds are lacking majorly IMO (I have stayed at Poly, GF, CR). I am sure you can find flaws in the CR rooms cleanliness, etc, as well.

I also want to add about him mentioning the sod edges turning brown. That's actually pretty common with sod, due to the edges losing contact with the soil underneath. I thought that was an unfair thing to comment on regarding the quality of the hotel for your $. As well as the complaint about the lack of variation in the coffee K Cups too does not take away from the deluxe aspect of the resort in Disney room standards, IMO anyway.

 

[rteetz]

My point was his major complaint and concern about GF seemed to stem from this one issue (sure the sofa but he already was upset which biases views) which is controllable by following normal policy of different lead guests on a room. Also personal opinion is he consistently mentions the price he paid (which comes across weird) and consistently calls the CM a witch, which seems sexist and uncalled for.

I also don't think the free FP is an issue to be noted in anyway, IMO. There is always going to be problems at any resort, especially a large resort like WDW. Disney by most accounts goes above and beyond to fix issues and offers something to make it right. FP, upgrades, gift baskets those are not the fixes to the problem but rather extras.

I agree with what you said for the most part except the quoted. If I was paying $700+ a night (which I likely never would for that room) I think its fair to assume that it would be an amazing room/experience. The Grand as noted in the review and in Disney marketing is the flagship. I think they could do better with their flagship. No I haven't stayed there yet but just in terms of the way the rooms look doesn't scream luxury to me.

Sure Disney does usually do its best but its not just this review either. Anything lately it seems there is an issue the first guest recovery option is extra FPs. Thats great and all but I think it seems to be more of a oh I hope this means no more complaints on Disney's end.

 

[rteetz]

I know. I just mean the checking for the dust aspect. I dont think it's odd to find dust on top of a picture. Would it be great if it was clean? Yes! But that just wouldn't occur to me to check. Now when I stayed at the Poly 6 years ago, OMG, that room was not cleaned properly. I didn't have to seek out dust by running my finger on top of pictures, it was all over the headboard, etc. But I will be staying there again soon despite it's flaws although this time I may be more vocal if the room is dirty in basic regards.

About the couch, have they seen better days? Probably. But I NEVER sit directly on any couch (clean looking or NOT) in a hotel room. I always put a clean sheet on it to sit on. You can pay less at the Contemporary but the hotel itself and grounds are lacking majorly IMO (I have stayed at Poly, GF, CR). I am sure you can find flaws in the CR rooms cleanliness, etc, as well.

I also want to add about him mentioning the sod edges turning brown. That's actually pretty common with sod, due to the edges losing contact with the soil underneath. I thought that was an unfair thing to comment on regarding the quality of the hotel for your $. As well as the complaint about the lack of variation in the coffee K Cups too does not take away from the deluxe aspect of the resort in Disney room standards, IMO anyway.

I agree that dust checking is a bit weird as I would never do it but if a room is overly dusty I suppose that could mean it's not well cleaned.

I will disagree on the Contemporary. I haven't stayed in CR proper but have at BLT and absolutely loved it. I would take those rooms any day over the GF.

The K Cup comment seemed to be more for Disney overall and not just GF at least in my interpretation. I am not a big coffee drinker though so that wouldn't be something I would care about.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

I agree that dust checking is a bit weird as I would never do it but if a room is overly dusty I suppose that could mean it's not well cleaned.

I will disagree on the Contemporary. I haven't stayed in CR proper but have at BLT and absolutely loved it. I would take those rooms any day over the GF.

The K Cup comment seemed to be more for Disney overall and not just GF at least in my interpretation. I am not a big coffee drinker though so that wouldn't be something I would care about.

BLT rooms are pretty different from regular CR rooms, so I was referring to the CR rooms more so (not Bay Lake). I have never stayed in Bay Lake, but have watched videos.

 

[rteetz]

BLT rooms are pretty different from regular CR rooms, so I was referring to the CR rooms more so (not Bay Lake). I have never stayed in Bay Lake, but have watched videos.

Just by looks based on photos I still think I would choose the CR rooms over GF. Just my personal taste. Nothing about the GF regular rooms really call out to me especially at the price. Now the GF villas are something I would definitely stay in.

 

[crvetter]

I agree with what you said for the most part except the quoted. If I was paying $700+ a night (which I likely never would for that room) I think its fair to assume that it would be an amazing room/experience. The Grand as noted in the review and in Disney marketing is the flagship. I think they could do better with their flagship. No I haven't stayed there yet but just in terms of the way the rooms look doesn't scream luxury to me.

Sure Disney does usually do its best but its not just this review either. Anything lately it seems there is an issue the first guest recovery option is extra FPs. Thats great and all but I think it seems to be more of a oh I hope this means no more complaints on Disney's end.

I do think the Grand could be upped a bit for the price you pay agreed. Though you are paying mostly for name, location, and that fuzzy exclusive feeling you get by saying you are staying there, not pure luxury that you would get say at the Four Seasons (which is only about $400-500 a night). I would say I would be disappointed if a resort didn't live up to my expectations but I would hope I would check my expectations to make sure they were reasonable and consider if I was experiencing an outlier event, especially if the event was spurned by an IT constraint known. He does say all other cast interactions were above and beyond expected so I do think it seems it was an outlier experience (caused by who that can't really be known by a third party).

I agree that dust checking is a bit weird as I would never do it but if a room is overly dusty I suppose that could mean it's not well cleaned.

Actually the dust checking he did is proper dust checking when evaluating a room so I didn't think anything of that. Actually thought this is a proper thorough review. You always check the trim above a door and the paintings that tells you how clean things are getting (a GM would normally check those items sporadically to follow up on his staff).

Now the GF villas are something I would definitely stay in.

The Villas are a little more modern and less Victorian. Though I had a pretty rundown room (did go below my expectations) when I stayed there just 2 weeks ago. But then again it's DVC and due for a rehab in 2 years. But the resort didn't fail my expectations in any fashion.

 

[PolyRob]

I agree with what you said for the most part except the quoted. If I was paying $700+ a night (which I likely never would for that room) I think its fair to assume that it would be an amazing room/experience. The Grand as noted in the review and in Disney marketing is the flagship. I think they could do better with their flagship. No I haven't stayed there yet but just in terms of the way the rooms look doesn't scream luxury to me.

Sure Disney does usually do its best but its not just this review either. Anything lately it seems there is an issue the first guest recovery option is extra FPs. Thats great and all but I think it seems to be more of a oh I hope this means no more complaints on Disney's end.

I am taking a break from the Grand this year after my first CL stay there. I went in expecting a better experience compared to my past trips because it was the flagship's CL and honestly I had better experiences at BC CL a few days prior, GF in the past, and other resorts across property. Fortunately I was staying on a great AP rate an nowhere near the $700 price and it was not my first time at the GF. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. My next MK resorts will be CR in Oct and Poly in Dec. There is no way I can handle the GF lobby and monorail crowds again in December this year! It was truly insane last December!