Grand Floridian vs Contemporary with young kids?

[tinkb]

Which would you choose? 3 kids 6 and under. I was originally planning Contemporary for convenience, not thrilled with the decor. You can't beat being able to walk to MK. I've never been to GF but it looks very nice, still on the monorail for convenience with the stroller. Never stayed at either, so any opinions are welcome!

 

[mom2rtk]

My vote always goes for convenience. The monorail has been fairly unreliable of late. It would be great to just be able to walk back and forth to the MK.

 

[Shanti]

Which would you choose? 3 kids 6 and under. I was originally planning Contemporary for convenience, not thrilled with the decor. You can't beat being able to walk to MK. I've never been to GF but it looks very nice, still on the monorail for convenience with the stroller. Never stayed at either, so any opinions are welcome!

Contemporary. Walking to and from MK is the top reason, but there are other advantages:

• Young kids enjoy watching the monorail run through the hotel lobby
• Chef Mickey's is right at the hotel and perfect for that age group
• The rooms are bigger than the rooms at GF, and that's great for a family
• You can take a boat directly from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness, to do Mickey's Backyard Barbeque, movie night & smores with Chip and Dale, pony rides, wagon rides, or other activities.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Which would you choose? 3 kids 6 and under. I was originally planning Contemporary for convenience, not thrilled with the decor. You can't beat being able to walk to MK. I've never been to GF but it looks very nice, still on the monorail for convenience with the stroller. Never stayed at either, so any opinions are welcome!

Mind if I ask, just how young and what's your overall touring style? Park commandos? Do you take advantage of resort/pool time?

For us, GF wins big time when it comes to resort/pool time..... both pools have zero entry, lots of seating, the kids splash pad is amazing and hugely important for us. As much as I love CR, the pools there are just a notch below other resorts. Only a dinky squirt area, no true kid's splash pad. No zero entry pools. It just isn't our favorite.

Depending on the time of year, length of trip, and overall plan, I think I'd go GF for the pools alone. If it's a shorter trip, colder months, and not much swimming/resort time in the plan, I'd go CR.

As far as transportation, I love being on the monorail and don't find it to be unreliable at all. The limited hours from a year or two ago are mostly a thing of the past now, so really a non-issue. I've stayed at all the MK resorts quite a bit over the last two years and really can't think of a single instance when a monorail issue materially impacted us.

GF is in a great spot... one segment via monorail to MK.... on boat ride segment back to GF. It's pretty much the next best setup compared to walking from CR.

Good luck deciding.

 

[wanderingdee]

We were actually booked at the Contemporary but switched to the Grand Floridian because of their pool. If you don't plan on swimming at all I'd go Contemporary. If you plan on using the pool I'd go Grand Floridian. The pools at the Grand Floridian are so much fun for little kids and so easily accessible. We were there last summer with two 3 year olds and a 5 year old and they all loved the mad hatter splash area.

 

[Nancyg56]

Mind if I ask, just how young and what's your overall touring style? Park commandos? Do you take advantage of resort/pool time?

For us, GF wins big time when it comes to resort/pool time..... both pools have zero entry, lots of seating, the kids splash pad is amazing and hugely important for us. As much as I love CR, the pools there are just a notch below other resorts. Only a dinky squirt area, no true kid's splash pad. No zero entry pools. It just isn't our favorite.

Depending on the time of year, length of trip, and overall plan, I think I'd go GF for the pools alone. If it's a shorter trip, colder months, and not much swimming/resort time in the plan, I'd go CR.

As far as transportation, I love being on the monorail and don't find it to be unreliable at all. The limited hours from a year or two ago are mostly a thing of the past now, so really a non-issue. I've stayed at all the MK resorts quite a bit over the last two years and really can't think of a single instance when a monorail issue materially impacted us.

GF is in a great spot... one segment via monorail to MK.... on boat ride segment back to GF. It's pretty much the next best setup compared to walking from CR.

Good luck deciding.

With kids I would say the GF wins. I also would not rule out the Poly.

 

[Turk February]

In your situation I agree with others and vote Contemporary. We stayed there with a 3yo and it was great to just walk back to the resort every night from MK. You really can't beat that. I'm not crazy about the theme either but the walk and the view from the rooms are amazing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Which would you choose? 3 kids 6 and under. I was originally planning Contemporary for convenience, not thrilled with the decor. You can't beat being able to walk to MK. I've never been to GF but it looks very nice, still on the monorail for convenience with the stroller. Never stayed at either, so any opinions are welcome!

GF. Yes, you can walk back and forth from CR and that's where the perks of that resort end. The pool is in dire need of renovation and the elevators to get to the rooms are always so crowded.

GF has two gorgeous pools, an Alice in Wonderland splash pad and fantastic restaurants.

 

[100acreHiker]

I agree, having stayed at both, that the only perk to the contemporary is the walk, but even with that, GF has a boat and that is a wonderful treat after a long day at MK with tired feet.

 

[oceanmarina]

My vote always goes for convenience. The monorail has been fairly unreliable of late. It would be great to just be able to walk back and forth to the MK.

Contemporary. Walking to and from MK is the top reason, but there are other advantages:

• Young kids enjoy watching the monorail run through the hotel lobby
• Chef Mickey's is right at the hotel and perfect for that age group
• The rooms are bigger than the rooms at GF, and that's great for a family
• You can take a boat directly from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness, to do Mickey's Backyard Barbeque, movie night & smores with Chip and Dale, pony rides, wagon rides, or other activities.

Yep to that ! Having stayed at both with my kids, I would vote for contemporary for the reasons stated above. The monorail is way too unreliable. Plus the contemporary has a community hall which my kids loved as well.

 

[Aurora0427]

Which would you choose? 3 kids 6 and under. I was originally planning Contemporary for convenience, not thrilled with the decor. You can't beat being able to walk to MK. I've never been to GF but it looks very nice, still on the monorail for convenience with the stroller. Never stayed at either, so any opinions are welcome!

We've stayed at the GF twice with our daughter- once when she was 3.5 and then again at 4.5. She LOVED it. She still talks about the Grand Floridian. It's not stuffy- there are families everywhere. Lots of great activities for kids and adults, the pools are fun, great shopping, great restaurants. Beautiful resort, especially during Christmas.

We've stayed at the CR once- in the garden wing. We loved the size of the room. I don't care for the dining options as much. The pool is kind of lame, but walking to MK IS fantastic. If you can afford it, I think staying in the tower would be very kid friendly!

 

[tinkb]

Tough decision! That's for the input everyone!

 

[Main Street Matilda]

We've stayed at both (in the DVC villas) with our children and they loved both - so, I'd start by saying that you'll be happy with either. However, CR would get the nod from my no-so-young-anymore children. The atmosphere was more lively and it felt more "Disney" if that makes any sense. GF was more subdued and elegant. Being on the monorail, I wouldn't be concerned with dining options since you can hop between GF, CR and the Poly easily enough.

They both have their benefits and I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Shellyb84]

GF hands down. It's a beautiful resort, great pools, and there's the monorail and boat to MK which are both convenient.

 

[LilDisHelper]

Definetly Contempoary ... Kids love the Monorail going threw the Building and with Chef Mickey ... It's very Kid friendly ...
GF is very luxurius and maybe the Glamor the Kids won't like ... So Contempoary is my Coice


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(PS:SORRY I'M GERMAN

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

Im staying at GF in November but only because its cheaper than POLY and CR is booked.