Reviews of Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by AmLin83 Review Date: 04/01/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family stayed here this past fall and loved it! Our room was clean, the atmosphere was beautiful, there were different pool options, and the restaurants /quick service was delicious! We loved it!
Pros:
Atmosphere Food ShoppingCons:
PriceyReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 03/26/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
THE BEST RESORT. MY FAV!!! A must💕
Pros:
Really great cast members. They’re always wonderful! Beautiful scenery, good food, also, fun pools for the kiddos😊Cons:
NONEReviewed by EmJ Review Date: 02/25/2020
Rating: (7) Recommended
Overall, it was a gorgeous resort, but overpriced (even with a 25% discount). We felt it had limited food options for us (not impressed with Gasparilla Grill or the Pool Bar food), as we weren't interested in the higher end options available. Service was fine, but not remarkable. The bus as abysmal at best.
Really, it was the location (with monorail, walk to the Poly, and boat service) and the pool that made the trip. I'd recommend it, but we're not in a rush to return.
Pros:
Amazing location, great zero-entry pool, spacious room with very comfortable bedsCons:
Bus service (true of any on-property resort), limited non-high end food options.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/26/2020
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
Went to front desk 3 times to try and get our watch bands to open rooms. Unsuccessful 3 times! Finally concierge got the bands to work on the door but some of our party couldn’t access the park!
Pros:
Food was excellent!Cons:
Above & Hotel paint terrible! I mean how many times can u repaint something before it looks terrible!Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/19/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Everything & then more- cast was amazing...perfectly manicured...rooms clean & comfortable!!!
Pros:
Magical from the moment you pull up...Cons:
The cost of courseReviewed by Joyhardin Review Date: 11/23/2019
Rating: (9) Recommended
We decided to splurge and stay and the Grand Floridian this year. It was such a fantastic experience. We have stayed at other Deluxe Resorts over the years, but the level of attention to detail at The Grand was impeccable. I had put in some room requests prior to our arrival and when we arrived, the CM at the desk didn't seem to have any record of them. He tried to get us into a room close to what we had requested, but didn't have much luck. We headed to the park because our room wasn't ready and about an hour later, a lady from GF called and apologized for the desk CM not having our requests noted and told us that she had a couple further options for us as far as rooms to choose from. She was so nice and we ended up in a room pretty similar to what we were hoping for in Sago Cay.
The room was very clean and well appointed. When we first arrived we were having some trouble with the AC and called the "front desk", which I know is really just a call center. A maintenance man arrived within 10 minute and had the room cool as a cucumber. The first morning, our Keuring didn't work and I called again. Someone from housekeeping was there within a few minutes with a new one and tons of apologies about our inconvenience.
Since we were staying at such a nice resort, we decided to have a couple resort days instead of going sun up to sun down at the parks. We spent 2 days at the pool - we opted for the quiet pool both days and it was fantastic. The first day, they didn't have a server circulating around the pool, so we went up to the bar several times. The bartender was so friendly and remembered our orders when we came back up for additional drinks. The second day there was a server and he was so attentive and got us drinks very quickly.
Everything was very clean. We saw housekeepers all the time cleaning every little nook and cranny of the resort. We ate at several of the restaurants (GF Cafe, Narcossees and Gasparilla Grill) and had great meals.
If we want to splurge again, we will definitely stay here again.
Pros:
Well appointedCons:
PriceReviewed by SarahB4 Review Date: 04/19/2019
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
Stayed here in 2013 for a Sonic owners convention with my WHOLE family (11 of us). It was nice, but unless you only want to visit Magic Kingdom and go to the spa, I don’t think it’s worth the money.
It’s a good hotel, but I don’t think it’s any better than a $150-200 per night chain hotel. The decor wasn’t super immersive, there was nothing mind blowing about the room or amenities, and the on site food was just as good as other food around the parks.
It was pretty fantastic to be 5 mins from Magic Kingdom. Also, you could see the fireworks across the lake witch was awesome!
Pros:
Close to MK, dining on site, several pools, SPA!!!Cons:
Expensive, pretty far from all other parksReviewed by Rebekah G Review Date: 12/18/2018
Rating: (7) Recommended
10 of us stayed at GF for the first time Dec. 9-15, 2018. We are Disney vets and have stayed at WDW resorts many, many times the last couple decades at value and moderate. This was only my second deluxe. We recently became pass holders and DVC members so we will start to stay at more and more Deluxe. Let me preface this trip was a big family holiday celebration with 8 adults, a 4 year old, and infant, which would present challenges no matter where we stayed.
I arrived on ME with some of our party about 10:30am; the rest arrived via car soon after. We got checked in and found we had two upgraded lagoon views from garden views, which was a hit because we could watch the monorail. Great balcony and a peaceful view!
The rooms were not quite ready so we headed to grab some lunch. The only real quick service option for lunch was Gasparilla. It was raining and only has a small inside seating area for the size of the resort so it was crowded even though we arrived about 11am. Food was fine for a QS. Cookies were underwhelming. The cupcakes we had later in the week were much better. That was the only QS meal we ate there, but got breakfast items, mug refills, and snacks all week. While Gasparilla was open 24 hours there are only two Coke freestyle machines (we found two others at the beach pool on other side of resort but those were limited hours). There was always a backup and mid day multiple flavors were frequently out.
We got the text rooms were ready shortly after lunch. We had no park plans the first day so we were glad to get situated with the large group. We were put in adjoining rooms in Sago Cay (lobby of buidling was beautiful). The rooms were clean and nicely appointed. We had the crib we ordered and were brought more Kcups. Both driving groups were able to get CM with golf carts drive to their cars and get their luggage, which was awesome since it was raining and the one car had two kids and a lot of stuff. Their only complaint driving is CM were not as helpful when they arrived to help direct to non-valet parking.
Those of us ME guests received our checked bags shortly thereafter. We had purchased military tickets so we needed to go to TTC to activate. This was our first experience with how inconvenient the transport is if you are staying there. We'd used resort monorail many times prior trips for dining and resort exploration, but it's not as fun when you are staying there. At this point (about 2:30pm) it finally stopped raining. We went to the monorail station and it was very backed up. We decided to take our chances walking to TTC. It took 7 adults a full 20 minutes at a brisk pace to make it to TTC, but we decided that was better than waiting for multiple monrails before we would get on. I upgraded my ticket to Gold annual pass, and the CM at TTC was very efficient with our group.
We had earlier dining reservations at Cape May (we decided before the trip, we would drive since we had two cars and that was the right choice after the monorail earlier). We had some time and the weather was good for December swimming for we northerners so we checked out the quieter pool in center of resort. The zero entry was fantastic for the four year old and for wading adults who did not want to get soaked. The pool was huge and not very crowded. We enjoyed that pool several times throughout the week. The hot tub is large and accommodated a lot of people. We went to the beach pool once, which was nice, but smaller and not as good for little ones wanting to swim. The four year old kept saying she wanted to go to the pool with "nothing." Aka, no slide. The beach pool was a little warmer.
We did eat at 1900 Park Fare, my first time for dinner (I'd done character breakfast before). We had a 4:20 reservation, which I would highly recommend. It was not very crowded compared to some of the lines we saw outside the restaurant many times walking through. Food was above average for a character buffet and the 4 year old loved Cinderella and the adults found the stepmother and sisters amusing.
The main lobby was exquisite as it always is for Christmas, but staying there for the first time, we found the lobby very crowded much of the time, which was inconvenient for those "living there." The gingerbread house had a constantly long line as did the photo pass for Christmas tree. We went a couple times later in the day before closing at gingerbread house. Less crowds, but they would be out of things and one night the cookies we got were inedible. Guest services gave us our snack credits back.
Overall, this is an amazing resort that feels so 5 star, less Mickey, and we did enjoy so much staying there. But, our biggest critique was transportation. While MK is so close, you cannot walk there. By the time the resort monorail gets around to your resort, there's usually minimal space. Security can get backed up. Going to MK, we took the boat one morning, but that was no better. It still took 20 minutes from the time we got on the boat because it stops at Poly first. Taking the boat back from MK is nice cause GF is first stop, but the boats fill up cause they hold 34 people and they only run one during day it seemed. One day we walked out to leave MK midday, and just missed boat. CM recommended monorail would be faster cause boat would not be back for 20-25 minutes. We walked right on a monorail, but it takes a full 20 minutes to go from MK to GF (sometimes longer) cause of all the stops. It just seems like being that close with the price of the resort it should be easier to get to and from MK. Somedays I would have been happier getting on a bus.
Going to Epcot is even worse. As I noted, at a brisk pace you can walk to TTC from GF in 20 minutes, but there was no way we would do that with 10 people and 2 little ones. So, we had to take the resort monorail (a solid 15 minutes on a good trip) to TTC, then unload, walk across, wait for Epcot monorail, ride over, and have to go through security AGAIN! A CM said they're working on fixing this, but we had to go through security at resort and again at Epcot. The return trip was a little better since we were second stop after TTC. If you're staying at Poly, you can walk to TTC; if you're staying at Contemporary, you can walk to MK. If you're staying at GF, one of the most expensive resorts, you can get no where fast. My husband and I stayed at AK lodge for the first time this past January, I came into worried about tranzport. While we were farther from all the parks except AK, we just walked out and got on a bus. It may have been a longer bus ride, but a much smoother experience. I much preferred going to HS and AK from GF because it was much easier logistically. I know Disney transport is not always the best, but I just expected a little better since monorail resorts are so pricey.
As a first time resort monorail stay (a longstanding Disney dream of our whole Disney family), I just expected getting everywhere to be easier for what you're paying. As DVC members, I want to stay at the other monorail resorts to compare. I'd stay again at GF, but now know what to expect in transport.
Pros:
Lovely grounds and rooms, surprisingly compactCons:
Transportation between MK and Epcot, busy lobbyReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/18/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
Gorgeous hotel but not as convenient as a location you'd expect
Pros:
Beautiful grounds, deceivingly compactCons:
Getting to and from MK and EpcotReviewed by llhoff Review Date: 09/28/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our family of 5 recently stayed at the Grand Floridian for 2 nights following 3 nights at Port Orleans Riverside. It had been many years since we had stayed at the Grand Floridian, but it definitely lived up to the positive memories we had from our previous stay. Our room was on the 2nd floor in building 9, Big Pine Key, which was convenient to the main building and both pools. Our room had a lovely view of the wedding pavilion and the Polynesian Resort just across the lake. The room was lovely, clean, and well appointed. We had everything we needed. It was very comfortable for our family of 5 with no complaints from our 17 year old who slept on the pull out couch. We opted for turndown service which our kids loved for the Ghirardelli chocolate left on their pillows each night.
We spent most of our time in the parks and didn't really have time to take advantage of a lot that the resort has to offer (maybe next time!). We did have an evening at the pools which were uncrowded and peaceful. The large hot tub was a nice bonus. We watched the fireworks from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party from the marina area one night, which was really nice, as they have the soundtrack piped in. We took advantage of the quick service location, Gasparilla Island Grill, one evening for a late dinner. The food was as good or better than most of the resort quick service locations we have eaten at. All of the cast members we interacted with were friendly and helpful throughout the resort. Having the choice of monorail, bus, or boat to the various parks was very convenient. Our whole family really enjoyed our stay here and wished we could have stayed longer. We would like to return, however, even with a discount, the room rates here make it a rare treat for us. Nonetheless, we had a very nice time and would definitely recommend it.
