Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

We stayed in a top level room in the Conch building at the Grand Floridian, so the ceilings were high, and we had a great balcony view of the resort. The bathrooms were really nice! The Mary Poppins overlay in the room is super cute and a nice update they made to the resort.

We stayed at the Grand Floridian 20 years ago when my husband and I got married and it was spectacular. We returned with our 4 children and although the hotel still looks exactly the same, certain things have definitely changed which has taken away from the 5 star class. The rooms were perfect and were exceptionally clean. However check in was mess. The lady checking us in did not programme the cards correctly so we couldn’t get into our rooms. It took us a further 2 attempts at the front reception before the problem was rectified. Then the reception and 1st floor of the main hotel were constantly in chaos. It has become far too commercialised and you definitely don’t feel like you are staying at a 5 star resort. You in actual fact feel as if you are in another Disney park.

My wife and I are Disney Vacation Club members. We have contracts at Grand Floridian (GF), Bay Lake Towers(BLT) and Copper Creek (CC). We visit WDW at least twice a year for the past 30 years. The accommodations at GF are wonderful; except for the Deluxe Studio in our opinion. Disney missed the mark on these rooms. GF was on our bucket list and we originally could only afford the buy in at Deluxe Studio for the time we wanted; we had not stayed at one and only viewed the model. After the first stay we were disappointed in the poor layout of the living area. The bathroom is great with a walk-in shower and adequate tub. The living area puts the bed up against a wall with only one side to get into bed easily. There is no night stand on one side; we use one of our suitcases as a night stand, I have suggested at least a folding shelf several times. The storage under the bed has two draws, however, the one-night stand on the open side is not functional as the night stand on that side blocks the draw from opening. The fold out bed baffles us; since it seems to be impractical. When folded down with a person in it there is no easy way to walk to the bathroom or exit. You would either must walk on the fold down bed or other bed to get to the exit or bathroom. We would prefer a chest of drawers to the fold down bed; there is a sleep sofa in the room. We are hoping a remedy will be forthcoming in the future. Till then we try for a 1 bedroom at the GF when possible. The newer DVC Deluxe Suites are much better designed so we are pleased. Grand Floridian location is on the monorail route with several boat and bus options to get to Magic Kingdom and Epcot; we really like that. Also allows easy access to Contemporary and Polynesian resorts for their restaurants and shopping. The main building and lobby of the GF is wonderful any time of the year with entertainment and great ambience; Christmas time is wonderful.

*cue angelic choir music* “Ahhhhhhhhhhh” This place is the Mecca, the pinnacle, the high bar, or as my teen and pre-teen would call it, “The Shiz”. The Villas at Grand Floridian is officially the resort I will stalk reservations to try and get from now on because EVERYTHING about this place (ambiance, room, decor, service, location, in room bathrobes) is the Disney dream. We just finished a split stay between here, the Beach Club, the Boardwalk and Kidani Village and our group was unanimous in choosing this as our first pick. No, the pool doesn’t beat Beach Club’s, but our two bedroom villa and the service and ambiance we experienced here made that category a moot point for us. The walkway to Magic Kingdom is a lovely way to start the day and you’ll never struggle to find a staff member eager to help you (or simply welcome you home). Definitely make sure you have a charging block for your devices because our 2 bedroom villa only had one USB port, but it’s a small deficiency when you look at the big picture. If you’re on the fence about the villas, hurl yourself over it. You won’t be sorry.