Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa Review

On my most recent trip to Walt Disney World, we decided to do a split stay between Disney Resorts. We spent the first five days at a moderate resort, Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, and the last two days at a deluxe resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa.

For anyone new to Disney, there are three resort hotel categories for on site hotels: value, moderate, and deluxe. As you go up in category, the resort amenities and cost increase.

Having stayed at a deluxe resort before (I have stayed twice at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge), I knew roughly what to expect from the room amenities and quality of restaurants offered, but the ambiance and convenience of this resort blew me away.

The Grand Floridian is located across the Seven Seas Lagoon from the Magic Kingdom and alongside Disney’s Polynesian Resort. There is a great walking path along the water that you can take in between the two resorts. New Balance has even sponsored the walking path and offers a suggested running route that takes you from one resort to the other. Both resorts offer excellent dining options, giving you the convenience of having more dining options close by. I enjoyed both Ohana and Kona table service restaurants at the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian Café (also table service) at the Grand Floridian.

The view walking along the water is beautiful. You can see the castle and space mountain from the Magic Kingdom, the monorail, and the Contemporary Resort across the water. You also walk past Disney’s Wedding Pavilion, which is a regal building in itself.

Before staying at the Grand Floridian, I always thought it had a stuffy vibe. Modeled after the Florida of old, it seemed pretentious to me. The reality of this resort couldn’t be farther from that thought. Don’t get me wrong, compared to other Disney resorts, it does have a regal feel, but it’s important to remember where you are. You’re on a Walt Disney World property. Kids will always be running around, and people will be in shorts, hats, and sneakers no matter how nicely dressed the staff are, how high the arches are in the doorways, or how fancy the food is.

Here are a few items that distinguish this resort from others:

High-end shops: On the top floor of the main building at the Grand Floridian, the same floor where you would go to catch the monorail, there are many high-end shops. They include fashion options for men and women and Disney souvenirs, but my favorite is a bath and body shop named Basin White. I love this shop! They have products ranging from bath bombs, soaps, lotions, etc. One of my favorite souvenirs I brought home from this trip is a bar of soap with Mickey heads on it. Since leaving, I have also discovered that you can order these items online at https://basin.com. The items can be a bit pricey, but are very well made.

Cinderella and her Royal Court: On our first afternoon at the Grand Floridian, while we were checking in in the main lobby, we were amazed to see Cinderella, the Prince, and her Royal Court descending the grand staircase and sharing a waltz! The court was made up of little kids and was very cute. This occurs everyday in the lobby at 3:30pm. What a cool experience for the little prince or princess in your family.
Afternoon tea:

A very unique experience offered at this resort is at the Grand Floridian Tea Room where you can have an authentic British afternoon tea. As a tea drinker and a fan of the Royals, this was an experience I had to do on this trip. It did not disappoint! Every member of your party got to pick their own tea and it came out in a cute little pot with a tea cozy. We used real china. They are 3 different meal packages you can chose from. We went with the entry level one that gave us each an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones and tarts, plus dessert. Your items come out beautifully displayed on a caddy. I loved every minute of this experience. There is also a princess version of the tea for little ones that you can book.

Monorail Access: Just like the Polynesian and Contemporary Resorts, the Grand Floridian is on the monorail line that connects these resorts to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. This gives resort guests two ways to reach those parks: by bus or by monorail. The monorail is a nice experience as it can be like a ride in itself for those riding it for the first time. It also gives you a nice view of part of Disney property and in my experience can be less busy than the buses.
Grounds and pools:

The grounds at this resort are beautifully manicured with lots of flowers and trees. There is a lawn area where they offer a yoga class in the mornings and at night they set up a screen to show Disney movies. There are two pools on the grounds as well. One has a great play area for kids and the other is more of a quiet pool area. It has a large pool, and hot tub with a bar and lots of super comfy lounge chairs.

Viewing of the Nighttime shows:

For this trip, we had a lagoon view room in the Boca Chica building on the 2nd floor. We had a balcony. The great thing about having a lagoon view room is that every night we had a great view of the fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom (Happily Ever After). We saw the fireworks perfectly and could even hear the music! The only downside is we couldn’t fully see the projection show being show on the castle but considering we didn’t have to fight the crowds to watch the fireworks, we loved it. We also have a great spot to watch the nighttime light up float show that happens every night after the fireworks. The floats do their show in front of each resort around the Lagoon (the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian). It will do one showing just before the fireworks start, and then 2 more afterwards. The show is about five minutes long and is set to music. It’s a nice added bonus for those guests staying at one of the surrounding resorts.

Rooms:

This resort has some of the brightest, naturally lit rooms I have ever stayed in on a Disney property. Once you walk into your room, you feel at home. You feel the luxury of it. Most importantly, the room is big. There is lots of room for suitcases without the room feeling cluttered. The fixtures are high-end, as are the furnishings. The H2O Disney bath products are great as well. They are sea salt products and our room featured a mix of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body lotion, foot lotion, and mouthwash. The bathroom is spacious with 2 sinks and a separate water closet for the toilet and tub/shower. They even include a hamper in the bathroom to put your used towels. Goodbye towels everywhere! As mentioned, we had a balcony with two chairs and a little table. It actually felt very private. From our balcony, you could actually hear the train whistle from the Magic Kingdom. For a Disney fan like me, that was a nice added perk!

Restaurants:The Grand Floridian offers 4 table service restaurants (Citricos, Grand Floridian Café, Victoria and Albert’s and Narcoossee’s), 1 table service character-dining restaurant (1900 Park Fare), and one quick service restaurant (Gasparilla Island Grill) plus the Tea Room and numerous lounges. The options are plenty and the food is great!

The Grand Floridian is a resort I can’t wait to get back too! Being on the monorail line added a level of convenience to our trip that we haven’t experience in the past and I loved being able to venture over to the Polynesian Resort whenever we wanted.

Are you ready to begin planning your Walt Disney World vacation? Contact me today at jwilcox@thedestinationexperts.comor 1-866-899-8969 ext.5127 and let’s get started!