Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Stayed for 3 nights for a conference. Ride from the airport using Disney’s Magical Express was quick and convenient. This is my first visit to Disney World. Check in was very awkward. The CM at the front desk was maybe new and not terribly sure of herself. Friendly enough but took longer than it should have to check in and get two accounts set up for our room (my mom travelled with me so her magic band had to be set up with a different credit card.) We arranged our trip too late to take advantage of the luggage delivery service and it was kind of a hassle to cart all of our stuff to our room which was in building 5. Our room was nice. The beds are insanely comfortable but overall the room was nothing special. This place needs an overhaul. If I was paying the rack rate for the room I got, I would be disappointed. Vending area in building 5 was a disappointment. Many of the slots were empty so we had to go to the quick serve restaurant or the gift shop for Diet Coke. And I know Disney has a captive audience, but $4.50 for a 20 oz bottle of soda is not very magical. The pool area was nice- lots of chairs available and plenty of towels and CM’s coming around to bring drinks and food. Conference center is close by which is nice. Food during the conference was good and the snacks and beverages provided were plentiful. Amenities provided by the resort are appreciated. I especially enjoyed the complimentary transportation to and from the airport and the resort check in for our luggage. Overall, this is a good place to stay, but it didn’t knock my socks off. I love Disney, but I think maybe I have been spoiled by a different level of service provided on Disney Cruise Line. The resort is beautiful from afar and the grounds are very well kept, but the building and rooms need lots of updating and upgrades in my opinion.

We did the Disney Tea Party (Princess Aurora) amazing! My daughter absolutely loved this. The entertainment was excellent plus tea and food. Definitely worth the pricy tag. Your little princess will get an Aurora doll, bracelet, Magic wand, necklace, and personalized photographs. Lots of singing and story telling. Then at the end you do a small parade with Aurora around Lobby. If your child loves Disney princesses do this experience, worth it. One tip dress up your little one as a prince or princess before party.

We had quite a week at the Grand Floridian! Weather was cold and rainy the first few days, and my son got diarrhea from eating at a different hotel. Kind of a rough start. It warmed up, and we took advantage of the kids play area. My 4 year old son somehow fell exiting the bottom of the water slide. He managed to scrape his head pretty badly at the bottom of the pool. The injury covered a good portion of his forehead, and was bleeding pretty good. The lifeguard helped me get the bleeding taken care of, and find a large enough bandage for him while also calming him down. Michael came over and made sure he was ok, and everything was documented. My son was ok, but was pretty bummed out. A few minutes later Michael returned to check on him. He offered us a pontoon ride to see the fireworks! That turned Little Mans’s attitude right around! He was very excited! Still bandaged up, we had a fantastic time with snacks, drinks, and lots of smiles! Our driver, Darren, was also fantastic!!!!! He was so kind to us and the kids, and answered all of our questions! Our 6 year old daughter talked his ear off, and both kids asked him the same questions repeatedly. He just smiled and answered all their questions...again! He even refused to take the tip we tried to give him! We were very impressed with the staff taking such good care of us! On our check out day, there was a tragedy at the Orlando airport. Our flight was canceled, but our bags were already at the airport. The airline offered us no guidance or assistance, left us high and dry and in tears! No luggage, no room, no food, and uncertain when we could get rescheduled. Crying at the Grand Floridian with a 4 and 6 year old, my husband continued to try to figure out flight while I tried to figure out a room. Again their customer service shined brightly!!! Lynzee was amazing! She got us a complimentary room in club level, taxi vouchers so my husband could go buy the kids and ourselves clothes and essentials, sent toothbrushes to our room, and reassured me they would do everything in their power to take care of our family! We were so panicked being “stuck” at Disney with the clothes on our backs, and the GF staff were fantastic! Getting on the elevator from the club level to check out, the sweetest cast member hugged us all as if we were family, making sure the kids got enough sncaks and drinks for the road! Seriously, we had some lemons thrown our way on our trip, and the Grand Floridian staff definitely created lemonade for our family!!!! Thank you, Michael, Darren, Lynzee, and the other fantastic cast members for ensuring our trip was magical!!! If our family isn’t black listed for being such a hot mess, we will be back!

We stayed at the Grand Floridian from January 18 - 25th. This was our first time staying at this resort. The style of this resort isn't really my thing, however I was surprised with how much we enjoyed our stay. We were in Sago Cay with a view of the marina. We had a large room and a balcony. We were close to the boat dock and the quick service restaurant. We could go right outside our door and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks each night. The hotel even piped in the music each night. Our room was always clean and we always had adequate amounts of towels and toiletries. Every person we came into contact with at the hotel was pleasant and spoke to us, which was nice. The location of this resort was fabulous and having access to the monorail was great. The beds were the most comfortable I have slept on in a while. I only have a few negatives about this resort. First, the price is very high. For the price of these rooms I would expected they were a little more upscale. The rooms looked like they were refurbished not too long ago, with the exception of the bathrooms. The bathroom (where the toilet and tub are) were very dark and dreary. The paint was peeling off the wall and everything in there just looked drab for a $500 plus per night room. My only other issue was that there is only one hot tub on the property and it was broken most of our stay. For a resort this size, I would think there would be more than one hot tub.

Our stay at the Grand Floridian was wonderful in almost every way. The hotel and grounds are well kept, clean and absolutely beautiful. The housekeeping staff were from 1-10 a 20! Very considerate and kind. The only problem was right at the VERY END of our stay as we were in the lobby waiting for Disney's Magical Express to take us to the airport. I am a photographer, and to pass time was taking a few more photos of the lobby and surrounding areas. I was taking a photograph of the walkway on the right side of the lobby that many people pass through to get to shops, eateries and to other buildings etc, a woman who was dressed as a waitress approached me and said, "Don't you think it's unusual to take a photo of a hallway?" I responded, "No, it is a beautiful hotel and I'm just getting this great view." She then, told me that she was security and began asking me who I was, who I was there with and what I was doing. I responded that I was a photographer and had stayed a week here with my family and wanted to get a few more photographs to show friends what a lovely hotel this was. She then said that, "We really frown upon photos being taken in unusual places like hallways and walkways" Then she asked to see the pictures I was taking. To be kind, I showed her and then she said don't do it again. I said, "I am leaving in 10 minutes" and walked away. If the Grand Floridian is so upset security concerns they should have a SIGN saying, NO PHOTOGRAPHY PLEASE like there is in every other place in the world where photos aren't allowed. This really ruined our whole week to have this woman verbally attack me. She kept interrogating me and trying to be pushy. This was literally our last moments at the hotel. If there would have been a sign, I never would have taken photos at all. But if this is how a 5 star hotel treats their guests then no thank you. We are never coming back. NO matter how beautiful it is, there is no excuse to treat a guest this way.