Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

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.

I stayed with my brother for two nights while we did the Disney Parks. The location is incredible with a walking path to the Magic Kingdom and they were kind enough to allow us to check-in at 8 a.m. It was pretty downhill afterwards. Staff will smile and offer a hello but that is about it. There was no offer for luggage assistance despite both of us having a few bags. The room amenities are slim with mouthwash being the only advanced offering. The club level is perfectly adequate but so much money for what they actually provide. By and large the apathy from the staff stood out the most though. The club-level concierge that was hyped in pre-arrival communication did close to nothing. Everything was reactive with staff providing only the bare minimum. We were a big Grand Floridian family but this last visit seemed almost like a dare to keep staying. We did a 2-night package with parkhopper tickets for around $5k. The value for the room just isn’t there. I wish I had gone to the Four Seasons where they try a little harder.

We stayed a week during Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. We ended up in a park view room on the 4th floor, and the room had really high ceilings which made the room feel really large. We had stayed before the remodel, and I have to say that they did a really nice job-it feels really fresh and new. The good: Great room Easy to get into room/pay with magic band. Food was very good at Citricos Cleaning of room was as expected Really nice updated rooms - feel bigger The grounds were kept well The walkway to Magic Kingdom is such a peaceful way to get to the park Beautiful Christmas decorations in the main building, and gingerbread house Easy to get quick service breakfast before heading to park Spa is really nice - the girls (10 and 13) and I got manicures that were so fun! Very nice front desk staff Good selections in the stores The bad: -When we arrived we were early and put our luggage with bell services. Once we had our room it took almost an hour to get them, and the person that brought them would not leave until we tipped ( we didn't have cash yet and were going to see if we could tip another way but decided against it.). It was very odd- we stay a lot at four seasons and other upscale places and have never encountered this -It gets really busy in the main lobby -Crowded in front of restaurants with people waiting (like park faire) and it gets really loud and stressful with upset kids everywhere The character breakfast was ok but felt a bit rushed -

I am staying on the WDW property. The day we checked in we had come from a Disney Cruise. We had time before the restaurant opened at our hotel, so I managed to talk my two grandsons in going to the Grand Floridian to see the gingerbread house (an annual tradition). Let me preface this by saying that I am a 74 yo veteran, a WDW passholder and a DVC member. Therefore, I am very much aware of how to get to the Grand Floridian without parking there - and free. However, I get tired and short winded, so I thought a quick trip would be the best. I was prepared to be sent away if parking was an issue. What I was not prepared for was the vitriol that came from the guard. He started by saying, "you people from Shades of Green think you can just come here to park. You have to pay for parking ..." He was truly nasty. I did not think that yelling at grandmothers was a part of his job description. Considering that the Grand Floridian is my DVC home, I was surprised by his attitude. Needless to say, we did not go to the Grand Floridian and will not see the gingerbread house this year (or buy anything!). I am truly disappointed by this interaction. A simple comment like, "Our parking is too crowded today to let anyone in not staying here and this is how you can get to the hotel " - would have have been better. It is not the veteran's fault that Disney decided to treat us as second class vacationers.

Visited the hotel during a morning of viewing Christmas events around Walt Disney World Resort. Arrived by monorail. Impressive Christmas decorations and homemade gingerbread house built to (relative) scale. Cool that you can just walk around the hotel inside and out to explore the various areas. It was very hot when we attended so didn’t spend too long outside however the manicured lawns, fountains and walkways were beautiful.