The Lobby of the Grand Floridian
My family and I stayed at The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa at Walt Disney World during the recent Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. We had been there on an earlier trip for the 1900 Park Fare Character Dining but I had always wondered what the rooms were like. The Grand Floridian is the flagship hotel of Walt Disney World, offering luxury and convenience.
Decorated in grand 1900’s Victorian style, the lobby is striking – open five stories high. The grounds of the resort are equally striking with beautiful landscaping and fountains. Located directly across the Seven Seas Lagoon from Cinderella’s Castle, the views are incredible. The shores along the lagoon are white sand beaches, with pails and shovels provided for children to play. It’s a fantastic place to watch the fireworks and the nightly light show.
Rosie sitting at one of the fountains on the grounds of The Grand Floridian
The white sand beaches were beautiful!
Great views of the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle.
It’s only a few short minutes by monorail or boat to the Magic Kingdom. We could “hop” over for even just an hour or two. Definite benefit to be so close.
There are two swimming pools. This zero-entry pool with a waterfall and water slide was our favorite. Rose loved, loved, loved the water slide.
Zero-entry pool at the Grand Floridian
The rooms were equally as impressive. With all the amenities of a luxury hotel – my favorites were the magnifying make-up mirror; laundry hamper; coffee pot; and bath robes. Tip: request a room with a view of Cinderella’s Castle or a 5th floor room with high ceilings. There are even fun twists like Tinkerbell in the bedspread pattern, hidden Mickey’s in the wallpaper and even this cute, but classic lamp.
Room has a sofa and large television.
Our 5th floor room.
Double sinks in the bathroom are very convenient.
Bath robes - nice touch!
Mickey Lamp
Chocolates from the nightly turn-down service
I came home determined to add one of the amenities from the Grand Floridian to my own bathroom at home. I loved having the magnifying makeup mirror! I also had some ideas for furnishing our guest room and bath to make visitors as comfortable in our home, as Mickey made us feel in his :)
Where have you stayed at Walt Disney World? Which resort is your favorite? What did you like, dislike?
Disclosure: I attended the 2011 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration conference. Although I paid a fee to attend, as part of the conference, I received complimentary items, special discounts, and other benefits. Disney never requested that I blog about the experience but I love sharing things that make me feel lucky with readers, and this definitely qualifies as something that made me feel lucky!
Gorgeous! We have always stayed at Value Resorts, and Port Orleans once. After staying at the GR my husband said no way can we go back to Value now! ;-)
We might try Poly next year! ;-)
Great post! The hotel was grand, wasn’t it. My kids loved it, too. LOL about the magnifying mirror. I think I got spoiled doing my eye makeup on them, too!
NICE! Glad you enjoyed your stay. We went to Orlando in November and stayed at Celebrity Resorts in Kissimmee. It was like staying in a townhouse. In the larger suite, we had a full kitchen, a living room w/ pullout sofa, a laundry area, and a master bedroom w/ a huge jet tub in the bathroom. The adjacent small suite had two bedrooms (one with a kitchenette and pullout sofa), and a bathroom. I booked it through Armed Forces Vacation Club (for military and government employees and retirees). ANY listed room or suite ANYWHERE sells for the same price, which is less than $400 per week. So, I booked the LARGEST space I could find. That’s how we ended up with such a large space. :) Our two boys slept on the pullout, DD slept on the pullout in the “living room” of the small suite and my parents slept in the bedroom of the small suite. It was so nice to have space for my parents to come too. :)
Wow! That sounds awesome. We’ve always stayed “on property” because we love not having to drive during our vacation, but that sounds great for a big family.
Nice! We have no stayed there yet. The pool is awesome. Thanks for sharing and I am glad you had a great trip.
The hotel and grounds looks beautiful. Glad you had a wonderful time.
What a great post! We are planning a Disney trip in 2012, and, while we stayed at the Sheraton Vistana on our last trip and loved it, I really have been thinking about staying at one of the Disney hotels this time around. I’ll definitely be looking into the Grand Floridian
Looks and sounds like you all had a blast!
Glad to hear you loved the Grand Floridian! I’ve stayed in all of the Disney resorts now (I’m a Disney specialist travel agent so it’s “research” – that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) and the Grand Floridian is my favorite of the Disney resorts with the Boardwalk Inn a very close second! Glad to see someone else mention then laundry hamper. I list that as one of my favorite amenties too (which my husband thinks is insane!). My kids love the waterslide there too. That is the most important feature of a resort to them. I love the bright, airy rooms, the convenience of the Magic Kingdom being one stop away and the resort being the first stop on the boat on the way “home” from the park.
Lori
VisitMickey
I’ve only been to Disney once. I stayed in the value resort. The Grand Floridian looks gorgeous!
Same here! Those rooms look awesome Connie!
Ack I mean Kelly :)
Great post! I have never seen those high ceilings in a resort room before. Thank you for the compliment on my pictures! I am sad that I didn’t get to meet you at the conference.
Lovely pictures! I’m jealous, but love that you chose to share this. I definitely now wish I could go stay at the Grand Floridian.
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We love Disney World and I have always wanted to see what the Grand Floridian looked like inside. Thank you for curing my curiosity.
I stumbled you, my post is http://jonbonjovious.blogspot.com/2011/03/charlie-sheen-through-looking-glass.html
The Grand Floridian sounds wonderful but I know it would be way out of our budget. I’m hoping to treat my mom to the afternoon tea there on our visit this fall.
This trip we will be staying at All Star Music because it is a budget trip. Last time it was just the two of us for a belated honeymoon and we stayed at Coronado Springs.
I would love to stay at the Polynesian!
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Jealous! Have never stayed on the Disney Grounds. Always stayed in houses near…that was fun too!
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Looks like fun. I always stay off site because of the double beds in the disney hotels but that looks like a lot of fun.
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Disney really does their hotels right, don’t they? We loved our stay at the Animal Kingdom hotel years ago.
Wow! Looks wonderful! I’ve never been to Disney, but maybe someday.
Wasn’t it just gorgeous? We didn’t get to enjoy the pools, but the entire grounds were beautiful. Your daughter looks right at home. Now she’s spoiled!
I enjoyed the Grand Floridian but it isn’t my favorite Deluxe Resort…Animal Kingdom Lodge holds that distinction.
i’ve seen this hotel on the travel channel, i think. it looks nice!
It sounds like a beautiful, wonderful resort to stay in.
Very nice! What a way to help your family enjoy Disney.
Ok, NEW New year’s resolution – try to do more conferences. LOL!