Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA Information & Questions + Construction Updates

[mrsap]

Victoria & Albert’s Reopens July 28!​

Few establishments allow you to indulge in the luxurious cuisine quite like Victoria & Albert’s. I’m thrilled to share this fine dining restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is preparing for its momentous return on July 28, with reservations available starting June 20.

Victoria & Albert’s, a recipient of the AAA Five Diamond Award since 2000 and Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Award since 2018, is known for its unmatched dining experience with exquisite dishes made with ingredients from across the globe. This restaurant is the only one in Florida to hold the honor of having both the AAA Five Diamond and the Forbes Travel Guide Five Star awards and joins only 26 others in the nation with this same unique distinction.
The time has come to experience its timeless elegance and modern twist on American cuisine. Not only will its flavors be enhanced, but the space will be too. The newly reimagined dining room brings guests into a Victorian-styled setting with murals and wall coverings that showcase a timeless elegance and subtle inspirations of a whimsical garden. For a more intimate evening, the private Queen Victoria’s Room or the coveted Chef’s Table with a front-row seat to the culinary masterminds at work may be the option for you. The world-class wine collection found within its wine cellar, with over 500 selections, perfectly pairs with your dishes by the sommeliers on staff. If you’re interested in zero-proof cocktails, there are delicious beverage pairing options for you as well.

 

[tinabina919]

Still waiting for the Garden Tea Room...

 

[mtfarlin]

Hey guys! Just wanted to give you a heads up that my stay at The Grand isn’t for at least another five months, however, I received an email saying that there will be construction going on during my stay. The new resort studios at BPK are supposed to be completed and open by June 20.

Here is the email.…

​ Dear Guest,​

​

​ Welcome home!​

​

In an effort to continually enhance the Guest experience here at the Walt Disney World®. Resort, we often refresh our offerings and atmosphere. In preparation for your upcoming stay, we would like to make you aware of renovations that will be taking place during your visit. While we work our magic, you may see or hear construction during daytime hours, including from common areas, but noise should not be heard from your Guest room between dusk and 9:00am. Please refer to the Know Before You Go page for the most up-to-date hours, amenities and information on what will be available to you such as dining, merchandise and recreation locations. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding. Please know that we are making every effort to ensure your comfort and enjoyment. If you need assistance with your reservation, please contact your original booking agent.​

​ ​ For reservations made through Disney Vacation Club® Member Services, please call at 800-800-9800 or 407-566-3800between the hours of 9:00am-9:00pm (ET) Mondaythrough Friday or 9:00am-7:00pm (ET) Saturday and Sunday. One of our Vacation Advisors will be happy to assist you.​

​

​ General Manager Cosmo Kapoor and the team at The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa look forward to your arrival and wish you a truly magical stay!​

​ ​ Sincerely, Disney Destinations, LLC​

Yes, I received the same email letter and I am going over Christmas....

 

[Alice1957]

Still waiting for the Garden Tea Room...

So am I, I realize there is Cast shortage, but the Tea Room is quite small not needing that many Cast Members. My feeling is they may be waiting to include it in the Lobby renovation, since it is exposed to it. Even though that might be a ways off, they may feel let us wait to reopen and include it in renovation. Only guessing??

 

[mrsap]

Disney Publicly Defends Grand Floridian Resort Overhaul, Alludes to Controversial Lobby Remodel Coming Soon​

In the Disney Parks Blog post about the reopening of Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Disney alluded to the upcoming and controversial remodel of the hotel’s iconic lobby.

They defended the ongoing work by writing, “The reopening of this fine dining staple comes as part of the multi-year transformation of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, honoring its rich history at Walt Disney World Resort while enhancing its iconic Victorian charm and elegance.” They did not show photos of the new look for Victoria & Albert’s.

According to Disney, “The transformation will continue with updated offerings across the resort over the coming years.” While not offering specifics, this does seem to be a rebuttal to the ill-received rumors.

The ongoing refurbishment began with the Enchanted Rose Lounge, which replaced Mizner’s Lounge, as well as the bandstand for the later budget-cut Grand Floridian Society Orchestra.

Cítricos followed with a “modernized” look and Mary Poppins theming. Above, you can see the previous design on the left and the new look on the right.

Rooms are currently being redesigned for Disney Vacation Club, and the resort’s standard rooms will get the same design.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I can’t even. I’m not one to get into Disney news site drama, but the word choices and the angles in that story are ridiculous click bait, in my humble opinion.

 

[FSU Girl]

So excited Victoria and Albert’s is reopening. And grandparents agreed to watch our baby for the night so we can go

 

[mrsap]

Remaining Big Pine Key Rooms Declared Into Grand Floridian Condo Association​

All 202 new Resort Studio rooms which make up the recent addition to Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa have now been added to the Disney Vacation Club system.

On June 10, 2022 the Orange County Comptroller recorded Disney Vacation Develpment'samendment to the Grand Floridian's Condominium Association, adding the remainder of the units in the Big Pine Key building. This moves makes all 202 rooms available for booking by members using Disney Vacation Club points. The intial declaration came back in February 2022, about one month before point sales began. At that time, Disney added exactly half of the rooms into the DVC timeshare program. This additional filing--the fifth amendment to the Grand Floridian's condo association--adds the remaining 101 villas.

This staggered approach is commonplace for all Disney Vacation Club developments. Disney's Riviera Resort currently has 180 of its 341 rooms added to the Condo Association and available for member booking. The other 161 Riviera villas are still owned by Disney, and can be rented to cash guests. Additional declarations are typically made as points are needed to support new sales.

This move comes at a curious time for Grand Floridian. As of May 31, more than 495,000 Grand Floridian points remained unsold from the February declaration. In May 2022, DVC sold only 100,178 points at the Grand Floridian. Should that pace continue, DVC had enough points on hand to support its sales activities for nearly 5 months.

Nevertheless, this amendment adds nearly 900,000 additional points to the timeshare system and paves the way for members to book all 202 Resort Studio rooms on a nightly basis. The February declaration included most of the building's third floor, along with all rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. This new filing covers the remaining 12 rooms on the third floor plus all of floors 1 and 2.

 

[followthatmouse]

So excited Victoria and Albert’s is reopening. And grandparents agreed to watch our baby for the night so we can go

V&A’s brought us such happy, and luscious, memories. I trust your night of dining will be very special, too!

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Hi everyone - my family will be checking in to the GF next week, and I have a transportation question.

Can anyone tell me the differences in travel times from the GF to Epcot for the monorail vs the bus? I would prefer the monorail, but I know you you have to wait a few stops until you get the transportation/ticketing and then you can switch lines to Epcot. I’m wondering how much quicker it would (its for rope drop early in the morning) to just take the bus instead?

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi everyone - my family will be checking in to the GF next week, and I have a transportation question.

Can anyone tell me the differences in travel times from the GF to Epcot for the monorail vs the bus? I would prefer the monorail, but I know you you have to wait a few stops until you get the transportation/ticketing and then you can switch lines to Epcot. I’m wondering how much quicker it would (its for rope drop early in the morning) to just take the bus instead?

There isn't a bus to Epcot from GF. You have to take the monorail.
They will add a bus if the monorail is down, though.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

There isn't a bus to Epcot from GF. You have to take the monorail.
They will add a bus if the monorail is down, though.

Thank you! We were watching a GF video on YouTube that said there was bus transportation to Epcot, which I wasn’t aware of… glad we didn’t take their word for it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thank you! We were watching a GF video on YouTube that said there was bus transportation to Epcot, which I wasn’t aware of… glad we didn’t take their word for it!

They ran the bus when the Epcot monorail was closed during the Covid restriction period, which was a long time. We stayed at GF in April of 2021 and the Epcot monorail was still closed at that time.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Thank you! We were watching a GF video on YouTube that said there was bus transportation to Epcot, which I wasn’t aware of… glad we didn’t take their word for it!

Unsolicited opinion, but a lot of times when we’ve stayed at GF we’ll opt to rideshare one leg of the trip then monorail the other. Typically rideshare to Epcot then take the monorail back. Given the monorail switching GF “feels” far to get to Epcot via monorail to me, so if time is of the essence rideshare can help with being able to control the arrival time better. I’m glad Minnie Vans are coming back as we’d often use them to get to Epcot.

 

[trishadono]

Unsolicited opinion, but a lot of times when we’ve stayed at GF we’ll opt to rideshare one leg of the trip then monorail the other. Typically rideshare to Epcot then take the monorail back. Given the monorail switching GF “feels” far to get to Epcot via monorail to me, so if time is of the essence rideshare can help with being able to control the arrival time better. I’m glad Minnie Vans are coming back as we’d often use them to get to Epcot.

Yes we do this too. Generally we rushing to Epcot or want to get back to the resort for some reason after. Rare we need to RS both ways.

We have walked to the Boardwalk area resorts to RS back. If you end up near Canada /France it’s easy to do vs walking all the way through the park to the front. Actually we did this 2 weeks ago. Dd checked for a ride and ordered it and by the time we got to BC the ride was almost there.

For fun we have taken the Skyliner from Epcot to Hs and then bus to resort. This is nice on a hot day or busy day when you want a nice break.

 

[MKMK]

Yes, I received the same email letter and I am going over Christmas....

We received the email as well. We have reservations for early December for our annual holiday trip.... kids love the smell of the gingerbread house and the tree. Crossing our fingers they wait to start the major lobby renovation after the holidays... if not, will try the Wilderness Lodge or perhaps something closer to Epcot for Candlelight Processional.

 

[daisylovesdisney]

We also received the email and are scheduled to visit late August.

 

[trishadono]

Dd and I changed our resort from CSR to gf in March. I’m so glad to miss the lobby refurb and the gf/poly construction!

However I am always willing to visit resorts during construction. At least there are fewer crowds!

 

[grannyminnie]

Dd and I changed our resort from CSR to gf in March. I’m so glad to miss the lobby refurb and the gf/poly construction!

However I am always willing to visit resorts during construction. At least there are fewer crowds!

I'm confused. Are you saying there will be construction in the GF lobby this year for sure or are you referring to the Big Pine Key refurb?

 

[trishadono]

I'm confused. Are you saying there will be construction in the GF lobby this year for sure or are you referring to the Big Pine Key refurb?

They are going to do a remodel of all the hotel rooms after BPK gets converted and also redoing the lobby. It has been announced many places but I don’t think I’ve seen an exact date.