Just got back
My wife just got back from staying at the Grand Floridian for our honeymoon. This was our second trip to Disney World (we went there last year and stayed at Caribbean Beach) and loved it overall. There were a few minor complaints but this could be due to the buildup I had for it, especially based on a "Grand Hotels" segment on the Travel Channel that was devoted to the Grand Floridian but there were plusses and minuses to the resort.
Plusses:
1) The decor--without question, the resort is beautiful. My wife and I visited about half of the resorts for the various meals and just exploring and GF is the most elegant. It is classy without being stuffy. Like all of the Disney resorts, you do feel like you entered another world here.
2) The view--We stayed in Boca Chica and a pretty good view of Magic Kingdom. From our balcony, we could see Space Mountain easily and, if we went to the other end of the balcony, we could see Cinderella's Castle through the trees (I was hoping for an unobstructed view of the Castle but you can't have everything). It also gave a very good view of the water pageant which I made sure to snap photos of.
3) The size--my biggest complaint with CBR was that it was too large and required too much walking (I did enough of that at the parks). GF was nice and compact (just a short walk from the room to the Main Building and another short walk if you wanted bus or boat service).
4) Food--We ate at Victoria & Albert's last year (food is pricey but definately worth just for the experience) and ate at Gasparilla's and Citrico's this year. Citrico's is nice without the price of or need to get super dressed up like Victoria's & Alberts. Gasparilla's was good quick service food (not great but relatively cheap by Disney standards) and it was open 24 hours which was nice for the nights we returned late and wanted a snack. Finally, my wife did the afternoon tea twice (I'm not much of a tea drinker so I didn't join her) and she loved the tea and the finger sandwiches and would gladly do it again even if we were staying elsewhere.
5) Location--Magic Kingdom was only 1 monorail stop away which meant it took about 10 - 15 minutes to get from our room to MK gates. As for the bus service, it was about the same as it was for CBR so nothing really to praise or complain about. Overall, Disney transportation is good since I don't have to worry about driving (I do enough of that for my job and like to have someone else take over when I'm on vacation).
6) Lobby--Between the band and the piano player, staying in the lobby is an activity in itself. One day, when we were both tired from the parks, we both relaxed in the lobby and listened to the piano player. At one point, I got up and asked if the man knew "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darrin (it was our wedding dance song) and he gladly played it next. That made for a truly magical moment since she was grinning ear to ear when she heard it.
Minuses:
(NOTE: For a number of these minuses, I'm not sure if this is a recent change since the Travel Channel did its episode or if this was something not done for non-concierge guests)
1) Amenities--If you saw the Travel Channel, it showed special shampoo and soaps (all Alice in Wonderland themed). Instead they used nice but less Disney-themed shampoo and soaps. It sounds nitpicky but the Alice-themed supplies were cute and added a special air to it.
2) Towel animals--At CBR, every night they did a special towel animal which was cute while at GF they didn't do any of that.
3) Shower water--While the first 2 were, admittedly, minor complaints, this was a bigger beef. For the hot water in the shower, I had a choice between low flo or warm water. The way the shower faucet was designed, if I wanted above lukewarm water, I had to settle for lower pressure. I travel for a living and Holiday Inns don't force me to make that choice. It did bother me that GF did.
Neither plusses nor minuses:
1) Price--Granted, it was expensive but considering that it's Disney flagship resort, that's not a shock. As I mentioned, I travel for a living and I have stayed at hotels in Chicago and New York that run over $200/night and was less fancy than GF. For the quality of the hotel, the price is worth it.
As a result, I would definately rank GF very high on the list. It was a wonderful honeymoon stay. My wife has told me that she wants to come back here for our 10th wedding anniversary to make it special. We plan on making Disney an annual trip and stay at a different resort each time (our next trip will be either Boardwalk or Beach Club if we come in April or Animal Kingdom if we come in December) but GF was a great choice for our honeymoon with the romance and elegance it provided.
