Sad State of The Grand Floridian

Hockey89

Well-Known Member
It's just a nice a hotel not Disney. Going to Disney is the whole Disney experience where you leave the outside world behind, and you are not spending that much time in the hotel anyway, and one of the best parts to a Disney trip is hearing that "welcome home" when the bus pulls into your resort.

And it is a lot nicer than "just" a nice hotel.... Also, you can stay at Four seasons but most are in cities... Completely different with those grounds...

Felt very Disney watching the fireworks from Capa…. Felt very Disney taken a bus to all the parks. Felt very Disney with the character meal... Felt very Disney on my Balcony looking at the parks.... I don't get this take at all..... Leaving the outside work behind... What the hell does that even mean? Do they take your cell phone or something
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
People built buildings and lived in Florida before air conditioning was invented.
There’s a funny correlation between the adoption of AC and the population of Florida increasing 50x over.

Required in Florida
True. True. People also built buildings before lumber was invented, or steel, or sheet rock or insulation or...you get the idea. Anyways, before AC it was much hotter in doors then it is now. AC rules.

But what billion dollar company of fools builds something there without AC?
But you can stay at a four seasons anywhere, when I go to Disney. I want 100% Disney.

100% Disney is not the grand Floridian.

For all the pomp and circumstance...the hotels with the most “Disney” design and attention to detail are wilderness lodge and DAKL
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Sin City knows you're going to lose your $$ in the casino so food and room rates are attractive.

Not necessarily. They don’t always make out on that concept.

However...the difference in quality from a $150 stay at Bellagio recently compared to any Disney hotel was laughable on a scale that’s hard to explain.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
People built buildings and lived in Florida before air conditioning was invented.
True point. The Miccosuckee* Tribe used to build high-ceilinged open-air dwellings to maximize air cooling.

418425


*Translation: It's really stinking hot here
 

ninjaprincesst

Well-Known Member
And it is a lot nicer than "just" a nice hotel.... Also, you can stay at Four seasons but most are in cities... Completely different with those grounds...

Felt very Disney watching the fireworks from Capa…. Felt very Disney taken a bus to all the parks. Felt very Disney with the character meal... Felt very Disney on my Balcony looking at the parks.... I don't get this take at all..... Leaving the outside work behind... What the hell does that even mean? Do they take your cell phone or something
The point is I do Disney not just some stupid boring hotel (I can drive 10 miles from home and be at a Four Seasons) , when I cross under that sign I want Disney, Disney theme Disney transportation , I want that entire 9 days to be Disney. I would choose Wilderness lodge over the Grand Floridian or the Four Seasons, but my point is I do Disney not some stupid chain hotel. I want Disney cast members, Disney Theme, Disney. If I want to go to just a nice hotel I have tons of choices right here at home. When I go to Disney , I want all Disney. I did not like the Contemporary because it just did not feel Disney enough, I felt like I was just staying at a nice hotel.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
The original Walt Disney World hotel isn't "Disney" enough?

Everybody defines "Disney" differently, I think.

For some, a hotel "feels Disney" if it is steeped in artwork and decor that references Disney characters (e.g., Art of Animation) -- they want to feel like they're in the movie. For others, they want be feel surrounded by an homage to a particular Disney park or land, so much that it almost feels like an extension of it (e.g., Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian resort, Fort Wilderness). For still others, something feels "Disney" simply because it makes them feel transported to an entirely different place or time, in the way great Disney storytelling is known for (e.g., Boardwalk, Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach). Personally, I think I fall into the last group: I don't need overt references to any Disney IP to feel like I'm at a Disney hotel: I just need the kind of theming and quality that invites me to spark my imagination, suspend my disbelief, and make believe I'm somewhere else -- in a sanitized and beautiful "Disney-fied" version of some far-off place or time -- for a few days.

While I recognize the Contemporary's special history and appreciate that it reflects Walt's love of innovation, I can see how some would feel that it ranks low on all of those measurements of "Disney-ness." While there are some character and attraction references, it mostly feels like a sterile, kind of depressing, generic-70s-idea-of-modern hotel.
 
Last edited:

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Everybody defines "Disney" differently, I think.

For some, a hotel "feels Disney" if it is steeped in artwork and decor that references Disney characters (e.g., Art of Animation) -- they want to feel like they're in the movie. For others, they want be feel surrounded by an homage to a particular Disney park or land, so much that it almost feels like an extension of it (e.g., Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian resort, Fort Wilderness). For still others, something feels "Disney" simply because it makes them feel transported to an entirely different place or time, in the way great Disney storytelling is known for (e.g., Boardwalk, Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach). Personally, I think I fall into the last group: I don't need overt references to any Disney IP to feel like I'm at a Disney hotel: I just need the kind of theming and quality that invites me to spark my imagination, suspend my disbelief, and make believe I'm somewhere else -- in a sanitized and beautiful "Disney-fied" version of some far-off place or time -- for a few days.

Strange how nobody looks at Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific and goes "that's not Universal enough" and thinks pictures of E.T. and Jaws in the room would make it better.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Strange how nobody looks at Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific and goes "that's not Universal enough" and thinks pictures of E.T. and Jaws in the room would make it better.

Having had delightful stays at the Hard Rock Hotel and Royal Pacific, I'd say both hotels are excelling at the kind of immersive, "suspend your disbelief and pretend you're somewhere else / someone else" that Disney either did first, or did best for a time. And as you suggest, that doesn't require ham-fisted movie references -- just a commitment to theme and/or storytelling. Still, because Disney sometimes goes the ham-fisted route, some guests have come to enjoy and expect that from their Disney experience.
 
Last edited:

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
Completely agree. I think the most I have ever paid out of pocket for a hotel room anywhere is $250 a night.
As was said before it is all about location. While its possible to find a nice room in NYC for $150 it ain't easy and it depends on the time of year.
But don't just look at big cities, I am planning a Montana vacation and if you want to see shocking check out the prices on motel style rooms in Glacier and Yellowstone we are talking $300 plus a night with no TV or AC......and they are sold out 11 months in advance!
 

Much-Pixie-Dust

Well-Known Member
And it is a lot nicer than "just" a nice hotel.... Also, you can stay at Four seasons but most are in cities... Completely different with those grounds...

Felt very Disney watching the fireworks from Capa…. Felt very Disney taken a bus to all the parks. Felt very Disney with the character meal... Felt very Disney on my Balcony looking at the parks.... I don't get this take at all..... Leaving the outside work behind... What the hell does that even mean? Do they take your cell phone or something
Plus the lobby has Hidden Mickeys. There’s the princess dress shop and I love the crown sculpture displays. The character breakfast has Disney photopass workers. The characters outfits are adorable too. You even pass the Little Mermaid sculpture coming into the neighborhood. It totally feels Disney enough to me. I like that it’s calm and not chaotic, and the pool areas are fantastic! True, you can stay at other FS around the world. The ones I have stayed are a great too, but this one is my favorite.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom