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My family loves staying at any Disney hotel, but there is one Disney hotel we feel kind of stands out from the other Disney hotels. And that hotel is the Grand Floridian. Maybe it’s because it’s close enough to walk to the Magic Kingdom. Perhaps it’s because you can take a monorail to the Magic Kingdom or to Epcot. Maybe it’s the luxury feel of the hotel. Or maybe because it literally has Grand in the title.
At any rate, I know your family would absolutely adore a stay at the Grand Floridian like my family has. But before you start planning your trip, let me give you some tips on how you can make your stay even better.
1. Book a Stay with David’s Vacation Rentals
So I stayed at a number of Disney hotels before I stayed at the Grand Floridian. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to stay at the Grand Floridian. It’s just that the price was so expensive. It seemed like a much better deal to stay at a cheaper Disney hotel than pay four figures a night at the Grand Floridian.
But that was before I found out that you can book stays at Disney’s Vacation Club villas. I used to think I couldn’t because I am not a Disney Vacation Club member. But luckily, that is not true. You can actually stay there by renting points from members and using those to stay there.
Now, at first, this seems confusing. But luckily appearances are not as they seem. It’s actually pretty easy. We talk more about renting DVC points here.
You will be happy with the results. Trust me, you save so much money. For example, the last time my family stayed at the Grand Floridian, we were able to pay less than $300/night. If you have ever priced Grand Floridian, then I don’t have to tell you what a steal that is.
And when you book through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, you don’t have to pay for parking or taxes. Because when I was talking about under $300/night, I meant final price. Not before a bunch of taxes and fees were added on.
So I definitely recommend using David’s Vacation Club Rentals to book your stay at the Grand Floridian. You can click here to get started.
2. Buy Essentials Before You Go
So as I said, the Grand Floridian is one of the more expensive Disney World hotels. One way to make the cost of your overall trip lower is to buy some of the things you’ll need at the park before you go. This probably won’t surprise you, but if you buy them at Disney World, you will pay more money. They know they have a captive audience and do overcharge for items. And there are many things you’ll need that you may not have thought of, such as sunblock. So check our this list to find out what you can buy beforehand that will save you money.
3. Buy Discounted Disney World Tickets
If you are staying at Grand Floridian, there is a very good chance you will be visiting the Disney World theme parks. Another way to save money on your overall Disney World trip is to pay less for Disney World tickets. And we tell you how to find discounted Disney World tickets here.
4. Eat at the On-Site Restaurants
But enough about money! Let me tell you about some of the ways you can really enjoy your stay at the Grand Floridian.
One of those ways is to take advantage of the great restaurants at the Grand Floridian. My family has eaten so many meals at their Gasparilla Island Grill. That is the Grand Floridian’s quick-service restaurant. It has a great menu for breakfast but also lunch and dinner. My family ate multiple meals there. We were able to find multiple menu items that we liked so we could mix it up.
But they also have other great restaurants. They have great high-end restaurants. Victoria & Albert’s has been a AAA Five Diamond Award recipient since 2000. Citricos serves Mediterannean cuisine along with award-winning wine.
They also have on-site character dining at 1900 Park Fare. There are breakfast and dinner buffet with character appearances. And those characters may include Cinderella, Mirabel, Aladdin, and/or Princess Tiana.
My family really liked having breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe. It’s more expensive than Gasparilla Island Grill but still affordable. We wrote our review here.
5. Eat at Nearby Restaurants
So, as I mentioned earlier, the Grand Floridian is on the monorail line. That means you can easily take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.
It also means that you can take the monorail to the other hotels on the monorail line, which are the Polynesian Resort and the Contemporary Resort.
And they have great restaurants, too. We love eating at Captain Cook’s over at Polynesian’s. It’s a quick service restaurant with great food (here’s a recommendation: the Hawaiian pizza is really good!) You can check out our Captain’s Cook review here. We also love their character dining experience at Ohana.
My family loves the restaurant at Contemporary, too. We’ve loved going to Chef Mickey’s character dining. We also like their quick-service restaurant, Contempo Cafe, and Steakhouse 71.
6. Take the Monorail or Boat to the Magic Kingdom
So I have already told you that you can take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. And you definitely should. It is a really fun, neat way to get to the Magic Kingdom. And the monorail to the Magic Kingdom from the Grand Floridian is really short. It is the last stop on the monorail before the Magic Kingdom. So you get in and in no time at all really, you’re there.
But another way you can get to the Magic Kingdom is a boat. And that is a lot of fun, too. So if you ever want a change of pace, or if the monorail is down, take the boat.
7. Walk to or from Magic Kingdom
A few years ago, the Grand Floridian added a walkway to the Magic Kingdom! I’ve used the walkway and liked it. It is longer than the Contemporary walkway, but it still definitely doable. And it’s a really neat feeling to be able to walk to the Magic Kingdom.
There are times the monorail isn’t working or a storm means the boat isn’t working. And then being able to walk is a really great option.
It’s also great if there’s a long line to the monorail and boat. For example, one time I was leaving Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party after the party ended and the line to both the boat and monorail was long. So I was able to just walk back to the room and avoid the lines.
So even if you never use the walkway, it’s just really nice to have the option.
8. Take Busses Back to Polynesian, Contemporary or Magic Kingdom
Okay, so I have talked before about the proximity of the Grand Floridian to both the Polynesian Resort and the Contemporary Resort. It’s actually close enough to the Polynesian Resort that you can walk to and from the Polynesian.
I’m going to tell you a tip that could save you a lot of time. If you’ve been to Disney World before, then you may know what it’s like to wait for your bus after a day at the park. And wait. And wait. I think I had to wait once an hour (or at least it felt like an hour!) for my bus to get back from Typhoon Lagoon.
So here’s the tip. If it looks like the bus back to the Grand Floridian just left (and you can tell sometimes if no one is standing in line), then consider taking a bus back to the Polynesian or the Contemporary if their buses come. If the Contemporary bus comes, then you can then take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. If the Polynesian bus or Magic Kingdom bus comes, you can walk back to your room, take the monorail, or take the boat.
The extra steps will add on time, but you can still save time overall. Also, it can be a way to get out of the hot sun. And if you’ve stood in the hot sun, you will appreciate this. And it’s a good way to immediately get off your feet if there’s a seat available on the bus, which I think we can all appreciate after a day at the theme parks.
9. Take Advantage of the Hotel Amenities
The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is more than just a place to sleep at night in between visits to the Disney theme parks. I mean, that is pretty apparent from the “resort” and “spa” in the title! They have a spa. There are afternoon teas. They have amazing pools. They have a beach you can relax on. There are daily activities you can enjoy at the hotel. For example, you can relax under the stars and watch a Disney movie at night. There are so many things to do here you could probably have an entire day of fun here without ever going to a Disney theme park. So make sure you take advantage of some of these amenities while you are there!
10. Spend Time in the Lobby
The Grand Floridian has, as the name would imply, a grand lobby. It is really beautiful. You can sometimes listen to a live piano player. They have comfortable sofas in the lobby. Take some time out of your day, relax in a sofa, and be entertained by the beautiful piano music.
Grand Floridian Videos
To sum up, here’s a quick look at the top 7 tips for staying at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort:
And you can see for yourself what the hotel is like in this virtual tour: