Five Reasons Why I Love Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

I have been questioned a lot lately about The Villas at Grand Floridian Resort, so I thought I would share the top five reasons we repeatedly stay at my favourite resort. You may remember the post I wrote earlier on the benefits of Disney’s Vacation Club, and if you follow me on Instagram, you will know the love I have for this resort is like no other. Don’t get me wrong, I love our stays at each Disney Resort and wouldn’t swap them for the world, but there is something just so special about The Grand Floridian.

1 Location

The Grand Floridian Resort is perfectly located across Seven Seas Lagoon from Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Right in the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort, it truly is magical to leave your room, hop on the Monorail one stop and arrive at our favourite park. The water taxi across Seven Seas Lagoon is also a great method of transport, with amazing view of Magic Kingdom and the other Monorail resorts, the Contemporary and the Polynesian. Almost just as quickly as you can get there, the Monoaril or Water Taxi transports your tired legs back to your room after a magical day. Situated right next door to Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the short pathway between the resorts can be used for a pleasant walk over to dine, or to just have a look around our next favourite Home resort.

2 Theming

I love the Grandier of the whole resort and how elegant it feels. The Lobby at both the Villas and main hotel are breathtaking and second to none, so timeless and just beautiful. The Mary Poppin’s themed fountain is a highlight in the Villa’s Lobby, as is the iconic high ceiling in the oversized Main Lobby. The bustling main Lobby is a magical place to relax and soak in the atmosphere with a drink, whilst listening to the grand piano and the jazz band play timeless Disney classics. During the Holiday’s the resort turns into a winter wonderland, fit with the most beautiful Christmas tree imaginable and a spectacular Gingerbread House. I cannot even begin to describe the amazing smells that fill the Lobby during this time of year, nor the pure joy of your child meeting Mickey and Minnie here in their festive outfits on Christmas Eve. The Grand Floridian sure is the resort where the magic lives! Not to be outdone, the Villa’s Lobby also decorates for the holidays, with a miniature Wonderland and Gingerbread House.

3 Rooms

The light and airy rooms continue the english inspired character feel, with luxurious finishes on the decor and furniture. The bathrooms are so roomy and we love the rain shower and of course the in mirror tv, who wouldn’t! The Villas also provide the pull down bed with the cutest Dumbo theme, which Quinn just adores. The balcony’s are so large and provide the most spectacular views over Seven Seas Lagoon and Magic Kingdom in the Theme Park Views, and over the Resort and the Monorail in Standard Vierw rooms. It really is one of the best feelings in the world to wake up, and open your door to see Cinderella Castle and the Monorail cruising past. So close in fact that on a windy morning or evening, and theres quite a few at this resort, you can hear the music from Main Street playing on your balcony! When the Welcome Show used to start your Magic Kingdom morning, you could hear Chief Smokey welcoming everyone to their happy place from the Main Street Station, sob!

4 Dining

Another reason I love the Grand Floridian is the dining options available at the resort. Its so vast and some of our favourite places to eat on Disney property are here. The Beaches Pool Bar and Grill and the Courtyard Pool Bar, serve some light snacks and meals perfect for eating poolside, or for taking back to your room. Gasparillas Island Grill is our favourite Resort Quick Service restaurant, and serves a variety of foods from pizza to burgers to salads, all freshly prepared while you wait. You may remember I wrote a post about the Grand Floridian Cafe, which is a great place to eat incredibly delicious breakfast or dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. A firm favourite of ours is of course 1900 Park Fare. The restaurant provides a character breakfast featuring Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Come evening, you can dine with royalty as Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine and the evil stepsisters Anastasia and Drizzela join you for dinner. Park Fare is one of our favourite character dining experiences at the Walt Disney World Resort, and in my opinion has the best food out of all the buffet restaurants.

5 Recreation and Amenities

The Grand Floridian has two pools and an Alice in Wonderland themed kids water play area. Quinn has had so much fun playing here over the years, particularly with the Mad Haters Hat that dumps a crazy amount of water once its filled up! The Beachside pool is conveniently located close to the Villas, features a large waterfall, a slide and overlooks Seven Seas Lagoon. The Courtyard Pool is situated right at the centre of the resort and is the larger of the two. The hot tub is also located here. A family favourite of ours is of course the Electrical Water Pageant. The classic pageant can be viewed nightly from the resorts marina, which is also a magical location to view the Happily Ever After Fireworks.