Disney’s Grand Floridian is a deluxe hotel at Walt Disney World. In many ways the hotel is the flagship resort at Disney’s vacation kingdom, sitting on Magic Kingdom’s monorail loop. The Grand Floridian is dressed in Victorian charm and equipped with a large slate of amenities. In this post, we’ll review the resort’s rooms, amenities, location and value.

The Grand Floridian is a bucket list resort. For years, Melissa and I have looked to stay here. We’ve methodically knocked off every resort at Walt Disney World until the Grand Floridian was the last one standing. Metaphorically, of course, we have not been taking the wrecking ball to hotels after staying at them. There are some minor misses on our part. For example, we’ve never stayed in the Contemporary’s A-frame but have stayed at Bay Lake Tower multiple times. But the Grand Floridian was the final major missing puzzle piece and felt like a fitting conclusion to this (superfluous but research heavy) hotel staying journey.

Most people who have visited Magic Kingdom have seen the Grand Floridian. It’s hard to miss, sitting on the Seven Seas Lagoon with beautiful white buildings topped with red gabled rooftops. In terms of aesthetic from a distance, the Grand and Contemporary stand alone in Walt Disney World hotel iconography. That’s part of what made this a bucket list resort for us.

Once inside of the hotel’s grounds, the views are no less impressive. I would never subject readers to a “Best Grass in Walt Disney World” post but, if I did, the Grand Floridian would have a claim at the top spot. There’s a beautiful beach, looking toward Magic Kingdom and the lake. The buildings feel massive while walking around them. And there’s something about the color scheme that just feels pristine.

All of this can feel a bit boujee. There is a touch of snobbishness to the resort but it’s hard for me to tell if I get that feeling from preconceived notions or from the actual place. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely no holier than thou attitude coming from the Cast Members. But the theme is far different from, say, the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Grand Floridian is unashamed of being regal and magnificent. As such, guests will probably know if they love the hotel or not within minutes of walking the grounds.

We knew we loved the grounds prior to actually staying here from the many times we’ve stopped here for dinner or on a break from Magic Kingdom. Melissa enjoys the Victorian theme more than I do but we both find the hotel to be a nice change of pace. Walking around outside is peaceful no matter what part of the resort you’re in and there’s always something to look at.

That stretches to the lobby, which is actually being redone at the time of writing this. Even with work going on, the massive chandeliers and color scheme are beautiful. This might be the spot where a touch of snobbery pops into the resort but it does work and looks great doing it. Hopping off the monorail and coming into the lobby on the third floor is a wow moment.

I was curious if the Grand Floridian’s beauty would stretch to the rooms inside of the hotel. We stayed in a deluxe studio using DVC points. We were given an accessible room (apparently the hotel was at capacity that night) but the only real difference from a standard room, that we could tell, was the bathroom layout.

You can see that here with the shower on one end and the toilet on the opposite side of this long bathroom. It was quite empty in there but we’ll chalk that up to the type of room we were given. Moving past that, the finishes were very nice. I especially liked the flooring and the gray palette.

Moving onto the room, there’s a soft blue and tan color throughout with pops of gold and red. The spacing and layout is similar to what most deluxe rooms at Disney World have moved to recently. Along with the queen bed, the murphy bed folds down over the couch and there’s a twin-sized pull out bed from the entertainment center. Sleeping 5 in here would be tight but manageable, especially if some of those 5 include kids.

The bed was comfortable, with a mattress on the cushier side of things. I do like the headboard in this room. It looks a little bit like a cozy fleece jacket to me but that could be because I’ve had a lot of Instagram reels about Switzerland pop up lately.

The TV was centered with the bed in the room. Again, the furnishings are on the nicer side of things with the entertainment center/fold out bed being much shinier than in other places.

A Dumbo motif above that fold out bed is a nice touch. Plus, it gives others in the room an opportunity to say “Wake up, Dumbo!” to whoever sleeps here.

This corner is very standard hotel room fare.

I do like the couch pretty well. The color blends nicely with the pastel window curtains. This isn’t a particularly comfortable place to sit but it’s decent enough.

Here’s the art that is shown when you pull the murphy bed down. Points for being more creative than some! But I’m not sure I particularly like the artwork. I’m willing to write that one off as personal taste though.

In general, the room lacked some personality. I liked the posters by the bed and at least the murphy bed art took a swing at something. While the color scheme and layout of the room is really comfortable, I thought a few more details could have been used here. Grand Floridian is not alone in this recent Walt Disney World hotel room problem though.

We’d put the rooms here easily in our top 10 rooms at WDW but I’m hesitant to say top 5 and they definitely aren’t top 3. This is a really nice hotel room but I wasn’t wowed by it.

Something Grand Floridian does excel at is the location. There are three possible ways to get to Magic Kingdom – boat, monorail or walking. The monorail ride is particularly quick. Guests of the hotel will also use the monorail to get to Epcot, taking the resort loop to the Ticket & Transportation Center before catching the Epcot monorail from there. All other Disney World locations are accessible by bus. which the resort shares with the Polynesian.

If your trip is especially focused on Magic Kingdom then this location is hard to top. Traveling to the other parks is fairly average but staying on the monorail loop is a great experience. Staying at the Grand also makes it easy to explore the Polynesian, Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge, all wonderful resorts in their own right.

Moving to the amenities, the zero entry main pool has a decent waterslide and a cool waterfall feature. This pool is on the smaller side which would matter more if there wasn’t another large (and quieter) pool right next to it. Grand Floridian doesn’t measure up to Beach & Yacht Club or the neighboring Polynesian in terms of pools, but they are a nice asset.

Grand Floridian’s best amenity is the dining scene. Led by a slew of excellent table-service options like Citricos, Narcoossee’s and 1900 Park Fare, the sit down options are plentiful and delicious. Gasparilla Island Grill is a great counter-service spot and the pool bars add to the quick options. Eating while staying here is not a problem. We recommend coming to this resort for a meal even if you’re not staying here!

There’s plenty of other amenities including a beach to lounge on, boat and fishing rentals, a spa, an arcade and a health club/fitness center. Relaxing on the beach for a night while the Electrical Water Pageant passes by is a wonderful way to wind down. All of the recreation and amenities deserve credit for fitting into the hotel’s Victorian theme. Well, maybe not the arcade but it’s hidden enough to not matter.

The downside of Disney’s Grand Floridian being WDW’s flagship, and a bucket list, hotel is that the price is extremely high. Whether you’re paying for a room out of pocket or using DVC points, staying here will consistently cost you more than most anywhere at Disney World. Is a stay here worth that?

Answering that question will be dependent on how much the theme works for you. If you can’t get enough of that Victorian charm then you’ll eat this place up. On the other hand, if you prefer a more immersive style of hotel that tries to transport you to a beach or park lodge then there are other hotels you should pick at Disney World. I fit the latter category and view a stay at the Grand Floridian as huge splurge. A worthwhile splurge at times, but a splurge nonetheless.

If you’re like me and do think of this place as a bucket list hotel, then a split stay is far more attainable. We’re big proponents of this no matter your style of Disney World vacation, as we love seeing all of the different hotels. Staying at a value resort for most of the trip before hopping over to the Grand Floridian for a couple of nights is delightful and the most attainable way to stay here while still on a budget.

We love the Grand Floridian! Specifically, the hotel’s grounds, style and location are hard to beat. When factoring in the room and value, I don’t think quite as highly of the hotel although it still lands firmly in our top 10 places to stay at Walt Disney World. Even after staying here, I still think of the Grand Floridian as a bucket list hotel just because of how beautiful it is.

Overall Rating – 9/10

Have you experienced Disney’s Grand Floridian? Let us know your thoughts or questions below in the comments! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our planning guide for help! Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney, please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages. You can do both of those things on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!