GF Questions

[alimomof3]

Hi All -

We are going to the world in 3 weeks staying at the Grand Floridian - Have a couple questions for those who know.

1. Transportation - obviously it's easy to get to the MK but what about Epcot and AK? I read that it takes less than 20 minutes via bus but almost an hour via monorail. I also read that the monorail resorts have less buses. Is this the case or is it just as easy to get a bus as it is to catch the monorail? Will I be able to get to Epcot and AK fairly easily/quickly from GF or will I have to take the monorail to the TTC and then the epcot monorail? Please help

2. Is it a pain to get back to the resort from MK after spectro? Is this the case with all resorts or are some of the resorts on the monorail easier? We are debating on whether to stay for Spectro. With young kids, I don't want to fight the crowds to get back to the resort for some well needed rest.

3. Can we see the water parade from the resort? If so where will we need to be and what time does it go? Is it a good substitute if Spectro is out of the question? We are only in the World for 3 nights - we are staying 5 days in Vero beach first.

Thanks for your help - I'm a disney virgin going with the whole fam - kids, parents, sister, brother in law, DH over Easter - it's going to be crazy...

 

[sleeping beauty 2]

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1. Transportation - AK by bus was easy, took about 15-20 minutes. We waited about 5 minutes in the morning for the bus to the park and about the same returning in the afternoon. Didn't go to Epcot, but you simply take the monorail to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail.

2. Didn't go to spectromagic. There is also a boat that comes directly back from MK to GF, which might be an option to the monorail.

3. Can we see the water parade from the resort? Yes you can see the water parade. We had a room in the Concha Key and had a view from our balcony. But lots of people were on the boat launch by Narcoisse restaurant. Our kids (2, 7 & 9) enjoy the water parade and it is every night, so you are bound to see it once during your stay.

Good luck with your trip and enjoy.

 

[TiggerandBelleFanMom]

We're just back from 3 nights at the Grand Floridian!

I don't have answers to all of your questions, but I will tell you that Epcot is EASY from the GF. You take the monorail to the TTC, which is only 3 stops away (Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, then TTC). You switch to the Epcot monorail, which sometimes is even well-timed and there right when you need it, and then you are off again. I would say this is a 30 minute venture, but that could vary. It sure beats driving and parking!

The Electric Light Parade was one of our daughter's favorite things! She called it "the boats." We were in the Boca Chica building, and you could definitely see it from our fifth floor balcony, but 2 out of the 3 nights we went out on the lawn for even better viewing.

I don't know about Spectromagic, but I do know you can see the Magic Kingdom fireworks directly from the Grand Floridian! Since our dd is only 3, we decided we would rather do that than be in the parks so late.

 

[TammiMcMan]

1. Transportation - obviously it's easy to get to the MK but what about Epcot and AK? I read that it takes less than 20 minutes via bus but almost an hour via monorail.

For anything other than the MK, we usually take a bus. A little hint for Epcot is to take the monorail over to the MK. Instead of going in, walk straight and go to the bus stop. Get the resort bus to BC/YC and then walk right into Epcot from the back entrance (International Gateway). The lines are not nearly as long when you enter in the back way and the bus is direct.

2. Is it a pain to get back to the resort from MK after spectro?

I love Spectro and usually there is a mad rush from the park after it's over, but you can do some things to put yourself in a better position to leave. Stand somewhere on Main Street to watch it. If you get there early enough, try for the tables and chairs up on the railroad platform. Once the show is over, head straight for the exits. If the GF resort boat is docked, I'd get on that one, otherwise, there is a resort monorail that you can take.

3. Can we see the water parade from the resort? If so where will we need to be and what time does it go? Is it a good substitute if Spectro is out of the question?

You can see the water parade from the boat dock at the GF. Times vary, but it's usually 9:15pm each night. It's not exactly comparable to Spectro, but it's cute.

 

[Janet2k]

...We are going to the world in 3 weeks staying at the Grand Floridian... I'm a disney virgin going with the whole fam - kids, parents, sister, brother in law, DH over Easter - it's going to be crazy...

Alimomof3, I don’t have anything to add except that I hope you have a wonderful vacation. When my family first vacationed in Walt Disney World, it was with friends in the springtime. Both of our families stayed at the Grand Floridian. We fell in love with Walt Disney World during that vacation (and the Grand Floridian). We have been back many, many times since then (and have even become Disney Vacation Club members). If your vacation is as magical as ours was, you will become addicted. You have been warned.

Have a lovely vacation.

(PS Don't forget to check out the GF FAQ Thread here on the Dis: click here.)

 

[Janet2k]

By the way, Alimomof3, welcome to the Dis!

 

[Snurk71]

I'm going to agree with Tammi and not recommend monorailing all the way around to the TTC to go to Epcot. The resort monorail can be a little iffy, and could take you 20 minutes to get around to the TTC with wait times, even though it's only a couple of stops away. I don't know what slows the resort monorail down at times, but we've had to sit waiting for 5 minutes a number of times before it's clear.

For the same reason, I recommend taking the resort boat back to GF at night. At closing they usually have 2 boats running the MK-GF-Poly loop and the entire loop might take 20 minutes. So there will be a new boat every 10 minutes. The boats aren't huge, probably holding 25-30 people. But I've never seen a wait longer than two boats, even at closing.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

At Christmas, we had friends staying at GF (We were at VWL.); so we spent a fair amount of time there. I found the bus service to be quite poor -- even worse than WL. One morning, we waited 20 minutes for a bus. Our plan was to go to MGM, but we decided to take the first available bus (AK) after our long wait. To make matters worse, we then had to stop at the Poly. Ugh! I love, love, love the MK resorts; but I HATE their transportation.