Construction issues at the Grand Floridian

[BigThunderFamily]

Hey all. So I have Saratoga Springs reserved for my September trip because it was all that was available but it's just not a favorite resort of mine. I just rechecked the dates and found an availability at the GF! I was ready to switch but then remembered construction. I can't find anything from guests who have stayed during this as to what kind of hell on earth I could expect. Has anyone been recently and if so what was it like? Are pools closed or the food court? Is there a building to request to be furthest from the noise? I appreciate any input from you guys as I need to decide asap.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

Hey!

The construction going on is to convert an existing building of the resort to DVC and is happening at the Big Pine Key building, which sits just south of the quite pool (adjacent and to the right) as you walk out of the back of the lobby. Both pools and all amenities remain open and I wouldn't let this dissuade you from staying at the Grand at all.

Disney is generally good about minimizing disturbances from construction projects at resorts and the majority (like 99%) of this work is going on inside the rooms, not the outside of the building (although it looks like they were replacing the roof shingles - but that should be done well before your September trip).

Still, your best bet is going to be the Sago Cay building, if you still want to ensure you are as far away from the construction project as possible, which would put you on the other side of the property with the quiet pool, Sugar Loaf building, and Marina between you and Big Pine Key. If you don't your preferred choice up front and end up with something facing or near the construction I have had very good luck in the past with asking the front desk for a reassign for that reason.. especially at the GF, since they always hold a not insignificant number of rooms in reserves for "walk overs" from other resorts where guests had issues with their stays for one reason or another.

Fun tidbit.. which resort does GF see the most "walk overs" from?... CSR. I guess they assume those guests are already on the cusp of considering the moderate to deluxe jump so giving them the bump has a decent chance of translating to an upsell to a deluxe category resort on their next stay.

 

[CarolynFH]

The Big Pine Key building construction will be completed by June 20, because that's when it opens as a DVC building. The rooms inside will be "Resort Studios" that will be available to be booked with DVC points as well as with cash via Disney. Then renovations will begin on the other buildings at GF - I think I read somewhere that they're starting with the building next door to BPK, but I'm not certain. In any case, I think it's just interior room renovations that will be going on in September, not anything affecting hotel amenities such as pools or dining.

 

[BigThunderFamily]

Hey!

The construction going on is to convert an existing building of the resort to DVC and is happening at the Big Pine Key building, which sits just south of the quite pool (adjacent and to the right) as you walk out of the back of the lobby. Both pools and all amenities remain open and I wouldn't let this dissuade you from staying at the Grand at all.

Disney is generally good about minimizing disturbances from construction projects at resorts and the majority (like 99%) of this work is going on inside the rooms, not the outside of the building (although it looks like they were replacing the roof shingles - but that should be done well before your September trip).

Still, your best bet is going to be the Sago Cay building, if you still want to ensure you are as far away from the construction project as possible, which would put you on the other side of the property with the quiet pool, Sugar Loaf building, and Marina between you and Big Pine Key. If you don't your preferred choice up front and end up with something facing or near the construction I have had very good luck in the past with asking the front desk for a reassign for that reason.. especially at the GF, since they always hold a not insignificant number of rooms in reserves for "walk overs" from other resorts where guests had issues with their stays for one reason or another.

Fun tidbit.. which resort does GF see the most "walk overs" from?... CSR. I guess they assume those guests are already on the cusp of considering the moderate to deluxe jump so giving them the bump has a decent chance of translating to an upsell to a deluxe category resort on their next stay.

thank you so much for all the info & suggestions! I've taken notes and will see how I can add that to the reservation

 

[BigThunderFamily]

The Big Pine Key building construction will be completed by June 20, because that's when it opens as a DVC building. The rooms inside will be "Resort Studios" that will be available to be booked with DVC points as well as with cash via Disney. Then renovations will begin on the other buildings at GF - I think I read somewhere that they're starting with the building next door to BPK, but I'm not certain. In any case, I think it's just interior room renovations that will be going on in September, not anything affecting hotel amenities such as pools or dining.

I was hoping it might be over by the time I get there but the DVC advisor didn't know. I may wait until closer to time & try to find out details before I request a certain building. Thank you so much for responding!!

 

[CarolynFH]

I was hoping it might be over by the time I get there but the DVC advisor didn't know. I may wait until closer to time & try to find out details before I request a certain building. Thank you so much for responding!!

Are you booking as a DVC owner or renter? Or through Disney Resorts as a cash guest?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

FYI, Disney hasn’t really announced what is happening in terms of hotel side renovations after the Big Pine Key DVC conversion finishes in June (separate topic, I can’t really believe how quickly they plowed through that one). The chatter/rumor at one point was that they’ll move on to the hotel buildings one at a time, but TBD. Disney is sometimes not particularly clear about resort construction timelines.

But at some point those rooms/buildings will be renovated and it could start happening with minimal notice, so if I had a GF hotel reservation I’d be monitoring places like the main GF thread just to keep an eye open to what may be happening at the resort as we go on to manage expectations.

Assuming it’s continued building-by-building work my recent experience as a hotel guest with BPK construction going on was relatively unobtrusive. Other than construction walls and some general worker/equipment back/forth through the grounds to BPK, it was relatively minor, all things considered.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

FYI, Disney hasn’t really announced what is happening in terms of hotel side renovations after the Big Pine Key DVC conversion finishes in June (separate topic, I can’t really believe how quickly they plowed through that one). The chatter/rumor at one point was that they’ll move on to the hotel buildings one at a time, but TBD. Disney is sometimes not particularly clear about resort construction timelines.

But at some point those rooms/buildings will be renovated and it could start happening with minimal notice, so if I had a GF hotel reservation I’d be monitoring places like the main GF thread just to keep an eye open to what may be happening at the resort as we go on to manage expectations.

Assuming it’s continued building-by-building work my recent experience as a hotel guest with BPK construction going on was relatively unobtrusive. Other than construction walls and some general worker/equipment back/forth through the grounds to BPK, it was relatively minor, all things considered.

Personally, I would love to see them moving on from BPK to the resort side buildings. The rooms aged very well compared to some other WDW resorts since the last reno in 2015 but they could still greatly benefit from a complete overhaul.

Every other MK area resort went through renovations over the past year.. AKL saw renovations in 2020.. BC/YC’s 2017 refurbishments are aging extremely well. The only (deluxe) resort arguably in more need of an update than GF is BW.

Once the DVC expansion and renovations are complete the contrast is going to be pretty stark.. and with all the other recent deluxe room refurbishments (plus Rivieras new rooms, which are pretty gorgeous) it will continue getting harder and harder for Disney to justify delaying a GF room overhaul.

 

[nw6675]

We ate at the cafe this week and the view was definitely not the same with the numerous yellow vests and hard hats passing by from the construction area (tarps/scaffolding). Other than that, it was business as usual and everything open.

 

[john7994]

We ate at the cafe this week and the view was definitely not the same with the numerous yellow vests and hard hats passing by from the construction area (tarps/scaffolding). Other than that, it was business as usual and everything open.

We stayed at VGF this week (DVC), I have to say while I noticed the refurb when walking around the grounds, the impact seemed pretty minimal to me. We did a split stay at BLT, and I saw yellow vests over there as well -

 

[BigThunderFamily]

Are you booking as a DVC owner or renter? Or through Disney Resorts as a cash guest?

As a DVC owner

 

[BigThunderFamily]

We ate at the cafe this week and the view was definitely not the same with the numerous yellow vests and hard hats passing by from the construction area (tarps/scaffolding). Other than that, it was business as usual and everything open.

I can handle a little bit of eyesore but I would hate if eateries or pools, etc were closed. Also hoping for no 7am hammer wake up calls but I know that's a risk

 

[tinabina919]

I also just found a ton of availability for the grand in sept. Any idea as to the reason?

 

[CarolynFH]

As a DVC owner

Then you’re probably looking at one of the new Resort Studios in Big Pine Key. As above, that building will be finished, but there’s not much known about what’s next.

 

[PetePanMan]

We were there in late March. There was definitely noise when at the main pool and a fair amount of construction activity (workers, equipment, debris, vehicles etc. coming and going). We still found resort enjoyable.

 

[artinlife]

Hey all. So I have Saratoga Springs reserved for my September trip because it was all that was available but it's just not a favorite resort of mine. I just rechecked the dates and found an availability at the GF! I was ready to switch but then remembered construction. I can't find anything from guests who have stayed during this as to what kind of hell on earth I could expect. Has anyone been recently and if so what was it like? Are pools closed or the food court? Is there a building to request to be furthest from the noise? I appreciate any input from you guys as I need to decide asap.

We were out sitting by the pool a couple of weeks ago, waiting for our GF Cafe reservation and it looks to me like the whole Big Pine Key building is under reno but as is the norm for Disney, it is not affecting anything else. We didn't even hear much noise. There were a lot of construction personnel walking back and forth between BPKey and the area off behind the main building though, but other than that, you should go ahead and book as there is no mess and noise at all.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

We were at the GF last week. Big Pine Key is clearly under construction but we didn't feel that it negatively affected our stay. We heard a little bit of noise in the afternoon by the pool and encountered some construction workers around the property from time to time. Otherwise, everything felt normal and we had an amazing stay. Obviously I have no idea what the situation might be in September, but our experience was that the construction did not affect us really at all.

 

[ParklandDISDad]

I also just found a ton of availability for the grand in sept. Any idea as to the reason?

Are you looking at DVC availability or direct booking on the resort side?

The BPK DVC conversion is supposed to be completed by September. I see a ton of availability for direct bookings right now as well, but almost exclusively for Outer Building Lagoon and Garden View, which comprises 90%+ of BPK. If you are looking at direct bookings, maybe they are opening up those converted DVC rooms for direct bookings while they work on selling out the additional points?

... but, there is also an unusual amount if direct booking availability across the board for September at the moment. Looking at a random full week block, 65% of resorts and villas have availability (including GF).

 

[CarolynFH]

The DVC villas in BPK open June 20, at which time the entire building should be open. However, at this time only half of the rooms have been declared into the condominium association, which means DVC owners can book only half the rooms on any given day. The other half belong to Disney to rent for cash through the normal GF booking system. As DVC sales continue, more rooms will be declared into the condominium, removing them from GF cash and making them available for points booking - although Disney can rent some of them for cash, too!

 

[ParklandDISDad]

The DVC villas in BPK open June 20, at which time the entire building should be open. However, at this time only half of the rooms have been declared into the condominium association, which means DVC owners can book only half the rooms on any given day. The other half belong to Disney to rent for cash through the normal GF booking system. As DVC sales continue, more rooms will be declared into the condominium, removing them from GF cash and making them available for points booking - although Disney can rent some of them for cash, too!

Wow! This is awesome information. Thanks Carolyn!.. so I may actually have a chance to stay in one of those spiffy new resort studio rooms

.. am I the only one getting serious Riviera Resort vibes, in the best way possible, when looking at the GFV renovation project photos?.. ultimately I think the elegance factor and all of the additional details give GFV the edge over Riviera (a little wood working goes a long way, lol).. but definitely feels like a similar vibe going on, which I personally am glad to see. Thoughts?