Resort Thread Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN Resort & Spa + Construction Updates!! **LOBBY REFURB STARTED 4/14**

Infrastructure Work Underway for All-New Grand Floridian Lobby Bar

As you can see in our photos below, some plumbing work is underway as crews lay the first bit of infrastructure for the lobby bar. Before we get to the construction photos, here’s a look at concept art for the refreshed lobby. We can see that the lobby bar replaces the birdcage, but retains nods to the Grand Floridian relic.

Going back to our visit this morning, you can see that the area of work is uncovered, with exposed dirt and pipes as crews continue to work on the area. As you might imagine, the smell of dirt was noticeable, but minor.

The early infrastructure work appears to be related to drainage, perhaps for sinks or other types of drains such as in-floor drainage.

We visited early enough this morning to be outside of work hours, but Disney notes that “construction will be noticeable during daytime hours, [and] efforts will be made to minimize disruptions”.

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Elsewhere in the lobby, work was continuing on refreshing the check-in counter area. In case you missed it, front desk operations have shifted.

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We are going again in August and staying at GF. We have stayed before, so the lobby refurb is not a big deal. Other than walking through the lobby to get to the monorail or cutting through for quick service, the only spots we went to were the general store or the lobby bathrooms. Knowing that no time was spent in the lobby by us, we had no problem booking. It was nice to walk through, but the rates outweigh the lobby; hopefully still has the smell though. Compared to Wilderness lodge or Polynesian or Contemporary, we spent a lot more time in the lobbies there.
 
Some more pics to share from another blog…


Grand Floridian Lobby Refurbishment Update - June 2025


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Half of the front entrance is currently blocked off (above) along with the theme park bus pick-up point. Signage directs guests to the airport transportation stop to catch buses to Disney's Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs and waterparks.

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Just inside the main entrance, temporary guest relations positions have been set-up to assist those arriving at the hotel.

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Tackling both the bar expansion and the front desk update simultaneously has eliminated quite a bit of the seating normally found in the Grand Floridian lobby.

The resort's Tea Room is also set to be updated. The lobby modifications are scheduled for completion by November 2025. The holiday gingerbread display will not be presented this year at the Grand Floridian, however Disney is reportedly considering other locations for a similar exhibit.
 

Staying here in August. I got an offer to upgrade for $300 more for the length of our stay to a TPV room from a standard view. I’m thinking it’s probably worth it? Any disadvantage? Farther from pool or a specific building I should request?

Also, I knew there was construction going on. I’ve stayed at the grand before, but some people I will be with haven’t. Is the construction bad enough to warrant choosing a different resort??

Construction is not at all bad. Everything you really need in the lobby is either upstairs or kinda off to the side away from it.

We stayed TPV in Conch last year and had a fantastic view. We really enjoyed this building. Not far from the courtyard pool, maybe 3 min walk to Gaspys for mug refills, and right next to the boat dock for quick and easy transportation. Some people don’t like Conch for the latter reason because you hear the boats a lot but it didn’t bother us at all and we actually liked it. Train whistle from MK too. 🙂 We LOVED being next to the dock though, it was so convenient esp coming back after MK EEH and the Halloween party, such late nights and we were too tired to schlep back to the room. Hopped off the boat and went right up lol. We only took the monorail to Epcot.

We had one of the dormer rooms on the 4th floor and this was our view.

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Construction is not at all bad. Everything you really need in the lobby is either upstairs or kinda off to the side away from it.

We stayed TPV in Conch last year and had a fantastic view. We really enjoyed this building. Not far from the courtyard pool, maybe 3 min walk to Gaspys for mug refills, and right next to the boat dock for quick and easy transportation. Some people don’t like Conch for the latter reason because you hear the boats a lot but it didn’t bother us at all and we actually liked it. Train whistle from MK too. 🙂 We LOVED being next to the dock though, it was so convenient esp coming back after MK EEH and the Halloween party, such late nights and we were too tired to schlep back to the room. Hopped off the boat and went right up lol. We only took the monorail to Epcot.

We had one of the dormer rooms on the 4th floor and this was our view.

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Probably a dumb question but as far as the dormer rooms go….do you need to be standing to be able to see anything when when out on the balcony?
 
Probably a dumb question but as far as the dormer rooms go….do you need to be standing to be able to see anything when when out on the balcony?
Not dumb! You don’t, the balcony chairs in those rooms are much taller to compensate. We sat down the whole time and could see. I took pics for the boards back then. Second pic is what the view was like when seated. Nice advantage to this style of balcony is they are totally covered, so you can still sit outside when it’s raining. Was lovely to sit out and look at the lagoon during those Sept storms.

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Not dumb! You don’t, the balcony chairs in those rooms are much taller to compensate. We sat down the whole time and could see. I took pics for the boards back then. Second pic is what the view was like when seated. Nice advantage to this style of balcony is they are totally covered, so you can still sit outside when it’s raining. Was lovely to sit out and look at the lagoon during those Sept storms.

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Thank you for the info! We have an upcoming stay and I’ve been curious about this. Good to know!
 
My daughter is a foodie. Is there a snack that is unique to the GF?
I responded to this on poly thread. With CC, Kona Island, Kona Cafe , the Traders bars there are many fun food options.

GF it’s more American. I enjoy the GF cafe. Dd loves the cheese plate in ER. Some like the food at Citricos or Narcoosees.

There just isn’t really any unique food per se.

Sometimes they have cupcakes etc seasonally but that’s mainly it.

Now when the tea room was open THAT was a fun unique thing to do.
 
Grand Floridian Lobby Refurb: Drains & More Plumbing Installed for Walk-Up Birdcage Bar

When we last visited, the biggest news was that some plumbing was installed through some exposed dirt in the floor. We assumed that the pipe was to support drains, and our most recent visit to Grand Floridian confirms our suspicions. New plumbing work was also underway when we recently visited.
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Beyond the lobby bar construction, new work is taking place on a stairway refurbishment near Citricos, and work continues on the walls and ceiling of the former check-in area.
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There are additional pics if you click link above.
 
Any word on if they're planning on starting up the Afternoon Tea once all the construction is done? We did it once and loved it, I'd love to do it again.
As @mrsap keeps posting they are working on that area but no one knows if they reopening rea room or reimagining it.

I will say I feel it’s odd it is still listing as a dining option that’s only temp closed. Gives me hope.
 
Does anyone know when the lobby construction will be finished? My daughter is getting married April 2026 at the wedding pavilion, and I know they are looking to have some pictures in the lobby. The GF will be our home base that week and it would be nice to have a refreshed lobby.
 














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