Grand Floridian Questions

[exlq]

This might sound like a dumb question....

My wife and I are heading to Disney this summer, I *think* she wants to stay at the Grand Floridian. I know folks who have traveled and stayed there, many of them came back saying the crowd is rather pretentious. Can anyone tell me if this is true? Before everyone gets all defensive, I'm not saying everyone who stays there is or anything. They just mentioned they'd get dirty looks at Dinner if they showed up in a T-Shirt and shorts, etc. They also mentioned the resort had a 'we're better than everyone else' kind of vibe... I can't deal with that.

We don't have kids, early 30's. We will likely go the route of Club Level, if there is space left.

I'm going to be at the resort for 6 days, so we'll be spending some time at the hotel and I've had bad experiences in the Caribbean staying at certain chains where the guests think they're entitled to something.

 

[nkereina]

This might sound like a dumb question....

My wife and I are heading to Disney this summer, I *think* she wants to stay at the Grand Floridian. I know folks who have traveled and stayed there, many of them came back saying the crowd is rather pretentious. Can anyone tell me if this is true? Before everyone gets all defensive, I'm not saying everyone who stays there is or anything. They just mentioned they'd get dirty looks at Dinner if they showed up in a T-Shirt and shorts, etc. They also mentioned the resort had a 'we're better than everyone else' kind of vibe... I can't deal with that.

We don't have kids, early 30's. We will likely go the route of Club Level, if there is space left.

I'm going to be at the resort for 6 days, so we'll be spending some time at the hotel and I've had bad experiences in the Caribbean staying at certain chains where the guests think they're entitled to something.

I've never gotten the "we're better than everyone" vibe at GF, and the resort itself is casual and no different than any other in terms of that. We're also in our 30s, no kids, and keep it casual and have never felt out of place there. Signature restaurants - at any resort - would have a higher expectation of nicer dress than shorts and t-shirt. But otherwise, you'd be fine in that at the regular TS restaurants, including the Grand Floridian Cafe and 1900 Park Fare. Grand Floridian is also home to Victoria & Albert's which is true fine dining with a strict dress code, but sounds like you won't be going there anyway.

 

[Hopefully]

At Signature Restaurants nicer clothes than a tshirt would be nice. In your other thread you stated you didn’t want to wear a suit you don’t need to. Dress shorts and a collared polo would be okay. Or a polo and chino pants too.
I do think there can be a bit of an uppity feeling at the GF.

 

[focusondisney]

I’m wondering what restaurant they went to in t shirt & shorts, & what kind of shorts they were. And who gave them “dirty looks”. Other guests? Hostess? Wait staff? No matter tho, I can’t imagine anyone really gave dirty looks, rather your friends might have projected a little. Grand Floridian Cafe is the casual restaurant & many people stop there on the way to or from the parks. So shorts & t shirts are really common. So no way will you feel out of place there.

Narcoossee’s & Citrico’s are the signature places & you will see people dressed a little nicer. Shorts, sure, but not usually baggy athletic shorts. And many people will have collared polos or nice tops rather than a t shirt. The wait staff won’t care what you are wearing. But if you look around & see you’re the only one with a cartoon t shirt, you might feel uncomfortable & “think” other people are judging you. They probably aren’t but you might still feel uncomfortable. The atmosphere of those restaurants is a little nicer so many people use the opportunity to “clean up” a little. The restaurants do have a dress code on paper & list business casual as the standard. Even so, you won’t be turned away unless you are wearing something vulgar anyway. So again, you can wear whatever, but if you do & feel uncomfortable, that is you projecting, not other people judging.

As for the atmosphere at the resort & attitude of other guests, again, I think that is someone’s perception more than reality. Do people expect a certain level of service & quality of product? Of course. You are paying a premium to stay there. So you expect friendly, polite timely service from the resort staff & well kept rooms, grounds & the amenities that come with them. Does it mean they expect everyone that is staying there meets a certain financial or manners test? Absolutely not. People of all income levels stay at every Disney resort. People with lots of money stay at values because they are park commandos & only need a bed to sleep in. People of modest means save for years for their once in a lifetime stay at the GF. And you never know which category the other guests are in. But, who cares???

People who pay the kind of money it takes to stay at GF might seem to act different. They might dress their kids a bit nicer or remind them to mind their manners more often. But I think you can see that in any place with a nicer atmosphere. Some people like to use this as an opportunity to teach those things. And don’t we all “dress to the occasion“? I mean, you don’t wear a tux to a football game or ripped yoga pants to court. Sure, it’s a hotel at a theme park. But it is a nice hotel, so it’s OK to look & act a little nicer if you choose to. IMHO. But again, personal choice & nobody cares what other guests look like.

Don’t spend time looking for insults & attitudes where there aren’t any. Dress how you want, vacation in our own style & enjoy your trip!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've stayed at GF 4 times and VGF once. In all those times, I encountered "entitled" guests twice - once was at the lobby concierge where a gentleman was irate because he couldn't simply walk in to 1900 Park Fare as a GF guest without an ADR and another was in the Royal Palm Club lounge where a family was asking for food and beverage accommodations which were beyond the pale IMHO and running the staff ragged. Other than that, it was mostly people as laid back as we are and we are pretty, darn laid back.

In terms of dress at signature restaurants, it really runs the gamut, but you will not be out of place in khaki slacks/shorts and a polo (or a sundress if you are a woman). There are some people who dress up more than that and some that don't. We have seen people in t-shirts and shorts in signatures (not V&A though, which has a strict dress code policy) and the restaurant staff doesn't blink an eye. On our last visit, we ate at Topolino's for dinner, wore khaki shorts/polos/sundresses and we were some of the dressiest people in there. You can't control others "looks", so I would really try to ignore it, but we've never gotten the evil-eye, so to speak. If you really want to avoid any type of suggested dress code, you could always stick to the more casual TS restaurants as well.

I responded on your other thread regarding resort choice and, as I did there, I would highly recommend looking at the EP resorts, particularly if you think you will be visiting EP and DHS a lot or want to "pop in" to EP in the evenings for a stroll. If your DW would like a "classier" atmosphere, take a look at YC. It's a little more elegant than BC and BWI, IMHO, but is still in very close proximity to EP (within walking distance) and DHS (walking, boat or Skyliner).

 

[exlq]

I wasn't there, so I don't really know. Like I said, I've heard polar opposite stories.

The entitlement isn't about the service from the staff. If you're paying to stay at their top resort, it's reasonable to expect top quality amenities. Here's my whole thing with it, I don't think that someone who has money should be entitled to a better experience than someone who doesn't. Nicer resort? Sure. Better food? Sure. But I don't believe anyone should look down on anyone else because of where their staying, how they look etc.

 

[SharonZ]

I've stayed at GF, multiple times, and never got that vibe. People perceive what they want, and if you think that you would be bothered by other people's opinions - just pick another resort. I don't put much stock in other people's grumblings about hotels at Disney, if I want to try a hotel - I will. If it doesn't suit my needs (for whatever reason), I'll stay somewhere else the next time. A lot of the negative perceptions out there about GF are from people that have never stayed there.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I first stayed there in 1994 and have never seen that vibe. One thing to bear in mind is that the “turn of the century Victorian” theme is just that- a theme, as opposed to being “real”. As for signature restaurants, Disney encourages slightly nicer dress for them across WDW, not just at GF.

 

[exlq]

This is the kind of feedback I love on these forums. You all are honestly incredibly helpful.

Here's the reason I've asked all of these questions. I grew up with my parents both working two jobs and they would save every penny that they could in order to goto Disney. I never went to college, I played hockey. I still play hockey. I'm involved with a number of charities that give opportunities to all kids, regardless of income. I constantly see kids who's parents could never afford to take them to a place like Disney. To me, it has nothing to do with manners, or dress. It has to do with the attitude.

So I suppose I'm sensitive to pompous and pretentious attitudes. I'm also the type of person who will say something, so I don't want to be on a vacation where I'm constantly annoyed with the other patrons. To be frank, I think I've answered my own question here...

 

[AngiTN]

This might sound like a dumb question....

My wife and I are heading to Disney this summer, I *think* she wants to stay at the Grand Floridian. I know folks who have traveled and stayed there, many of them came back saying the crowd is rather pretentious. Can anyone tell me if this is true? Before everyone gets all defensive, I'm not saying everyone who stays there is or anything. They just mentioned they'd get dirty looks at Dinner if they showed up in a T-Shirt and shorts, etc. They also mentioned the resort had a 'we're better than everyone else' kind of vibe... I can't deal with that.

We don't have kids, early 30's. We will likely go the route of Club Level, if there is space left.

I'm going to be at the resort for 6 days, so we'll be spending some time at the hotel and I've had bad experiences in the Caribbean staying at certain chains where the guests think they're entitled to something.

Personally, yes I find that there are more pretentious guests at GF than is typical at other resorts.
I've stayed there CL twice now, RPC one trip a couple years back and SL just a week ago. We went last summer with DGD for a week, nonCL stay.
I got the same feelings each trip. I would have never returned following RPC but DGD wanted to stay there, having stayed at all the other resorts. And a week ago, it was for a friend that came with me.
DH dislikes it more than I do. My friend didn't come away with a good taste for the staff. She loved the resort though.

 

[focusondisney]

I don't think that someone who has money should be entitled to a better experience than someone who doesn't.

There is no financial means test to stay at a Disney resort. So how would you even know who has money & who doesn’t? Anyone staying at the resort had the money to pay for a hotel room for the night. That’s all you know. Not how much more they have in the bank or if they went deep in debt to stay there. The only thing someone is entitled to is what they paid for.

People’s attitudes aren’t directly related to their financial state either. The person who charged it all or saved for years to stay at GF could have the worst “I deserve it all for what I’m paying“ attitude & someone with tons of money could have an “it’s all good“ relaxed, who cares attitude. And you have no way to tell them apart.

Every guest is entitled what they pay for, that’s all. If you have more money, you can pay for extra events or more days or stuff like that. Doesn’t make you entitled, just able to afford more. Doesn’t make you a bad person. And having a smaller income doesn’t make you a better person either. Attitudes & bad behavior doesn’t come with your finances. Those are personally traits that can be found across all income levels.

 

[Searc]

I have stayed at GF and yes, I've definitely gotten the vibe of pretentiousness from other guests. I haven't found that at any other resort, only GF.

 

[AngiTN]

In my view it boils down to this, GF carries a pretty high per room rack rate. There is a segment of people out there that can pay that without batting an eye. That segment tends to look at GF and no where else. By no means is this a majority of guests at GF but they do exist and GF is more often than not, where they tend to look to stay, which is why I think I observe a higher percentage of that type of guest than elsewhere. And before someone asks, no, you can't always tell but there are signs. You know there are. They aren't fool proof of course but you just play the odds. Heck, that's how fortune tellers work, they don't know stuff, they know how to read people and go with the odds. A lot of time, they are right.

 

[exlq]

@focusondisney

I agree with most of what you said. You're right attitudes come from different financial places. I'm asking more as a generalization (which folks are agreeing with) if there's an 'attitude' at the Grand Floridian. I've heard it from friends of mine and the helpful folks on here. Which means there has to be some basis for it.

To be frank, I didn't want this to turn into a whole 'thing'. I was simply asking for a general answer, yet people seem to be offended in some cases, which is kind of ironic I suppose.

 

[AngiTN]

I will say though, no guest has ever ruined my stay at GF. The stay in general has always been just fine. With DGD we had a great stay, got a pool cabana, swam a lot, spent a lot of time at the resort. It didn't stop the difference in the overall feeling /vibe at the resort. Heck, even in the buildings they clean the rooms differently. There are not carts all over the place, they use baskets around door groupings for linens and stuff and go back to a central parking spot for the supplies. GF offers turn down service to ALL rooms, not just CL. They don't do these things there because it's the same as all the other resorts. It's different. That's not a bad thing and I don't think it should stop someone from staying there. You never know till you try something for yourself.

 

[loves to dive]

I don't think the attitude there is any different than any of the deluxe or even moderate resorts at WDW as far a guests go. I've never been treated any different by staff at any of the resorts - value to deluxe at WDW. I think the guest issue might stem from just the general attitude of a lot of people now days. I've noticed a lot of people on the boards tend to ask "did they give you something more" when someone complains something went wrong. I've always thought if something went wrong and it got fixed, that was what I was supposed to get, not more. If it can't get fixed (like a serious issue with a room) and they move you to a different room, they did what they were needed to. They don't need to give any more.

 

[Miffy]

Are there privileged, entitled people staying or dining at the GF? Yes. GF is WDW's flagship resort and, I think, the most expensive. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong about this. Nevertheless, I go to the GF for lunch on every trip, since I love the Grand Floridian Cafe and it's so convenient to hop over from MK. No one has ever given me attitude because I'm not wearing some fancy-schmancy designer something-or-other. The staff at the GF is super nice and I usually stop in to one or two of their lobby stores and have always been treated with kindness and respect.

You say you're thinking of staying club level. I cannot comment on that, having never stayed club level at any WDW resort. Are you thinking of doing this for the advance FP+ booking? Or the food? That's quite a premium to pay if not, although I gather that a lot of people who stay club level make frequent use of the lounge.

Just a warning--you are going to encounter some privileged types in the parks, on VIP tours with a plaid. I've never had an encounter where I thought someone like this was looking down on me, however, I've noticed (just my experience) that people on these tours do not want to interact with other guests at all, even when you run into the same group, say 2 or 3 times during the day. But these people are spending thousands of dollars for a special experience and part of that experience may not be acknowledging the existence of anyone outside of their group. Not dissing people on VIP tours here, just relating what I've observed.

 

[mrsap]

We love the Grand Floridian. We love the pools, the outdoor space, the lobby, the rooms, the CL food (if we stay CL) and the atmosphere! We loved it so much we bought DVC there. I’ll admit, BEFORE we stayed there for the first time, we were nervous about the same things.... but I never felt out of place or that anyone looked down on us. I can’t image why they would, though. As far as restaurants go, as others said, I wouldn’t wear tee shirts and casual shorts to Narcoossee’s, Citrico’s or V&A’s, though. Bottom line is, you won’t know if you like it unless you try it! I highly recommend it.

 

[exlq]

@Miffy

I really like the privacy (areas not accessible to everyone), I like the ability to grab a snack, or a drink, or a coffee without having to wait in a line. I don't have an issue with the money, it's not about that. I've been to the parks and generally I haven't been bothered by the guests. I'd say that's because 95% of them are just normal everyday folks. I suppose that number goes down at the GF and that's my concern and cause for question.

I think that might be part of what's getting lost here. I'm not saying that I'm going to show up to a nice dinner in some ripped tank top... Anyway this thread has been madly derailed from my initial question...

 

[exlq]

@mrsap

I appreciate the feedback!