Grand Floridian shouldn’t allow non hotel guests

[Chuck S]

This whole conversation reminds me of Hyacinth Bucket...er...Bouquet. Wanting to keep Rose, Daisy, and Onslow out of sight.

 

[StarCruzer]

I mean if you really want to get into the weeds on cost....Disney was getting significant tax breaks from the state of Florida. So locals are losing on a ton of tax money that could be used to create better public services and spaces. (Some of this may change under the new rules, since Florida stripped the Reedy Creek special tax district).

So while I agree that Disney is abysmal at crowd control and that this sounds like a miserable experience for everyone, Florida locals are also technically "paying" customers

Incorrect. These are the only two places pictured below and Fantasy Springs hotel has already been discussed in this thread already, do not expect access to Fantasy Springs hotel to stay exclusive and TDR is already rolling back exclusive products (the one day passport to Fantasy Springs) in several months. Various other dining at the hotels is not restricted to only those staying at a Disney hotel.

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I see what your saying; at the same time those restrictions were put in place for the same reason OP is upset: to prevent overcrowding and prioritize the experience of hotel guests over locals/non-hotel guests. Now, of course there are cultural factors at play: Japanese tourists generally don't have as much money to throw around, and a poor experience is much more likely to discourage repeat visits.

WDW has a certain percentage of people (DVC owners/AP) who 1. Have already sunk significant investment into Disney trips and 2. are guaranteed repeat visitors. So they likely aren't going to put much time, energy or money into improving guest experiences, even temporarily, into improving guest experiences.

The last true guest experience improvement Disney made was building the Skyliner. Even that I'm sure was pushed through my analysis of long-term savings on bus drivers, vehicle maintenance, etc.

Providing extra buses during high crowd periods used to be pretty standard. The problem happening internally is that corporate decisions move SO SLOWLY. So it may be that someone in Park operations is trying to push this issue up the chain, and by the time a decision is made to add extra buses the gingerbread house isn't even up any more

 

[eandt]

This whole conversation reminds me of Hyacinth Bucket...er...Bouquet.

Over and under on how many more posts until the thread is kiboshed?

 

[Genie+]

Certain NYC hotels block non-guests from entering lobby if they aren’t meeting a guest or holding some type of reservation there. Not saying this is the answer at GF, just not an alien concept.

 

[Man-DeLorean]

If I need to explain it, I am wasting my breath because the entitled simply aren't self aware enough to see it. If you are questioning how this is entitled behavior, nothing I can say or do will make you see it.

Calling guests entitled for expecting a higher standard at the Grand Floridian ignores Disney’s clear distinction between Value, Moderate, and Deluxe resorts. Deluxe resorts, like the Grand Floridian are priced for service, accommodations, and atmosphere. Are all guests staying at deluxe resorts entitled? Of course not—they’re paying for what Disney promises: a step above the rest. Expecting those standards isn’t entitlement; it’s holding Disney accountable to their own tiered system.

 

[Lumpy1106]

TLDR the whole discussion, but some thoughts;
1) Could be wrong, but I don't think you can access many parts of AKV unless you are staying there (or dining there). Seems like we stopped in to eat at the QS there one trip thinking we could check out the rest of the resort and we could not (QS there isn't great either in case you are wondering).
2) GFV may have nice Christmas decorations, but isn't Wilderness Lodge every bit as nice? Is it the same problem there?
3) You are allowed to wander through the Poly or the Contemporary same as the Grand Floridian, so it's not really a monorail access thing - or is it?
4) at DL/DCA you can walk through VGC any time you want and I've never seen it be a problem there. In fact, I highly recommend doing that.

IMHO, even with all I've pointed out here, I am still going to side with the "let everyone see it" crowd. sorry OP, but I do see your point - just think it's not a big enough problem to limit access. If you limit it there, then you would naturally have to limit it everywhere else, including all I have mentioned. Would you really want that?

 

[nuhusky123]

Calling guests entitled for expecting a higher standard at the Grand Floridian ignores Disney’s clear distinction between Value, Moderate, and Deluxe resorts. Deluxe resorts, like the Grand Floridian are priced for service, accommodations, and atmosphere. Are all guests staying at deluxe resorts entitled? Of course not—they’re paying for what Disney promises: a step above the rest. Expecting those standards isn’t entitlement; it’s holding Disney accountable to their own tiered system.

The post from @aleria24 smacks of self entitlement imo. Entitled to something not paid for and I can’t be bothered to provide logical data points to counteract why a paid guest should not be entitled to a resort that isn’t jammed to a point of people freaking out

 

[nuhusky123]

TLDR the whole discussion, but some thoughts;
1) Could be wrong, but I don't think you can access many parts of AKV unless you are staying there (or dining there). Seems like we stopped in to eat at the QS there one trip thinking we could check out the rest of the resort and we could not (QS there isn't great either in case you are wondering).
2) GFV may have nice Christmas decorations, but isn't Wilderness Lodge every bit as nice? Is it the same problem there?
3) You are allowed to wander through the Poly or the Contemporary same as the Grand Floridian, so it's not really a monorail access thing - or is it?
4) at DL/DCA you can walk through VGC any time you want and I've never seen it be a problem there. In fact, I highly recommend doing that.

IMHO, even with all I've pointed out here, I am still going to side with the "let everyone see it" crowd. sorry OP, but I do see your point - just think it's not a big enough problem to limit access. If you limit it there, then you would naturally have to limit it everywhere else, including all I have mentioned. Would you really want that?

Fair post

Couple things to consider

1- Ak quick service is horrible
2- wilderness is much nicer imo but they get less traffic because it’s harder to get to. I believe much of the foot traffic is a direct result of people going to mk and then stopping at gf. It’s just an easy stop via boat or rail and not really out of your way as you head back to ttc. Wilderness is way out of the way. Hence why I think the monorail is the primary supporting factor of the issue at hand
3-as nice as both resorts are they still are not done up as well as gf for Christmas and it’s the darn gingerbread house pulling the punters in

 

[eandt]

TLDR the whole discussion, but some thoughts;
1) Could be wrong, but I don't think you can access many parts of AKV unless you are staying there (or dining there). Seems like we stopped in to eat at the QS there one trip thinking we could check out the rest of the resort and we could not (QS there isn't great either in case you are wondering).
2) GFV may have nice Christmas decorations, but isn't Wilderness Lodge every bit as nice? Is it the same problem there?
3) You are allowed to wander through the Poly or the Contemporary same as the Grand Floridian, so it's not really a monorail access thing - or is it?
4) at DL/DCA you can walk through VGC any time you want and I've never seen it be a problem there. In fact, I highly recommend doing that.

IMHO, even with all I've pointed out here, I am still going to side with the "let everyone see it" crowd. sorry OP, but I do see your point - just think it's not a big enough problem to limit access. If you limit it there, then you would naturally have to limit it everywhere else, including all I have mentioned. Would you really want that?

What part of AKL were you not able to access? Concierge level is the only part that I know is controlled. Lobby, restaurants, bars, savanna view points, pool bar, possibly even the pool are all open as would be the hallways to the rooms should you wish to traverse those (better pack a lunch) …

 

[AstroBlasters]

If I need to explain it, I am wasting my breath because the entitled simply aren't self aware enough to see it. If you are questioning how this is entitled behavior, nothing I can say or do will make you see it.

This comment is ludicrous.

 

[fla4fun]

So how would everyone feel if all Disney hotel guests were restricted to their own resort when not in the parks? No resort hopping to dine or shop at all, no matter where you stay. All GF guests stay within GF. All WL guests stay within WL. All PO guests stay within PO.

It sounds rather silly, doesn’t it? People stay on the monorail for the convenience of dining and shopping at all the monorail resorts. They plan lounge crawls from one monorail hotel to another. For a lot of people that is the big draw of staying in one of those resorts.

The day guests visiting other resorts are restricted from using most of the amenities, except for gift shops, dining, and lounges. The other amenities are reserved for the paying guests of that resort, as they should be. I have stayed at all levels of resorts, including GF, and even when it was a busy time of year I never felt that they should keep people out of the public areas of the resort. If it got to be too much, I knew I had the option to go relax on my balcony alone for a while and they didn’t. I always felt that what I was paying for was the location, the size and comfort of the room, and the amenities that aren’t available to day guests.

Personally, I don’t like Disney’s gingerbread recipe. I make much better at home.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I see what your saying; at the same time those restrictions were put in place for the same reason OP is upset: to prevent overcrowding and prioritize the experience of hotel guests over locals/non-hotel guests. Now, of course there are cultural factors at play: Japanese tourists generally don't have as much money to throw around, and a poor experience is much more likely to discourage repeat visits.

WDW has a certain percentage of people (DVC owners/AP) who 1. Have already sunk significant investment into Disney trips and 2. are guaranteed repeat visitors. So they likely aren't going to put much time, energy or money into improving guest experiences, even temporarily, into improving guest experiences.

The last true guest experience improvement Disney made was building the Skyliner. Even that I'm sure was pushed through my analysis of long-term savings on bus drivers, vehicle maintenance, etc.

Providing extra buses during high crowd periods used to be pretty standard. The problem happening internally is that corporate decisions move SO SLOWLY. So it may be that someone in Park operations is trying to push this issue up the chain, and by the time a decision is made to add extra buses the gingerbread house isn't even up any more

I know the point you're wanting to make that access has in some form been restricted but that's essentially positioning the perspective to fit the statement. Like I stated in a previous comment the monorail at TDR is not free for anyone, everyone has to pay for it including going to their Ikspirari shopping area (akin to Disney Springs and Downtown Disney). Anyone has access to the monorail and many take a train to the Resort Gateway Station also known as the JR station also know as the Maihama Station where Ikspirari is located at, to get to the other hotels including Toy Story you'd either take a bus or the monorail. It's hard to say why they put the restrictions in place TBH especially considering there's 10 other places between 3 hotels that aren't exclusive (one of which is only exclusive for breakfast).

You stated that Disney hotels are exclusive in Tokyo to Disney hotel guests. There is Fantasy Springs which has been opened since June with it being right next to their biggest and most expensive expansion in their park history and only 1 other place to eat, the other restaurant is only for breakfast. At the Fantasy Springs hotel there is a restaurant that is also available to those with a Vacation Package but that is still aimed at using Disney hotels. The wording is "until further notice". Ambassador Hotel for example did not qualify for Happy Entry on Disney Sea only for about 3 months IIRC once Fantasy Springs opened up (it might have been shorter but when I checked packages in July for our October trip it was not a perk at that time but when I checked in September that restriction was removed). Currently only Disneyland Hotel does not qualify for Happy Entry at Disney Sea.

As a fun fact since we've been talking about crowdedness even though tourism has skyrocketed to Japan, even with this large expansion with the new hotel TDR expects to fall short of their desired attendance, it was weird to read that after having visited there seeing the crowds. Realistically most visitors will stop off at Ikspirari to dine and shop but I who stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay (located next door to Toy Story Hotel) could indeed make dining reservations for various hotel restaurants and so can the general public.

As far as tourists IDK I think you're stereotyping there. I saw more western people (primarily Australian and Europeans with a smaller amount of Americans) in Kanazawa than I did at Tokyo Disney Resort in the 4 days we were at TDR and our largest language barrier by far was at TDR where Japanese was vastly spoken with very little other languages. I rather doubt that the sheer amount of cosplay I saw during the Halloween season was tourists as opposed to locals who were more willing to dress up in full on Belle with hoop skirts to ride virtually nothing. The only way to get into the parks are by buying 1-day tickets or an evening weekday or weekend pass. Even at the Hilton there was not as many westerners than you'd think for an American brand. The hotel's food was heavily catered to Japanese cuisine (Asian as whole but very much Japanese too) with their breakfast buffets having entire large sections dedicated to this.

In any case back to the Grand Floridian the conditions for a resort stay, the conditions for a DVC contract do not state exclusivity. You will not hear any arguments from me against Disney's lack of investment because that is sadly nothing new and something I wish Disney was better at, but it is also not really the crux of the argument. Monorails are hard to invest in because that time has passed. The boats I mentioned they could add another dock perhaps. But even still that isn't going to alleviate someone who believes to the core that they and only they should have access to the hotel grounds period by being a hotel guest of that particular hotel.

 

[nuhusky123]

Let me ask a very simple question

When you book a hotel room are you

1) paying exclusively for the hotel room
2) paying for the common areas in addition to the room

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm sorry but this is probably the funniest thread I've read through in a while. Some of you would lock the All Stars guests in their rooms like the dirty peasants they are if it meant you could walk through the Grand Floridian lobby without a massive crowd.

 

[eandt]

So how would everyone feel if all Disney hotel guests were restricted to their own resort when not in the parks? No resort hopping to dine or shop at all, no matter where you stay. All GF guests stay within GF. All WL guests stay within WL. All PO guests stay within PO.

It sounds rather silly, doesn’t it? People stay on the monorail for the convenience of dining and shopping at all the monorail resorts. They plan lounge crawls from one monorail hotel to another. For a lot of people that is the big draw of staying in one of those resorts.

The day guests visiting other resorts are restricted from using most of the amenities, except for gift shops, dining, and lounges. The other amenities are reserved for the paying guests of that resort, as they should be. I have stayed at all levels of resorts, including GF, and even when it was a busy time of year I never felt that they should keep people out of the public areas of the resort. If it got to be too much, I knew I had the option to go relax on my balcony alone for a while and they didn’t. I always felt that what I was paying for was the location, the size and comfort of the room, and the amenities that aren’t available to day guests.

Personally, I don’t like Disney’s gingerbread recipe. I make much better at home.

Exactly … unless you are willing to stay in the friendly confines of the resort you are currently paying for this is a hypocritical non issue …. If you won’t show me your gingerbread house I’m not showing you my savanna!!!

 

[Genie+]

Let me ask a very simple question

When you book a hotel room are you

1) paying exclusively for the hotel room
2) paying for the common areas in addition to the room

Well that’s just it for us. We used to only care about the room when the kids were young and we ran the parks commando. They are young adults now and we’re on the verge of empty nesters. We still all visit WDW but now it’s to enjoy our resort as much as the parks, and for that reason now willing to splurge on deluxe to experience that resort. If that is not reliable then the value proposition decreases.

 

[eandt]

Well that’s just it for us. We used to only care about the room when the kids were young and we ran the parks commando. They are young adults now and we’re on the verge of empty nesters. We still all visit WDW but now it’s to enjoy our resort as much as the parks, and for that reason now willing to splurge on deluxe to experience that resort. If that is not reliable then the value proposition decreases.

I’m not so sure a WDW vacation, resort only or otherwise, was ever sold as or meant to be a peaceful tranquil experience … there are places you can find that if you try (I’m not telling my secrets) but the hotel lobbies, pools, bars, and restaurants, gingerbread abodes or not, are not among them …

 

[eandt]

I'm sorry but this is probably the funniest thread I've read through in a while. Some of you would lock the All Stars guests in their rooms like the dirty peasants they are if it meant you could walk through the Grand Floridian lobby without a massive crowd.

Who among us ‘Disney Deluxers’ hasn’t longed for and actually made the pilgrimage to AS to see the giant big wheel, Lego pieces and soccer balls? You know you all have!

 

[Smugpugmug]

Who among us ‘Disney Deluxers’ hasn’t longed for and actually made the pilgrimage to AS to see the giant big wheel, Lego pieces and soccer balls? You know you all have!

The deluxe guests yearn to see color and creativity outside of their barely themed, beige/white hotel rooms.

 

[eandt]

The deluxe guests yearn to see color and creativity outside of their barely themed, beige/white hotel rooms.

Yes I have yearned lol