Grand Floridian shouldn’t allow non hotel guests

[PollyannaMom]

I've not read every post (did a "first and last page" read, came back the next day, and the new last page was about double!) but the whole idea comes off as pretty snobby to me.

Disney actively encourages people to tour other resorts (probably in hopes they'll want to come back and stay there the next time) and I don't see them changing that just so their wealthier guests will have a "less-crowded" experience.

If the waits are too long for transportation, then by all means add extra transportation during busy times! (Maybe there's even a market for special "resort tour" trolleys to lessen the strain on the monorail?)

But honestly, as long as the GF rooms are selling as things are, what is Disney's incentive to restrict access?

 

[eandt]

I've not read every post (did a "first and last page" read, came back the next day, and the new last page was about double!) but the whole idea comes off as pretty snobby to me.

Disney actively encourages people to tour other resorts (probably in hopes they'll want to come back and stay there the next time) and I don't see them changing that just so their wealthier guests will have a "less-crowded" experience.

If the waits are too long for transportation, then by all means add extra transportation during busy times! (Maybe there's even a market for special "resort tour" trolleys to lessen the strain on the monorail?)

But honestly, as long as the GF rooms are selling as things are, what is Disney's incentive to restrict access?

My comments are neither on the first or last page … you missed all the best parts!

 

[tjkraz]

I stayed at the Grand Floridian last week (11/23-11/30) and experienced the chaos firsthand, hence the reason I joined this discussion. The lobby was incredibly crowded, and it was often difficult to even move through it (and not just limited to party nights). On multiple occasions, we had to wait for a third monorail just to get on, and it wasn’t just isolated to the monorail—waiting for two buses at Disney Springs was also a regular occurrence.

See, this is probably part of the disconnect. I can guarantee you most frequent visitors reading this will tell you that waiting for 2 monorails is commonplace, and waiting for a third monorail or second bus during Thanksgiving week is not the least bit outrageous. That's not a "suck it up" observation. It's a "that's how things are during the second busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World" observation.

I've been to WDW every December for the last 12 or 13 years staying at almost every DVC resort. I've had trips that encompassed July 4th, Memorial Day, MLK and other holidays. Not once have I ever looked around a resort lobby and bemoaned the number of people present or questioned their right to be there. So, yeah, that entire line of thinking is lost on me.

While I understand wanting a premium experience for a premium price, I think there are practical limits to what Disney can deliver. I'm of the opinion that the vast majority of the people using GF resources are resort guests and diners. The resort has a THOUSAND hotel rooms and villas, plus five table service restaurants, three of which are "signature" level. It's not just outsiders who have a reason to spend more time in the lobby. If you've got 3000-4000 registered guests at the resort, just a small percent wanting to take family photos and sniff the gingerbread will crowd the space.

Personally, I don't believe that creating multiple boarding queues on the monorail platform or stationing the Disney Police to scan IDs would have much positive impact on the experience. But they would be costly to implement and represent a source of frustration for many guests. It's a lot of change to propose when the only real payoff is some lesser number of people in the lobby and boarding the 2nd monorail instead of waiting for a 3rd on a handful of the busiest nights of the year.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Excuse my naive and hopeful wording. I’ll do better to be more nihilistic and business-minded in my responses. I’ll quote back to that same post

And I even said

Before the responses come about that.

Yeah and I'm not disagreeing that Disney makes changes, they do, but they are so very few and far between. I usually use the examples of the MK tents that Disney tried to sell for $650. I've said it multiple times throughout the thread that Disney looks at what profits they are gaining and losing in their decisions.

Your nihilistic adjective doesn't make sense here but yes the business minded for sure. Everyone can grumble, sometimes it feels just right to do so but it's all together a different mentality to view Disney as some sort of loving relationship here, they don't really make adjustments because they are imparting goodwill. They have other endeavors they do that satisfy that. But changing holiday decorations because some people at the Grand Floridian don't want others in their space is just not one of those goodwill things. They'll do it if it's hurting their bottom line just like any other company.

More to the point is perspective and we're talking about holiday decorations at a resort and you're talking about "Only time will tell if this does enough damage to push change."...again it's holiday decorations at a resort..

 

[Genie+]

If the waits are too long for transportation, then by all means add extra transportation during busy times! (Maybe there's even a market for special "resort tour" trolleys to lessen the strain on the monorail?)

iirc there used to be a ‘gold’ bus that ran the monorail circuit and have not heard of anything like that post 2020. That seems like a good help to alleviate the pothole happening at GF - guests wanting to get to MK/EP/MVMCP and the resort boat and resort monorail are backed way up and the only alternative for MK is a lengthy walk and for EP is uber.

Last year mid-Dec we only used resort monorail twice, just between MK/GF/Poly. One trip was almost an hour total, the other over an hour. The second one happened due to combo of long line and stoppages, which commonly occurs busy evenings according to the Poly CM who shared our cabin. We were all trying to make MK fireworks and I thought leaving my room 90 minutes ahead from across the lagoon was good enough lol. This is more uniquely GF problem for potential frequency during a weeklong stay. Poly and BLT have alternatives in some of the MK/EP/MVMCP routes that reduce the overall number of chances to be majorly disrupted. BLT only needs to rely on resort mono for EP transfer because to/from MK is only a 5 minute walk. Poly is a long walk but never needs to solely rely on resort boat and resort monorail because the easy walk over to TTC for EP mono, and ferry/express mono that have a good shot at being much better option when resort boat/monorails are overwhelmed. GF has a long almost 20 minute walk to/from MK and must use resort boat/monorail otherwise, and the same minus walking option is true for EP transfer. It makes GF captive to 2 modes of transportation that get overwhelmed in December, and are necessary for 2 different parks. They need to bring that gold bus back (or whatever it was named). Maybe it will once Poly Tower opens.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Personally, I don't believe that creating multiple boarding queues on the monorail platform or stationing the Disney Police to scan IDs would have much positive impact on the experience. But they would be costly to implement and represent a source of frustration for many guests. It's a lot of change to propose when the only real payoff is some lesser number of people in the lobby and boarding the 2nd monorail instead of waiting for a 3rd on a handful of the busiest nights of the year.

This is a fair take. And I normally am so with everything you usually say. You’re an amazing source of information and credibility in this field and your commentary is truly appreciated. But if you’re ok with this, and it’s fine that you are, what is your limit? How much worse should it get before Disney does something? Truly just curious what people’s limits are. I’m not even sure if this is mine. And before DVC, which was only a couple years ago, we only ever stayed at AoA and the All Stars. I think they’re great for their value and amenities. It feels bizarre to pay those deluxe prices when my experience at AoA was not too dissimilar. Tbf, we are generally a studio with an occasional spurge 1bdrm family so I’m sure that makes a difference….actually last year, we did early December in OKW and we loved it so maybe it really just is the high traffic resorts.

 

[nuhusky123]

See, this is probably part of the disconnect. I can guarantee you most frequent visitors reading this will tell you that waiting for 2 monorails is commonplace, and waiting for a third monorail or second bus during Thanksgiving week is not the least bit outrageous. That's not a "suck it up" observation. It's a "that's how things are during the second busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World" observation.

I've been to WDW every December for the last 12 or 13 years staying at almost every DVC resort. I've had trips that encompassed July 4th, Memorial Day, MLK and other holidays. Not once have I ever looked around a resort lobby and bemoaned the number of people present or questioned their right to be there. So, yeah, that entire line of thinking is lost on me.

While I understand wanting a premium experience for a premium price, I think there are practical limits to what Disney can deliver. I'm of the opinion that the vast majority of the people using GF resources are resort guests and diners. The resort has a THOUSAND hotel rooms and villas, plus five table service restaurants, three of which are "signature" level. It's not just outsiders who have a reason to spend more time in the lobby. If you've got 3000-4000 registered guests at the resort, just a small percent wanting to take family photos and sniff the gingerbread will crowd the space.

Personally, I don't believe that creating multiple boarding queues on the monorail platform or stationing the Disney Police to scan IDs would have much positive impact on the experience. But they would be costly to implement and represent a source of frustration for many guests. It's a lot of change to propose when the only real payoff is some lesser number of people in the lobby and boarding the 2nd monorail instead of waiting for a 3rd on a handful of the busiest nights of the year.

You are crushing my dreams of keeping out the peasants

 

[Marrila]

Sigh, would love your serious input. No need for nonsense snark

You are crushing my dreams of keeping out the peasants

So I guess nonsense snark for you but not for others?

 

[nuhusky123]

So I guess nonsense snark for you but not for others?

My comment was a joke not snark nor was it attacking in anyway.

Also you will see I have throughout this thread been accused of snobbery so yeah I made a joke.

You Ok? Can I do anything to help you?

 

[tjkraz]

This is a fair take. And I normally am so with everything you usually say. You’re an amazing source of information and credibility in this field and your commentary is truly appreciated. But if you’re ok with this, and it’s fine that you are, what is your limit? How much worse should it get before Disney does something? Truly just curious what people’s limits are. I’m not even sure if this is mine.

I don't personally view it as a problem that will get progressively worse. The monorail places a finite limit on the number of guests who can access the resort. Trains arrive with the same frequency and have the same maximum passenger load. Every person who exits the monorail at the GF opens up room for someone else to board. That at least keeps the line moving.

If you restrict arrivals, it will have a similar effect on departures; one less person getting off the train means one less who can board. I just don't know if that would have a positive effect.

Transportation is prone to being overloaded at times. When 10k people leave Epcot after fireworks, there's really nothing you can do to avoid the Skyliner being backed-up for 30-45 minutes. You can't get them all on buses within 10-15 minutes. There's a lot of guesswork involved here but my suspicion is that back-ups on the monorail are largely limited to busy weeks and MK event nights. And even then, it's a span of maybe 60-90 minutes when that guest traffic hits its peak. It's a question of what practical steps can really be taken and how much improvement would really result. Hypothetically, if 80% of the people waiting for the GF monorail ARE resort guests, what are you really accomplishing by creating a separate queue?

I don't think we should overlook the closure of the Poly walking path as a contributing factor. Right now if you're staying at the Poly and want to dine at GF or see the Christmas decor, the only way to get there is by monorail. Both coming and going. Same is true of GF guests with reservations for Ohana, Kona Cafe or the new restaurant. Even from Contemporary, we've found ourselves riding the train to Poly where we'll browse around and then walk to GF. IMO, many of those people will find it easier to walk back and forth once that path reopens.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Yeah and I'm not disagreeing that Disney makes changes, they do, but they are so very few and far between. I usually use the examples of the MK tents that Disney tried to sell for $650. I've said it multiple times throughout the thread that Disney looks at what profits they are gaining and losing in their decisions.

Your nihilistic adjective doesn't make sense here but yes the business minded for sure. Everyone can grumble, sometimes it feels just right to do so but it's all together a different mentality to view Disney as some sort of loving relationship here, they don't really make adjustments because they are imparting goodwill. They have other endeavors they do that satisfy that. But changing holiday decorations because some people at the Grand Floridian don't want others in their space is just not one of those goodwill things. They'll do it if it's hurting their bottom line just like any other company.

More to the point is perspective and we're talking about holiday decorations at a resort and you're talking about "Only time will tell if this does enough damage to push change."...again it's holiday decorations at a resort..

I’m not sure I’ve really mentioned Disney doing anything because of the goodness of their hearts. Nor do I see Disney as my best friend, that’s a strange take on one small comment in a sea of commentary that I’ve made. I do think they want to more or less please their guests but as long as it gives them the best profit. Hence that balance I was talking about. I think the problem here is everyone is being clumped into having the same thought and beliefs. You might be confusing my commentary with others and that keeps happening. I have literally never mentioned the holiday decorations being the problem. Not once. Because that’s so far from my truth. Nor have I ever wanted to curb visitors or even find the crowds to be the issue. My take has always been about making the amenities work better for those who’ve paid into those amenities. That’s all.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I don't personally view it as a problem that will get progressively worse. The monorail places a finite limit on the number of guests who can access the resort. Trains arrive with the same frequency and have the same maximum passenger load. Every person who exits the monorail at the GF opens up room for someone else to board. That at least keeps the line moving.

If you restrict arrivals, it will have a similar effect on departures; one less person getting off the train means one less who can board. I just don't know if that would have a positive effect.

Transportation is prone to being overloaded at times. When 10k people leave Epcot after fireworks, there's really nothing you can do to avoid the Skyliner being backed-up for 30-45 minutes. You can't get them all on buses within 10-15 minutes. There's a lot of guesswork involved here but my suspicion is that back-ups on the monorail are largely limited to busy weeks and MK event nights. And even then, it's a span of maybe 60-90 minutes when that guest traffic hits its peak. It's a question of what practical steps can really be taken and how much improvement would really result. Hypothetically, if 80% of the people waiting for the GF monorail ARE resort guests, what are you really accomplishing by creating a separate queue?

I don't think we should overlook the closure of the Poly walking path as a contributing factor. Right now if you're staying at the Poly and want to dine at GF or see the Christmas decor, the only way to get there is by monorail. Both coming and going. Same is true of GF guests with reservations for Ohana, Kona Cafe or the new restaurant. Even from Contemporary, we've found ourselves riding the train to Poly where we'll browse around and then walk to GF. IMO, many of those people will find it easier to walk back and forth once that path reopens.

You make some goods points I can’t disagree. But if most of the guests using the monorail and the boats and buses are they themselves monorail resort guests, then there wouldn’t be a distinct difference during certain times of the year. It is clearly very different right now then it is in February or October or even July 4th. My point is that for the busiest season Disney should make the experience of the on property guest a priority. Especially when they put a massive draw right in the middle of the lobby of said resorts where the resorts amenities will be inundated and stretched to absolute capacity with excited guests coming from all over.

We can agree to disagree, but during the end of November and all of December, there’s no way 80% of the guests on the monorail are from the Contemporary, Poly and Grand. All those monorail guests are going to be divided between the different parks and Disney springs. And although I personally think there would be time saved and the experience ameliorated by a priority line for the monorail most times, even if it didn’t (like how occasionally LLs don’t save time) it’s sometimes the idea that Disney tried to do something but it can’t fix everything that counts.

 

[Sandisw]

You make some goods points I can’t disagree. But if most of the guests using the monorail and the boats and buses are they themselves monorail resort guests, then there wouldn’t be a distinct difference during certain times of the year. It is clearly very different right now then it is in February or October or even July 4th. My point is that for the busiest season Disney should make the experience of the on property guest a priority. Especially when they put a massive draw right in the middle of the lobby of said resorts where the resorts amenities will be inundated and stretched to absolute capacity with excited guests coming from all over.

We can agree to disagree, but during the end of November and all of December, there’s no way 80% of the guests on the monorail are from the Contemporary, Poly and Grand. All those monorail guests are going to be divided between the different parks and Disney springs. And although I personally think there would be time saved and the experience ameliorated by a priority line for the monorail most times, even if it didn’t (like how occasionally LLs don’t save time) it’s sometimes the idea that Disney tried to do something but it can’t fix everything that counts.

I waited for two monorails from Poly back to GF in August at night. It was crowded with guests who had come from Ohana like us.

I have waited at GF for a second monorail as well at other times. While it is crowded at the holidays more than other times, I have definitely dealt with crowds waiting for transportation there

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

I waited for two monorails from Poly back to GF in August at night. It was crowded with guests who had come from Ohana like us.

I have waited at GF for a second monorail as well at other times. While it is crowded at the holidays more than other times, I have definitely dealt with crowds waiting for transportation there

No doubt. Same here. But I think we can both agree that 2 monorails is very different from a monorail line to enchanted rose, or when I saw it last year in December it was down the staircase leading into the lobby.

 

[nuhusky123]

I waited for two monorails from Poly back to GF in August at night. It was crowded with guests who had come from Ohana like us.

I have waited at GF for a second monorail as well at other times. While it is crowded at the holidays more than other times, I have definitely dealt with crowds waiting for transportation there

I 100% have waited for multiple trains outside holiday peaks. But that’s because the trains were full, not the gf station and never did the line wrap into the inside of gf

 

[Chuck S]

See, this is probably part of the disconnect. I can guarantee you most frequent visitors reading this will tell you that waiting for 2 monorails is commonplace, and waiting for a third monorail or second bus during Thanksgiving week is not the least bit outrageous. That's not a "suck it up" observation. It's a "that's how things are during the second busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World" observation.

Heck, I've had to wait for a second bus or second boat at OKW lots of times even in "normal" attendance times, it would often just depend upon the time of day.

 

[eandt]

Heck, I've had to wait for a second bus or second boat at OKW lots of times even in "normal" attendance times, it would often just depend upon the time of day.

Roberto at the Gurgling Suitcase is the ‘gingerbread house’ of OKW that the throngs of Joes flock to see

 

[Miffy]

OP, You'll be happy to hear that one less undeserving guest (that would be me, ) has decided to skip going to GF this trip even though we usually have lunch at GFC and check out the gingerbread house.

But I don't like to go where I'm not wanted.

 

[Sandisw]

I 100% have waited for multiple trains outside holiday peaks. But that’s because the trains were full, not the gf station and never did the line wrap into the inside of gf

In August, it was both We were near the security walkthrough area while we waited. Not quite inside, but that is what cause the back up that time.

We stay several times a year so we have a wide range of experiences in dates.

I’ll be there next week for a night or two and we will see how it is.

 

[hockeydad21]

I think the parks themselves are way too crowded. We should restrict who can go where in each park depending on what my personal plans are. Because I am important, and paid big money for my special 'important person' pass.

This sounds lovely.