Grand Floridian vs Contemporary

[blackacex2]

Which do you prefer? Contemporary magic kingdom view or grand floridian garden view. Going in April and am a little concerned about construction at the floridian. Prices are very close with contemporary about $30 more per night. 2 adults no children.

 

[blackacex2]

Which do you prefer? Contemporary magic kingdom view or grand floridian garden view. Going in April and am a little concerned about construction at the floridian. Prices are very close with contemporary about $30 more per night. 2 adults no children.

Oops wrong forum

 

[guynhawaii]

Aloha,

It's like comparing apples to oranges. Two totally different themed resorts. What appeals to you? If you are a kid at heart and like to watch the monorail go through the CR, enjoy a front row seat of the fireworks and like to take in all of the Disney atmosphere, then CR is for you.

If you like a Victorian resort, more elegance, slower pace, more exclusive then the GF is for you.

My family and I (two children and wife) have stayed at both and prefer the CR because that's what we're currently into. We're from Hawaii so we stay away from the Poly. We always get the Atrium Club Level facing the MK. The Disney atmosphere (train and boat whistles, watching all of the lake traffic and the MK rides, watching the fireworks explode right in front of you, walking right aboard the monorail from our room, etc...). We get an odd number room so the kids go to bed at night facing the MK.

I personally think the GF is more of an elegant retreat, less Disney, more elegance.

Once again, it totally depends upon what thrills you the most.

 

[Angel Ariel]

It depends on what's most important to you. For me, it would be the MK view so I would go with the Contemporary.

 

[OKW Lover]

To be honest my preference would be the Poly instead. However for the two choices you have I'd give the edge to the Contemporary MK view. I'm not a fan of the Contemporary overall but looking out your window at the MK is just spectacular.

I've always felt a bit out of place at the GF. A garden view won't be great and certainly nothing like a MK view. I wouldn't worry about the construction next door though as they are pretty careful about what times they do noisy construction activities. You may luck out with a garden view on the other side of the resort anyway.

 

[hookedonears]

Which do you prefer? Contemporary magic kingdom view or grand floridian garden view. Going in April and am a little concerned about construction at the floridian. Prices are very close with contemporary about $30 more per night. 2 adults no children.

Only going by what others have said. The walk to the Contemporary is easy, but hard. After being on their feet all day, the thought of walking the additional distance back to the Contemporary is tough, though having to wait for a Monorail is just as tough, because the distance back is so close. Been told by many that even though the Monorail goes through resort, the only time they took it was to take the short trip to the TTC to change monorails, on their way to EPCOT.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

Ever since the Grand Floridian was being built, I've wanted to stay there. I can honestly say I never felt that way about the Contemporary. And after being in and around the Polynesian, I probably wouldn't choose that either.
I love the looks of the Grand Floridian and promised myself that one day I'd stay there. And now that's unlikely to happen.
Even when we were living in FL and had annual passes and all the "discounts" available because of that, I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra $$ above and beyond what it cost at a Moderate.
Whichever you choose, I hope you have a fantastic time!

 

[AshleeH]

We love the Contemporary - but we love it for it's location (we have young kids who usually like to go to MK four or five times in one trip).

It's my dream to stay at the Grand Floridian. We'll be staying at the Grand Californian in DLR this summer, but GF is still several trips away (we want to go all out when we stay there and really make the most of it).

 

[nkereina]

Of the two options, Contemporary. Being able to walk to MK is a huge advantage for us.

 

[Reese D]

We've stayed at both and normally, I would say GF, however, for this year, I would choose the Contemporary just because of the construction at the GF. That mess would drive me mad.

 

[wiigirl]

Of the two options, Contemporary. Being able to walk to MK is a huge advantage for us.

100% agree.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We enjoy both, but what I really enjoy is staying club Level. At CR, I like Bay Lake view CL (beautiful lake view from our room, upper floor, and MK view from the lounge whenever we want) , and GF we liked Outer Club Standard view. (I'm not sure if maybe we weren't upgraded: we ended up with, but one room had a pool view, the other had a marina view. GF CL did not see castle, but had excellent food!)

They are both beautiful resorts.

Construction has rarely been a problem whenever we've stayed at a resort that had some happeneing. If the pool is closed, that can be a slight bummer, but you'll know when you book. At GF you'll still get a nice pool at your resort. The only other inconveniece was when monrail was down. I dont think that will happen to you, but if that's a concern- go with CR.

Of the two, GF has been ambiance and better TS dining. Last year the QS at GF was not good at breakfast the one morning we tried it- but otherwise the TS places are excellent. The CL food was great.
CR is a bit the reverse. It has less ambiance, the pool is less fun- but the QS is great. The TS are not as great (The Wave has good food, just little ambiance). CR has a huge advantage though when it comes to transportation. Of all the resorts on property, it's got a big plus. You can quickly get to any WS showcase TS dining- even WL via boat. Getting around withn the resort is fast and easy- much faster than most other resorts - including GF and Poly. Even self parking is close, at GF self parking lot is far. Another big plus of CR- as long as MK is open - you can get to any of the other resorts via bus via MK bus stop.

Two places that are NOT convenient from either CR or GF are the World Showcase and DTD (esp via bus). If you want to be close to WS eating- stay at one of the BWK area deluxes.

Yes, the walk from CR to MK is about 10-15minutes to the gate. If you have been to the MK bus stop- it's about twice the walk from those stops. Once you are at CR tower- as long as your room is in the tower- you are basically at your room. At GF or Poly- once you arrive back at the resort via monorail -you still have to go down and out of the main building, walk to your building, and go up to your floor. You also have to wait for the monorail. At CR- most people don't take the monorail bacuse it's often faster to walk- no wait.

 

[blackacex2]

Thanks for all the responses even though this is kinda in the wrong forum. It would only be for two nights, so maybe the contemporary is the way to go so we can experience the magic kingdom view before heading over to the wonderful but very different boardwalk.

Everyone keeps saying avoid the GF during construction. I guess that construction is a serious eye sore.

 

[cheesemouse]

We love the CR but would also really like the chance to stay at the GF sometime. Just a little too pricey for us. BUT, simply due to the construction, I'd stay at the CR this time. The construction is pretty unsightly, especially near the beach/pool area. I would not want to be paying those sort of rates for anything less than the best.

 

[jrtoastyman]

Been told by many that even though the Monorail goes through resort, the only time they took it was to take the short trip to the TTC to change monorails, on their way to EPCOT.

This is my experience, and we love CR (BLT, actually, but that's unimportant for the purposes of the question) for this reason. I would add, although at the end of the day it may seem like the last thing you'd want to do is do that last walk back to the resort, in our experience, that is far preferable to taking the monorail, which involves walking up a ramp in the opposite direction, probably waiting before walking up a ramp some more, eventually getting on and taking a short ride, getting off, and walking more to get to your room. If you just keep moving as you exit the park, it's a drop in the bucket and a real relief to see your final destination basically steps away.

 

[Missyrose]

This is my experience, and we love CR (BLT, actually, but that's unimportant for the purposes of the question) for this reason. I would add, although at the end of the day it may seem like the last thing you'd want to do is do that last walk back to the resort, in our experience, that is far preferable to taking the monorail, which involves walking up a ramp in the opposite direction, probably waiting before walking up a ramp some more, eventually getting on and taking a short ride, getting off, and walking more to get to your room. If you just keep moving as you exit the park, it's a drop in the bucket and a real relief to see your final destination basically steps away.

We're the same way. The walk from the MK exit to the monorail is just a bit shorter than the distance back to CR. Factoring in the crowds, lines to get on and possible delays -- we almost always walk to and from MK.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Resorts board.

 

[andyman8]

If you have kids 12 and up, go with GF. If you have kids 11 and under, try the Contemporary.

I personally prefer GF, as I find the Contemporary to be a bit loud and overrun with kids (cough, cough Chef Mickey's). GF is a lot more relaxing and subdued. The Polynesian is also another great option.

 

[bauer1168]

Very tough decision. If you can get the MK view at CR then I would choose that, there is no better place to be than to have that. Waking up in the morning, sitting on the balcony with a coffee looking at Cinderella Castle and everything else is something else believe me.
The fact you can walk 10 mins to MK is such a huge factor too. After a long day at MK, you leave and see those queues for the monorails, buses and the ferry, you can simply take a nice 10 minute walk. Yes I know how it feels being on your feet all day in the parks, but 10 more minutes want kill you and I'd rather walk for 10 minutes than stand for what could be an hour or more waiting for transport, then the journey back to your car/resort.
From personal experience, the CR was always first to get picked up by the buses and the first resort to stop off at when leaving the parks,DTD etc.
My only problem with CR are the elevators, it seems to take forever for one to come and when it does, it's full.
The GF is an amazing place to stay in too, the GF Cafè for breakfast is amazing, best French toast I've ever had! It's a lot more laid back than CR.
To be honest though, you can't go wrong with either, personally, they're my 2 favourites.