Help! Should I switch from Grand Floridian to BoardWalk or Yacht Club?

WishUponAStar3 · Jul 27, 2023

I am feeling so majorly torn between resorts right now and could really use expert help from The DIS! I was so excited when I found a great deal at Grand Floridian for a girls' trip in September ($505 average/night!!) but then seeing the massive construction going on there has me seriously rethinking my choice. I've never stayed at GF before, so it would be a bummer to have the resort be a total construction zone for my first stay--but at the same time, it's pretty unlikely I'll have another opportunity to stay there in the near future anyway, since the theme and vibe is not at all my husband's jam, LOL! On future family trips, the plan is to go back to the Polynesian or try one of the Epcot resorts. So it could be a rare opportunity to experience GF while I have the chance and while the price is so good. However...the price is even better at Yacht Club and BoardWalk for my dates! I would save $415 total if I switch to Yacht Club and $579 if I switch to BoardWalk! I know this probably seems like a duh-no-brainer to switch, but the reasons I'm still so torn are:

- We plan to spend the most time at MK, including a night at MNSSHP, and we have a dinner reservation at 'Ohana. Being able to monorail easily between GF, MK and Poly is such a huge plus! We have a couple days planned at Epcot, but I find the monorail there really convenient too. (And Poly and Contemporary are both unavailable my dates.)

- I LOVE the look of the updated GF rooms! I'm not as into the Yacht Club room decor, and I do like the new BoardWalk rooms but I literally just came back from spending a week on the real Jersey Shore boardwalk, LOL, so I don't need that theme all over again.

- The grounds and pool look beautiful at GF (provided those areas aren't disturbed by construction sights and noise!) and bottom line, I just love being so close to the castle.

- I was thinking of booking a spa treatment and also going into MK one last time on departure day, and both ideas are a lot less convenient coming from YC or BoardWalk.

So those are the pluses in GF's favor. The reasons I'm starting to waver toward the other two are just because of the construction mess and not being able to experience the beautiful GF lobby I was looking forward to, plus having access to Stormalong Bay if we switch to YC--and of course the big price savings! What would you do??

maxiesmom · Jul 27, 2023

If you are spending most of your time at the Magic Kingdom I would stay put.

Redsred3 · Jul 27, 2023

What days are you going? And what are your park days? I think the little bit of construction that you may see outside will only be going on during the week, and honestly I think its fairly minimal. If you can make it to where your resort/pool days fall on the weekend, then it should have zero effect....or just go to whatever pool the construction isn't by. We ALSO are going for a girls trip in September and staying at GF for the first time...and probably the only time, as my husband also isn't the type to want to stay there haha. We are going Friday-Monday. So our pool days are Sat/Sun, and doing MNSSHP sunday night, and Epcot Friday. And Ohana and the spa on Monday...when construction might be more prevelant. We are just working around the construction and making the best of it! I bet you can too...I can tell your heart is with GF for this trip...just follow your heart

gottalovepluto · Jul 27, 2023

Would I chose GF for a girls trip? No. I’m all about walking to WS! Should you chose GF for a girls trip? Yes. It’s pretty obvious that is where your heart wants to be. So what if the construction is ugly? You’re not there for the lobby, you want the beautiful new room. So go for it!

summerlvr · Jul 27, 2023

I also have a September trip planned and originally booked water view at Yacht Club. When I saw that GF was cheaper, I switched to that. When I saw all the info about the construction at GF, I was really on the fence about staying there. Considered switching back to YC, but by then, the room category descriptions had changed to include quiet pool views in the water view category. I finally decided to stay put as I rarely spend significant time in the lobby of any hotel. I'm looking forward to the beautiful room, spending time at the pool and the ease of transportation to MK.
FWIW, I have stayed at Yacht Club several times since the rooms were refurbished, and while they are nice, I find them to be very generic. I did love my waterview room that I had there last year, which is why I had booked it again for this year. IMO, resort view rooms are not really worth the price. If I'm going to stay in a generic room with no view, I'd just as soon stay at the Swan.

Anthony1971 · Jul 27, 2023

Just got back yesterday from GF. There are walls around the main building as well as scaffolding. There is work going on outside now no idea how long it will last. The main lobby was walled off in the front but that was moved to larger part of the back. This is a staging area for the rooms on the third floor up. There was NO noticeable noise even at the smaller pool nor when walking by it to the CS. The good is is GF has a mini lobby (which is rather large) and a CM in every building so you will always have a nice place to sit and easily have your questions answered. I also heard 0 noise from the poly construction but you will likely not even see that unless you actively look or some DVC rooms would have somewhat of a view of it. The construction did not bother us although the access to the CS was down a hall of wooden walls. Changing is up to you but I as I said above the lobbies in each building are larger then the lobby in BW, YC and BC So the main lobby is not an ending loss like it would be at other resorts.

crzy4dsny · Jul 27, 2023

Split-stay

WishUponAStar3 · Jul 28, 2023

Redsred3 said:
What days are you going? And what are your park days? I think the little bit of construction that you may see outside will only be going on during the week, and honestly I think its fairly minimal. If you can make it to where your resort/pool days fall on the weekend, then it should have zero effect....or just go to whatever pool the construction isn't by. We ALSO are going for a girls trip in September and staying at GF for the first time...and probably the only time, as my husband also isn't the type to want to stay there haha. We are going Friday-Monday. So our pool days are Sat/Sun, and doing MNSSHP sunday night, and Epcot Friday. And Ohana and the spa on Monday...when construction might be more prevelant. We are just working around the construction and making the best of it! I bet you can too...I can tell your heart is with GF for this trip...just follow your heart

Aww thank you so much, and you're right, I think I was looking to be convinced that I'm making the right choice staying at GF!

That's a good point about the weekends being less impacted by construction, and we are also planning our pool/resort day on Sunday before MNSSHP that night! Are you going to the 9/10 party, by any chance?

WishUponAStar3 · Jul 28, 2023

crzy4dsny said:
Split-stay

Ooh, this is an intriguing prospect! I'm just not sure when it would make sense to do the split, since we have MK planned for our 1st park morning, 2nd park evening, and MNSSHP the 3rd night... so it probably makes sense to be on the monorail those three nights, but then I'd only be switching for the final night. Location-wise, GF makes the most sense for our plans... it's more whether I should take the cost savings of Yacht Club or Boardwalk since I won't be getting the full GF experience. Then again, like @Redsred3 and @gottalovepluto pointed out, it's clear my heart wants GF for this one

... so I think I'm trying to convince myself that it's still worth the upcharge over the Epcot resorts, even with the construction!

Redsred3 · Jul 28, 2023

WishUponAStar3 said:
Aww thank you so much, and you're right, I think I was looking to be convinced that I'm making the right choice staying at GF! That's a good point about the weekends being less impacted by construction, and we are also planning our pool/resort day on Sunday before MNSSHP that night! Are you going to the 9/10 party, by any chance?

We are actually going to be there the following week. So we are going to the 9/17 party. I hope you have the best time!

Wood Nymph · Jul 28, 2023

The things we love best about GF are the gorgeous, remodeled rooms, the walkway to MK, the ease of resort hopping on the monorail, the boats and the views. I love watching MK fireworks from the GF. What I don't love is the monorail to Epcot. The one thing that I don't care about is what the lobby looks like. Once they took out the orchestra, they took away the reason to sit in the lobby. I really don't care if the main building is covered in scaffolding. All the other things I love are still there.

GADisneyDad14 · Jul 28, 2023

I have yet to see a recent trip report where someone was unhappy staying GF with the work going on to the lobby. No doubt it’s pretty visible, but I don’t think it’s a fatal flaw, unless you’re the type that wants everything to be perfect.

I will echo a PP… I do enjoy GF for its many positive attributes, but I don’t consider access to Epcot one of them. Not the end of the world of course, but we often end up ride sharing one of the legs just to break it up.