38 Comments

  1. Thank you for the updates,we are staying at the Grand Floridian in early October 2023 do you think most of not all construction will be done?

      1. Amber,
        we’re due to stay at the Grand Floridian in two weeks. I am just learning about all of the construction, and I’m very upset to say the least. Is Gasparilla’s Grill still surrounded by the 8-foot high white walls? Are there still the 8-foot white walls around main outside areas? I can tolerate the walls in the lobby. But the exterior ambience was a key reason that we booked the GF. Do you have any current photos of the courtyard outside the GF? Thanks.

        Nick

        1. Hi, I was at the Grand Floridian on July 1st and nothing major has changed since the last photos. The walls around the main buildings exterior were erected in mid-June, so they likely won’t be down anytime soon. Gasparilla’s was still surrounded on my last visit with a walkway cut out to enter the restaurant. The grass around the courtyard pool area has recently been sodded and that area looks nice.

  2. Would you stay elsewhere during construction? If so, where? We are headed there in Nov 2023, if there will be construction going on, wondering if we should pay less to stay somewhere else.

    1. Hi, I wish I knew! As for me, I need to plan a stay for updates and am waiting until the majority of construction is complete. They are working on the last two exterior buildings now. From my understanding, they will move on to the main building afterward. Hopefully, that work will be completed before your stay. However, with construction, it’s difficult to say. There are so many variables. I would keep a close eye on things as time gets closer.

    2. We stayed at the GF. As of July 28th they are moving along to get ready for the holidays (gingerbread house). I believe, starting in January they will completely shut the main building down for a couple of months. You should be okay in November. You just have to understand that they are trying to complete a refurbishment, so you will see walls and covering on the upper floors. It’s still a beautiful resort and a great place to stay

  3. We stayed in Sago Cay last June when construction was going on in Boca Chica; it was a nightmare. Starting at 6:45am, all day long the construction crews, equipment & machinery went back & forth from the roadway behind Sago along the walkway in front of the Gasparilla and over to Boca. If I went back now, I’d try to book Big Pine or Boca

  4. Do you happen to know when the club level services will be suspended at the Floridian for the remodeling?

    1. CeCe, we are long time GF guests, and have stayed on the Royal Palm club level in the Main Building. We are visiting in July 2023, and we have asked both reservations and the GF directly. They advised that at this time, they are not accepting any club level reservations at the GF. Of course, they advised that Sugar Loaf is still under refurbishment, will remain a club level once reopened. The Main Building will resume club level as well, but that will be after they refurb those rooms. Currently, the level is open with the old rooms from those who booked prior, but no more reservations are being accepted until after refurbishment. The GF advised us that they believed Sugar Loaf is getting close to being complete as is the other building accross the marina and hopefully will be open late Spring or early Summer. It is at that time the rooms in the Main Building will likely begin. They did also add the caveat that everything is variable as construction tends to be unpredictable.

  5. Thank you for this post, and thanks to the people chiming in about the club level. I was suspecting that they stopped accepting new reservations as I have been unable to find any for the current to future timeline. Makes sense now.

    When we visited in September 2022, Big Pine renovations were fabulous and it was quiet. In March 2023, the Villas side was quiet but the view was not desirable overlooking Poly construction. Glad they opened a newer temporary walking path to Poly as the other one was crazy! Hopeful for the lobby construction to be relatively quick so we can all go back to enjoying our beloved hotel in its full glory.

    1. You are welcome. I visited this past Friday and the Grand Floridian walkway is once again open. It looks like work on Sago Cay is almost complete. So work should begin on the main building soon–I would think.

  6. Hello,
    I booked a stay for Dec 1st but I’m having a hard time getting an answer other than construction is unpredictable and they are refurbishing blocks of rooms at one time.

    I was also told that I would be in one of the outer buildings so are they all completely refurbished with the Mary Poppins theme at this time?

    This is my first stay and for the price I would want a refurbished, fresh room rather than the older rooms.

    Hoping the main lobby scaffolding will also be down by then to enjoy the lovely Christmas tree.

    Thank you!

    1. Hi, all of the outer buildings are complete. All room assignments are now in newly refurbished rooms so you don’t have to worry about that. Hopefully, the major work will be complete by then but you never know with construction.

      1. Fantastic article! So I’m going in Aug for a conference. Are you saying all rooms are refurbished like the Mary poppins blue themed? I just called to verify because I have a garden view, but they couldn’t really tell me. Then I found your article and was hoping I read that right that all rooms are upgraded now

        1. Hi, from what I’ve seen some of the rooms have Mary Poppins and some have Disney princess accents. If you’re staying at the resort, you should get one of the updated rooms since they’ve all been completed aside from the rooms in the main building. Those rooms in the main building are all closed off at this time for refurbishment and are typically reserved for club level guests.

  7. Does anyone know if they will be refurbishing the Convention Center at the Grand Floridian? I will be having my wedding reception at the White Hall and Patio in 2024 and don’t see any updates on the convention center.

    1. I have an upcoming wedding too Casey! I just commented too because I am also very curious to know more of its impact on those event spaces and overall guest experience for their stay.

  8. Has anyone had a wedding during all this more recent construction? I have an upcoming wedding for January 2024 to take place at the Wedding Pavilion, Citricos, and Marina for fireworks, and some guests planned to stay there. On a scale of 1 – 10, how disruptive is all this to the experience at Grand Floridian?

  9. Hi. Insightful article. Do you think the main building And lobby refurbishments will be complete by first week of November 2023? I’m honestly surprised since JUNE I’ve haven’t seen any club level room available at the Grand Floridian on the Disney website.

    1. Hi, I am unsure of the timeline. But I’m having breakfast there the week after next and will be doing a few updates to this article at that time. I would imagine they hope to have the lobby completed before Christmas, but that’s only a guess on my part.

  10. Great article! My wife and I will be taking our baby boy to Disney for the first time next weekend, August 5th-7th. We have a “theme park view” room reserved at Grand Floridian, but we are really hoping that a “theme park view” does not get obstructed due to any construction. Or that construction noise doesn’t ruin toddler nap time. (we did “request” a high floor at the Conch Key building)

    If you have any Grand Floridian construction updates before next weekend, I’d love to hear it! Just subscribed to your Youtube channel. Keep up the great content!

    1. Hi, thanks, I’m meeting friends for breakfast there next week and plan to update this article after that. Most of the construction at Grand Floridian is around the main building and lobby area. However, the large DVC Tower is being built between the Grand and Poly. But I wouldn’t think you would have to deal with any construction noises from your room.

  11. Hi Amber
    As a DVC member, can I request a specific building and if so, which do you recommend? I’d like to stay in a 2 bedroom villa that’s newly renovated. I’m traveling during the April school break 2024. Thanks!

    1. Hi Maria, all of the DVC units are complete. The two-bedroom units are in the Grand Floridian Villas building. During the refurbishment, Big Pine Key was incorporated into the DVC, but I believe all of the units in that building are resort studios. The Villas Grand Floridan building will have deluxe studios and one, two, and three-bedroom units.

  12. Hi there! Any updates on construction? I just booked for May 2024, I’m wondering if I should reconsider. Thanks!

    1. Hi, I will probably do an update within the next week or so. Other than the announcement of the reopening of 1900 Park Fare in April, I don’t know of anything new to report.

      1. Hello,
        Thanks for the information. Do you know if you can see out the windows at the grand floridan cafe now? We were last there in August 2023 and you couldn’t see out the window due to construction walls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *