The Convenience of Staying at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Do you know what’s been on my to-do list for as long as I can remember? Staying at one of the three Magic Kingdom resorts. And let me tell you, it was worth the wait! My husband and I recently stayed at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa for a week, and it was everything we dreamed of. Waking up to a view of the Magic Kingdom was magical, but what really made our trip was the convenience of getting around without a personal vehicle.

Walt Disney World has so many transportation options: monorail, ferry boats, walking paths, buses, rideshare, Minnie vans, and the Skyliner. The Grand Floridian gave us direct access to all these options except for the Skyliner.

We used Disney transportation for most of our stay. Since the Grand Floridian is on the monorail path, we took it to Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center for the EPCOT monorail line. Getting through security was a breeze, and we only had a minor issue with crowds during peak times. Grand Floridian is the last stop of the resort monorail line, so using the monorail for rope drop could mean standing room only. Consider another mode of transportation during peak times, like the ferry or walking path.

The Magic Kingdom resorts sit around Seven Seas Lagoon, which connects with Bay Lake, so we took the ferry from Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Whispering Canyon. Then, we used the walking path from Magic Kingdom to return to our room to burn off some calories after eating a little too much at Whispering Canyon. 

Besides being a great way to walk off a heavy meal, the walking path is a nice area to pause to take in the views. Have a seat at one of the many benches that line the .75-mile walking path and soak it all in. We also used the walking path to resort hop over to the Polynesian Village, a short half-mile jaunt from the Grand Floridian, for a bit of shopping. And when we needed to get to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, or Disney Springs, we opted for rideshare or a Minnie van.

While the Minnie van was a bit pricey, about $50 a ride, it was such a fun experience. Our driver, Kelly, even gave us a Disney-themed version of Cash Cab. It’s all about the experience, right?

Overall, using Disney transportation during our stay made getting around a breeze. Here are some additional tips we learned during our trip: 

• Use your My Disney Experience app for bus times. Under your resort information is a Transportation tab that tells you the estimated arrival time of your bus. This tab was handy to lessen our wait time for the bus when we took the bus from Disney Springs back to the resort. 
• Hollywood Studios’ rideshare area is far from the park’s entrance. It’s past the Skyliner and near the buses. If this is your first time using rideshare at Hollywood Studios, then I recommend locating the rideshare area before you enter the park. We almost lost our ride because of how long it took us to find the pickup location. 
• Make sure you are close to the park exits when requesting a rideshare driver. Our drivers arrived in less than 10 minutes once we hit the request button. 
• Use a Minnie van at least once. The experience is worth the extra cost. 

So, give your personal vehicle its own vacation while you take advantage of the convenience the Grand Floridian’s location offers you. 

~Guest Blogger Jennifer and her husband are lifelong Disney fans. As Florida residents, they both spent much of their childhood visiting the Disney parks, particularly Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. As they grew, their love for Disney grew with them. They do a lot of weekend trips, and once a year, they stay a week on property. Their goal is to stay at every resort on Walt Disney World property at least once.