Contemporary vs. Grand Floridian

We are planning a quick 2 night trip to Disney, with only one day at the Magic Kingdom…Normally stay at moderate resorts, but are considering splurging this time. I have always wanted to stay at the contemporary, because of the monorail and the short walk to the magic kingdom. My husband has always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian. Pros and cons? We have 11 and 13 year old girls.

I would choose GF. You still have the monorail option for you, one stop away from Magic Kingdom. There are fantastic dining options right there, as well as just short walk away at the Poly.

Contemporary just doesn’t do a thing for me. I feel that aside from the view of MK you would never know you were at Disney there.

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Any chance you’ll compromise and do one of each? Do the night before MK in Contemporary, but have your bags moved to GF while you’re touring and go back there for the 2nd night.

I have read that the downside of the GF is that the buildings are not all connected. AKA - walking, walking, and more walking. Everything is in the main building w/ the beautiful lobby, and while the grounds are beautiful, there is a lot of unnecessary for the price.

The walls are pretty thin, you can get put into a room that faces noisy if you aren’t careful, and for those prices, I want magical and care free… but that’s just me.

Now, DINING at the GF is a GREAT idea! The main lobby is beautiful, and we enjoyed 1900 Park Fare, and have some other dining of theirs on our radar for this year.

The Contemporary is dated, but it’s probably perfect for a two-night stay. Read up on the best places to request, as I hear it’s a bit smallish in the rooms for the price, and you could end up in a noisy area as well.

So Contemporary for the stay (and the magical MK so close!), or even Poly at that cost… but GF doesn’t do it for me.

Have fun!!!

Hmmm…hadn’t thought about that, but it would make a nice compromise…is it pretty hassle free doing a split stay like that, as far as getting luggage moved, etc? We are driving in from elsewhere in Florida on a Thursday, checking in and dinner at Chef Mickey’s (which would be convenient if we were at the Contemporary) then Magic Kingdom Friday and Leave mid afternoon Saturday…we can leave most bags in the car, do you think the luggage transport would take long to set up, we want to get to Magic Kingdom early…

I would not do a split stay for one night each. I personally think the CR makes the most sense, then you can just walk to MK. The monorail has issues that make it less reliable than your feet. :wink:

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It IS a pretty short walk to MK from CR… bonus!

Split nights means moving rooms, and that’s no fun. Pick one, and next time (pixie dust and trust, there will be a next time), you can do the other. :smiley:

It’s true they are not all connected, but by comparison it’s a small resort. Doesn’t take a lot of walking or much time to cover the whole grounds.

Yeah, unless it’s a weather event. We were there last year for IRMA, so I heard that wasn’t so great. But in the Summer, it rains every day at Disney, so that’s no biggie I guess. LOL

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