Grand Floridian in December, Can you please offer tips?

Hello, we booked a bounceback for December 9-15 at the Grande Floridian because it was quite a good deal. We have never stayed there, but my husband and I have memories of the family from Full House staying there on TV and to us it seems like the pinnacle of Disney accommodations. Since it’s been booked I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews saying things are looking kind of dated and very 90s. Well, it’s booked and we’re going so I would love to hear some positive stories about stay at the GF and also any recommendations about room requests, where to eat, and what benefits you saw from staying there. We honestly would have loved to stay at the Poly, and will someday, but this was the right opportunity at the right time. What is wonderful about the GF? What would you avoid or do differently next time? Thank you for your time and sharing your experiences! Also would love to hear anyone opinions on packing for December, it appears the general advice is to bring everything from hats, mittens and coats down to tank tops and shorts. I would definitely appreciate your December Disney insight!

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I stayed at Grand Floridian as a child in 1989 and I took my family there in June for a week. I can’t speak to what it is like in December, but I would STRONGLY DISAGREE that the resort kind of dated. The resort, in my opinion, was top notch in just about every way. We stayed in the Conch Key building and really liked the convenience to the boat stop, which is how we came back from Magic Kingdom almost every time. However, the resort isn’t huge so I don’t think it’s all that much of an inconvenience to get anywhere on the resort’s property from any building. Overall, if you’re going to be going to Magic Kingdom frequently, it’s hard to beat the location. You can literally leave your room, walk to the monorail stop on the second floor and be at the gates of Magic Kingdom in 10-15 mins. As for where to eat, there are plenty of great options at the resort although we didn’t hit all of them.

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We were at GF in December in 2015. Loved it. Maintenance is marvelous so it definitely isn’t dated as in old and not maintained. Not sure if the criticisms are a reference to the color palettes perhaps?

The atrium at GF is breathtaking in December thanks to the Xmas decorations. The gingerbread house is truly mind-boggling. Just walking through the atrium is fun because of that. If the band is going it gives a special feel as well. Grabbing drinks or appetizers at Mizner’s can be fun to take in the band.

The biggest benefit to GF is location - it’s an easy hop to MK on the monorail and taking the direct boat back is ideal. There are few things better than being 15 minutes away from walking down mainstreet.

We stayed in Boca Chica in a lagoon view that had a nice view of Space Mountain and the castle. Perfect for fireworks and electric boat parade viewing without having paid for theme park view. Really liked Boca Chica as it was a short walk to the pool, boat, buses and quick service and not a bad walk to the monorail in the main building.

If going again, I probably would have made more of an effort to sample some of the GF nice restaurants. We didn’t end up eating at any of the signatures and likely should have. The dress codes were part of the reluctance although I think only Victoria & Albert’s is really strict.

For weather, it really depends on your tolerance to cold. I think I was in shorts all week, but it would be a little cool in the morning and late at night so some in our group would wear a sweatshirt and then shed layers as the day warmed up or add them at night. Overall very pleasant weather, although that can vary depending on the year obviously. We found early December an ideal time to go and prefer then if we didn’t have other conflicts now…

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