Get ready — something is CHANGING at an iconic Disney World hotel!

Several months ago, Disney announced that there would be changes coming to the lobby at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The hotel is actually celebrating its 35th Anniversary soon — on June 28th (the hotel originally opened on June 28th, 1988 according to D23) — and as part of the transformation the lobby is meant to retain its classic theming with “fresh new enhancements.” We’ve seen a number of permits that we thought could be hinting at work that’ll be done to make this happen — and now some construction has OFFICIALLY begun!

The Grand Floridian is a Deluxe Resort near Magic Kingdom. It is on the Magic Kingdom Resort Monorail loop that connects it to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Magic Kingdom, and the Transportation and Ticket Center.

The resort has undergone a LOT of changes in recent years with the opening of new Disney Vacation Club villas, an updated Narcoossee’s restaurant, and changes at Citricos and Victoria & Albert’s too. But now it’s the lobby’s turn to get in on the action.

When we stopped by the Grand Floridian recently, we saw that construction had officially begun in the lobby space! We had seen scaffolding outside on some buildings at the resort in the past, but this truly marks the start of the lobby transformation.

Though the walls block your view from the ground, you can hop to the upper level of the resort to get a peek down at the action.

For now, the walls only cover one area of the resort’s lobby but we expect that as work is completed, those walls may come down and others could go up in other areas.

So far, it looks like the team has been hard at work stripping the carpet from the floors and getting the space ready for some changes.

We can see straight down to the wood in this area so we expect this could mean that new/refreshed flooring of some kind — whether that’s new carpet, refreshed carpet, or another flooring option — could be on its way soon! We’ll definitely be watching for updates.

Again, Disney has said that the lobby will retail its classic theming but will have “fresh new enhancements.” Could we see a Mary Poppins Returns theme similar to what was done in Citricos? Or will it be an entirely different look? Disney hasn’t revealed the details yet but we can’t wait to find out.

Again, it appears this is just the start of construction here, so you should expect to see work going on for quite some time. The anniversary of the hotel falls on June 28th, but it’s unclear if all of the work will (or can) be completed by then.

The Disney World website does warn that the hotel “is currently undergoing refurbishment. Guests will be able to see and hear construction around the resort – including the lobby – during daytime hours.” But, they note that “Most Resort hotel amenities will remain available.”

Disney’s website also importantly advises guests to allow for extra travel time to deal with this construction. If you’re planning to stay at the Grand Floridian Resort soon or have plans to dine here (or just stop by for a visit) be sure to factor this construction into your plans.

We’ll watch for updates at the hotel and let you know what we find.

BEWARE Next time you visit Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, you might find yourself in the middle of a construction zone The lobby is being renovated, so stay prepared pic.twitter.com/xxnEKRBE3d

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) June 12, 2023

 

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Would you still stay at a resort that’s under construction, or would you prefer to pick another location? Comment your thoughts below!

The post Major CHANGES Hit Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel first appeared on the disney food blog.