I think this is a little better tour of Disney’s new art of animation resort. Enjoy!

Several videos to review this new Disney Property:

Sleeping rooms:


Pool area

Lobby, food court, store and arcade

Room Types
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort features room types for almost every party size and preference—including standard rooms and family suites.

Spacious family suites are designed to comfortably accommodate up to 6 Guests and include:

2 separate bathrooms
A master bedroom
3 separate sleeping areas within the living space, which includes a generously sized dining or work table that easily transforms into a comfortable bed.

Resort Features
With 1,120 suites designed after Finding Nemo, Cars and The Lion King, and 864 rooms inspired by The Little Mermaid, you’ll feel like you’re staying in the middle of a Disney story with all of your favorite characters. Family suites are scheduled to open in May 2012 and standard rooms are scheduled to open September 2012.

Just outside your colorful accommodations, you’ll find imaginative amenities, 3 sparkling swimming pools and 4 playful courtyards—one for each film—to complete your Resort experience.

Resort Services
For your convenience, Guests may take advantage of childcare, concierge services, valet dry cleaning and self-service laundry facilities.

Pools
Three swimming pools offer fun and refreshment. The largest is located in the Finding Nemo courtyard and features a pool bar. Two smaller pools, located in the Cars and The Little Mermaid courtyards, provide additional relaxation.

Recreation
Choose from a variety of amusements, including a video arcade, playgrounds and interactive water play areas that the little ones will love.

Dining
The animation-themed food court offers a variety of family favorites and Grab ‘n Go market selections.

Location
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is adjacent to Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Resort Guests can enjoy complimentary transportation to and from the theme and water parks.

Location and General Information
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is adjacent to Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Resort Guests can enjoy complimentary transportation to and from the theme and water parks. It is a smoke-free Resort; smoking is permitted only in designated outdoor smoking locations. Accessible rooms and features are offered for Guests with disabilities.

All you need to know about the Grand Floridian:

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a AAA Four Diamond Award–winning, Victorian themed luxury hotel and spa located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988 as the Grand Floridian Beach Resort. The name changed to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa during the fall of 1997. The resort contains 867 rooms among six buildings at an average of 400 square feet (37 m²) per room. A standard room can sleep up to five people. The resort is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

The Grand Floridian is categorized as a deluxe resort, one of four types of accommodations at the Florida site. The resort is distinguished Disney’s flagship and most luxurious resort. The resort has received designation in the Florida Green Lodging Program.

The hotel was inspired by the Victorian era beach resorts built along Florida’s east coast during the late 19th century and early 20th century; its exterior is modeled after the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California, with red gabled roofs and white walls. Additional design inspiration was taken from the Belleview-Biltmore Hotel in Belleair, Florida. The resort’s outer lodge buildings — Sago Cay, Sugarloaf Key, Conch Key, Boca Chica and Big Pine Key—are named for islands in the Florida Keys. The hotel’s main building features a five story lobby, a cage elevator, stained glass domes, and Italian marble floors.

Initially, Walt Disney wanted a Polynesian resort (reflecting Adventureland), the Contemporary Resort to echo Tomorrowland, and other resorts that mirrored the ‘lands’ of the Magic Kingdom. Main Street and The Grand Floridian act as analogous reflections. The resort was designed by the Disney company and executed by the architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo.

Along with Disney’s Polynesian Resort, the Grand Floridian sits on the shores of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon near the Magic Kingdom. The hotel occupies land that had been earmarked for an Asian themed resort during the initial development of Walt Disney World Resort in the late 1960s. As of June 2007, smoking is permitted only in designated outdoor smoking locations. In 1992, a 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) convention center opened adjacent to the hotel, which contains a business center.

The hotel has completed some major renovations over the last couple years. In 2007, all the guestrooms were redecorated and flat panel televisions were added. The lobby has gone under a major transformation since its beginning. Italian marble was put in to replace dated tiles. There are even some mosaics of Disney characters near common places such as the main entrance, monorail station, and elevators with new carpet installed in May 2010. During evening hours, a band plays on the second floor balcony for about 3 hours alternating with a piano.

Dining

Victoria & Albert’s – A critically acclaimed restaurant at the hotel, with a menu created nightly and an award-winning wine cellar. The restaurant has received AAA’s Five Diamond Award each year since 2000 and currently is the one of three Floridian restaurants to receive the award (the others restaurants are at The Breakers Hotel and Four Seasons, both of which are in Palm Beach.) As of January 2008, children under 10 are no longer permitted.

Cítricos – American food with a Mediterranean inflection. Serves dinner five to seven nights a week, depending on season. It operates in a location that was formerly an Italian restaurant called Flagler’s that operated until 1997.

Narcoossee’s – A seafood restaurant with an open kitchen and views of Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom fireworks show, Wishes. Serves dinner nightly.

1900 Park Fare – Buffet dining with Disney characters including Mary Poppins and Cinderella. Inside this restaurant is “Big Bertha”, an organ built in Paris and used from 1909 to 1955 in a Grand Rapids, Michigan amusement park. The organ’s instruments include pipes, drums, bells, cymbals, castanets and a xylophone, and are played by a piano-roll score. It plays short concerts periodically during mealtimes. Serves breakfast and dinner daily.

Grand Floridian Café – Traditional American fare, with fresh fruit, seafood, and burgers. Serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.

Gasparilla Grill and Games – A 24-hour snack bar with an adjacent arcade.

Recreation and spa

The resort offers two pools, a jacuzzi, and a white sand beach. The marina contains various watercraft rentals, including fishing excursions and a yacht. Other recreational activities include tennis programs, a mile-long jogging trail, health club, and preferred access to the Walt Disney World golf courses. The full service spa offers massages, therapies, and other treatments. The Walt Disney World Monorail System, water taxis, and buses provide access to other Walt Disney World areas and attractions.
The Grand floridian property as viewed from the Magic Kingdom.

DVC Addition

In March 2011, plans of a potential addition to the Grand Floridian Resort surfaced on the internet. Architectural renderings show a new wing on the southern tip of the property that may be used for Disney Vacation Club villas, as well as a new parking lot for Disney’s Wedding Pavilion and Grand Floridian Health Club. This addition was confirmed to DVC members through e-mail in December 2011, thus officially making The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa home to the second Vacation Club property on a monorail resort, following Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort which opened in 2009. The e-mail contained a link to a site on the DVC members only site that describes an addition with approximately 147 villas. Beginning on September 19th, the Grand Floridian’s Spa will be closed for 18 months due to this expansion. It is estimated to open in late 2013. You can see an update of the construction in this post.

First of all, it irks me when people mix up Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. Fort Wilderness is the campgrounds, Wilderness Lodge is a high end resort property, in Disney’s “Deluxe” level (same as Polynesian, Grand Floridian, etc). Not to say one is better than the other, but they are distinctly different. The two properties do appear very near each other on the Disney property, and both offer transportation by boat to the Magic Kingdom, which is one of the best ways to commute (yeah, I’m calling it commute – that’s what it feels like, no?).

Now then, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge opened in 1994 and follows a Pacific Northwest theme. The lobby is modeled after the Old Faithful Inn, and in fact the main “attraction” of the resort is a replica of Old Faithful, a geyser that shoots every hour on the hour, you can’t get more faithful then that.

Our first experience at the resort was eating in the Whispering Canyon Cafe while we waited for our room to be ready. Now the Cafe has a theme, I won’t call it a nice theme, or a good theme, but it does have a theme. Perhaps I was tired from the drive, or just overwhelmed by my first trip to Disney with children (and my first Disney trip where I was not the child… er, arguably anyways) but I was not comfortable, and honestly did not like my experience. I’ve heard others who loved it so I would strike this opinion as a grouchy tired man.

Next, our rooms were nicely decorated and fit well with the theme. Somehow the balcony overlooks what appears to be a forest that I could believe represents the Pacific Northwest. How this was accomplished in southern Florida, I can not ecologically explain, but they did an amazing job. The room, however, is not special and somewhat small in comparison with some of the other resorts I have experienced. We were conveniently located, and the room was clean and comfortable.

The pool area is very nice as is the overall set up and ability to get around. I very much miss the monorail, for if you stay at this property, it is unlikely that you would ever get to use the monorail system but for purposely going to do so.

The monorail is the most convenient method of transit and is also my favorite, perhaps because it was a great memory as a child, and I know my children could care less about the boat they prefer the monorail. But, if you have stayed elsewhere and want to give this a try, while we would probably not return to this property, I would recommend it for those that like to try new places and have new experiences.

With my last two Disney trips we were fortunate enough to stay at the Grand Floridian followed by the Polynesian resort. They were great however now I am spoiled! They are both fantastic resorts that would be great vacations even without the Disney parks conveniently located seconds to minutes away. Yet, the ease to transit to the parks is what spoiled us the most on these last two ventures. I even like to think we became a bit of experts at navigating the transportation system and I’d like to share a few tips with you.

But first a quick comment on comparing the two properties. Comparing only the sleeping room, I prefer the Grand Floridian although the layout of the rooms we had were quite similar, the Polynesian room had no sound proofing at all. It was very distracting hearing the neighbors and this has me considering whether to stay at the Polynesian again. And the Polynesian wins in every other category. I feel the location, theming, restaurants, and atmosphere just can’t be beat. Would appreciate hearing from others if they found the noise unbearable too.

Now for my transit tips:

Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World

Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World

I hope you found these simple tips helpful and just a bit of a time saver on your next trip. Please register and add your tips for guests staying at these properties.

This is a clip of the Dolphin side of this resort.  I have never stayed here but always imagined it was a little nicer

On our next trip to WDW, we’ll be staying at the Polynesian Resort.  If you are like me, you may wish to see the room before you get there.  So, here is a simple video of a room at the Polynesian:

If you are considering a trip to Walt Disney World, you may wish to consider the new Bay Lake Tower. Fortunately, you can preview the location in this video. The rooms look very nice, be careful though I am pretty sure this is a 1 bedroom while the standard size is a studio. You can easily walk to the Magic Kingdom or across a short bridge to the Contemporary to catch the monorail.