Walt Disney World has formally began the huge foyer reimagining overhaul on the flagship Grand Floridian Resort that’ll convey with it a brand-new birdcage bar and ‘enchanted backyard’ type. This shares new building images to indicate you what to anticipate when you have an upcoming resort keep for instance the visitor impression.
In case you missed it, Walt Disney World introduced the development timeline and revealed the brand new Birdcage Foyer Bar Coming Quickly to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there are impacts to the visitor expertise and choices on the flagship resort, beginning instantly and increasing via Christmas 2025.
Past the development partitions for the foyer reimagining and Birdcage Bar, Walt Disney World additionally introduced No Gingerbread Home at Grand Floridian for Christmas 2025. Disney often begins constructing this life-sized edible creation in mid-October, which overlaps with the overhaul. As mentioned in that put up, it’s our suspicion that the Gingerbread Home won’t ever return to the foyer. Whereas well-liked with guests throughout the vacation season, it’s not an enormous hit with everybody…
This undertaking has been a number of years within the making. It really began shortly earlier than the closure of the parks with a lounge replace, and continued shortly after reopening with extra restaurant reimaginings. Then with the pause of what’s now Disney Lakeshore Lodge, the corporate decided it “wanted” extra Disney Trip Membership factors to promote, resulting in the DVC overhaul of the Huge Pine Key constructing.
Following that, all the outlying buildings within the resort have been redone in an analogous type. (See Grand New Rooms at Walt Disney World’s Flagship Resort for a glance inside.) That occurred building-by-building roughly two years in the past, and was anticipated to culminate with the primary foyer in the direction of the tip of the 12 months. However it didn’t. We then anticipated work to renew on quite a lot of different events, most notably across the reimagining of 1900 Park Fare. Nope.
Quick-forward a few years, and Walt Disney World is lastly getting began. On the heels of the official announcement final week revealing the Birdcage Bar and foyer overhaul, building partitions are up on the Grand Floridian. Since we’ve already coated this undertaking at size within the above-referenced posts, I’m going to principally let the development images converse for themselves:
As you possibly can see, about one-third of the foyer is presently walled-off for elimination of the prevailing Birdcage aviary, demolition of its basis, and constructing of the Birdcage Bar.
We’d anticipate these partitions to be round for just about the size of the foyer undertaking, with extra partitions popping up elsewhere across the foyer for shorter durations to perform different facets of the reimagining. This can be executed in phases to attenuate the disruption, and keep away from taking an excessive amount of of the foyer out of fee. We’d anticipate probably the most vital work to be timed round August and September, the 2 slowest months of the 12 months at Walt Disney World. That may most likely be the height of the undertaking.
Walt Disney World has indicated that parts of the foyer will shut at instances, and visitors could encounter modifications to their path of journey. Whereas building exercise can be noticeable throughout daytime hours, efforts can be made to attenuate disruptions, and all swimming pools, eating and different facilities will stay accessible.
Easter egg shows are nonetheless up within the Grand Floridian foyer. This one among Maleficent the Dragon from Pageant of Fantasy Parade is way and away one of the best of the bunch.
I had thought that there have been far fewer eggs this 12 months. With this building undertaking beginning earlier than Easter, now it sort of is sensible. Nonetheless considerably stunned Walt Disney World didn’t wait another week, however neither the resort nor the parks felt busy, so maybe Easter week isn’t going to be too dangerous. Well-known final phrases.
In honor of the legacy and repair to the resort of the storied birdcage aviary, Monsieur Grandmeister, the proprietor of the Grand Floridian, has ordered the resort flag to be flown at, uh, two-thirds mast?
Unsure the place the authority for that is discovered within the Flag Code. In all probability a footnote.
Lastly, as a result of I do know it was on everybody’s thoughts, however our beloved bunny and monkey masterpieces are nonetheless protected. I’m not one for petitions, but when somebody have been to start out one to get these puppies added to some historic register of culturally vital artistic endeavors, I’d signal it. Maybe the Grand Floridian ought to even be added to the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations as house to those priceless treasures. Maybe these ought to be situated to The Gallery at Bricker Manor for preservation functions. That will first require institution of such a gallery (to not point out a manor), however I’m sport. Unsure whether or not Sarah will sign-off, she doesn’t appear have the identical appreciation for these works of tremendous artwork.
Whatever the rabbit and monkey work, we’re each cautiously optimistic in regards to the finish results of this foyer reimagining. The Grand Floridian is arguably probably the most well-rounded Seven Seas Lagoon Resort, with fewer drawbacks than the Polynesian or Modern (talking of which, redo the Grand Canyon Concourse subsequent, Imagineers!). As long as widespread areas and remaining eating places are modernized in a respectful type per the outlying buildings, the Grand Floridian will emerge from this as a greater possibility than earlier than, and a resort really deserving of the flagship distinction.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider the Grand Floridian’s foyer overhaul lastly beginning? Excited for the continued reimagining of Walt Disney World’s flagship resort, or apprehensive it’ll lose its character and richly-themed areas within the course of? Ideas on the Birdcage Bar? Have you ever stayed on the Grand Floridian because the new rooms debuted? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Different ideas or considerations? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
