Disney World Retires Flagship Resort Christmas Gingerbread House & Adds Hotel Hopping Rules
In a disappointing albeit unsurprising move, Walt Disney World has indicated that its flagship hotel is permanently retiring its iconic gingerbread house and instead, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort will feature alternative displays for select guests during Christmas 2026. Here are details, along with what appears to be increased resort hopping rules, beyond just what has already been announced for Disney Springs.
Let’s start with quick background. A staple of the holiday season at Walt Disney World is the life-sized Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian. Two years ago, the fan-favorite tradition celebrated its 25th Anniversary. To celebrate the 25 years of the holiday tradition, there were 25 hidden Mickeys, plus a limited-edition collection of 25th anniversary merchandise including a pin, ornament, cookie jar, magnet, tumbler, t-shirt, and more.
The edible display always draws a big crowd of guests eager to admire its white chocolate candy canes, edible snowflakes, sugar poinsettias, and an 88-pound white chocolate Santa. The gingerbread itself is baked with 1050 pounds of honey, 800 pounds of flour, and 600 pounds of confectioners’ sugar.
The decorations feature 700 pounds of chocolate and feature over 10,000 pieces of gingerbread. Every holiday season between its inaugural year in 1999 and 2024, the Grand Floridian Culinary Team spent over 500 hours baking the gingerbread and 480 hours bringing all the dazzling details to life.
The Grand Floridian gingerbread house was a fan favorite, and a Walt Disney World family tradition for many annual visitors. If our experiences the last few years were any indication, there’s also alway huge crowds and long lines in the lobby.
We’ve come to view the Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian somewhat like the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights: an investment made by Walt Disney World that paid big dividends in terms of sales–not necessarily in the booking of trips or resort stays, but via PhotoPass, food & beverage, merchandise, and more sales.
Grand Floridian Gingerbread House Cancelled Last Year
That all ended last year when Walt Disney World announced the Grand Floridian’s refurbishment timeline and revealed the new Birdcage Lobby Bar Coming Soon to the Grand Floridian Resort. With this, there would be impacts to the guest experience and offerings at the flagship hotel, which have since been extended to early 2027.
As part of the ongoing enhancements at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, phased updates to the lobby, convention center and select areas occurred throughout last year. Portions of the lobby closed at times to facilitate construction of the Birdcage Bar. As a result of those renovations, there was no gingerbread display during last year’s holiday season.
Grand Floridian Gingerbread House Retired
Fast-forward to the flurry of Halfway to the Holidays announcements, and Walt Disney World has now confirmed that the iconic gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will not return to the flagship hotel for Christmas 2026. The edible display has been permanently retired according to Walt Disney World.
The life-size gingerbread, which took months of planning and typically commenced construction each year in mid-to-late October, has been the tentpole of the Walt Disney World resort hotel Christmas displays since it debuted in 1999.
As noted above, the gingerbread display did not appear last year due to construction in the lobby. And although more work remains ongoing at the Grand Floridian until early 2027, we have confirmed that this is not simply another one-year cancellation. The Grand Floridian gingerbread house is gone for good.
Other Gingerbread Displays for Christmas 2026
Walt Disney World has confirmed with us that, in place of the gingerbread house, the Grand Floridian Culinary Team will create new small gingerbread displays that will appear around the hotel. No further details were provided about these exhibits, but we expect more to be revealed closer to the start of the Christmas 2026 season.
Walt Disney World further shared with us that changes to the gingerbread displays are unique to Grand Floridian. Other resorts, such as Beach Club, BoardWalk, Contemporary and Animal Kingdom Lodge, are still expected to offer their typical gingerbread displays. Further details about those will likewise be shared at a later date.
For reference, gingerbread specifics are usually shared in late October or early November. That announcement typically includes which resorts will offer gingerbread displays, start dates, menus, merchandise and more. It isn’t cause for concern that Walt Disney World hasn’t announced details about the other gingerbread houses yet.
Alternative Resorts for Gingerbread Displays?
Since specifics about other Walt Disney World gingerbread houses are still to come, there’s the possibility that the GF gingerbread house will move to another resort entirely. In which case, it wouldn’t be “moving” so much as it would be Walt Disney World retiring one display and introducing another.
This has already started to happen, kind of. For the last few holiday seasons, Animal Kingdom Lodge has had edible animal displays. These have grown in scale and size, but still are not “big enough” to justify a dedicated trip from most guests. Introducing an actual Gingerbread Lodge (a la Humphrey’s Lodge from ~6 years ago at Wilderness Lodge) would tip the scales.
Speaking of which, last year Walt Disney World announced a return of the gingerbread display at Wilderness Lodge, only to quietly remove that from the slate. Perhaps Christmas 2026 will be the year that actually happens. I would happily take that over the Grand Floridian gingerbread house.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World tried something similar with whichever Disney Vacation Club resorts they’re trying to sell. Incentivizing visits to Fort Wilderness over the holiday season with a cool display would be savvy as the campground really shines at Christmas-time. “Oh, by the way while you’re here, tour this new model DVC cabin that we’ve conveniently located in the Settlement!”
Disappointing, Not Surprising
My first thought last year when seeing the Birdcage Bar concept art was that the lobby was going to be quite busy with that plus the Christmas tree plus the gingerbread house during the holidays. The main building was already a mad house during the holiday season, and having all three would’ve just exacerbated the chaos and crowds.
Frankly, it didn’t strike me as plausible that the Grand Floridian would have the Birdcage Bar and Christmas tree and gingerbread house. There simply isn’t enough space for all three, plus people. Something’s gotta give. My guess was that “something” would be the gingerbread house, and I warned readers of this over a year ago.
It seemed like the writing was on the wall even then. That was further reinforced this April, when we noticed that the Grand Cottage was likewise retired. Only Easter Eggs were displayed in the lobby, which still drew crowds but helped open up the space. If there wasn’t room for the Grand Cottage, it was safe to say that there wouldn’t be room for the gingerbread house.
Walt Disney World receives a lot of complaints from paying guests in the main building of the Grand Floridian each Christmas about noise and crowds, most of which are visitors to the hotel.
For years, we’ve speculated that the overnight hotel guest interests would eventually “win out” over the lucrative merchandise, food & beverage sales of the Gingerbread House. It has felt like retirement was inevitable for years, as far-fetched as that might’ve seemed given Disney’s love of sweet, sweet revenue streams.
Overcrowding and overburdened infrastructure at the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resorts have been issues for a while. We’ve been cautioning readers against booking the main building of the Grand Floridian at Christmas for years, based on both our own negative experiences and reports from others. I cannot fathom paying $1,000+ per night during the holiday season in light of the overcrowding, lines for the monorail, loud lobby, etc.
Still, I had hoped that the solution would be to move the gingerbread house to the convention center. That would’ve lessened the impact on overnight guests of the Grand Floridian, while largely preserving the revenue stream. Of course, it would’ve had impacts on weddings and other events, while still burdening the infrastructure.
One point we’ve discussed repeatedly is the way offerings can tax infrastructure, and are often viewed differently by different categories of guests. Of course, one example is the overnight guests vs. visitors at the Grand Floridian and Poly.
Another illustrative example is Disney Springs for the “Dreams That Soar” drone show a couple summers ago. It was complete chaos, as locals and tourists alike flooded into Disney Springs for the free show. Traffic was bad arriving and exiting Disney Springs, and extra Cast Members were needed as crowd control. The superficial analysis might be that this was all “worth it” for the extra foot traffic for the third party businesses at Disney Springs. But was it?!
The drone show was definitely worth it for some restaurants that were able to directly monetize it, such as Summer House on the Lake and others that offered packages. But it likely didn’t really move the needle for others, as the massive crowds and congestion caused by guests going to see the drone show–and only the drone show–made visiting Disney Springs a hassle for others who just wanted to do dinner and shop. The fact that it hasn’t returned in the two summers since would seem to reinforce this perspective that the drone show was not worth it.
This is purely speculative, but it mirrors a trend that we’ve observed with Fourth of July fireworks in certain US cities and Christmas illuminations in Japan, both of which are seeing growing backlash among businesses and locals. Once champions of these offerings because of the increased foot traffic, businesses have realized that volume of traffic doesn’t matter–quality does.
When a locality has a free entertainment offering, it drives a certain type of traffic and the accompanying congestion and overcrowding often discourages businesses’ actual clientele from visiting. There were massive crowds of people there to see the free thing…and only that. Meanwhile, others avoid the area because it’s not worth fighting the crowds. Similar arguments rage about overtourism in cruise ports and other cities as people debate the burdens versus the benefits.
None of this is any value judgment about any categories of guests visiting Walt Disney World. It is simply applying outside observations to this scenario, in an attempt to make sense of the underlying motivations for Walt Disney World to retire the gingerbread house despite it being a revenue generator during the holiday season. Usually, that’s the type of thing Walt Disney World adds, not removes!
Somewhat similarly, one of our biggest trepidations about the Island Tower at the Poly (aside from how hideous it looks on the outside) is the burden it’s already putting on the resort’s already strained infrastructure. The resort’s DVC point inventory is not even close to fully sold out yet, and we’ve already seen some of these issues during recent visits.
Walt Disney World has attempted to address the problems with monorail loop resort traffic in recent years, while at the same time building new things to induce even more demand. This is precisely why they’ve restricted visitor parking at these (and other) resorts, limited Mobile Order at times, and required wristbands for fireworks viewing.
Add retiring the gingerbread house to the list of measures aimed at reducing congestion and crowds in and around these pricey Deluxe Resorts. Based on what we’ve heard and already know, this is not the end of restrictions…
New Hotel Hopping Restrictions for Christmas 2026?
In addition to Walt Disney World confirming that the Grand Floridian gingerbread house is not returning, there’s also this tidbit buried in the press release about Christmas 2026, towards the bottom (emphasis added):
Looking to take Instagram-worthy pictures with Christmas trees and joyful decorations? Or are you looking for a place to exchange gifts with family members while soaking in the sounds of peaceful holiday music? For guests staying at the resorts or for those with valid dining reservations, the Disney Resorts Collection offers a wide array of bright and merry holiday decor.
This caught our attention, as it appears to be a further restriction to resort hopping rules, beyond the changes that are rolling out in a few days at Disney Springs. As a reminder, those are as follows…
Disney Springs Transportation Restrictions
As reported last week, Walt Disney World is bringing back transportation restrictions that were tested over New Year’s and Spring Break ahead of the Independence Day holiday. But this time, on a permanent basis. Not only that, but they’re going to be expanded beyond just the buses to also encompass the Sassagoula River Cruise.
Since the new restrictions were first announced, there have been a lot of questions, speculation, rumors & misinformation, and we now have New Details for the Walt Disney World Bus & Boat Restrictions, On-Site Guest Resort Hopping Rules & Parking Policies.
The basics are as follows. Starting June 28, 2026, Walt Disney World will be restricting both bus and boat transportation from Disney Springs with an expanded guest verification system.
With this new rule, Walt Disney World is limiting use of transportation from Disney Springs to the resort hotels to guests who have business to be there. Meaning they have an active reservation at a resort of some sort: hotel stay, Advance Dining Reservation, Enchanting Extras booking.
Guest Relations Cast Members act as gatekeepers outside of the bus loops, scanning MagicBands, Key to the World Cards, or reviewing My Disney Experience bookings to ensure eligibility. Guests who do not have a valid reservation for using the transportation will be politely informed that buses to resort hotels are currently only available for resort guests, and turned away.
There are a lot of quirks to that policy, but the biggest for our purposes is that this rule does not end resort hopping for on-site Walt Disney World guests or Annual Passholders. For that matter, it does not end resort hopping for off-site guests, only from Disney Springs as a starting point.
When it comes to visiting the resorts, Walt Disney World encourages off-site guests to park at the theme parks and then use the transportation network. Meaning that off-site guests will need to pay for parking prior to resort hopping.
Based on the verbiage of the Christmas press release, it sounds like even greater restrictions could be coming for resort hopping sometime between now and November 2026.
However, it’s currently unclear whether that’s actually the case as a matter of policy. It’s also possible that verbiage was simply an incorrect or incomplete interpretation of how the already-announced upcoming restrictions will work. We’ve inquired with Walt Disney World and will update accordingly should they offer a clarification.
What we have heard chatter about is Walt Disney World implementing further resort restrictions of an unknown nature. My assumption was that this would concern a crackdown of fireworks viewing from the Polynesian beach (expect that to be much more stringent over Independence Day and beyond), as well as stairwells at the Contemporary and that sort of thing.
WDW Holiday Yuletide Resort Tour
A visit to the Grand Floridian is a quintessential holiday-time experience, and it’s one of a few must-do stops on our Free Self-Guided Walt Disney World Yuletide Resort Tour. That’s what we recommend doing in the morning before attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (if you opt to do that upcharge) or perhaps just on your non-parks day.
It’s one of our favorite things to do at Walt Disney World, and we make a point of doing it annually–along with separate visits to many of the hotels. We hope it’s still possible during Christmas 2026, even if there isn’t a life-size gingerbread house to see. I guess at minimum, this will give us an excuse to do brunch at the new-look Grand Floridian Cafe.
As with the other monorail loop resorts, it’s easy to visit the Grand Floridian the same day you do Magic Kingdom. Whether it be before heading into the park, strolling over on the walking path for a midday break, or after the park closes (our favorite option), it’s worth the detour thanks to its elegant Victorian decor and grandiose icon tree–even without the glorious gingerbread house. That is, assuming it’s allowed this year without an ADR or resort reservation!
Ultimately, it’s unfortunate but unsurprising that the Grand Floridian gingerbread display isn’t returning. We’ve been expecting this day to come for a while, as the writing has been on the wall since even before the Birdcage Bar debuted. With the Grand Cottage being likewise permanently retired this Easter, it was pretty much a done deal. Now we have official confirmation of that.
Beyond this, don’t be surprised if resort hopping is further restricted during Christmas 2026, and potentially beyond, especially at the Grand Floridian and Polynesian. Aside from what’s already been announced, one possibility would be requiring keycard access or confirmed dining reservations to gain entrance to the grounds. This is exactly what Tokyo Disney Resort does with both Toy Story Hotel and Fantasy Springs Hotel. I’m guessing Walt Disney World does not want to go that far, especially since they like to thread the needle on this type of thing (crowds equal revenue!). We’ll keep you posted.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Walt Disney World permanently retiring the gingerbread house at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa? Think it’ll ever be back down the road if some manager decides the food & beverage revenue is too enticing to pass up? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Unfortunately resort hopping to see the gingerbread houses became a thing, and social media caught on, and the crowds became ridiculous, especially for the monorail loop which is already too busy.
I think that they could move the gingerbread houses to each of the parks, and find a space at each that enables for viewing and purchasing related merch – eg the Odyssey at Epcot, somewhere in tomorrowland such as the terrace for MK etc.
It would drive park visits (especially for AP’s) and give more room for merch – it would make a great range of popcorn buckets.
Do you think Swan/Dolphin/swan Reserve will count as on-site for resort hopping purposes? I realize they are operated by Marriot but given that they are eligible for early entry and the larger lightning lane reservation window, I wondered if that pushed them into the onsite hotel bucket for this too. Thanks!
I truly am disappointed at all these changes. My husband & I have been AP since the beginning of those and WDW goers since MK opened and all the other parks, now only to see all the beautiful memorable things to be gotten rid of.
Plus all the limitations to the ability to visit all the hotels or the boardwalk, so not to bother the paying hotel guests that come occasionally where AP customers are dedicated money spending guaranteed dollars.
It truly is a shame how all the greed takes over and the loyalty of others are thrown aside.
Hopefully WDW can look at people who are true to them and adjust their thinking.
After all even big corporations can go broke!
As AP holders, you get free parking at the parks. So park at the TTC or Hollywood and use the monorail or skyliner to resort hop. There is not enough parking at the hotels for guests and dining reservation holders as it is.
Totally agree. WDW is not just for hotel guests. Visitors from off property spend hard earned money visiting to. It seems apparent that they are gradually removing all of the memorable things that make WDW unique.
Disney apparently disagrees with your assessment of AP holders spending. They (erroneously in my opinion) think that AP holders are mostly “locals” who don’t really spend as much per visit as they want them to. They’ve essentially said that they aim at attracting the high-dollar “tourist” trade, the once or twice in a lifetime guests who’ll spend lots because they won’t necessarily be back any time soon and want to make this trip “memorable”. They seem to put all AP holders in the same catagory as locals who come to ride a (free) boat, get some begniets, have a quick service lunch, maybe look at the animals in the Savanna at the AK lodges for a bit or ride a few rides and then go home. They don’t want a hundred bucks each visit maybe twice a month, they want a “once in a lifetime” resort visit and thousands.
I disagree with this assumption. Every unit of our family holds APs and the closest one lives 800 miles away. We just go to Disney often enough to justify the AP expense vs buying regular park tickets and while we don’t “resort hop” to wander around lobbies and the open areas, see fireworks or “resort shop”, we do stay on.property and enjoy having dinner at various resorts’ table service restaurants like Sanna, Narcoosies, Vickie and Al’s Cali Grille and others.
Oh yeah, at the last stockholder call Disney stated that although park attendance was kinda flat, spending per guest was up as were their park profits. It would appear that their high-dollar tourist philosophy is working.
Limiting resort hopping would be very disappointing. We love to shop at the resorts and eat at the quick service restaurants and lounges while staying onsite.
I doubt that will end up being a major problem for onsite guests.
Tom has an interesting take on that in a recent post and some of the possible pivoting there with the new CEO:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disneys-promising-pivot-to-lifetime-fans/
As a local with an annual pass we are usually at the parks during the week. Instead of eating lunch in the parks we prefer to head to one of the resorts quick service/counter eateries to have lunch. The resort eating establishments are usually quieter and sometimes we actually like the food better there than in the parks. Hopefully, Disney won’t take away our ability to do that.
Brit
I’m curious. Why do you think that your AP buys you anything more than park access?
I contend that resort access is mainly for people who pay to stay at said resort and MAYBE for a non-stayover invited guest or two. Maybe people are paying to stay at their resort because they expect that this fee buys them access to the quieter resort eating establishments and better food there, and maybe even less people. Did you ever think that maybe you are intruding and just because you can doesn’t mean you should?
In our years at Disney we’ve never resort hopped. Of course we’ve retty much stayed at them all, and once you’ve seen ’em once . . .
As for shopping, if we’re gonna “shop” we hit Springs, maybe, although last time we stayed there, while waiting for dinner I picked up a nice if overpriced shirt at the General Store in Old Key West. I do like the bourbon bar at Polite Pig and the steak at STK is great if you can stand the noise.
Chill Jack, I certainly don’t think nor did I insinuate that an annual pass entitles me to more than Disney allows. My comment was more about hoping Disney continues to allow guests to visit resort quick-service restaurants, not that I believe I’m owed unlimited resort access.
When we go to a resort for lunch, we’re not using the pool, parking there to avoid theme park parking, taking chairs, or trying to access guest-only amenities. We’re simply purchasing food from a restaurant that Disney has historically made available to day guests when access and capacity allow. If Disney decides a resort is too crowded or needs to restrict access to registered guests only, I completely respect that.
It is just sad that Disney and magic of being there that we used to know and love is slowly fading away.
The price keeps going up, the magic keeps going away.
It’s the first time in a LONG time I don’t have a reservation on the books and that makes me sad.
True!
I am all for restricting resort hopping at deluxe resorts. I hope they apply this to all monorail resorts.
I am not in the demographic that can afford to stay at Grand Floridian, but I did pay the premium to stay there I wouldn’t be super psyched about a lobby packed full of random tourists and crowded common areas, monorail lines, etc. Essentially I’d want to keep the “riff raff” out (and I say this as a card carrying member of the riff raff).
It’s a very common thing to have some sort of crowd control at exclusive places like this. For example, the Plaza Hotel in NYC for would be swarming with tourists at Christmastime, but they have lots of security out front making sure only those with room/restaurant reservations are allowed through the doors.
Sad news not seeing that amazing Gingerbread House every year because basically it really caused major congestion and long lines for the monorail . Now since they put that ridiculous bird cage bar in there , we REALLY have no reason to visit the Grand Floridian because in my opinion, it’s an overpriced and boring hotel .
I guess GF really means Gluten Free now.
Or “Gingerbread Free”.
Patti and I have fond memories of our first stay at the GF during its”Soft Opening”. It was a total accident. I was on a jobsite in Jacksonville Beach. Had a weekend off. Went down on a whim. We were given the Royal Poinciana tower suite which w returned to for many years on.the now long defunct Grand Plan.
GF used to be quiet and elegant. We especially enjoyed listening to the choirs at Christmas from the fifth floor balcony. Then, in typical Disney fashion, they overdid it, adding multiple outbuildings and now ruining the lobby by monetizing the memory of the old birdcage with a bar. Over the years we actually became friends with the guy who did the Discovery Island bird show, the sunset flight at MK and who maintained all of the avian population of the resorts of that time. He’s gone now, but we have an old Macaw that he and his wife bred and raised frim an egg.
As Disney became more commercial, crowded and montizezed, we abandoned the GF for less crowded environs on site. Two years ago we did stay at the GF at the invitation of our kids who were going down for a long week. To quote Jeff Foxworthy, we found that: “It ain’t what it useta was!” The little orchestra is gone (We knew that going in.) and the former peace, leisurely pace and general quiet have been replaced by what seems like an episode of “The Clampetts Go To Disney”, albeit without the basic kindness and good humor of that fictional family.
Now the Gingerbread house has become a casualty of the times. Funny. but the GF used to handle the Christmas onlookers well. Now they feel that they can’t take the “Crowds”? What changed? Could it be the influx of what we, at summer camp, used to call “Townies”, locals who’ve apparently come to regard Disney’s resort hotels as their rightful, almost free bars, shopping malls snd playgrounds, a perception that, until just recently, Disney has done little to discourage?
In my opinion it’s a pity that things have gone this way, but we Disney Dinosaurs are fast becoming extinct and soon those memories will be replaced by what is becoming a new, Gingerbreadhousless normal. Again, if you never experienced it you can’t miss it, and this streamlining is what Disney is aiming for.
Social media is what changed. In the Jurassic era you remember there wasn’t an entire cottage industry of parasitic influencers pumping out monetized content publicizing “hacks”—ethical or not—to hundreds of thousands of people at a time. There wasn’t a massive influx of remote workers into Central Florida either, or huge homeschooling communities looking to treat Disney resorts like their local public recreation centers and parks and cafes.
The awe in the eyes of my children (and now grandchildren), when they first saw the gingerbread house in GF really made my day (ok, maybe not as much as the castle in MK). It’s not the same if they move it or reduced in size elsewhere. Change for change sake is not good for us dreamers of all ages. If it is all for profit at the expense of pure awe and enjoyment, I think in the long run you will lose both. Call me old fashioned but I am not apologetic. Think about it, the gingerbread house was replaced by a bar. Count the bars/lounges and count the life-size gingerbread house you can enjoy in WDW.
They’re training a new generation of Disney-goers to expect less for more, and sadly its working.
and the band played on,. oh, wait, they took away the band as well,..
yes! that was a big punch in the gut!
*Sigh*
Hi Tom,
A question about thanksgiving day meals at Disney World. Where do you think our group of 14 has the best chance to sit together? We are staying at Animal Kingdom Jambo House 3 bedroom Vacation club. We are thinking Sanaa or Rain Forest Cafe? and we arrive 11/22 so am I correct that I can make a reservation as soon as September 22nd for Thanksgiving? Thanks!
Boma has room but consider…….
You can cater a great meal in your large villa!!!
Not surprised either, but I think it’s fair to the onsite hotel guests to discourage extra foot traffic (though surely more than a few will be pretty disappointed).
You wrote “When a locality has a free entertainment offering, it drives a certain type of traffic and the accompanying congestion and overcrowding often discourages businesses’ actual clientele from visiting. There were massive crowds of people there to see the free thing…and only that.” My thoughts exactly.
I suspect the bar monetized that spaced better. We haven’t stayed at the Grand Flo yet, but when we do, it will certainly be off season so it feels spacious and relaxing. Because of the congestion at the original Poly building, I suspect we will NEVER choose to stay there. That price tag (though we are DVC), must include the perk of providing “chill” vibes.
As much as I hate the idea of restrictions coming to resorts, I think they’re needed. From the perspective of someone who has taken family vacations and stayed at deluxe resorts, but also frequently visits other resorts for dining and shopping, I don’t think it will affect people that truly have a purpose to be at the resort. My children are older now, but one thing that always struck me about monorail loop or crescent Lake is that anyone can just walk onto the resort grounds. I think restricting the access or at least checking that people have legitimate business is a good thing. It may take some of the spontaneity away for people, but overall, I think it will improve the quality of the experience for the people who are paying money to stay at the resort or dine at a restaurant.
To your point about celebratory fireworks – we live in Philadelphia, there are plenty of free things going on the week of the Fourth of July. I’d rather pay full price two weeks later than deal with the tourists and fighting to park for the free activities (though I did go get a FiFa bracelet 🙂 but I went on a rainy weekday).
Accordingly, it’s not atypical for no news this early-on.
Ahhh what does this mean? I keep reading it but there are too many negatives
Sorry, that was garbled.
It means that there’s no cause for concern that Walt Disney World hasn’t announced specifics about the other gingerbread houses. That’s still to come, likely in October. To the best of our understanding, nothing else is being cancelled/retired.
While it’s not quite the scale of he Grand Floridian gingerbread house, WDW did introduce the gingerbread Spaceship Earth in Epcot. That was really well done and significantly less friction to see than hopping to the GF. (Although CommuniCore is far less of an impressive surrounding than the GF lobby.)
I like the gingerbread Spaceship Earth, but I feel like they could do so much more with it. CommuniCore Hall is unimpressive as utilized, but it’s a blank slate that could be better.
I know that this is not a popular opinion, but I am not a fan of resort hopping. We go to WDW about 3 times a year. We try to vary our resorts each time. We love staying at a new resort and exploring it for the first time when staying there, to me that is part of the fun. I know I’m in the minority here, but I am happy with the new changes especially from a security standpoint. Plus I’m hoping it will make the resorts a little less crowded.
Tom, do you think the potential resort hopping restrictions coming implies that you need to have an active resort reservation AT the Grand Floridian? Or just be currently staying at any WDW hotel to access the Grand Floridian? Thanks!
My assumption would be any active on-site resort reservation or an ADR specific to the Grand Floridian.