Gingerbread House Construction & Grand Floridian Update
A lot is happening at Walt Disney World’s flagship hotel, both for Christmas and in terms of regular changes. In this Grand Floridian Resort report, we’ll take a look at the gingerbread house construction, plus progress on the pedestrian bridge to Magic Kingdom, relocation of the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, and more.
We’ll start with the iconic gingerbread house, returning for its 21st year at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This is the centerpiece of the Christmas decorations–not just at the Grand Floridian, but among all of the Walt Disney World resorts. (I hesitate to even call it a “decoration” as it’s more an attraction/dining location than a simple piece of decor.)
Unsurprisingly, a frequent question among Walt Disney World guests this time of year is When Do Decorations Go Up at Walt Disney World?, which we answer in that post. Specifically, many people wonder when their hotel will be decorated–or when the resorts they want to visit will be ready to go…
The answer is that it depends, but to offer a little historical context here, the Grand Floridian gingerbread house had its grand opening on November 14 last year after a few days of the pastry chefs building it. For 2019, it’s likely to be finished over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean the shop will open right away.
Either way, we’d encourage you to visit the Grand Floridian. If the gingerbread house is not done, you can see the work in progress. Personally, I think this behind the scenes look at the active work is cooler than the finished product, especially once the pastry chefs start working their magic. Here’s a look at how things stand right now:
One thing we’d caution against is driving to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Almost all of the Deluxe Resorts have tightened up their parking policies and are now restricted to guests staying at the resorts, convention-goers, or those with Advance Dining Reservations.
If you tell security you simply want to see the gingerbread house, you’ll almost certainly be turned away and told to park at the Transportation & Ticket Center. If you say you want to go to Enchanted Rose Lounge (the new Beauty and the Beast inspired bar), you might have better luck, but probably not. Save yourself the headache and take the monorail, boat, or bus to Grand Floridian instead.
Sadly, the tandem of Enchanted Rose Lounge and the gingerbread house means that the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra has once again been relocated.
This time, it’s to a first floor alcove that used to be used by the front desk (I can’t recall for what purpose). This set-up doesn’t look permanent, but the fact that Disney removed a counter to repurpose this location does have me a bit worried.
Even though I don’t like it, I’m not rooting for Enchanted Rose Lounge to fail. However, I would like its popularity to be sufficiently low to justify removing the seating outside the lounge so that the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra can reclaim their rightful second floor perch.
We’ve been spending a decent amount of time at Grand Floridian lately. While my parents were in town, we ate breakfast here (review coming soon) and captured the above little beauty. I’d hazard a guess that they’ve already blown this up and had framed.
I’m going to miss the paintings of this refined rabbit and suave simian when they’re inevitably replaced. Before that happens, I’d definitely recommend getting your family Christmas card photo next to them this year. (Who needs that gingerbread house or resplendent Victorian holiday decor when you’ve got fancy bunny and monkey art?!)
Finally, the pedestrian bridge that will complete the existing walkway between Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Permits pointed to this over the summer, and it was quickly confirmed by construction in the area. For a few weeks, the project was making swift progress and looked like it could be completed within a few months.
We first covered it in our Walt Disney World Building Magic Kingdom to Grand Floridian Walkway post, which offered equal parts excitement and trepidation about whether it would mean the end of Electrical Water Pageant.
To our surprise, many of you shared in both our excitement (lots of walking enthusiasts reading this blog, it would seem) and fears about losing Electrical Water Pageant (and fellow old school Vacation Kingdom geeks!). The good news is that this won’t be the cause of Electrical Water Pageant’s demise. The bad news is that we may not be walking to Magic Kingdom from Grand Floridian until 2020.
Construction at the site has been slow going of late. The swing bridge arrived a while ago, and has been staged at the site for weeks. The latest development is the installation of the pivot mechanism–even that occurred nearly a month ago. We did notice several construction workers out around the bridge yesterday, not that it means anything about imminent progress.
At this point, it’s likely that the hold-up relates to construction around the Magic Kingdom monorail station and entrance area. The area where this walkway will begin over by Magic Kingdom is literally a pile of dirt and heavy equipment right now, so it can’t open any time soon.
Finally, a few plugs. First, our free Vacation Kingdom at Christmas eBook is available for download! This free eBook is 90 pages, with 100+ photos, and tons of great tips & info for the holiday season at Walt Disney World. For more details on how to get this totally-free ebook, click here. Did we mention that it’s free?! 😉
For comprehensive tips for planning your Christmas-time trip to Walt Disney World, check out our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World. For Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide and related articles.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited to see the gingerbread house–either while under construction or the finished product–at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort? Thoughts on other Christmas decorations at the GF? Disappoint by the relocation of the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra? Hopeful that the walking path to Magic Kingdom opens while the weather is still cool enough to enjoy the stroll? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
that looks awesome. it is hard to see the walls go up so fast and then wait for all the inside stuff that takes such a long time.
can’t wait to see more pictures.union carpenters
Just got back from our family trip this past weekend. The gingerbread house is fully constructed at the Grand Floridian. And we saw another gingerbread house going up at the Wilderness Lodge. No tree at the lodge yet (assuming they are even going to put one up this year with the gingerbread house there).
Do you foresee problems driving and parking at Wilderness lodge or AK lodge, to see the holiday decor? they are off the beaten path and have never been a problem previously, but after your comment about the guards cracking down on non resort guests without an ADR, i’m concerned. thanks
“Do you foresee problems driving and parking at Wilderness lodge or AK lodge, to see the holiday decor?”
Wilderness Lodge is more likely to be an issue than Animal Kingdom Lodge. To my knowledge, no sign is up there right now, but I could be wrong.
I’ll report back once the tree is actually up there.
thanks, appreciate it! On a related note, and since i can’t ask in the relevant (and seemingly non existent?) post, we have an Ohana breakfast ADR Dec 5 and had planned to take the monorail to GF to see the holiday decor. I expect an increased security presence given the GF dec 7 event but
1. do you expect any restrictions in visitors to GF on dec 5? or just dec 7?
2. We are driving home via I4 to 95 on Dec 7. do you expect the interstates to be closed at some point?
thanks
We just returned home from a stay at the Grand Floridian, it was really interesting to watch the construction of the gingerbread house! We were not fans of the Enchanted Rose. It was loud and really lacked the inviting atmosphere of Mizner’s.
Hello! I sent in my name and email and am trying to get the holiday guide. Any way to get it?
Thanks,
DeanTribeVibe
Do you know how long the gingerbread house will be up after Christmas. We’re going in early January (11th) and hoping against hope that it might still b e viewable.
Will we still be able to valet park at the resort if we don’t have a reservation??? Thank you
Probably not. You have to get past the guard stand before you can park (valet or self), and the guard stand will only let you pass if you have a “reason” to be there (hotel guest, dining reservation, etc).
Hi Tom, Question. I have an ADR at Grand Floridian and I’m staying at the Dolphin. We are heading to MK after breakfast and will not have a car. Whats the best way to get to breakfast? Uber and let them know we have a reservation?
Yes, the best way to get from Dolphin to GF is definitely hiring a car. You won’t have any trouble getting into the GF (even without a reservation, they’d let the driver drop you off without any drama). Looking at the Lyft app right now, it’s saying $12.41 for that ride.
If you don’t want to pay, then your best “free” options would be to either:
1) Take boat or walk from Dolphin to DHS, then take bus from DHS to GF.
2) Take bus from Dolphin to MK, then monorail or boat (or walk if the bridge is open by then) from MK to GF.
After breakfast, monorail or boat (or walk if the bridge is opn by then) over to MK.
Just wondering… when the walkway between GF and MK is finished, will you be able to walk all the way around the lagoon, like the walkway around Crescent Lake?
No. You’ll be able to walk from the TTC to Magic Kingdom, though. That means Polynesian, Wedding Pavilion, and Grand Floridian will all connect via this and existing pathways.
The pathway from mk to gf will be outside security right? Ie, I can bus to mk and walk to gf with no delays? Thanks
I travel in May so hoping it’ll be ready by then.
@Erik: Probably not. Considering that all of the land in front of the MK entrance is inside the security bubble (including the boat docks & such), you would have to cross thru the secure zone to get from the bus stops to the GF walkway.
To elaborate on Tom’s answer…
With the new bridge in place you will be able to walk continuously from the TTC to the Polynesian to the Grand Flo to the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary. You won’t be able to walk between the Contemporary and TTC to finish the loop.
I commented yesterday about Fort Wilderness being frozen in time in a good way. Much of the Grand Floridian (i.e. the framed artwork mentioned above) is the opposite. I think it’s time the 80’s finally left the building, since the 80’s building itself isn’t going anywhere.
Ouch. Then where will my family get our annual Christmas card photo taken?!?!
(In all seriousness, I agree totally. Although I’m not sure I trust current leadership enough to do something thematically interesting, and not just copy the look of a Ritz Carlton somewhere.)
How foolish of me. I used to think, year after year, that the Grand Floridian gingerbread houses were entirely made of gingerbread and sweet treats. From your photo above, it looks like they merely apply the gingerbread on the already-built house structure! What a pity. I should have known better but I really was expecting magic. 😉
Please don’t tell me that the chocolate carousel at the Beach Club are just horse statues covered in chocolate!!
“Please don’t tell me that the chocolate carousel at the Beach Club are just horse statues covered in chocolate!!”
Hey, it’s better than them being taxidermied horses covered in chocolate! 😉
Just stopping by and seconding that folks shouldn’t bother driving to the Grand Floridian. Unless things have changed, self-parking is a bit of a hike to the hotel! Much easier to hop the monorail and get dropped off in the lobby (more or less).