Grand Floridian shouldn’t allow non hotel guests

[StarCruzer]

I know the point you're wanting to make that access has in some form been restricted but that's essentially positioning the perspective to fit the statement. Like I stated in a previous comment the monorail at TDR is not free for anyone, everyone has to pay for it including going to their Ikspirari shopping area (akin to Disney Springs and Downtown Disney). Anyone has access to the monorail and many take a train to the Resort Gateway Station also known as the JR station also know as the Maihama Station where Ikspirari is located at, to get to the other hotels including Toy Story you'd either take a bus or the monorail. It's hard to say why they put the restrictions in place TBH especially considering there's 10 other places between 3 hotels that aren't exclusive (one of which is only exclusive for breakfast).

I'm a little confused by your point on this one. The TDR monorail charges, yes. Charging for rides doesn't make it less of a public service. What it actually means is that they aren't pulling funding for maintenance of the service from hotel guests. You can see this in the quality of the monorail: larger cars, cleaner, better overall design. Everyone is entitled to ride it, because everyone pays the same price, regardless of their reason for using it.

The complaint OP has is that Disney in the US charges premium prices for hotels on the monorail loop because it is billed as an amenity of stayin at that resort. I mean Contemporary even charges extra for monorail-view rooms!

So TDR now has two separate deterrents to prevent overcrowding in new hotels: restricting access to some areas, even temporarily, to hotel guest only; and that a few folks would likely decide against wandering through a hotel lobby if it was going to cost them a few extra bucks on transportation to do so.

Fantasy Springs isn't the only TDR resort to restrict guest access, AND they had to do so to to a similar issue as GF has: park proximity. Not sure if the Toy Story Hotel still has restrictions as well, but it opened in April 2022 and when we visited TDR in October of 2023 it was still listed as restricted access to paying guests only. These restrictions are usually out in place due to predicted guest behavior--AKA, new hotels in the past have experienced overcrowding issues and TDR is taking preventative measures for a positive hotel guest experience.

My argument wasn't necessarily that WDW should restrict non-paying guests from visiting resorts, only that there is precident to temporarily have restrictions in place which improve the experience of paying guests.

As a fun fact since we've been talking about crowdedness even though tourism has skyrocketed to Japan, even with this large expansion with the new hotel TDR expects to fall short of their desired attendance, it was weird to read that after having visited there seeing the crowds. Realistically most visitors will stop off at Ikspirari to dine and shop but I who stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Bay (located next door to Toy Story Hotel) could indeed make dining reservations for various hotel restaurants and so can the general public.

As far as tourists IDK I think you're stereotyping there. I saw more western people (primarily Australian and Europeans with a smaller amount of Americans) in Kanazawa than I did at Tokyo Disney Resort in the 4 days we were at TDR and our largest language barrier by far was at TDR where Japanese was vastly spoken with very little other languages. I rather doubt that the sheer amount of cosplay I saw during the Halloween season was tourists as opposed to locals who were more willing to dress up in full on Belle with hoop skirts to ride virtually nothing. The only way to get into the parks are by buying 1-day tickets or an evening weekday or weekend pass. Even at the Hilton there was not as many westerners than you'd think for an American brand. The hotel's food was heavily catered to Japanese cuisine (Asian as whole but very much Japanese too) with their breakfast buffets having entire large sections dedicated to this.

I feel like we're arguing the same side here though? Tourism is skyrocking in Japan but statistically, it is 80% domestic tourism. This is because the yen is so weak that most Japanese folks are not traveling internationally. So yes, you are going to see more locals in TDR. Like Disneyland in CA, it is considered a local's park, moreso after the opening of Shanghai Disney.

I have many expat friends who live in Japan and while overall quality of life items (transportation, healthcare, food, clothing, etc ) are much cheaper, salaries are also MUCH lower. Even thought day tickets to Disney are also cheaper than the US, they still offer the after 3 p.m. and after 5 p.m. ticket options, which are even cheaper and meant for locals.

My point being, that OLC is much more focused on providing a superior experience when Japanese tourists are shelling out for Disney-brand hotels. Japanese tourists are MUCH less likely to rebook an onsite hotel if they had a negative experience.

At WDW, the money comes from: once-in-a-lifetime trips, who likely won't return even if they have a poor experience (in this case, long waits for the monorail and a crowded lobby); infrequent visitors who may come back but likely won't stay at that resort again due to the poor experience, or Disney superfans (DVC/APs) who have deep emotional and financial investment and will more than likely return even if they have one bad experience.

So there is little motivation on the US side to spend money to improve customer experience, until they start seeing a significant slowdown of hotel bookings or guest spending.

OLC's strategy for guest satisfaction is proactive, and WDW's is reactive.

 

[AstroBlasters]

As someone said before then the only answer is to limit everyone to their paid for resort but I have a suspicion that most if not all those complaining have ‘trespassed’ on other folks paid for resorts to grab a drink or a meal or a glimpse of a giraffe or yak …

Limit is different than prohibit.

 

[StarCruzer]

Disney is subsided by taxpayers now?

I mean...yes. If you weren't aware, many large corporate entities are to some degree.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Califonria laws are likely quite different from Florida laws on public accommodation.

No, that's not it. The GCV entrance to DCA is small so it could get really backed up if everyone was allowed to use it, but I will couch that by saying "during peak times". We have used it as non-GCV guests prior to the restrictions, but always late in the day, never at rope-drop. There was no line - we were the only ones there, but I could see how it could get bad.

GCV guests do not ever have to step foot in the promenande. They can enter through the exclusive DCA entrance or use the monorail entrance to get into DL - but then us jenky-non-GCV guests can use the monorail entrance too. Just saying there is a path for them to avoid the unwashed masses - at least until they get into the park.

 

[Chuck S]

Unsubstantiated Rumor: Disney, in response to complaints, will be installing a new transportation system in development for NASA for the exclusive use of GF and VGF guests to a dedicated Magic Kingdom entry point.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Disney doesn’t own or run Tokyo Disney.

And I am personally very thankful for that.

 

[Lumpy1106]

In California, they were having issues with non-Disney resort guests, Disneyland hotel guests, and Pixar Place guests using the exclusive Grand Cal entrance to DCA.

So, what did they do? They gated the walkways and added security to tell people they could only go into the Grand Cal lobby from the main entrance if they are guests at GC. They also opened a separate pathway right by the DVC wing at Grand Cal with another security gate to DCA exclusive to anyone staying at any of the 3 Disney resorts.

Now, people can still overrun the Grand Cal lobby by exiting DCA into the resort or by entering through Downtown Disney…. but they at least added options to alleviate some of the congestion.

So YES, Disney told paying guests of the Disneyland Hotel and Pixar Place that they could NOT just waltz over into the main Grand Cal entrance to use it as a cut through to DCA in the mornings. That is a benefit for paying guests of GC and VGC.

Are you restricted from exiting DCA directly into GCV? I thought it was only the other way around - couldn't enter DCA that way. Could be wrong - haven't used that entrance in years. If you had a reservation at Storytellers that would be a big inconvenience to go all the way around.

 

[eandt]

Unsubstantiated Rumor: Disney, in response to complaints, will be installing a new transportation system in development for NASA for the exclusive use of GF and VGF guests to a dedicated Magic Kingdom entry point.

View attachment 917694

And I presume this mode of transportation can only go to the MK and not be used for those highfalutin GF guests to saunter over to the CR or Poly or AK or WL or A.s.S to trespass? Sweet!

 

[kps7795]

Unsubstantiated Rumor: Disney, in response to complaints, will be installing a new transportation system in development for NASA for the exclusive use of GF and VGF guests to a dedicated Magic Kingdom entry point.

View attachment 917694

This is very funny for anyone who has ever complained to the front desk at the GF because of the non-resort guests boarding the resort monorail at the end of the evening trying to get back to their room. I still have pictures in my camera roll from when my now college freshman DD was in a stroller and it took us 30 minutes+ to board the monorail and were the ONLY guests still on board by the time that we got to OUR hotel. Some got off at Contemporary and a few got off at Poly, but 90% got off at the TTC.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I'm sorry but this is probably the funniest thread I've read through in a while. Some of you would lock the All Stars guests in their rooms like the dirty peasants they are if it meant you could walk through the Grand Floridian lobby without a massive crowd.

I think we have a bit of projection here, folks. This is the only post I've seen referencing guests from All Star in this thread.

Do you really believe that people who stay at the All Star resort are, as you've described them, dirty peasants?

 

[eandt]

This is very funny for anyone who has ever complained to the front desk at the GF because of the non-resort guests boarding the resort monorail at the end of the evening trying to get back to their room. I still have pictures in my camera roll from when my now college freshman DD was in a stroller and it took us 30 minutes+ to board the monorail and were the ONLY guests still on board by the time that we got to OUR hotel. Some got off at Contemporary and a few got off at Poly, but 90% got off at the TTC.

Easy fix there for sure, just don’t make a stop at TTC on that line … be interesting to watch how long would it take the non paying ‘freeloading gingerbreaders’ to realize they are just going around in circles …

 

[Smugpugmug]

I think we have a bit of projection here, folks. This is the only post I've seen referencing guests from All Star in this thread.

Do you really believe that people who stay at the All Star resort are, as you've described them, dirty peasants?

I...................what

Thank you for the laugh, I guess.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I...................what

Thank you for the laugh, I guess.

You're welcome, I guess.

 

[Man-DeLorean]

I can’t speak for everyone here who wants a better experience at the Grand Floridian, but it’s not an all-or-nothing issue. There’s no need—and no reason—to completely limit non-guests. For example, when we stayed at the Grand Californian two years ago, the entrance to Disney California Adventure required not just a park ticket but also an active hotel key for access. This didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the hotel lobby or restaurants. Disney can put controls in place to protect amenities that guests pay for. Is Disney demonstrating elitism by only allowing Grand Californian guests to enter DCA? I don’t think so. Are guests elitist because they enjoy this perk? Of course not. Disney could implement a similar system to ensure paying guests at the Grand Floridian have access to the monorail—just one stop away from the Magic Kingdom—a perk and a key reason some guests choose to stay there.

 

[kps7795]

Easy fix there for sure, just don’t make a stop at TTC on that line … be interesting to watch how long would it take the non paying ‘freeloading gingerbreaders’ to realize they are just going around in circles …

I was SO exasperated trying to get my kids to our room and into their beds one night that I literally made that suggestion...12 years ago. Alas, as they sang in Frozen 2 "Some things never change!"

 

[StarCruzer]

I'm sorry but this is probably the funniest thread I've read through in a while. Some of you would lock the All Stars guests in their rooms like the dirty peasants they are if it meant you could walk through the Grand Floridian lobby without a massive crowd.

It sounds like you missed a big chunk of the point, friend. The short version is:

- GF guests pay a premium to be in a resort with monorail transportation.
- Many non-resort guests visit during the holidays, creating 30+ minutes lines for everyone to use the monorail
- This essentially renders one of the top amenities of the resort useless for paying guests

Most of the back-and-forth arguments about the issue are how Disney could improve the experience and mitigate overcrowding.

Yes, there are a few people who would be happier if non-paying guests were not allowed to visit the lobby during the busy holiday season, but I've mostly seen people just discussing their opinions on the best way for paying hotel guests to be able to enjoy the full value of the experience they paid for. I don't necessarily agree with everyone's ideas but very few people have been completely unreasonable.

 

[MsChristy12]

This is getting more and more interesting, thanks for the fun read this AM! I never expect any hotels/resorts to restrict access to non-hotel guests, but if it happens, whether I'm a hotel guest or not, it is what it is.

You guys need to stop complaining GF lobby overcrowding, because now people are going to buy BLT instead then it will be me complaining the resort I own being overcrowded! That's not fair! *stomp stomp stomp*

 

[eandt]

I think we have a bit of projection here, folks. This is the only post I've seen referencing guests from All Star in this thread.

Do you really believe that people who stay at the All Star resort are, as you've described them, dirty peasants?

I think there is some degree of facetiousness to some of these posts

 

[Smugpugmug]

It sounds like you missed a big chunk of the point, friend. The short version is:

- GF guests pay a premium to be in a resort with monorail transportation.
- Many non-resort guests visit during the holidays, creating 30+ minutes lines for everyone to use the monorail
- This essentially renders one of the top amenities of the resort useless for paying guests

Most of the back-and-forth arguments about the issue are how Disney could improve the experience and mitigate overcrowding.

Yes, there are a few people who would be happier if non-paying guests were not allowed to visit the lobby during the busy holiday season, but I've mostly seen people just discussing their opinions on the best way for paying hotel guests to be able to enjoy the full value of the experience they paid for. I don't necessarily agree with everyone's ideas but very few people have been completely unreasonable.

Nope, I've read through this thread. I've just been very amused at some of these comments.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I think there is some degree of facetiousness to some of these posts

No doubt.