*The Official VILLAS AT DISNEY'S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA Owners & Lovers Group* - LOBBY REFURB STARTS TODAY 4/14!

[AstroBlasters]

Another + for the Villa building , distance to Poly Tower. Very short walk.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Also, trash cans in the villa kitchens…. Pull out cabinet and then I have to lift a top and touch a gross trash cans… not ideal…

 

[sndral]

100% agree. they were inconsistent and always pulled up full while we were there in early Dec. Wish VGF had non-shared bus transport.

I was told by a bus driver the reason they stop at the Poly first is because of the route - to go to the GF first would require the bus to back up to get to the Poly from the GF .
We were lucky in late Dec./early Jan. since we didn’t run into any crowded buses from the GF, however, those in ECVs weren’t always as lucky - I saw more than one ECV user unable to board an otherwise uncrowded bus because Poly folks had taken all the ECV slots.

 

[kgou]

I was told by a bus driver the reason they stop at the Poly first is because of the route - to go to the GF first would require the bus to back up to get to the Poly from the GF .
We were lucky in late Dec./early Jan. since we didn’t run into any crowded buses from the GF, however, those in ECVs weren’t always as lucky - I saw more than one ECV user unable to board an otherwise uncrowded bus because Poly folks had taken all the ECV slots.

that makes sense from a logistics standpoint! I wish both resorts had their own dedicated buses. My visit was just days prior to the Island Tower opening over at Poly. It will be interesting to see how that additional guest capacity impacts the bus situation.

 

[Bucketfoot]

I was told by a bus driver the reason they stop at the Poly first is because of the route - to go to the GF first would require the bus to back up to get to the Poly from the GF .
We were lucky in late Dec./early Jan. since we didn’t run into any crowded buses from the GF, however, those in ECVs weren’t always as lucky - I saw more than one ECV user unable to board an otherwise uncrowded bus because Poly folks had taken all the ECV slots.

There is a REALLY SIMPLE solution... Run separate busses for GF and Poly!!!!

 

[aka Charles]

With the redesign of Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive, and the Poly entrance, parking lot, and new separate bus loop, I am hoping that they finally start running separate bus service for Poly and The Grand Floridian. Currently the buses from Poly exit onto Floridian Way with a quick right turn to get to The Grand Floridian, but with the new bus loop at the Poly the buses will have to circle around and exit back out onto Seven Seas Drive. At that point, to get to The Grand Floridian, the buses would have to go down Seven Seas Drive and through a round-about to get on Floridian Way, and then through one or two more round-abouts just to get to where they exit now.

 

[kgou]

With the redesign of Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive, and the Poly entrance, parking lot, and new separate bus loop, I am hoping that they finally start running separate bus service for Poly and The Grand Floridian. Currently the buses from Poly exit onto Floridian Way with a quick right turn to get to The Grand Floridian, but with the new bus loop at the Poly the buses will have to circle around and exit back out onto Seven Seas Drive. At that point, to get to The Grand Floridian, the buses would have to go down Seven Seas Drive and through a round-about to get on Floridian Way, and then through at least two more round-abouts.

Wow, this is great info!! I didn't know how the redesign would impact things. That seems like it would be highly inefficient, so here's hoping it results in dedicated bus service for each resort!

 

[sndral]

With the redesign of Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive, and the Poly entrance, parking lot, and new separate bus loop, I am hoping that they finally start running separate bus service for Poly and The Grand Floridian. Currently the buses from Poly exit onto Floridian Way with a quick right turn to get to The Grand Floridian, but with the new bus loop at the Poly the buses will have to circle around and exit back out onto Seven Seas Drive. At that point, to get to The Grand Floridian, the buses would have to go down Seven Seas Drive and through a round-about to get on Floridian Way, and then through one or two more round-abouts just to get to where they exit now.

Thanks for the explanation. I wondered if all of the roadwork they’ve been doing would effect bus routes & it sounds like it will.

 

[aka Charles]

For a visual of the changes...



The Poly bus stop is circled in red.
The current route to the Grand Floridian is shown in green.
The redesigned route is in yellow.
I may be off on the number of round-abouts, but it still a much longer path.
.

 

[figmentfinesse]

Do they turn off the lights on the Easter egg displays at night? I have a 8:45 narcoosees this Friday and I was curious about it I can stroll through the lobby and still see it all lit up.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Do they turn off the lights on the Easter egg displays at night? I have a 8:45 narcoosees this Friday and I was curious about it I can stroll through the lobby and still see it all lit up.

Looked lit up to me when we left our Citricos/Enchanted Rose evening…

 

[mrsap]

With the redesign of Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive, and the Poly entrance, parking lot, and new separate bus loop, I am hoping that they finally start running separate bus service for Poly and The Grand Floridian. Currently the buses from Poly exit onto Floridian Way with a quick right turn to get to The Grand Floridian, but with the new bus loop at the Poly the buses will have to circle around and exit back out onto Seven Seas Drive. At that point, to get to The Grand Floridian, the buses would have to go down Seven Seas Drive and through a round-about to get on Floridian Way, and then through one or two more round-abouts just to get to where they exit now.

I’ll provide the full details with visuals to help. This was posted on the Poly thread back in May … hope it helps a bit.

Disney World Files NEW Permit for All-New Main Entrance to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

As part of the ongoing work to expand World Drive from the Magic Kingdom parking lot area north of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, a new permit filed by Disney World reveals plans to create an all-new entrance to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. We’ve previously covered a permit that was our first look at the entrance relocation. A permit filed today expands upon that previous coverage.

According to the permit, the current entrance to the resort appears to be shifting to a bus-only lane, while the main entrance to the resort will be at the end of a new dead-end for Seven Seas Drive. Here is a composite image of the relevant parts of the permit. If you’re approaching Disney’s Polynesian Resort from World Drive (north or south), you’ll utilize the roundabout to take the new connector road to Seven Seas Drive.

In this second composite image below, we’ve labeled some of the relevant changes. The new entrance/guard gate will be near the current intersection of Seven Seas Drive and World Drive. A new road will be constructed to take Seven Seas Drive to the south, through the current Magic Kingdom Cast Member parking lot, and to a new roundabout south of the current intersection. There will be no changes to the port cochere structure at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.



Zooming in a bit, we get a closer look at the planned changes via the composite image that we put together below, overlaying the permit on top of a Google Maps satellite view.



In this labeled version, we can see that while the bus pick-up/drop-off area won’t relocate, there will be a new u-turn for buses to keep porte cochere traffic separate from bus traffic.

In total, the changes should allow for less traffic on Seven Seas Drive (both directions) to be impacted by Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. The new bus-only entrance should separate bus and vehicle traffic within the resort. Finally, the new guard gate/main entrance will make for a much nicer approach to the refreshed porte cochere. It looks like there will be fewer parking spots as a result, but Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort parking lot very rarely fills up.

 

[mrsap]

Hi All! Happy April!!!


With the Lobby Refurb imminent this month, I wanted to ask the group a big favor! If you have a trip coming up at The Grand in the next few months, I’d appreciate if you’d participate in keeping this thread up to date with Live Reports, as well as Construction Photos!! If you see any preparation being done, walls being put up, construction workers, materials, or ANYTHING that suggests construction, please post it here!! And of course you can count on me to post anything I find online from blogs or other sources as well! Thank you in advance!!

 

[Sandisw]

I’ll be there for three nights in June so will post pictures!!

 

[mrsap]

I’ll be there for three nights in June so will post pictures!!

Thank you! Have fun!

 

[Cfabar1]

It is the flagship resort.... it definitely deserves a dedicated bus fleet if you ask me...

 

[AstroBlasters]

It is the flagship resort.... it definitely deserves a dedicated bus fleet if you ask me...

Maybe they think Grand Flo cash guests can just pay for a car to take them where they want to go.

 

[MamaKate]

100% agree. they were inconsistent and always pulled up full while we were there in early Dec. Wish VGF had non-shared bus transport.

It is the flagship resort.... it definitely deserves a dedicated bus fleet if you ask me...

There is a REALLY SIMPLE solution... Run separate busses for GF and Poly!!!!

Yes, to all of this!!! This is my major issue when staying at VGF.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Found this online today….

 

[Cfabar1]

Yes, to all of this!!! This is my major issue when staying at VGF.

It’s also important to remember VGF is, from a transportation standpoint, arguably the worst monorail resort. And so, for the flagship, you'd think they could do a little better... But who knows...

Found this online today….

Wow.... Wonder when that was from...