Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

themed

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

located at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988, as the ''Grand Floridian Beach Resort''. The name changed to ''Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa'' during the fall of 1997. The

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

contains 867 rooms among six buildings at an average of per room. The Grand Floridian is categorized as a "deluxe" resort. It is also distinguished as

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

flagship and most opulent resort.

History and influences

The Grand Floridian was inspired by the

Victorian-era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

beach resorts built along

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

's east coast during the late 19th and early 20th century. Its exterior is modelled after the Mount Washington Resort in

Bretton Woods, New Hampshire Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, United States, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities. Being virtually surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest, the vista from B ...

, and

Hotel del Coronado The Hotel del Coronado, also known as The Del and Hotel Del, is a historic beachfront hotel in Coronado, California, just across San Diego Bay from San Diego. A rare surviving example of an American architectural genre—the wooden Victorian be ...

Coronado, California Coronado (Spanish language, Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort town, resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population ...

, with red gabled roofs and white walls. Additional design inspiration was taken from the former

Belleview-Biltmore Hotel The Belleview-Biltmore Resort and Spa was a historic resort hotel located at 25 Belleview Boulevard in the town of Belleair, Florida, United States. Partially demolished in 2016, the hotel structure was the last remaining grand historic hotel of ...

Belleair, Florida Belleair is a town in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 4,273. History ...

. Initially, Walt Disney wanted a Polynesian resort (reflecting Adventureland), the Contemporary Resort to echo

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

, and other resorts that mirrored the 'lands' of the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...

. Main Street and The Grand Floridian act as analogous reflections. The resort was designed by the Disney company and executed by the architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo. Along with

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Disney's Polynesian Village Resort (formerly Disney's Polynesian Resort from 1985 to 2014) is a Disney-owned and operated resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It began operation on October 1, 1971 as one of Walt Disney World Resort' ...

, the Grand Floridian sits on the shores of the man-made

Seven Seas Lagoon The Seven Seas Lagoon is an artificial lake at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Located south of the Magic Kingdom theme park, the Seven Seas Lagoon serves as a natural buffer between the Magic Kingdom and its park ...

near the Magic Kingdom. The hotel occupies land that had been earmarked for an Asian-themed resort during the initial development of Walt Disney World Resort in the late 1960s.

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

performed at the Grand Floridian in 1988 to film the music video for their hit song " Kokomo". In 1992, a

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

opened adjacent to the hotel, which contains a business center.

Incidents

* On October 9, 1989, a 33-year-old woman from Glen Cove, New York, was killed when a tiny speedboat collided with a ferry boat. She and her 8-year-old son were broadsided by the ferry while trying to videotape friends and family members who were water skiing in the Seven Seas Lagoon. A crew member and a visitor on the ferry dove into the water and rescued her son. The boy was not hurt in the accident. The family sued Disney for $240 million, claiming that the ferry's operators should have seen the speedboat before it came so close. * On June 14, 2016, two-year-old child Lane Graves was fatally attacked by an American alligator which dragged him from the shore of the resort's beach into the Seven Seas Lagoon. The child's body was recovered a day later. A lighthouse sculpture paying tribute to the child was unveiled in 2017 at the resort near the incident's location.

Gallery

File:Grand Floridian lobby.jpg, The lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort File:Grand Floridian Villas.jpg, The Port Cochere of the Villas File:GrandFloridianmonorailview.jpg, A view of the Grand Floridian from the

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

150km with Cinderella Castle, 2007 File:Grand floridian panoramic.jpg, The Grand Floridian property as viewed from the entrance to the

File:Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa 1.jpg, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa taken from Seven Seas Lagoon File:Lane Thomas Foundation lighthouse sculpture.jpg, Sculpture dedicated to Lane Graves, a boy killed by a wild alligator at the resort in 2016

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa Commercial buildings completed in 1988 Hotels established in 1988 Hotel buildings completed in 1988 Grand Floridian Resort and Spa Destination spas Convention centers in Florida 1988 establishments in Florida Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

History and influences

Incidents

Gallery

See also

References

External links