Eleven year ago, on October 23, 2013, The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa welcomed its first guests.
In early 2011 there was speculation about which resort Disney Vacation Club would build next. Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa had all opened in 2009 and many thought it was time to start work on a new DVC resort.
There were rumors that Disney would build a second tower at the Contemporary Resort. Or, that rooms would be constructed or coverted to villas at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. There were even rumors that a new DVC resort would be built next to the Disney's Blizzard Beach, giving guests direct access to the amenities the water park had to offer. But news soon broke revealing the next DVC resort at Walt Disney World.
On March 8, 2011, Disney requested a permit from the South Florida Water Management District for a commercial project located on 13.1 acres between the Grand Floridian hotel and Disney's Wedding Pavilion. In July 2011, construction walls were in place and development of the worksite had begun. Disney notified brides who were planning on using the Wedding Pavilion that construction would initially only be done at night.
It was not until December 8, 2011, at the Annual Meeting, that DVC officially announced it was building a new resort at the Grand Floridian. It would become the 13th resort in the DVC system. It was another 17 months before DVC members could buy points for The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.
On May 20, 2013, Disney announced sales for the Grand Floridian would begin on May 23. Sales were limited to existing DVC members and the price would be $145 a point. Not only was this the highest price ever for a DVC resort, but no discounts or incentives were offered, not even for Disney Cast Members. Disney also announced that non-DVC members could buy Grand Floridian points beginning on June 19, at which time the price would increase to $150 a point for all buyers.
Despite the relatively high price and lack of discounts, demand for Grand Floridian points was very strong. Over half a million points were sold in its first four months, including 226,439 points in July 2013, the most recorded in one month for a resort in the 14 years DVCNews has tracked direct sales. In April 2015, less than two years after sales began, Disney considered the Grand Floridian to be "sold out."
Grand Floridian was the first DVC resort at Walt Disney World to have the pull down single Murphy beds. These beds are now common in several resorts, including Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Copper Creek Villas & Cabins, and Disney's Riveria Resort.
The Grand Floridian was also the first DVC resort at Walt Disney World to offer the Fixed Week Option, which is now offered at all DVC resorts that have opened since 2013.
In the eleven years since its debut, the Grand Floridian received a couple major additions. In November 2020 a walkway was opened between the resort and the Magic Kingdom, giving guests the option of walking to and from the park rather than having to rely on the monorail or watercraft transportation.
Then, on May 17, 2021, Disney announced it was converting all the hotel rooms in the Big Pine Key building to DVC Resort Studios and adding them to the Grand Floridian condominium association. Sales began on March 3, 2022, with an opening base price of $207 a point. As with the first iteration of Grand Floridian, the Big Pine Key resort studios were popular with DVC buyers. Almost 400,000 points were sold in the first three months. The new studios welcomed its first guests on June 20, 2022.
The combined Disney Vacation Club property is now home to 202 Resort Studio rooms, 47 Dedicated Two Bedroom Villas, 47 Lockoff Two Bedroom Villas and 6 Three Bedroom Grand Villas spread across two buildings.
