Disney to add on to Grand Floridian

[avengador1]

Disney Confirms Grand Floridian DVC Add-On.
http://www.wesh.com/themeparks/29959507/detail.html
I also heard that they might be completing the walkway from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian and are adding a draw bridge to the canal to accomplish this.

[Zazu]

I also heard that they might be completing the walkway from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian and are adding a draw bridge to the canal to accomplish this.

That would be awesome, and move some of the annoying joggers from The Big Toaster to the Red Roof Inn. I wonder if they will continue to operate the GF/P/MK launch service if that happens?

[Big Wallaby]

That seems like an awfully small area for an addition. And, let's see... at a resort where everyone parks across the street anyway...

[Doctor McKey]

you know the sad thing.. i knew about this addition 2 years ago...

Some one send Iago over and wake me up when they start construction on the WDW Master Parking Area... opps did i just let out a secret about the parking garage... Oh well.. we didnt need the NASCAR speedway anymore anyway/

The Doctor

[kurtisnelson]

you know the sad thing.. i knew about this addition 2 years ago...

Some one send Iago over and wake me up when they start construction on the WDW Master Parking Area... opps did i just let out a secret about the parking garage... Oh well.. we didnt need the NASCAR speedway anymore anyway/

The Doctor

No comment.
Oh wait, they didn't make me sign an NDA on anything and then just threw me out.

Grand Flo DVC's biggest challenge is the parking. The lot across the street averages something around 98% utilization, and the occupancy for the resort is generally up there too. The valet lot on the other hand stays really empty. So the solution I recommended is to flip the lots around and put at least part of valet across the street and turn the big lot into the general parking. The wedding pavilion lot is also going to need defending more now as people park there for theme park access all the time. Really, all the monorail resorts have a parking shortage and the problem is that the guards are too lenient on letting people in.

As far as centralized parking, that's on the long term plan once they figure out how to fix the transportation infrastructure. There's been studies about the surface road congestion around the TTC during the evening and park exit and it shows a good amount of gas/time is being wasted by busses sitting in their own traffic. The idea is to reconfigure the entire set of stuff around the TTC to not force everything down into that one stop sign outside the poly.

[Zazu]

Really, all the monorail resorts have a parking shortage and the problem is that the guards are too lenient on letting people in.

Shouldn't be an issue for the Contemporary for the next month. Parking there is in hard close (reservation required) until some time in January.

Why? Because one of the main tower's elevators is down for the duration, and they want to minimize foot traffic so tower guests don't have to wait so long.

Now, if we can just get them to keep the tourons from parking in the cast lot there....

[kurtisnelson]

Now, if we can just get them to keep the tourons from parking in the cast lot there....

I thought it had one of those remotely opened gates on it?
Just wait till one parks there on perimeter fireworks night and gets barricaded from their car.

[Zazu]

I thought it had one of those remotely opened gates on it?

It does, but since any delay there quickly backs up and blocks World Drive, they leave the gates open during peak start times.

Just wait till one parks there on perimeter fireworks night and gets barricaded from their car.

Gave that up a long time ago. Security can't use pepper spray and we had too many barricades run over.

Trouble is, there isn't even an "Authorized Parking Only" sign. If they'd put one of those up, Reedy Creek could issue parking citations that cost more than Parking. That'd shut it down pretty quickly.

[shilohmm]

Why? Because one of the main tower's elevators is down for the duration, and they want to minimize foot traffic so tower guests don't have to wait so long.

Do people just wandering through use the elevators that much? I've never stayed there, but I've wandered through any number of times, and never used the elevator. Never gone to the California Grill, either, but I thought that had a dedicated elevator-?

Trouble is, there isn't even an "Authorized Parking Only" sign. If they'd put one of those up, Reedy Creek could issue parking citations that cost more than Parking. That'd shut it down pretty quickly.

Parking sounds like a nightmare for those staying at any of the MK or Epcot resorts a lot of the time. When we're touring the resorts we leave the van at the Wilderness Lodge for the monorail resorts, and at the Yacht Club for the Epcot ones, and have never had any trouble finding a spot, but the real problem seems to be coming "home" in the late afternoon or evening to a packed lot.

Although to be honest I figure Disney keeps the parking tight to encourage onsite guests to use the buses and other transportation; even if the parking lots were much more restricted, it's a fair walk in from a lot of them, what with the ponds and things dividing the hotel from parking lot. But you'd think they'd make more of an effort to protect employee parking.

[Epeyon]

It's been known around TTC for a while that was going in and for the most part everybody's been pretty ambivalent about how it'll work. I think right now everybody's just hoping it won't be a money/view sucking eyesore like Bay Lake Towers.

They won't be able to get rid of the boat service on Seven Seas unless they return to the old monorail hours, or begin running a bus out of the Magic Kingdom bus loop for the resorts, which they could do whenever they finish the third loop.