Mizner's Lounge to be expanded at Disney's Grand Floridan Resort

Mar 20, 2019 in "Mizner's Lounge"

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Posted: Wednesday March 20, 2019 12:36pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Mizner's Lounge at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort is to be expanded during an upcoming refurbishment beginning early April 2019.

To make space for the expansion, the adjacent men's apparel shop Commander Porter's will close on April 4 2019. Summer Lace on the ground floor will ultimately become home to both men's and women's apparel.

During the closure of Mizner's, a temporary lounge will be setup by the Garden View Tea Room on the ground floor. The Grand Floridian Orchestra will perform from the ground level during the work.

The work on expanding Mizner's is expected to be complete by Fall 2019.

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RobWDW1971Jan 25, 2020

Unfortunately, it is the guests who gladly line up to pay top dollar that will ensure this trend continues. I’m to the point where it is hard for me to even blame Disney when I see people throwing money at them for poor quality and effort. This is a Disney fan board and one would assume this is filled with the most passionate fans about themeing and quality and look at the comments defending to the death the mediocre Riviera or the concept of a Moana water feature in Epcot. The masses have voted - they don’t care about what made Disney special, just slop the hogs, charge as much as possible, and they will line up for an hour for a popcorn bucket. It is to weep.

SirwalterraleighJan 24, 2020

They should...but they won’t Couldn’t agree more. They simply are not willing to go the extra step for a theme anymore. Why are all the new hotels (aka timeshare blocks) now “modern” or “subdued”? Answer: it’s cheaper. The one they built at caribbean is straight up unabashed concrete...don’t even bother to try and diminish that anymore. The clouds are dark on the horizon if you want anything unique

BocabearJan 24, 2020

I agree 1000% This recent trend towards turning the classic hotels into bland Marriott spaces is exactly the opposite of what people seem to be wanting...If I am paying more money I do not want my vacation experience to be more average...I want it more special. Theming doesn't have to be hokey...John Hench understood this and his legacy buildings combine story-telling architecture with a timeless elegance no one in today's Disney seems to understand... Trader Sam's is intentionally hokey and works perfectly. Perhaps if the Mizner Bar had created a beautifully detailed Mizner library full of quirky thematic touches with an air of sophistication, elegance and whimsy, it would have not only matched the hotel better but it could have propelled more of a backstory... and honestly who wouldn't want to have their $20 Old Fashioned in a spectacular movie set of a Victorian bar VS a Homewood Suites breakfast room. Boggles the mind how they botched this.

Club CooloholicJan 24, 2020

I think they wanted to keep that hole in the wall atmosphere, I have been to the DL one, and you can get seating bit easier at that one, which is surprising because you can walk from the parks right to it. It being WDW, people get kind of fanatical and obsessive about things compared to the west coast. What I don't get is, after seeing how popular Sams was, how could they not be inspired to do more theming at hotel bars(and restaurants)? We keep seeing more muted colors, bland decorating in their new offerings(Riviera anyone?) so it seems obvious people WANT more theming. Is it any wonder why BOG is so popular? It certainly isn't the food.

wannabeBelleJan 24, 2020

So very unlike Trader Sam's at the Polynesian. I loved the decor, theming drinks, the Cast member's interaction with us. Now THAT was a homerun!! Why they didn't make it any bigger is a mystery though. Marie

UNCgolfJan 24, 2020

Yeah, it's not. Like I said above, if I didn't already know it was supposed to have a Beauty and the Beast theme, I wouldn't have been able to guess based on what I saw there.

Club CooloholicJan 24, 2020

Just looking at the pics...doesn't look really like a Beauty and The Beast bar. Just a regular bar, that you would find in any fine hotel. Which means to say.. not a homerun.

Sue_VongelloJan 24, 2020

You would think people would go berserk, I would for sure ... but I felt like Mizner’s was the start of that and I certainly felt like I was part of the minority who were upset about the changes. People seemed to love the idea of a “beauty and the beast” bar no matter how ridiculous it fits (or doesn’t fit at all) into the theme ... which brings me to this ... I used to be mad at Disney for making absolutely indefensible themeing decisions but in reality the majority of the people who go now don’t care enough about themeing or maybe they don’t know what they have had until it’s gone. Case in point is Mizner’s where I saw the overwhelming comments on Facebook, Insta, etc were “yay, Beauty and the Beast bar!!”

LSLSJan 24, 2020

I mean, there's no way they would do that, right? People would go berserk.

durangojimJan 24, 2020

If you want a consistently good old fashioned at Disney (and most of them can be hit or miss), go over to Homecomin' Kitchen at Disney Springs. I've never had a bad one and you can even get it to go from their window.

MikeyK72Jan 24, 2020

Agree. My wife and I had drinks there twice this past week. First night in the old Mizner’s part which I guess is the library now. Vibe felt forced and stuffy, we weren’t feeling like we wanted to hang out there. Also, the $20 old fashioned was not balanced and a joke for that price. I know that comes down to the bartender but really as a featured cocktail all bartenders should know how to nail it. Second time we sat at the bar which had a much better vibe...stayed for two cocktails that time...both Jack and Cokes for me since a good old fashioned is hard to find at Disney.

UNCgolfJan 24, 2020

I went by this lounge last week -- very unimpressive. I would have never thought it was supposed to be connected to Beauty and the Beast if I didn't know about it beforehand. Anyone heard anything more about the rumors they plan to gut the lobby and make it "modern"? That would be a travesty; it's gorgeous as is and themed very well. Turning into a random modern luxury hotel would take away any reason to stay there.