Construction update from Disney's Grand Floridian Resort as new DVC villas take shape at the Big Pine Key building

Apr 13, 2022 in "The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort"

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2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

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Posted: Wednesday April 13, 2022 11:12am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort for the new Disney Vacation Club villas is continuing at Big Pine Key with a lot of exterior work now visible.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

A significant amount of work is underway on the roof, with a large section of tile already removed.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

Scaffolding is covering much of the side facing Seven Seas lagoon, and the stairway facing the main building has been stripped to steel.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

Workers can be seen bringing in new fixtures and fittings ready to be installed in the new rooms.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

The side facing the pool area is largely still intact, but some scaffolding is appearing on the far end nearest to Magic Kingdom.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

The expansion will add approximately 200 proposed resort studios, a Disney Vacation Club room type unique to The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

Learn more about the DVC addition to the Grand Floridan and see the new resort studios.

2022 DVC Villas construction at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - April 13 2022

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Skibum1970Dec 26, 2022

Not that it comes into play but I saw a funny Allears video where Molly, Quincy, and Breedlove race from Epcot to Studios. Walking was the fastest, the boat came in second (due to all the stops), and the Skyliner was slowest by far and one reason was that line at CBR. This annoys me so much even at home. One, choose which temperature of bulb you want and be consistent. At WDW, soft/warm lighting (which is the coolest Kelvin, ironically) should be the only one utilized. Cool/daylight lighting looks either like a surgery or office space. I suppose that you could use that lighting in rides/areas that are supposed to be more sterile or something but soft/warm lighting is more pleasant. At least, to my eyes. Agree completely that this isn't a good look for a hotel that is charging $600+ per night (approaching $700 undiscounted for a standard room).

TouchdownDec 26, 2022

As long as you don’t have a line, I’ve waited 30+ min in CBR station. I’ve never missed the next train at TTC.

Chip ChippersonDec 26, 2022

That is true but to be fair, the transfer between Skyliner routes is easier than the Monorail transfer at the TTC that has you walking down a ramp so you can walk up another ramp to get to the other Monorail line. The Skyliner transfers at Caribbean Beach are all on a flat surface over a short distance, maybe 30 seconds to walk from one to the other for the average guest.

TouchdownDec 25, 2022

You need to transfer to get to DHS at Riveira if we are going to count the transfer to Epcot as not direct for GF.

CompedDec 25, 2022

Riviera is accessable to more parks via the skyliner directly, unlike GF with only the monorail direct - and to get to even Epcot you need a transfer. No question this would play into many discussions, specially for DVC members. While GF is a great resort, it's isolated to 3/4 of the resorts that aren't MK...

CastAStoneDec 25, 2022

Grand Floridian phase 2 has already opened and Riviera is outselling it pretty significantly. I know, I’m surprised too. But the numbers don’t lie.

SirwalterraleighDec 25, 2022

That was never a hard case…just don’t

SirwalterraleighDec 15, 2022

…what year is it?🤪

ToTBellHopDec 15, 2022

This building should have never been released for booking in this state. They need to protect the brand better.

JoeCamelDec 15, 2022

I hope so, between the cold LEDs and wiring it reeks of Motel 6 repairs

Disstevefan1Dec 15, 2022

This must be temporary for safety purposes.

DisoneDec 15, 2022

They might. They are aware and unsatisfied with the awful look of the stairs at big pine key. Pulling the workers now to address that would slow done the construction of the rooms rehab which is already behind. Building 6 and 7 were suppose to be down at the same time but due to potentially emergency regressed issues, it ended up that had to do them separately. This was not the plan. And it has slowed down the plan. I think you'll see them go back to the building nine stairs after all the other buildings get completed.

SpaceMountain77Dec 15, 2022

So, we were hoping that this was work in progress, but it seems to be complete. For whatever reason, the Big Pine Key stairwells will not match the recently renovated Boca Chica lodge and remaining lodges. The resort lodges will have updated wall sconces and under railing lighting. Moreover, no electrical wiring will be exposed. In contrast, Big Pine Key will reuse old lighting, which will be connected to overhead linear lighting, and wiring will be exposed. The south stairwell has the under railing lighting, but the north stairwell does not. The first photo is of the newly opened Boca Chica stairwell. The other three are of the entry, linear lighting, and wall sconce in the Big Pine Key. The last photo showcases the difference side by side. I guess it is sad that I care and the people overseeing the visual direction of the flagship resort do not.

AylaSep 26, 2022

I wonder if they removed the benches in order to move larger machinery around the resort on the pathways. Hopefully, they'll be replaced when the project is finished.