Gran Destino and Modern Resort are two of Walt Disney World’s tower motels. They’re very totally different, but additionally have rather a lot in frequent and swimsuit some related trip objectives. This submit compares & contrasts the lodging, crowning a champion in classes together with theme/decor, rooms, eating, transportation, swimming pools, and value. (Up to date October 5, 2024.)
Gran Destino Tower is technically a part of Coronado Springs, which additional muddies the comparability. Then once more, Modern Resort additionally has Bay Lake Tower and the Backyard Wing, and people are additionally very totally different from the A-frame by way of prices and visitor demographics. It’s not an apples to apples and even complete comparability, however presents a have a look at every resort’s tower plus some shared facilities.
Whereas we are going to draw our personal conclusions as to which is healthier, alongside the best way we are going to clarify our reasoning, so you possibly can kind your individual conclusions. Since a lot of this can be a matter of subjective, private desire, we really feel that’s one of the best ways to strategy these comparisons. Plus, it will be a reasonably brief weblog submit if we didn’t provide explanatory textual content together with the winner of every component…
This continues our Walt Disney World Lodge Comparability Collection, and truly isn’t the primary time Gran Destino has squared off towards one other tower. It emerged because the (spoiler alert) victor in our Gran Destino Tower vs. Disney’s Riviera Resort showdown, so now it takes its title to compete towards the OG tower at Walt Disney World. For its half, the Modern has by no means battled it out earlier than–in all probability as a result of we don’t view it as a high choose alongside the monorail loop, even whether it is typically cheaper than the Poly or Grand Floridian.
You nonetheless may be questioning how a Reasonable Resort can compete with one alongside the monorail loop. It’d shock you, however these two fall very shut to 1 one other in our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Inns from Worst to Finest, which takes value-for-money (that’s your reply) and a wide range of different variables into consideration. If you happen to’d want to learn that for a rundown of how all resorts rank, check out that.
Theme/Decor: Gran Destino – Neither of those resorts are themed within the conventional sense of the time period. The designs are usually not all-encompassing, and they don’t transport you to a different time or place. Each are extra about structure and inside design, with out the pretenses.
Modern Resort debuted in 1971 as an exemplar of utopian and fashionable design. It was noteworthy in a number of methods, significantly the monorail breezing by way of its atrium, which imbued it with a way of futurism. The resort was and is severe structure, worthy of criticism and scholarly debate about its deserves.
Whereas its core structure stays intact, the inside has develop into a hodgepodge of disparate types, which might be the results of Disney’s Modern Resort having visible litter added over the many years. An increasing number of stuff has been added over time with none coherent imaginative and prescient. It’s ironic that the atrium known as the Grand Canyon Concourse, as a result of the layers of litter are just like the sedimentary rock layers within the Grand Canyon. Besides ugly as an alternative of awe-inspiring.
Being newer, Gran Destino has a brisker and extra finely-tuned inventive sensibility. It’s architecturally and culturally insignificant, however within the right here and now, it merely seems and feels nicer. The foyer pays homage to the Catalan Modernism type, and there are flashes of famed Spanish architect Gaudí within the lounge and rooftop restaurant.
The tower doesn’t go all-in on this, nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly good. Particular items of artwork reference the collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali that resulted within the brief movie Destino, which is sort of the deep lower. Usually, the foyer is grandiose, fairly, and makes use of an array of complementary colours, patterns, glass, and textures. That is important as in comparison with the Modern, the place basically the entire design selections conflict with somewhat than complement each other.
Truthfully, it’s unlucky that Gran Destino Tower wins this class and speaks to the decades-long overdue must reimagine–or higher but, restore–the Modern’s Grand Canyon Concourse. It must be one of many crown jewels of Walt Disney World, a timeless testomony to the engineering and creativeness of Walt Disney World. As a substitute, it has lifeless mall vibes and solely flashes of brilliance. Gran Destino is a dime-a-dozen Las Vegas tower, however a minimum of it’s coherent and present.
Rooms: Modern Resort – Gran Destino has massive, fashionable rooms that may work effectively for a solo traveler or a pair, with enhancements aimed toward performance for enterprise vacationers. Gran Destino Tower was designed largely for conventioneers who aren’t significantly inquisitive about Disney and the design is thus very muted.
The bogs are good, however the design is perplexing in that the bathe and sink can’t be used concurrently besides by those that are intimately conversant in each other. Along with that, not one of the rooms have balconies, which is an enormous loss.
Then again, the usual rooms at Modern Resort have been just lately redone with the Incredibles injected into a contemporary type. Whereas the rooms are lighter and brighter with a crisp look and mid-century fashionable aesthetic, additionally they look low-cost. From the flooring to the furnishings to the surfaces, these rooms merely appear and feel decrease finish with character particulars affixed through stickers and different superficial prospers.
With that stated, these rooms are considerably bigger, the bogs are good and upscale, and all rooms have balconies. Most households are going to far want the Modern Resort rooms consequently, and a few non-families would possibly want them because of the dimension, as effectively. The type isn’t nice, nevertheless it’s extra enjoyable and completely purposeful. The one vacationers more likely to want Gran Destino’s rooms are those that actually assume the cartoonish type of the Modern is just too cheesy, or those that actually favor operate over kind–and don’t care about balconies.
Neither of those rooms are actually something particular, and Gran Destino punches above its weight whereas Modern underwhelms amongst its class. However, Modern doesn’t fairly handle to fumble the bag right here.
Eating: Toss Up – Each of those resorts are exemplars of Walt Disney World’s eating scene. Modern Resort has a robust lineup with California Grill, Steakhouse 71, Chef Mickey’s, and Contempo Cafe. The primary standout is California Grill, which encompasses a 3-course prix fixe dinner menu.
We are also enormous followers of Steakhouse 71, which is the resort’s mid-tier foyer restaurant that serves nice choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s strong and pretty priced. This is likely one of the eating places at which we dine most–I particularly love the lounge for solo meals, and it’s very straightforward to depart Magic Kingdom (a meals desert) and do a fast meal right here.
Then there’s Chef Mickey’s and Contempo Cafe. Each are traditionally hit & miss, however we’ve had some nice meals these days at counter service Contempo Cafe, which is seeing a little bit of a renaissance. A concise verdict on Chef Mickey’s is unattainable. It’s a sophisticated character meal; suffice to say, there’s a purpose it’s a rite-of-passage meal for generations of Walt Disney World followers. All of this completes a really well-rounded culinary lineup at Disney’s Modern Resort.
At Gran Destino, Toledo is high notch, Dahlia Lounge is pleasant, and Barcelona Lounge is gorgeous. The one “downside” right here is that Gran Destino has no counter service restaurant, with the (affordable) expectation being that visitors will stroll over to El Centro, which was the primary foyer and is barely ~5 minutes away from Gran Destino Tower.
On this constructing you’ll discover the El Mercadero de Coronado meals courtroom, plus Maya Grill, Rix Cafe, and extra. In the midst of the sprawling advanced is Three Bridges Bar & Grill, the over-the-water desk service restaurant that’s considered one of our Walt Disney World hidden eating gems.
Which of those resorts is superior is dependent upon your priorities. On the bar and lounge entrance, Gran Destino wins out. It has has a variety of top quality and nice worth eating places that we might revisit many times. Against this, Modern Resort has two of Walt Disney World’s most iconic eating places in Chef Mickey’s and California Grill. Personally, we’d take the lesser identified (and cheaper) choices at Gran Destino, however we’re guessing most Walt Disney World followers wouldn’t.
Transportation: Modern Resort – That is a simple one, because the Modern is the closest resort to Magic Kingdom, simply accessible through the sidewalk. It’s additionally on the monorail loop with direct entry to Magic Kingdom and connecting service to Epcot. Each parks could be reached in underneath quarter-hour, which is way extra environment friendly than any bus service at both resort will ever be.
Accessing Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom from Modern Resort requires taking buses, however we’ve discovered the bus service to be fairly environment friendly. On the very least, it’s not making a number of stops.
Against this, the bus service at Coronado Springs has been hit and miss since Gran Destino opened. Along with there being a number of stops round Coronado Springs, plainly Walt Disney World didn’t improve the frequency of buses as soon as the tower opened to account for the entire added visitors.
Consequently, buses could be crowded, particularly at widespread hours or throughout peak season. It will get higher when Coronado Springs is internet hosting a conference, as these visitors are much less more likely to make the most of buses. It’s additionally not practically as dangerous through the low season and even when the parks are solely considerably busy. (I’ve stayed at Coronado Springs a couple of instances in 2024 and haven’t had any points with transportation, so hopefully this can be a factor of the previous. Knock on wooden.)
Transportation is certainly the largest weak point of Gran Destino, which in any other case comes very shut to being the right Deluxe-caliber tower resort at Reasonable costs. Even when the buses aren’t busy, it nonetheless has a big inner loop that may be tedious for transit. No large deal should you plan on renting a automotive or utilizing Uber/Lyft…and the cash you save staying right here may very well be put in direction of that to ease commutes.
Swimming pools: Gran Destino (With An Asterisk) – This can be a robust one. Technically, it’s “Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.” That at is the operative phrase right here, and it means visitors of Gran Destino can use the Dig Website Pool. That’s crucial to Gran Destino having any shot right here, because it in any other case doesn’t have a pool.
Whereas transportation is Gran Destino’s achilles heel, swimming pools are for Disney’s Modern Resort. The lodge has two swimming pools, each of that are among the many weakest at Walt Disney World. The Characteristic Pool (that’s each a descriptive title and its correct identify), sits between the A-frame tower and the Backyard Wing. This space is generally unthemed, and presents a scorching tub, kiddie pool, and water participant space. There’s additionally the close by Bay Lake quiet pool. Neither of those are something particular, however do provide nice views of Bay Lake and are surrounded by serene white sand seashores.
A straightforward win for Gran Destino, regardless of the tower being technically pool-less.
Price: Gran Destino – One other straightforward one. Earlier than low cost, Worth Season nightly room charges at Gran Destino Tower are ~$275 and Common Season is simply over $309 per evening. These are for a daily room with a typical view. On high of that, there are usually fairly good offers, particularly outdoors of conference and particular occasions season.
Against this, rooms at Disney’s Modern Resort with customary views begin at over $500 per evening in Worth Season and solely improve from there with busier seasons and as you enhance the view class. Theme park view rooms are ceaselessly $800 to $1000 per evening, and are much less more likely to be discounted.
Price is an enormous a part of the rationale we e book Coronado Springs so ceaselessly. It’s a near-Deluxe that’s typically the most cost effective Reasonable after low cost. Gran Destino is a tad costlier, however nonetheless extraordinarily cost-effective. We’ll even typically splurge on Chronos Membership Degree at Gran Destino Tower, which is way and away the most cost effective concierge possibility–and arguably the perfect. It prices about one-quarter what Atrium Membership at Modern prices!
Verdict: It Relies upon – For us, it’s Gran Destino with out hesitation. We love the vibe, refined type, extra laid again and grownup environment. We’re additionally enormous followers of the eating scene at Gran Destino, which presents distinctive worth for cash because it caters to conventioneers and can’t coast on its longstanding status. The superior pool and the whole lot else is simply icing. The most important drawbacks for us are the dearth of balconies and inefficient transportation, however we have a tendency to not take noon breaks when staying at Coronado Springs, and keep away from reserving it in any respect throughout peak season.
Nevertheless, we acknowledge that not everyone seems to be us, and that’s okay. If we have been Walt Disney World first-timers or taking young children on a rite-of-passage journey targeted round Magic Kingdom, all of this category-by-category evaluation would exit the window. Modern Resort can be the hands-down winner solely based mostly on its proximity to Magic Kingdom. Even bearing in mind the considerably greater value and different on-paper weaknesses, we’d e book the Modern. Location is the primary three guidelines of actual property, and being a stone’s throw from Magic Kingdom makes it straightforward to miss rather a lot.
At the same time as Walt Disney World regulars who like to think about ourselves as rational and goal, the placement of Modern has a robust pull. We’re ready to withstand the temptation once we see the worth, however there’s actually one thing to be stated for energy strolling to the park within the morning ~quarter-hour after waking up. Ditto having the ability to bypass lengthy waits on the bus cease with that very same brief stroll on the finish of the evening, rapidly having the ability to depart the park throughout a noon meltdown somewhat than coping with a irritating, prolonged, and unpredictable commute. Then there’s watching the fireworks from the lodge with our daughter or seeing the look in her eyes because the monorail whizzes by way of the center of the lodge. It’s onerous to place a value on all of that, therefore the “it relies upon” verdict.
Finally, this comparability finally ends up coming down to 2 issues: value and site/transportation. If these two resorts value the identical quantity or near it, we’d virtually actually select Disney’s Modern Resort. Though it’s troublesome to ascribe a price on a balcony with a view of Bay Lake or Cinderella Fortress, however “lower than $400 per evening” (generally the associated fee differential between the 2 motels) would in all probability be it for us.
Nevertheless, the opposite large distinction comes with the placement. Gran Destino Tower is out in no man’s land, not likely in any resort ‘district’ and requiring bus transportation to entry each theme park at Walt Disney World. It’s additionally onerous to place a value on environment friendly monorail transportation and having the ability to stroll to Magic Kingdom, nevertheless it turns into barely simpler when you’ve handled a couple of complications of the bus system on the different resorts. In that case, the premium pricing of Modern turns into simpler to justify, particularly should you’re not on a decent finances or cash is not any object. If you happen to don’t cringe on the value differential, Modern is the simple choose right here.
Whereas we hope this submit is useful in providing a head-to-head comparability of essentially the most essential components of every Walt Disney World resort expertise, we all know it’s not definitive or the ultimate phrase for each visitor. Along with studying the feedback earlier than making your individual determination, we advise supplementing this with our full assessment of Disney’s Modern Resort and our Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Evaluate.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about motels on our Walt Disney World Inns Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for the whole lot that you must know!
Your Ideas
Is cash the deciding issue for you, or is location/transportation? Do the monorail or being inside strolling distance of Magic Kingdom present sufficient worth so that you can assist bridge the worth hole? What concerning the rooms, eating, or the rest that the Modern boasts? Is there one other variable you possibly can consider to make Disney’s Modern Resort the higher choose? Are we lacking a key variable that would, doubtlessly tilt the scales within the Gran Destino’s favor? Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
