Gran Destino and Modern Resort are two of Walt Disney World’s tower inns. They’re very totally different, but additionally have so much in frequent and swimsuit some related trip targets. This publish 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’ll draw our personal conclusions as to which is healthier, alongside the way in which we’ll clarify our reasoning, so you possibly can type your individual conclusions. Since a lot of it is a matter of subjective, private desire, we really feel that’s the easiest way to method these comparisons. Plus, it will be a fairly brief weblog publish if we didn’t supply explanatory textual content together with the winner of every ingredient…
This continues our Walt Disney World Lodge Comparability Sequence, and really isn’t the primary time Gran Destino has squared off in opposition to 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 in opposition to 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 prime choose alongside the monorail loop, even whether it is usually cheaper than the Poly or Grand Floridian.
You however is perhaps questioning how a Reasonable Resort can compete with one alongside the monorail loop. It would shock you, however these two fall very shut to at least one one other in our Rankings of ALL Walt Disney World Resorts from Worst to Greatest, which takes value-for-money (that’s your reply) and quite a lot of different variables under consideration. In the event you’d desire 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 usually are 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, notably the monorail breezing by way of its atrium, which imbued it with a way of futurism. The resort was and is critical 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 can be the results of Disney’s Modern Resort having visible litter added over the a long time. An increasing number of stuff has been added over time with none coherent imaginative and prescient. It’s ironic that the atrium is 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 a substitute of awe-inspiring.
Being newer, Gran Destino has a brisker and extra finely-tuned creative 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 however fairly good. Particular items of artwork reference the collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali that resulted within the brief movie Destino, which is kind of the deep reduce. Basically, 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 choices conflict with relatively than complement each other.
Actually, 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 needs to be one of many crown jewels of Walt Disney World, a timeless testomony to the engineering and creativeness of Walt Disney World. As an alternative, 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 nicely 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 notably taken with 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.
Alternatively, the usual rooms at Modern Resort had been 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, in addition they look low-cost. From the flooring to the furnishings to the surfaces, these rooms merely look and feel decrease finish with character particulars affixed through stickers and different superficial thrives.
With that mentioned, these rooms are considerably bigger, the bogs are good and upscale, and all rooms have balconies. Most households are going to far desire the Modern Resort rooms because of this, and a few non-families may desire them because of the measurement, as nicely. The type isn’t nice, nevertheless it’s extra enjoyable and completely purposeful. The one vacationers prone to desire 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 type–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 powerful lineup with California Grill, Steakhouse 71, Chef Mickey’s, and Contempo Cafe. The primary standout is California Grill, which includes 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 without doubt 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 recently 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 an advanced 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 prime notch, Dahlia Lounge is pleasant, and Barcelona Lounge is gorgeous. The one “drawback” 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 once the primary foyer and is just ~5 minutes away from Gran Destino Tower.
On this constructing you’ll discover the El Mercadero de Coronado meals court docket, plus Maya Grill, Rix Cafe, and extra. In the midst of the sprawling complicated is Three Bridges Bar & Grill, the over-the-water desk service restaurant that’s certainly one of our Walt Disney World hidden eating gems.
Which of those resorts is superior relies on your priorities. On the bar and lounge entrance, Gran Destino wins out. It has has plenty 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 recognized (and cheaper) choices at Gran Destino, however we’re guessing most Walt Disney World followers wouldn’t.
Transportation: Modern Resort – That is a straightforward 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 will be reached in beneath quarter-hour, which is much 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 will 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 prone to make the most of buses. It’s additionally not practically as unhealthy in the course of the low season and even when the parks are solely considerably busy. (I’ve stayed at Coronado Springs just a few instances in 2024 and haven’t had any points with transportation, so hopefully it is a factor of the previous. Knock on wooden.)
Transportation is certainly the largest weak spot of Gran Destino, which in any other case comes very shut to being the proper 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 huge deal if you happen to 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 Web site 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 title), sits between the A-frame tower and the Backyard Wing. This space is usually 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 supply 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.
Value: 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 normal view. On prime of that, there are usually fairly good offers, particularly exterior 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 incessantly $800 to $1000 per evening, and are much less prone to be discounted.
Value is an enormous a part of the rationale we ebook Coronado Springs so incessantly. It’s a near-Deluxe that’s usually the most cost effective Reasonable after low cost. Gran Destino is a tad dearer, however nonetheless extraordinarily cost-effective. We’ll even generally splurge on Chronos Membership Degree at Gran Destino Tower, which is much and away the most cost effective concierge possibility–and arguably the most effective. 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 repute. The superior pool and all the things else is simply icing. The largest drawbacks for us are the shortage 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.
Nonetheless, we acknowledge that not everyone seems to be us, and that’s okay. If we had 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 considering the considerably larger value and different on-paper weaknesses, we’d ebook 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 so much.
At the same time as Walt Disney World regulars who like to consider ourselves as rational and goal, the placement of Modern has a powerful pull. We’re in a position to withstand the temptation after we see the worth, however there’s definitely one thing to be mentioned for energy strolling to the park within the morning ~quarter-hour after waking up. Ditto with the ability to bypass lengthy waits on the bus cease with that very same brief stroll on the finish of the evening, shortly with the ability to depart the park throughout a noon meltdown relatively 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 exhausting 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 nearly definitely 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 price differential between the 2 inns) would in all probability be it for us.
Nonetheless, the opposite huge distinction comes with the placement. Gran Destino Tower is out in no man’s land, probably not in any resort ‘district’ and requiring bus transportation to entry each theme park at Walt Disney World. It’s additionally exhausting to place a value on environment friendly monorail transportation and with the ability to stroll to Magic Kingdom, nevertheless it turns into barely simpler when you’ve handled just a few complications of the bus system on the different resorts. In that case, the premium pricing of Modern turns into simpler to justify, particularly if you happen to’re not on a good price range or cash is not any object. In the event you don’t cringe on the value differential, Modern is the straightforward choose right here.
Whereas we hope this publish is useful in providing a head-to-head comparability of probably the most essential parts 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 choice, we recommend supplementing this with our full evaluate of Disney’s Modern Resort and our Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Evaluation.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study inns on our Walt Disney World Resorts Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To economize on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a novel have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the most effective place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the things you could 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 in regards to 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 might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
