Fans of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will soon be able to visit a little bit of the Beast’s castle when they stop by the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. A new Beauty and the Beast-inspired lounge is coming as part of a multi-year upgrade to the main lobby areas of the Resort.
Taking over the former retail location Commander Porter’s and Mizner’s Louge and Bar, the re-imagined (and as yet unnamed) lounge will feature four unique spaces.
- The signature bar will glow from the light of a magnificent gold chandelier that takes its inspiration from Belle’s flowing ball gown, with subtle nods to the Beast’s magical rose.
- A formal library will showcase classical baroque designs and French furnishings inspired by Belle, with hints of the Beast’s friends.
- The garden room will be a whimsical space that draws its inspiration from the enchanted forest surrounding Beast’s castle.
- Lastly, an outdoor patio will evoke the romance of Beast’s garden terrace.
We’re excited to have a themed space added to the Grand Floridian Resort and look forward to spend many nights there listening to music or awaiting a dinner reservation elsewhere at the hotel.
From the look of the concept art, it will be a modern bar, not a recreation of the castle rooms from the movie. I wouldn’t expect it to be a location for a meet and greet either. But I would expect plenty of design elements and charm to be built in.
Let’s hope they include more than 50 seats. The small size of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, while intimate, means its difficult for larger parties to enjoy the space at the same time and sometimes hard for even smaller parties to find seats together without a long wait.
Work is already under way on the new lounge and on a separate project that will add a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique location to the resort. The boutique will open this summer, while the new lounge is expected to open sometime this fall.
This is very sad. As a DVC owner at Grand Floridian, Mizner’s has always been the perfect cozy lounge to relax and enjoy the orchestra and appreciate the great decor of the property. I could handle a freshening with paint, flooring, etc. and understand gaining square footage, but I would love to get the opportunity to talk face to face with the leadership team that came up with this idea. There is zero tie-in to the property. When these properties were built, they never needed IP injected. The themes stand on their own. I could handle Mary Poppins or even a nod to Alice in Wonderland as they align with the property, but Beauty and the Beast is a desperate attempt just because the franchise sells well. Many who visit WDW certainly aren’t aware of Mizner’s, but this is one of the saddest and most off-the-mark changes announced.
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