Gasparilla Island Grill reopens after 2 month refurbishment

Dec 22, 2016 in "Gasparilla Island Grill"

Gallery / 3 Photos
Gasparilla Island Grill back open after refurbishment

Posted: Thursday December 22, 2016 10:14am EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Grand Floridian's Gasparilla Island Grill reopened yesterday following a two month refurbishment.

Gasparilla Island Grill wide view

Changes to the restaurant are minimal, since a major refurbishment was done just a few years ago. An updated menu, along with Coca-Cola Freestyle machines are among the main guest facing changes.

Gasparilla Island Grill Coke Freestyle machines

Gasparilla Island Grill is open 24/7 daily, with hot breakfast until 11am, and made-to-order items until 11:30pm. Outside of that timeframe, grab 'n' go items are available.

Gasparilla Island Grill food pickup

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JamesdusoleilJan 30, 2017

Finally found a picture of the new flatbread with the basil turds. Worst money I've spent on property for food. I'm also not a fan of the freestyle machines. And yes, I'm also a fan of classic coke and you can never get a proper tasting on from a freestyle machine. I'm even a super fan of cherry coke but the cherry they use in the machine is different than the cherry they use at the bottling plants. It's overall a good idea for customization, but not good for people who like regular sodas.

BWK05Jan 08, 2017

Not excited about the free style machine always seems to be residue from the last person who always adds Cherry to their drink. I just like my cokes plain.

COProgressFanJan 06, 2017

Yuck. Not happy to hear that. Sadly, not surprised I guess, but the food here used to be somewhat decent.

JamesdusoleilJan 04, 2017

The two freestyle machines there are plenty for the few people that actually go there. My fiancée and I were there recently to try out the menu and look around. The restaurant overall was the same. There were just minor changes. Saw some new coolers, the freestyle machines, and the kitchen area...downsized. The pizza oven was replaced by toaster ovens. We had looooved the gourmet margarita pizza and we wanted to get that. It used* to come on a big slice of focaccia bread with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil. It was absolutely amazing. But when we had received it that night, a tragedy happened. We received it on a cracker like crust with cheap cheese, small tomato slices and...(gulp) basil paste. It was like having a crunchy watery pizza with basil turds on it. It was the most disgusting pizza I've ever had at Disney. Upon further inspection it seems the entire menu got cheapened. I used to like going there. But I think I may be done. I had a picture of it but I'm not sure what happened to it.

maxime29Jan 03, 2017

Never liked the freestyle machines, especially since I only drink water.

KCLDec 30, 2016

Every once in a while you have to really tear a kitchen down to get it absolutely clean again.

Goofnut1980Dec 29, 2016

The Truth!

tigger731Dec 28, 2016

but as most of us regular visitors to WDW know, the rest of the visitors leave their brains at home :)

Goofnut1980Dec 28, 2016

It is a joke to watch people try and use them... as my partner always says- K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple Stupid... So with too many options will create too many lines. We will just sit down and giggle!

bhg469Dec 26, 2016

This sounds about right. Freestyle machines cause a bunch of confusion to a lot of people. When replacing a traditional fountain, its almost a must to have at least double the numbers.

tigger731Dec 24, 2016

I agree. Freestyle machines can be good ONLY when people know how to use them :) It is fun to watch people try to use them for the first time

optjayDec 24, 2016

Two machines are not going to be able to serve the guests efficiently. there will be lines. must be a Disney mandated thing that everything must have a wait

freediverdudeDec 23, 2016

I like having the choices you get in the Freestyle machines, but the older machines are quicker for people to use and more than one person can use them at a time. With the Freestyles, each person has to navigate the choices on that touchscreen, which doesn't respond very well to the touches, so the process takes a long time for each person. In my opinion it takes 3-4 Freestyle machines to replace 2 of the older ones, while keeping the same level of service without people having to stand there and wait.

AshaNeOmahDec 23, 2016

You love the chip readers or the Freestyle machines? I love Freestyle machine but can see no reason why any guest would love the RFID requirement. I've probably bought four dozen mugs in the last 20 years and find the chips to be an unnecessary annoyance.