Upgrade question.

Raspberry Bubbles

I was Cinderella for the day!
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Hey everyone, I have a couple of questions...

1. What in real terms (why would it matter to me - how are the rooms different?) are the differences between the different sorts of rooms at Disney in, for example, the Grand Floridian from the lowest to the highest?

2. I know that alot of brides have chosen to have their complimentary night at the GF and then switch to a different hotel Has anyone (or has anyone heard of) the possibility of an upgrade at the GF if you have chosen that as your hotel to stay in for the duration of your stay and not just for the complimentary night?

I've read so many people's comments about upgrades and I'm really not sure how they work (I know one can't ever assume that one would get one) - do people ask for them or does one have to wait to see if one is "awarded" one at check-in? I just want to make sure we have the most beautiful room for our wedding night! :)

Sorry if this is a little confusing - I'm confused myself!
 
Raspberry Bubbles:

We had some similiar experiences that I hope will help answer your questions! :)

1. I believe the differences in the Grand Floridian between prices and rooms are based on a few things! First the location (how close is it to the different amenties, like the monorail. Just as at the All-Stars resort--they have prefered rooms which is a good way of saying "closer to the food-court, pool, arcade, and bus stop!" Concierge is another huge difference in price! The concierge rooms may be slightly bigger but they also have free food morning, noon, and night. The food is amazing and there is plenty of it. They also have "free" beer, wine, etc. Of course, there is a concierge desk that will help you do anything; reservations for dining, tours, etc. (There is also a desk for the other guests as well, it's just in the main building not in the individual buildings)

2. You can certainly upgrade your comp night at the GF for a suite or concierge room and most likely for the rest of your time depending on availability. You will be responsible for paying the difference in price with your wedding discount. We got upgraded for our comp night for free, but I believe it was because there was no one staying in there that night. We definitely had to check out eight hours after we checked in (we got back from the wedding at 2:30 a.m. After our comp night upgrade, we checked out of the room and went to another room within the GF. It was a standard room because they didn't have the honeymoon suite available for the rest of our stay :(

Im not sure how upgrades work either but we were basically "awarded" one at check in. I mentioned this in another post, but we didn't know we had been upgraded until we walked into the room after the wedding !! I love disney magic! lol! But, if you want to ensure you have that room, I would upgrade it yourself so you're not disappointed if you dont get it randomly! Whether your in a honeymoon suite or another room, it will be beautiful!! :)

I really hope my rambling has helped and didn't confuse you more! :)

Here are some pictures of the GF honeymoon suite. Like I said, we didn't have much time in there so these are all the pictures we had time to take! :)
view1Large.jpg


IMG_0222Large.jpg


the view
view2Large.jpg


You could also see the castle perfectly placed in the window directly in front of the bed. So, when you are laying down at night you can see it all lit up, its gorgeous!!
 
As far as room differences, the honeymoon rooms with the balconies & jacuzzi tubs are just like the standard rooms, except with jacuzzi tub and lagoon views and on the private 2nd floor. The turret honeymoon rooms are larger, but there are only 6 of these and, of the 6, only 3 have MK views. The other 3 have wedding pavilion/monorail views.

Our favorite room is the Victorian Suite. It's much larger than the turret rooms, has 4 balconies, and a MK view. I think it goes for $1300/night or so - can't remember exactly.

We were upgraded from a lagoon view room to a honeymoon room in the main building, and we've been spoiled rotten since - we haven't gone back to the regular rooms. We didn't ask about our upgrade; it was just some of the magic of the day.

Cheers!
Heather W
 
Wow, the Victorian Suite sounds amazing!! Is that located in the main building?

As far as the honeymoon suites are concerned, we were able to see both the MK and the Wedding Pavilion! As per the view pictures above, they were all taken from the honeymoon suite!
 


What...are the differences between the different sorts of rooms at...the Grand Floridian...
I know that alot of brides have chosen to have their complimentary night at the GF and then switch to a different hotel...


Raspberry Bubbles, book the kind of room that you want so you don’t have to worry about ~magic~ happening or not happening. That is the best advice that anyone can give someone and I know it has already been given in this thread.

The others have also given good advice about the various room categories at the Grand Floridian. I have stayed in most room categories, including two different stays in two different two-bedroom suites. Suites come with a high price tag, especially at the Grand Floridian, but they are lovely. I have a few photos of one of those two-bedroom suites in an on-line photo album (I’ll give the link below), as well as other suites at other resorts that I have stayed in. All of the suites were beautiful.

For my custom vow renewal, I was in WDW for over two weeks. I like to sleep around, so I stayed in various resorts during my vacation. However, for the three nights surrounding my custom vow renewal, I booked a room for my family at the Grand Floridian. I wanted at least a three-night stay because on the night before my vow renewal, the rehearsal was scheduled to take place inside the Wedding Pavilion. Following that rehearsal was a private party that I was hosting at the Grand Floridian. The day after that was the vow renewal. We had an evening ceremony inside the Wedding Pavilion, followed by a dinner party inside the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. That party lasted until the wee hours of the morning. My family did not return to the Grand Floridian until 3 AM. Once inside our room, my husband & son immediately crashed, while my daughter & I stayed awake talking. She & I eventually passed out, but none of us awoke until noon. I was very thankful that I had the foresight to book that third night in the resort because there was no way we would have been able to pack up our stuff and transfer to our next resort by 11 AM (check-out time). Having a third night in one place was a godsend.

So, my advice is to take your complimentary night in the resort that you will be staying in. It will make your life so much easier. There is nothing worse than having to transfer to another resort only hours after your fairy tale has come to an end. ;)

I will now give you the link to my on-line photo albums: click here. I have stayed in all of the Disney resorts in both WDW and Disneyland (and most of them multiple times). I have photos of quite a few of those resorts in various albums. One of these days I hope to post more of my resort photos (hope springs eternal).

For my vow renewal vacation, my Grand Floridian room was not a honeymoon room. It was a typical room (two queen-size beds and a standard bathroom). I don’t have a lot of photos posted of that room (I’ve been, how do you say, lazy?!): click here. However, the following year I stayed in the room exactly one floor above that room (the rooms were identical). I have lots of photos of that room posted: click here.

During my vacation last summer, I was traveling with my young daughter. Tinker Bell smiled upon us and we wound up in a Turret Room. I have lots of photos posted of that room: click here. It was such a lovely room. My daughter and I felt like a couple of princesses.

I hope this helped.
 
Wow, the Victorian Suite sounds amazing!! Is that located in the main building?

As far as the honeymoon suites are concerned, we were able to see both the MK and the Wedding Pavilion! As per the view pictures above, they were all taken from the honeymoon suite!

Yes, the Victorian Suite is located in the main building. That was another surprise upgrade, on a later trip.

I know that you can see the MK & Wedding Pavilion from 3 of the turret rooms. We've gotten one of those the past few times we've stayed there for our anniversary.

HOWEVER, there are 3 turret rooms that do not face the Magic Kingdom. So, for that type of honeymoon room, there is a 50/50 chance that you may get an MK facing one, but you may also get the Wedding Pavilion/monorail facing one. Your odds of an MK view are better if you request the jacuzzi tub honeymoon rooms. Those all have balconies & all face the MK, as opposed to the 6 turret rooms. Just wanted to point this out, so that you're not disappointed if you pay for a honeymoon room & end up without an MK view.

Cheers!
Heather W
 
Raspberry Bubbles, book the kind of room that you want so you don’t have to worry about ~magic~ happening or not happening. That is the best advice that anyone can give someone and I know it has already been given in this thread.

For my custom vow renewal, I was in WDW for over two weeks. I like to sleep around, so I stayed in various resorts during my vacation.

I hope this helped.

Janet2k - thank you for all of your advice!!! It is so kind of you to go all that trouble just to answer my queries! I'm going to look at the pictures and really consider the advice you've given me. I've never really stayed in amazing hotels before here in England and so I don't really know what to "look" for. I'm wondering what I really am looking for in a room - will I be in there that much? I too would like to visit as many hotels as possible - I was thinking one for the first week, one for the second week, then the cruise for 4 days and then another hotel for 3 days - do you think that's possible? I don't want to pay for things that I don't really need, aside from perhaps as you said, with the first few nights including my wedding night and the night after, as I could be wasting money that I could spend elsewhere! I'm so confused!
 


Raspberry Bubbles:

We had some similiar experiences that I hope will help answer your questions! :)

1. I believe the differences in the Grand Floridian between prices and rooms are based on a few things! First the location (how close is it to the different amenties, like the monorail. Just as at the All-Stars resort--they have prefered rooms which is a good way of saying "closer to the food-court, pool, arcade, and bus stop!" Concierge is another huge difference in price! The concierge rooms may be slightly bigger but they also have free food morning, noon, and night. The food is amazing and there is plenty of it. They also have "free" beer, wine, etc. Of course, there is a concierge desk that will help you do anything; reservations for dining, tours, etc. (There is also a desk for the other guests as well, it's just in the main building not in the individual buildings)

2. You can certainly upgrade your comp night at the GF for a suite or concierge room and most likely for the rest of your time depending on availability. You will be responsible for paying the difference in price with your wedding discount. We got upgraded for our comp night for free, but I believe it was because there was no one staying in there that night. We definitely had to check out eight hours after we checked in (we got back from the wedding at 2:30 a.m. After our comp night upgrade, we checked out of the room and went to another room within the GF. It was a standard room because they didn't have the honeymoon suite available for the rest of our stay :(

Im not sure how upgrades work either but we were basically "awarded" one at check in. I mentioned this in another post, but we didn't know we had been upgraded until we walked into the room after the wedding !! I love disney magic! lol! But, if you want to ensure you have that room, I would upgrade it yourself so you're not disappointed if you dont get it randomly! Whether your in a honeymoon suite or another room, it will be beautiful!! :)

I really hope my rambling has helped and didn't confuse you more! :)

Here are some pictures of the GF honeymoon suite. Like I said, we didn't have much time in there so these are all the pictures we had time to take! :)
view1Large.jpg


IMG_0222Large.jpg


the view
view2Large.jpg


You could also see the castle perfectly placed in the window directly in front of the bed. So, when you are laying down at night you can see it all lit up, its gorgeous!!

Thank you so much for this - and the photos! You had an amazing room and an even more amazing view! I wish I had stayed there!!
 
I'm wondering what I really am looking for in a room - will I be in there that much? I too would like to visit as many hotels as possible - I was thinking one for the first week, one for the second week, then the cruise for 4 days and then another hotel for 3 days - do you think that's possible?

Raspberry Bubbles, I don't know what kind of event you are having or how long it will last. But if it is a long-lasting event, trust me, you won't be in your resort room that much. Because of that fact, I think you should save your pennies and book a less inexpensive room. You can stay in a more extravagant room at another time.

I have been vacationing in WDW for years. I have stayed in Disney's largest suite (the Captains Deck Suite at the Yacht Club) and in Disney's smallest resort room (any of the Value Resorts). I have loved each of those resort rooms in their own way. Depending upon what I wanted out of a vacation, I booked my resort accommodations accordingly.

For my vow renewal vacation, I booked the Grand Floridian for a few reasons:

1) Grand Floridian was first resort we stayed in at WDW
2) Grand Floridian was our favorite resort
3) Grand Floridian vacation was where we watched Wedding Pavilion being built
4) Grand Floridian was where our Welcome Party was being held
5) Grand Floridian was where our pre-wedding photos were being taken
6) Grand Floridian was next door to Wedding Pavilion where our ceremony was being held


Honestly, I was going to stay at the BoardWalk Villas for that portion of my vacation and did have a room booked there. But as the date of my vow renewal approached, I just couldn’t see going through with my “fairy tale” if my favorite resort wasn’t a part of the picture. I decided to give my BoardWalk Villas room to a friend to use, and I booked my family into the Grand Floridian. I was so happy that I did that because my family simply adores the Grand Floridian. But it did make it a bit of a pain to be located there while the bulk of my guests were staying at the BoardWalk. Oh, well! Everyone seemed to manage okay. We either would hook up at the Grand Floridian, or we’d hook up somewhere else on property (the BoardWalk, the Yacht Club, the Epcot Theme Park, etc.).

It’s no secret here on the Dis that I like to sleep around. I have stayed in all of Disney’s official resorts, and most of them multiple times. I have a few favorites. No. 1 is the Grand Floridian. No. 2 is either Port Orleans – French Quarter or the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I even adore the Pop Century and Fort Wilderness Cabins. I haven’t stayed in a bad resort yet. All of them were different and had something unique to offer.

Whenever I am planning a vacation, I pick a few places to stay and work out a resort-hopping schedule. I must admit that resort-hopping can be expensive. I never rent a car while in WDW so I have to rely on Disney’s transportation system and taxicabs. When I switch resorts, it is usually by taxicab. Also, when I check out of one resort, I have to tip Bell Services. And when I check into the next resort, I have to tip Bell Services again. Taxicab rides (plus tips) and multiple Bell Services tips certainly do add up. Also, check-out time is 11 AM and check-in time isn’t until 3 PM or 4 PM. That means that on the day that I am switching resorts, I won’t have access to a room for quite a while. I have to plan accordingly. Just thought I’d mention that. But I do love resort-hopping. It breaks up my vacation and allows me to see WDW from different perspectives.

The AllEars website has lots of resort photos: click here. Take a look at them and see which resorts strike your fancy. You can select three resorts and book them the way that you mentioned (Resort 1 for first week, Resort 2 for second week, Resort 3 for post-cruise). Or you could book two resorts (Resort 1 for first two weeks and Resort 2 for post-cruise). It’s up to you how much resort-hopping you can handle.

Lots of folks don’t like to hop at all and prefer to stay put. My family is a bunch of vagabonds so we don’t mind pulling up stakes after a night or two and moving on to the next resort for another night or two, followed by yet a third resort for another couple of nights. The most resort-hopping that we have done in one vacation was five or six resorts. Our vacations were normally two-week vacations until the last two years. Then we moved into longer time-frames. Last year’s vacation was almost five and a half weeks. We stayed in the following resorts: All-Star Movies (our first stay there), Saratoga Springs, Polynesian (our first stay there), Grand Floridian, Beach Club (our first stay there), BoardWalk Villas, and Beach Club Villas. If you counted those resorts, you would have noticed that we hopped around seven times. That was our record.

Only you can decide what is right for you. But don't be afraid to do something a little out of the ordinary. I never had any intention of sleeping in each of Disney's resorts. But somehow it worked out that way. I now have to find a new place to vacation. ;)
 
Disney has lots of videos on-line: click here. Once you're on that webpage, click on the "RESORTS" button in order to call up the list of resort videos. Since it sounds like you're unfamiliar with Disney's resorts, this will be an excellent place for you to get an idea of what each one of them is like. Enjoy!
 
We looked at the Victorian Suite when we were at the GF in December. It was very nice and I do believe they told us it would be around $1300/night. Also, the CM that showed us the suite told us that it was where Regis stays when he stays at the GF. :)



As far as room differences, the honeymoon rooms with the balconies & jacuzzi tubs are just like the standard rooms, except with jacuzzi tub and lagoon views and on the private 2nd floor. The turret honeymoon rooms are larger, but there are only 6 of these and, of the 6, only 3 have MK views. The other 3 have wedding pavilion/monorail views.

Our favorite room is the Victorian Suite. It's much larger than the turret rooms, has 4 balconies, and a MK view. I think it goes for $1300/night or so - can't remember exactly.

We were upgraded from a lagoon view room to a honeymoon room in the main building, and we've been spoiled rotten since - we haven't gone back to the regular rooms. We didn't ask about our upgrade; it was just some of the magic of the day.

Cheers!
Heather W
 
RB, we are going to WDW for our honeymoon in May. We decided to stay in a WL honeymoon suite (it is so relatively reasonable!) for 5 nights, then will be on our D cruise for 4 nights, then will stay for 4 nights at the GF in a lagoon view room. We are staying our first night and last night in Orlando at a hotel 1 mile from the airport we're going to buy by bidding on priceline (someone else was able to book a quite nice hotel there for $45 this way), since we arrive very late and fly home very early! We'll then take the hotel shuttle to/from the airport to catch the Magic Express to WDW.

You might consider staying at one of the non-D beach resorts just before or after your cruise, too. There are a lot of very nice places to stay, and you may want a little break from Disney. My TA suggested, wisely I think, that you budget for some romantic, unusual dinners or other things to do during your time at WDW--not just for the room.

I did loads of research figuring out what we were going to do. I'm happy to share any of it!!! (Either that, or open a travel agency! hahaha)
 
I did loads of research figuring out what we were going to do. I'm happy to share any of it!!! (Either that, or open a travel agency! hahaha)

Thank you - I would be very grateful to hear any of your suggestions of things that we can do! How did you go about your research? I have so many ideas of things to do but I DO wonder how I'll fit them all in!!
 
Disney has lots of videos on-line: click here. Once you're on that webpage, click on the "RESORTS" button in order to call up the list of resort videos. Since it sounds like you're unfamiliar with Disney's resorts, this will be an excellent place for you to get an idea of what each one of them is like. Enjoy!

Thank you - what an excellent link! No, I have no idea - the last time I was in the USA at Disney was 1986! I was ten and have little recollection of anything!
 
Raspberry Bubbles, I don't know what kind of event you are having or how long it will last. But if it is a long-lasting event, trust me, you won't be in your resort room that much.

Only you can decide what is right for you. But don't be afraid to do something a little out of the ordinary. I never had any intention of sleeping in each of Disney's resorts. But somehow it worked out that way. I now have to find a new placo vacation. ;)

Well, I'm staying there for three weeks with one of those weeks being the Cruise. I really think that the room - given the fact that I probably will not be in there a great deal - should be something I should spend less on, although I DO want a beautiful room for the wedding nights and nights surrounding like you suggested, and I don't know when we might get the chance to return, as it has taken me 22 years to return!

Can I ask what, for you, makes the GF number one? It does look amazing from all of the media images I've seen, but pictures aren't everything! I'm wondering WHY it's so special to everyone - not because I doubt it, but because I value other people's opinions and can then best decide if it's the resort for us.

The check in, check out ordeal does sound quite time-costly, you're right. I will certainly bear that in mind during my planning.

Thank you for all of your advice - it really helps me to clear things in my head! popcorn:: I have alot to chew over now!!
 
I forgot to ask - have you been in the GF "Summerhouse"? What is it?

When the Summerhouse first opened up years ago, you could purchase ice cream there. But as time went on, the building was closed and basically remains unused to this day. It does, however, sit on a nice-sized patio area and that area may be rented out for private events. I hosted such an event there a few years ago. If you'd like to view photos of my event, click here.

Some FTW couples have used that venue for their receptions. If you are interested, please discuss it with the FTW folks.
 
…although I DO want a beautiful room for the wedding nights and nights surrounding like you suggested…

Can I ask what, for you, makes the GF number one?

If you want a beautiful room for your wedding night, then definitely book one. And remember to book it for the wedding night and at least the following night. I think you'll be happy that you did.

The Grand Floridian was the first resort that my family stayed in at Walt Disney World. It was the only resort that we stayed in for our first couple of vacations. It’s kinda hard to forget our first love. ;)

The reason why I love the resort as much as I do is because it feels like home. It’s a little hard to explain but I feel at peace there. It’s my nirvana. The perfect place to relax and unwind.

I love sitting in the lobby and people-watching. I love sitting in the lobby and listening to the pianist and orchestra playing in the evening. I love walking around the grounds. I love eating the chicken noodle soup at Gasparilla Grill. I love dining at Victoria & Albert’s. I love hanging out in the swimming pool and doing nothing but staring at the resort. I love imagining all the other wonderful vacations that have taken place at the resort. My list of reasons for adoring the Grand Floridian goes on and on.

But that is me. Other folks love other resorts equally as well. You’ll find your one special resort, have no fear.
 
Hello again! I never asked - is it possible to use the inside of the Summerhouse, or just the patio? If so, what is it like? :)
 

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