Grand Floridian: Help needed!

[kittykitty87]

My DFI and I got engaged back in January and we have recently been talking about our honeymoon. DFI sprung it upon me on Monday and said he thinks we should have a Disneymoon!

He loved it that much that he thinks we should have our honeymoon there, yaaaaaaay!

We have been looking at the Grand Floridian, anyone Disneymooned there? Any tips, suggestions etc we should look out for?

Thanks

 

[ChickyRootie]

Oh I Disneymooned at the Grand Floridian about 13 years ago! It is obviously very beautiful. The lobby is truly stunning and in the evening there is live music playing so it also sounds pretty 'classy' too. I was in my early twenties back then and I felt like the check in staff was a little rude and stuffy, (and I'm from NJ so I know rude...lol...come to think of it, maybe that's why they were rude...).... perhaps it was just an off day

If you are going to stay there you HAVE TO (HAVE TO!) do Victoria and Alberts; truly very romantic. They personalize your menus and all the ladies get a rose. It was the first meal on my honeymoon where they called us Mr. and Mrs. (and I teared up a bit...) I will absolutely never forget that meal...I still have the menus. Food was delicious and we left there full. It was probably one of the nicest experiences I've ever had at a restaurant.

I'm not sure if they have refurbed the rooms yet, but I will say that the rooms themselves are very 'girly'...flowery 'grandma' beds but I absolutely love everything Victorian so it was fine by me! My husband was fine with it because it made me happy, but I don't think the Grand Floridian would have been his first choice.

we didn't use any of the pools because we were married in February and it was a bit chilly that year for swimming so I can't speak on that...

It is also great because obviously the monorail is super convenient, you can watch MK fireworks from the beach I believe too.

I know recently there has been a significant amount of contruction going on at the hotel as well and I'm not sure when it will be done (I'm sure someone else on here will though I would definitely recommend staying there for your Disneymoon! In fact we wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian for our upcoming trip but couldn't swing the $$ so we're staying at The Boardwalk Inn instead (which is also very beautiful!!) Good luck with your planning! You are going to have the best Disneymoon ever!

 

[charliegirl76]

We are spending the first few days of our wedding/honeymoon there. We plan on eating at V&A...it will be my first time staying there. I'm super excited.

I do have a question about the menu at V&A, when you say it's personalized, what does that entail? Do they ask what you like when making ADR? Do you fill out a form? I'm just curious.

 

[ChickyRootie]

Oh, you are going to love it!! Well, keep in mind the last time I ate there was on my honeymoon 13 years ago so who knows what has changed since then, but...'personalized' only in that it had our names beautifully written on a wax sealed menu. (keepsake 'christmas ornament' style We did not call ahead and plan out a menu, in fact, we actually ended up trying some really interesting foods that we wouldn't have normally tried. I wouldn't be surprised if you could customize a menu there there, I just never did it...One thing I will say is that they have an extremely limited menu, however the choices are perfect to fit anyone's tastes, the typical poultry, fish, meat, options along with a small pasta course and many others (I actually tried squid ink pasta for the first time there and LOVED it..)... also, if you don't like something about a course you can tell them what you don't like about it and they will cater it to your taste (at the time...not ahead of time...) one little memory that I will never forget about my dining experience is they had a harpest playing the entire time...lovely! It was the early 2000's and I was chatting with my new husband and being lovey dovey and I was distracted by the harpest...The song was familiar yet 'modern' for the time and I couldn't 'place' it at first...then I realized she was playing a slowed down version of 'one headlight'...('Cinderella' is mentioned in the song...) We actually laughed because of the irony but it was strangely romantic...It was an amazing experience... I will say, you may read reviews stating that it is 'over-rated' not sure what others are expecting, but it is incredibly romantic! Worth every single penny in my opinion. If you are looking for a more 'personalized' experience as far as menu option, perhaps look into dining at the 'chefs table'...I have never done this, but I hear it is really amazing. Have a fabulous time and enjoy every second!

 

[kittykitty87]

Oh I Disneymooned at the Grand Floridian about 13 years ago! It is obviously very beautiful. The lobby is truly stunning and in the evening there is live music playing so it also sounds pretty 'classy' too. I was in my early twenties back then and I felt like the check in staff was a little rude and stuffy, (and I'm from NJ so I know rude...lol...come to think of it, maybe that's why they were rude...).... perhaps it was just an off day

If you are going to stay there you HAVE TO (HAVE TO!) do Victoria and Alberts; truly very romantic. They personalize your menus and all the ladies get a rose. It was the first meal on my honeymoon where they called us Mr. and Mrs. (and I teared up a bit...) I will absolutely never forget that meal...I still have the menus. Food was delicious and we left there full. It was probably one of the nicest experiences I've ever had at a restaurant.

I'm not sure if they have refurbed the rooms yet, but I will say that the rooms themselves are very 'girly'...flowery 'grandma' beds but I absolutely love everything Victorian so it was fine by me! My husband was fine with it because it made me happy, but I don't think the Grand Floridian would have been his first choice.

we didn't use any of the pools because we were married in February and it was a bit chilly that year for swimming so I can't speak on that...

It is also great because obviously the monorail is super convenient, you can watch MK fireworks from the beach I believe too.

I know recently there has been a significant amount of contruction going on at the hotel as well and I'm not sure when it will be done (I'm sure someone else on here will though I would definitely recommend staying there for your Disneymoon! In fact we wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian for our upcoming trip but couldn't swing the $$ so we're staying at The Boardwalk Inn instead (which is also very beautiful!!) Good luck with your planning! You are going to have the best Disneymoon ever!

That is excellent! Thank you so much for the information! My DFI and I have been reading you comments and it sounds wonderful also in the second post you have done further down xx

 

[charliegirl76]

Oh, you are going to love it!! Well, keep in mind the last time I ate there was on my honeymoon 13 years ago so who knows what has changed since then, but...'personalized' only in that it had our names beautifully written on a wax sealed menu. (keepsake 'christmas ornament' style We did not call ahead and plan out a menu, in fact, we actually ended up trying some really interesting foods that we wouldn't have normally tried. I wouldn't be surprised if you could customize a menu there there, I just never did it...One thing I will say is that they have an extremely limited menu, however the choices are perfect to fit anyone's tastes, the typical poultry, fish, meat, options along with a small pasta course and many others (I actually tried squid ink pasta for the first time there and LOVED it..)... also, if you don't like something about a course you can tell them what you don't like about it and they will cater it to your taste (at the time...not ahead of time...) one little memory that I will never forget about my dining experience is they had a harpest playing the entire time...lovely! It was the early 2000's and I was chatting with my new husband and being lovey dovey and I was distracted by the harpest...The song was familiar yet 'modern' for the time and I couldn't 'place' it at first...then I realized she was playing a slowed down version of 'one headlight'...('Cinderella' is mentioned in the song...) We actually laughed because of the irony but it was strangely romantic...It was an amazing experience... I will say, you may read reviews stating that it is 'over-rated' not sure what others are expecting, but it is incredibly romantic! Worth every single penny in my opinion. If you are looking for a more 'personalized' experience as far as menu option, perhaps look into dining at the 'chefs table'...I have never done this, but I hear it is really amazing. Have a fabulous time and enjoy every second!

Thank you so much for the information! DF and I are really looking forward to our dinner there.....now even more so. I love the idea of getting dressed up and having a romantic dinner. Here's something really funny, my last trip to Disney was 13 years ago with my mom. We had so much fun! We were there in March of 2000.

 

[ChickyRootie]

I absolutely LOVE Disney...I go every single year with my family...I've been a Disney Nerd since they had the metal rental strollers with the blue canvas seat and 'umbrella'... I will say this...my husband and I are very 'glass half full' people....never 'expecting' a thing. If you are one of those 'try to please me because I'm a critic' types you 'may' be disappointed, but you'll find that anywhere. In Disney you need to let loose and just have fun. I truly felt like a princess at the GF...Maybe not everyone will agree but it was an amazing experience, and I will tell you 13 years later when you're wiping noses and helping with homework you'll be happy that you spoiled yourself with a Grand Floridian honeymoon

 

[kittykitty87]

I absolutely LOVE Disney...I go every single year with my family...I've been a Disney Nerd since they had the metal rental strollers with the blue canvas seat and 'umbrella'... I will say this...my husband and I are very 'glass half full' people....never 'expecting' a thing. If you are one of those 'try to please me because I'm a critic' types you 'may' be disappointed, but you'll find that anywhere. In Disney you need to let loose and just have fun. I truly felt like a princess at the GF...Maybe not everyone will agree but it was an amazing experience, and I will tell you 13 years later when you're wiping noses and helping with homework you'll be happy that you spoiled yourself with a Grand Floridian honeymoon

Haha! I love the last bit if this post

We aren't critical people and enjoyed are holiday in Disney last September so much! If we had the same amount of fun as we has last time we would be happy, if its even better then that's a bonus!

 

[pezaddict231]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! We stayed at the Grand Floridian during our wedding trip and when we got engaged. It's our favorite resort. If you can swing it, Club level is wonderful, it was so nice to have them make our ADR's and we really enjoyed all the little snacks and things like that. DH's a little spoiled because now he always wants to stay club level! We stayed in the main building for our wedding which was amazing, the CL staff were so nice, we could hear the orchestra from our room, and we had a turret room which was huge and beautiful. We had a really good bounce back discount that year, but the outer buildings are nice too. Best part about the GF are all the great dining options and the location. You can walk over to the Poly for some dole whips, or take the monorail to the CR and Poly. The buses were a little annoying but it's like that with all the resorts in that area because they share. It's also easier to get from resort to resort because MK is open the latest of all parks so usually and we'd just take the monorail over and transfer to the resort bus we needed if we had ADR's at another resort.

Definitely do Victoria & Albert's, the food is so good! They do contact you beforehand to find out about preferences and allergies. We don't eat seafood so they made sure there wasn't any on our menu. But each course has 2 choices, so there is always something good to try.

 

[gamberlane]

We just got back (a few weeks ago) from our Disneymoon where we stayed at the Grand Floridian! There is just no resort as romantic and magical. I suppose it is personal preference, but even the walk to the lobby in the morning through the absolutely magnificent grounds makes me smile. I even think the resort has a "smell" which is magical. I should note, when I was younger we used to stay there (before the raised the price so much) and so it was like going home for me. It was a wonderful experience.

They were also nice enough to upgrade our room to a Magic Kingdom view when we got there when they heard we were on our honeymoon. It was great.

 

[kittykitty87]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding! We stayed at the Grand Floridian during our wedding trip and when we got engaged. It's our favorite resort. If you can swing it, Club level is wonderful, it was so nice to have them make our ADR's and we really enjoyed all the little snacks and things like that. DH's a little spoiled because now he always wants to stay club level! We stayed in the main building for our wedding which was amazing, the CL staff were so nice, we could hear the orchestra from our room, and we had a turret room which was huge and beautiful. We had a really good bounce back discount that year, but the outer buildings are nice too. Best part about the GF are all the great dining options and the location. You can walk over to the Poly for some dole whips, or take the monorail to the CR and Poly. The buses were a little annoying but it's like that with all the resorts in that area because they share. It's also easier to get from resort to resort because MK is open the latest of all parks so usually and we'd just take the monorail over and transfer to the resort bus we needed if we had ADR's at another resort.

Definitely do Victoria & Albert's, the food is so good! They do contact you beforehand to find out about preferences and allergies. We don't eat seafood so they made sure there wasn't any on our menu. But each course has 2 choices, so there is always something good to try.

Thank you

That's all wonderful to know! We are trying to look at everything at the moment and find as much information about honeymooning over there as possible!

I have heard good things about V & A's so I think that will be a must

 

[kittykitty87]

We just got back (a few weeks ago) from our Disneymoon where we stayed at the Grand Floridian! There is just no resort as romantic and magical. I suppose it is personal preference, but even the walk to the lobby in the morning through the absolutely magnificent grounds makes me smile. I even think the resort has a "smell" which is magical. I should note, when I was younger we used to stay there (before the raised the price so much) and so it was like going home for me. It was a wonderful experience.

They were also nice enough to upgrade our room to a Magic Kingdom view when we got there when they heard we were on our honeymoon. It was great.

Aww that's wonderful! I think this will be the hotel we pick! We are a little concerned about the price if everything! How did you book yours, did you to it as one big package or by everything individually I.e park passes etc.

 

[gamberlane]

Aww that's wonderful! I think this will be the hotel we pick! We are a little concerned about the price if everything! How did you book yours, did you to it as one big package or by everything individually I.e park passes etc.

We had our wedding there (an Escape wedding), so Annual Passes were included with the wedding so we did not need to buy passes. We also decided that the dining plan was not worth our money considering a number of our meals while there would be paid for by family members there for the celebration (rehearsal dinner, breakfast before the wedding, dinner reception, etc) so it ended up just being a room only reservation so we just booked it online.

We actually found that our other choice, where we initially made our reservation, The Contemporary, would end up costing more than the Grand Flo because it was booked up so they wouldn't allow any of the Annual Pass or Spring discount codes to be used. BUT, the Grand Flo wasn't booked up so if we were willing to change our reservation to the more expensive resort, it actually ended up cheaper because the discounts were still available!

 

[kittykitty87]

We had our wedding there (an Escape wedding), so Annual Passes were included with the wedding so we did not need to buy passes. We also decided that the dining plan was not worth our money considering a number of our meals while there would be paid for by family members there for the celebration (rehearsal dinner, breakfast before the wedding, dinner reception, etc) so it ended up just being a room only reservation so we just booked it online.

We actually found that our other choice, where we initially made our reservation, The Contemporary, would end up costing more than the Grand Flo because it was booked up so they wouldn't allow any of the Annual Pass or Spring discount codes to be used. BUT, the Grand Flo wasn't booked up so if we were willing to change our reservation to the more expensive resort, it actually ended up cheaper because the discounts were still available!

Thanks! We got our passes included in as part of our last holiday so hoping we would be able to do something similar this time