A Grand Vacation: The 2012 Grand Floridian FAQ!

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.... There are other CLs I want to try, but I'm worried they won't live up to RPC and I won't like them as much.

That's how we feel also after the BC CL experience. We did go with an open mind....the only way we will venture to try other club levels would be if it's only for two days, just to see if we like them. We are also afraid we won't like them as much.
 
Good morning everyone!!! I wanted to post a quick trip report for anyone who's going soon.... we got back on June 8th from the GF and it was AMAZING.

Our trip started off not so great...we had someone at the front desk that must have started their Disney career about 10 minutes before we got there. We booked a king room on the phone when we made our reservation, and he told us at the desk that we had a king room but it wasn't ready. (oh, and we did online checkin and nothing was ready) So we went to the parks, had some fun and headed back.... we were in a room w/ 2 queens. We called downstairs, the moved us to a king room. Except that it had 2 queens. :scared: So we called the room person again....she said she would find us a king and would call us back. She finally called back and said they had a room w/ a king. They moved us to Sugar Loaf! It was awesome!! My daughter loved it because it was like 'all the cookies you can eat'. We were on the second floor overlooking the pool. It was a little loud at night, but we loved it. It never seemed to hinder us falling asleep!!

We spent one entire day at the beach pool...for anyone concerned about the construction noise, don't be concerned. You totally forget about the construction when you're at the pool. Really. It's not an issue at all... to be honest, the clanging of the Alice in Wonderland kiddie area was louder than the construction! ;)

The parks were hot and crowded and seemed to get more crowded as the week went on. (which is why we started the last morning at Epcot and left and came to the pool for the rest of the day!)

We ate at Narcoosee's (amazing!!!) and the GF Cafe for breakfast on the grounds. For anyone that is going to the GF Cafe for breakfast, I cannot stress enough how absolutely amazing the citrus pancakes are. I had to take a picture and send it to my mom because I knew she'd appreciate it. They were perhaps the best pancakes in all the land!!

We ate at Be Our Guest for dinner and I wish that we had made another reservation for dinner during our stay.... it was just that terrific. There is so much to see and you feel just like you've stepped into the movie!! pixiedust: Via Napoli was our favorite lunch...so much so that we cancelled San Angel and booked Via Napoli for a second day! 50's Prime Time was our most favorite dinner (outside of Be Our Guest). What an incredibly fun time that was!!!

We had Tropical Storm Andrea join us, and actually didn't know we were having that until my mom texted me to see if we were okay! We were in Epcot w/ ponchos.... the storm kind of cleared the park a little bit.... Rock n Rollercoaster was still over an hour and a half wait, so we didn't get to do that. The best part of that day was at the Wreck it Ralph meet and greet in the Animation dept. There was a service dog w/ a woman in a wheelchair getting their picture. Well, when the dog saw Ralph, he was rolling over, playing, trying to bite Ralph's big hands. It was truly such a beautiful thing to watch the joy that dog had!! It just goes to show you, Disney can bring out the joy in ANYONE!!!

The monorail ran without any issue during our week. The boat was a welcome treat at night back from MK. The buses all ran just fine and we really didn't have much of a wait at all. One morning though, there were 8 Animal Kingdom buses all in a row.... as you can guess, we were heading to Hollywood Studios! :rotfl: All in all, the GF was just as beautiful as we remembered it to be. Thanks to everyone here for all your wonderful tips and ideas and sharing your trips... I hope this will help someone who is going to be going to the GF.... it won't disappoint you. It's pure Disney Magic! :cheer2:

Sydneysmom thanks for the review..and congrats on the upgrade! :wizard: I couldnt agree more about the GF...pure disney magic! :goodvibes BTW.. wondering where in SL is the king room located....? right..left or center of the building...??

Lulu'sMom Our second fave CL is the CR too...although having stayed on both the 14 and 12th floors ..I kind of like the 12th floor better...?? And then there is RPC...:cloud9:

Hey MickeyNut!!! :wave2:
 
Its great to hear that the DVC construction is not too much of a bother while staying at the GF. We have a stay up coming in just over a month, and cant wait. We have stayed at most of the WDW deluxe resorts, and seem to always be visiting the Grand. It was kind of like "well we will have to stay here on one of our trips" while we visited GF. We decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Well "one of our trips" to the GF is NOW ! :cool1: The whole family is super excited try out the Grand.
We have reserved CL in Sugarloaf to attempt to be away from the construction as much as possible.........hope our plan works :scratchin .
We have stayed CL at the Poly, BC and AK so far. Cant wait to try out SL now. Curious to see how it stacks up against the Poly CL, which is awesome. AK was nice too.......but we stayed a few years ago when the CL rooms were right above the lobby next to the CL and our room had 1 KING, 1 day bed, and bunkbeds...........really mis those rooms, now that they are gone :sad: .
BC CL is absolutely the worst lol. The CL is way too small, no view, and our room is not even on the same floor as the CL. BUT we really like the bigger BC deluxe rooms , that must include CL so we are stuck with BC CL if we want the deluxe room :rotfl2: . We love the BC, feels like home to us. Hopefully the Grand will give us the same feeling soon.

Not looking forward to Basin...........that store costs me a small fortune every trip !

Cant wait !
Thanks for all the info on this thread.

Syndrome
 
The only other one worth trying, in MHO, are the CR CLs. The 14th Tower Club has the best service for a CL on property. The Atrium Club in also nice and is on the same level as the Poly CL which is a tad below the ones you have listed.

Now, if you have the money to blow, you need to try the others so you can say you've done them all. Like me, and I've done them all, some at least 12 times. :crazy2:

But, mickeynut, for someone that hasn't stayed at the others, your insight from the research on these boards, etc, comes out in your posts! :goodvibes

Thanks for your kind words, Lulu'sMom :goodvibes.

It's funny that you mention CR CL as one to definitely try as that's one we are considering for a couple of nights in December. We are taking a 3 night cruise, with a WDW stay before and after. We are doing Poly CL after the cruise, but I keep changing my mind for the couple of nights before :sad2:. I thought we had decided on CR TPV (have never stayed at CR before).....then I started looking at CR Atrium Club...then CR Tower Club came into play, with AKL CL being the latest one in consideration......so I'm a mess :rotfl: :rotfl:. I haven't booked anything yet and I still have some time, but I really want to make a decision. We love the Poly but haven't stayed CL there, so that's not changing.....I just have to decide where to stay before the cruise. And I had to laugh at your "you need to try all the others" statement because I DO want to try all of the CLs....I just can't decide which one to do first :laughing:.

That's how we feel also after the BC CL experience. We did go with an open mind....the only way we will venture to try other club levels would be if it's only for two days, just to see if we like them. We are also afraid we won't like them as much.

I have considered BC CL several times but have always decided against it due to the reviews about it (very small lounge, so-so food offerings, no views, etc). Maybe one of these days we'll give it a try, but CR CL and AKL CL are higher on the list than BC CL.

Hey MickeyNut!!! :wave2:

Hi Blue :wave:.

Its great to hear that the DVC construction is not too much of a bother while staying at the GF. We have a stay up coming in just over a month, and cant wait. We have stayed at most of the WDW deluxe resorts, and seem to always be visiting the Grand. It was kind of like "well we will have to stay here on one of our trips" while we visited GF. We decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Well "one of our trips" to the GF is NOW ! :cool1: The whole family is super excited try out the Grand.
We have reserved CL in Sugarloaf to attempt to be away from the construction as much as possible.........hope our plan works :scratchin .
We have stayed CL at the Poly, BC and AK so far. Cant wait to try out SL now. Curious to see how it stacks up against the Poly CL, which is awesome. AK was nice too.......but we stayed a few years ago when the CL rooms were right above the lobby next to the CL and our room had 1 KING, 1 day bed, and bunkbeds...........really mis those rooms, now that they are gone :sad: .
BC CL is absolutely the worst lol. The CL is way too small, no view, and our room is not even on the same floor as the CL. BUT we really like the bigger BC deluxe rooms , that must include CL so we are stuck with BC CL if we want the deluxe room :rotfl2: . We love the BC, feels like home to us. Hopefully the Grand will give us the same feeling soon.

Not looking forward to Basin...........that store costs me a small fortune every trip !

Cant wait !
Thanks for all the info on this thread.

Syndrome

You are going to LOVE the GF :goodvibes.
 


Well, we're reaffirming our plans for October and we're doing it! 4-nights/4-days at the Grand! So excited to be back to my favorite resort! Hopefully, much of the construction will be done by October 17.:cool1:
 
Glad you had a great trip! Thanks for the trip report. I have a question about construction. I know you said that noise wasn't an issue, but what about how the construction area looks? There were pictures posted on another site, and it just looks so ugly! I hate to say it, because we have stayed at the Grand and love it. I know the rest of the resort seems to be unaffected by this, but what about the beach pool area? Is it just a sight for sore eyes? And I'm assuming the walls are still up around that area?

Honestly, at first I thought, UGH....but then you're just kind of relaxing by the pool, swimming, and you totally forget about it. Really. Unless you're over by the beach pool, you totally forget that construction is even going on. I was VERY worried about going there because of the construction, but I'm glad we went.
Now, if you're at the courtyard pool, you won't even realize that there is construction going on. (and the new pool is fantastic w/ the zero entry.....) :thumbsup2

Some of the beach is open now and they did have chaise lounges. I saw a few people at the beach, but mostly everyone was at the pools. Now, don't get me wrong, it's definately NOT the same around the water... there are walls up and you're view is blocked.... but if you can get beyond that, it's still the same gorgeous resort. We were mostly at the courtyard pool except for the last day.
 
Sydneysmom thanks for the review..and congrats on the upgrade! :wizard: I couldnt agree more about the GF...pure disney magic! :goodvibes BTW.. wondering where in SL is the king room located....? right..left or center of the building...??

Lulu'sMom Our second fave CL is the CR too...although having stayed on both the 14 and 12th floors ..I kind of like the 12th floor better...?? And then there is RPC...:cloud9:

Hey MickeyNut!!! :wave2:

If you're at the courtyard pool looking at Sugar Loaf, we were on the second floor right side. it was room 6222. It had a kind with a sofa bed.....
 


Did I see that someone here is going to be at the GF the same time that I am? We will be there July16-23.
Me (if I don't change again.....) 19th-21st :cheer2:Look for a very happy brunette with a tall bald hubs shaking his head at our silly kiddos :flower3:

Hey, you, how have you been?:hug: Don't worry about lurking, I don't have as much time for the DIS when I am not planning a trip, either.;)

Congrats on your RPC booking, we just did the exact split last month! It was heavenly.:cloud9:
:hug: All good here....made many changes (shocking) but RPC is MY dream, and I deserve it.....I've been juggling kids, college, work, but I have a 2 week school break :goodvibes The boys are planning resort days, while the girls and I are off to meet Princesses princess:

Good morning friends. This may be a bit over the top, but I can actually say now that "I am going to the GF and Disney next month!:cool1::cool1:

My family thinks I'm just a bit obsessed with Disney. Enjoy your weekend and stay cool if you are in the heat like we are in Connecticut.
:cheer2: Me too!!!!!

Congrats on the change.....RPC is my favorite CL :cloud9:.
The Poly is my favorite resort overall, but the GF is great as well. I'm sure you will have a fabulous trip if you do choose the GF :).
We actually voted today Hawaii vs. RPC. The girls loved Poly, but the Grand is calling!!! And the AP discount rocks!!!

BTW, I've had a first floor patio at the Polynesian and loved it. But we were near the quiet pool. On the water would be really awesome :flower3:
We loved having the patio too!! We were right on the corner at Poly, so easy in and out!!!



:coffee:I have to research the special secret elevator again in the main building...it's by Gasparilla's right???Hmmmm.....who was telling me about it coachbagfantaicAhhhhh, BTW thanks to all for sharing their TR recently pixiedust:

Lulu'sMom TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!
 
pas130 - I will look for you! I'm the short one with short black hair (thanks to my hair dresser) and I wear black glasses. I will have my DH, not too tall, trying to look thin and three kids with me. Two of them are mine, one is my very tall niece. She is 6 feet tall. My kids are short. DD has long brown ponytail and wears glasses. DS in same height as DD with brown hair.

31 more days!!! Can't wait for meals to be cooked for me, beds made for me and towels washed for me.
 
We actually voted today Hawaii vs. RPC. The girls loved Poly, but the Grand is calling!!! And the AP discount rocks!!!

Those are two great choices :goodvibes. Gotta grab RPC with a discount when you can.....LOL. We are trying Poly CL in December and I'm anxious to see how it compares to RPC.

31 more days!!! Can't wait for meals to be cooked for me, beds made for me and towels washed for me.

That's exactly what vacations are for ::yes::. Have a great trip.
 
We are now less than a month away for our vacation at GF Got the travel documents last week from AAA! Once I get the documents, I know that vacation is getting close. Don't know when I will be back on here. Having hand surgery today. Stay well my friends! Be back in touch as soon as I can.

For anyone going soon to the GF, have a great time. Keep pictures coming!
 
We are now less than a month away for our vacation at GF Got the travel documents last week from AAA! Once I get the documents, I know that vacation is getting close. Don't know when I will be back on here. Having hand surgery today. Stay well my friends! Be back in touch as soon as I can.

For anyone going soon to the GF, have a great time. Keep pictures coming!

Best wishes :hug: Hope the surgery is uneventful pixiedust:


We will probably NOT be at RPC next month...no changes just yet, but the boys want a say :scared: all good, we may still see ya in the world!!!!
 
Hello all!

I will be reading this board soon! We just returned from a week and AKL and are doing a quick over-nighter at GF before DD goes to camp. I am so excited! I have stayed at every deluxe EXCEPT the GF! We will probably hang around the resort for the Saturday and Sunday since we just got back and HOT!!! Oh my!! it felt like 100 every day.

DD wanted to know if there is a sauna/steam room near the pools or only in the Spa? Is that spa room open to guests of the GF or only spa patrons?

TIA
 
So, once the 2014 rates come out (as well as word on whether the military discount will be released), I am thinking of booking Sugarloaf for a stay next August.

I am thinking that in August, it will be nice to have 2 pools, plus the splash area for our girls.

I am also thinking that there should be no construction by that time because DVC is supposed to open Oct. 2013.

I have stayed YC CL and WL CL and really loved WL CL while YC CL was just okay (loved YC as a resort though)....anybody here who has stayed at those and can compare it with Sugarloaf?? RPC is out of the question, just too darned expensive, even with a 40% discount. :worried:

Or, should I just book a standard room?
 
So, once the 2014 rates come out (as well as word on whether the military discount will be released), I am thinking of booking Sugarloaf for a stay next August.

I am thinking that in August, it will be nice to have 2 pools, plus the splash area for our girls.

I am also thinking that there should be no construction by that time because DVC is supposed to open Oct. 2013.

I have stayed YC CL and WL CL and really loved WL CL while YC CL was just okay (loved YC as a resort though)....anybody here who has stayed at those and can compare it with Sugarloaf?? RPC is out of the question, just too darned expensive, even with a 40% discount. :worried:

Or, should I just book a standard room?

Nope...Sugarloaf. The location is awesome Candace. The pool is right there, main building too...right across walkway. The cookies and cupcakes are yummy yummy yummy. And the CMs made my girls feel like Princesses. Did I mention they picked DH up from the parking lot and drove us all to the SL building pixiedust:
 
Nope...Sugarloaf. The location is awesome Candace. The pool is right there, main building too...right across walkway. The cookies and cupcakes are yummy yummy yummy. And the CMs made my girls feel like Princesses. Did I mention they picked DH up from the parking lot and drove us all to the SL building pixiedust:

:goodvibes Thanks!
 
Mousemommy1 said:
So, once the 2014 rates come out (as well as word on whether the military discount will be released), I am thinking of booking Sugarloaf for a stay next August.

I am thinking that in August, it will be nice to have 2 pools, plus the splash area for our girls.

I am also thinking that there should be no construction by that time because DVC is supposed to open Oct. 2013.

I have stayed YC CL and WL CL and really loved WL CL while YC CL was just okay (loved YC as a resort though)....anybody here who has stayed at those and can compare it with Sugarloaf?? RPC is out of the question, just too darned expensive, even with a 40% discount. :worried:

Or, should I just book a standard room?

Hey, we stay garden room, request marina view. While I pay alot for GF, there's no way I would pay for CL!!
 
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