HAVING A GRAND OLD TIME! The 2013 Grand Floridian Resort & Villas FAQ

[phyllis1966]

Good Morning!

I was able to check in yesterday (YAY!!) but I have a question. It asked me if I wanted a dormer room. Since I am in SL, are those rooms on the top floor only or are some on the lower ends?

Other than having the closed balcony, what is the benefit? Are they bigger? Smaller??

We had the closed balcony at WL CL, it didn't bother me like it did some..I could go out in my sleep shirt and not worry about being seen..since I don't have a "view", just wondered if I should request this.

We've had dormer rooms quite a few times in Conch Key, probably because were a family of three and they must figure larger families need the extra space. They are only slightly smaller (we never really noticed), but they have a cathedral ceiling which is really lovely and makes the room feel special. The closed in balcony never really bothered us.

Have a great time!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

oh wait! Dormer rooms don't have the daybed? I need that for DD

 

[BlueSkies]

MickeyNut I love how simple that those peanut butter blossom cookies are to make..and for me..the simpler the better... Not to mention delicious!! Got your Christmas card...only you could find a card with so many Mickey on it!!

grannyminnie Whatcha up to today... catching up on your shopping!!

k&a&c'smom Checked out the Joy of Baking site...going to try my hand at those pecan hassies..and there was a nice short bread recipe that I might add to the holiday baking list....

There used to be a lot of holiday entertainment during the month of December in the lobby of the GF...haven't seen anything in the last several years though?? Not that I am complaining..the GF Society Orchestra..and the pianists do a fine job of bringing in the holiday spirit with all of their wonderful music...

Hope that you are keeping warm and having a good stay in Chicago...

ppiew Yes those days are long gone ...That might be the cost of a dinner at Citricos now...with appetizers and some wine...

Meredith1 I think I had posted to you about the view at the GF being nice..but nothing to compare to that of the CR.. .. and while the CR has the view..the GF truly has the ambience..hands down!

Glad that you enjoyed your stay... We are big fans of staying CL..so never do DXDP... You will find that there is plenty to enjoy food wise staying CL...I would highly recommend spending some time at the resort in the afternoon just to enjoy the scones.. and trifle....YUM!

PrincessMocha Hmm... What other resort would that be... LOL...BTW...the baking site that k&a&c got her cookie recipe from had an awesome looking mocha short bread cookie recipe!

DisneyDmbNut With the roof line in SL...you could have a dormer room on the second, third or fourth floor...I agree with Phyllis ..don't think that there are daybeds in those rooms... Good luck with your online check in...I think that a lot of people are doing that now...we always put our requests on our ressie..and follow up with a call to IPO...

Love to know what GF Christmas ornament there is available this year?? Didn't see anything in October?? Saw lots of DVC merchandise..but no resort specific ornament... I am always interested in adding another to my GF collection...

Hope that all of my fellow GF fans are having a terrific Tuesday!!

 

[princessmocha]

k&a&c'smom - Those pecan tassies look sooo yummy. Do they taste a lot like pecan pies? I love pecan pie . . . well I love just about any pie, but I really love pecan pie.

blueskies - mocha shortbread cookies sound yummy!!! The mocha in my user name comes from where I used to work. We had this hall guys to help keep our unruly students in line. Every morning I would stand outside my door to welcome my homeroom students and I would be holding my mocha latte in my hand. The guys started calling me mocha . . . I added the princess.

Tomorrow I can say one week until we leave. I can't wait to get away from this snow and cold. I sure hope the weather stays nice there. If not I may just have to park my bum in lobby of the Grand and just take it in.

 

[Mousemommy1]

k&a&c'smom - Those pecan tassies look sooo yummy. Do they taste a lot like pecan pies? I love pecan pie . . . well I love just about any pie, but I really love pecan pie.

blueskies - mocha shortbread cookies sound yummy!!! The mocha in my user name comes from where I used to work. We had this hall guys to help keep our unruly students in line. Every morning I would stand outside my door to welcome my homeroom students and I would be holding my mocha latte in my hand. The guys started calling me mocha . . . I added the princess.

Tomorrow I can say one week until we leave. I can't wait to get away from this snow and cold. I sure hope the weather stays nice there. If not I may just have to park my bum in lobby of the Grand and just take it in.

I wonder if those PecanTassies are similar to the Pecan Tarts that I have recently seen being sold at Starbucks...I think those look really good!

You are so lucky to be coming up on your trip...I know I was already there twice this year, but having to wait until August to get back is torture.

 

[trishadono]

I think I forgot to post this:

Our RPC std CL room 4329 had the cuisinart coffee maker but the RPC deluxe king 4030 had a K-cup!

Also when dd and I stayed for one night SL in May 2012 we did NOT get a welcome gift but for this trip,we got a welcome (small) box of chocolate for the one night std room and the same gift the next night for our continuing reservation in the deluxe king.

I still have one if anyone needs a pic of it, it s a small 2x3 square of chocolate in a box. The choc is imprinted with GF building.

Needed a break from wrapping.

GOOD EVENING! Love reading up when I get a chance!

How many December gf'ers are there besides Princess Mocha???

Lucky ducks for sure!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello, everyone, from frigid Chicago!! Hope you are all having a good week so far.

mickeynut - I make peanut butter blossoms, too. My kids like to race each other unwrapping the Kisses, which makes it extra easy for me!

ppiew and mickeynut, I'm sad for the loss of the cheap travel in general.

Hope you're having a nice stay in Chicago......try to stay warm .

LOL on the kids racing each other to unwrap the Kisses. I have taken the easy way out before and bought the kisses that are already unwrapped .....but for some reason I haven't seen them lately, so looks like I'll be unwrapping them for all of my peanut butter blossom baking coming up....LOL.

I agree about overall travel getting expensive......it's not cheap to go anywhere anymore .

MickeyNut I love how simple that those peanut butter blossom cookies are to make..and for me..the simpler the better... Not to mention delicious!! Got your Christmas card...only you could find a card with so many Mickey on it!!

Gotta love the ease of making those blossoms.....that's why I make them so often . Glad you like the Christmas card.....it would be a surprise if you did get something from me without one or more Mickeys .

Tomorrow I can say one week until we leave. I can't wait to get away from this snow and cold. I sure hope the weather stays nice there. If not I may just have to park my bum in lobby of the Grand and just take it in.

I hope the weather is nice while you're there, but I see nothing wrong with getting comfy in the GF lobby, either (even if it's not too terribly cold ).

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Oh! I forgot! Kate got a chestnut from a Richard.. She was not impressed withe them! Lol

 

[ahcupcake]

Good morning. Sorry I've been Mia, been so sick finally starting to feel human. Love seeing the pics of the gf decked out for Christmas.

 

[BlueSkies]

DisneyDmbNut I agree with your DD about the chestnuts...they smell good..and evoke warm holiday thoughts..but they sure don't taste very good! LOL..Its always so nice to see Richard though... we have pics of the kids with him over the years...

ahcupcake Welcome back! I knew you were under the weather when you were not playing our WWF game...Glad that you are feeling better!

MickeyNut Have you made any spring dining ressies...I have begun working on that ...

PrincessMocha What a nice way to have gotten your screen name... and what a great way to start the day..with a mocha latte..!! as for adding the princess to that..we are all princesses after all!

I read here on the DIS that B&C is now taking ressies... Really enjoy a midday break here ..but found that if you don'tget there when it first opens..or very late in the day.. there can be a considerable wait...So this is good news to us..Going to have to do a little ressie tweaking... Cause its always about the food...

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Wednesday...

 

[kittyab]

I was wondering if the quick serve restaurant at the GF servers similar foods as they do at the quick serve at POR? We loved the choices they had at the POR.

 

[kittyab]

I noticed they have self serve laundry at the GF.... are they coin operated?

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

i couldn't post this last night...

 

[mickeynut1]

Good morning. Sorry I've been Mia, been so sick finally starting to feel human. Love seeing the pics of the gf decked out for Christmas.

Welcome back, ahcupcake . Sorry you've been under the weather, but glad you're feeling a little better .

MickeyNut Have you made any spring dining ressies...I have begun working on that ...

I read here on the DIS that B&C is now taking ressies... Really enjoy a midday break here ..but found that if you don'tget there when it first opens..or very late in the day.. there can be a considerable wait...So this is good news to us..Going to have to do a little ressie tweaking... Cause its always about the food...

Hey Blue.....haven't made any dining for spring. We're not quite sure just what we're doing, so not planning any ADRs just yet. I cancelled our resort reservation for March and I'm waiting until after the first of the year to see what (if any) discounts come out for late May/early June. If a decent discount is released, I'm thinking about booking, but not sure. We are usually pretty busy during the spring and summer, so if I find we can fit in a few days away, we will....otherwise, I'll just keep planning and looking forward to our cruise/WDW stays in December .

I also read that about B&C. I think it's a good idea to be able to make ADRs there as you are right that unless you get there right around opening or later in the day, you most likely will be waiting awhile. I'm sure some get lucky with no wait, but for the most part, the waits can be pretty lengthy .

I was wondering if the quick serve restaurant at the GF servers similar foods as they do at the quick serve at POR? We loved the choices they had at the POR.

We've never eaten at the food court at POR, but compared to CBR (which is the only mod we've stayed at), Gasparillas at the GF isn't as extensive. We feel there is plenty to choose from at the GF (as well as other deluxe resorts), but it's not so much a food court, but rather more of a CS, so the choices are not as extensive as the food courts at the mods and values. HTH .

I noticed they have self serve laundry at the GF.... are they coin operated?

I can't help with this as I've never done laundry on vacation, but I'm sure someone will be able to help .

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I was wondering if the quick serve restaurant at the GF servers similar foods as they do at the quick serve at POR? We loved the choices they had at the POR.

I have been to POR quick serve. While the GF isn't AS extensive, I found their food WAY above the other resorts QS. They have fantastic pizzas/sandwiches/pastas. They don't have stations like POR, but the food is so good. We ate there before leaving on Sunday. I had a margarita flatbread pizza and DD had the chicken alfredo flatbread.

 

[jewels1916]

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on this board for a while because GF is my dream resort to stay at some day, but today, my sis and I booked our first stay at the Grand! We've booked an RPC room next December! Not only will it be our first time at the Grand Floridian, but our first time club level also! I'm reading all the old posts and getting all caught up, but I wanted to jump in and share some of my excitement!

Courtney

 

[grannyminnie]

We've had dormer rooms quite a few times in Conch Key, probably because were a family of three and they must figure larger families need the extra space. They are only slightly smaller (we never really noticed), but they have a cathedral ceiling which is really lovely and makes the room feel special. The closed in balcony never really bothered us.

Have a great time!

We've had a couple of dormer rooms (just my sis and me) and I don't really care for them. They seem smaller to me, even if they are not, and I don't like the closed balcony either.

Hello to all...I've been out of town since Monday morning and am skimming to catch up.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on this board for a while because GF is my dream resort to stay at some day, but today, my sis and I booked our first stay at the Grand! We've booked an RPC room next December! Not only will it be our first time at the Grand Floridian, but our first time club level also! I'm reading all the old posts and getting all caught up, but I wanted to jump in and share some of my excitement!

Courtney

Welcome to the GF thread . Congrats on booking the GF. You are going to love RPC. I've stayed RPC, SL, and GV and while anywhere at the Grand is wonderful, RPC is just amazing . Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have as there are some very nice (as well as informative) GF experts on this thread .

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello to all...I've been out of town since Monday morning and am skimming to catch up.

Hi grannyminnie ....we were posting at the same time.....LOL. Glad to "see" you back....hope you had a nice time away .

 

[grannyminnie]

Forgot to add....no shopping these last few days, Blue, due to visiting my parents in SC. I'll be hitting the mall the next two days tho, to catch up! Also, we've planned last minute to have our family get-together this coming Sunday, so there's also a menu to plan and groceries to buy...lots to do in a short time!

Ahcupcake, it's good to hear you're feeling better after being so sick!