A Grand Vacation: The 2012 Grand Floridian FAQ!

[k&a&c'smom]

phyllis1966 - Glad you were able to book the tea room, sounds like they decided against online booking for some reason.

followthatmouse - thank you for the kind words. Best wishes for your mother.

How wonderful you will be spending most of December at the Grand - lucky you!! You should have been able to have the CL CMs make your reservations, or did you prefer to do it yourself?

I know bethclayton had the view over the themed pool, etc. a few months ago, I hope she can pop in with her thoughts. You can do a search of the thread for her review and photos - I'll look for them, if she doesn't post this morning. She seemed to feel it was noticeable but not too disruptive, if I recall.

[MommyGina]

On the phone with the IPO. My dining reservations that they made are messed up!

[beckysko]

Back from Florida and settled back into our home routine, so time for a quick trip report.

Room: My husband had his work conference there, so we stayed in a great club level suite - we had 3 rooms adjoining. One side had a king bed, the middle had a living room with pullout couch, wet bar area, tv, and the other side had 2 queen beds. It was in the main building and on the 5th floor. Each room had a balcony, that were 'dormer' type I think? The rooms were AMAZING, and I loved the awesome welcome plate we got, and the bathroom products were amazing (especially the mint foot cream!). We had fresh flowers in every room, and the turn-down service with the chocolates was awesome. My only criticism was only because I have an 8-month old baby...the tub was IMPOSSIBLE to bath him in. I had brought a small inflatable tub to put in the tub to help, but because the tub is so deep and the edge is so wide (nearly 10 inches!), the only way I could bath him was by being practically IN the tub! I wonder if people find it difficult getting in and out of these tubs?

Club Conceirge: We ate breakfast here every morning and enjoyed oatmeal with all the toppings, fruit, bagels and cream cheese, danishes, cheese, muffins, and cinnamon buns. We sat overlooking the Lagoon, and fed the baby in his stroller before heading out to the parks. In the afternoon we returned for nap around 3 or 4 and would pop by for some cookies, or scones (YUM!). I didn't get a chance to get there for the evening treats, but my husband brought a platefull of snacks up one night and they were delish! We didn't see anyone being piggy at all, most of the times we were the only ones there!

General Hotel: This was our first time staying in a Deluxe, so of course now I am spoiled and never want to stay anywhere else :P We LOVED the monorail access, especially handy with our baby in the stroller. Collapsing the stroller and managing the baby/rainshield/diaper bag/etc. is a disaster for the buses. I also was surprised that the buses (to/from HS or AK) made multiple stops at the Poly and the Contemporary. It made the ride back (with a cranky baby) very LONG. I really liked the music played in the lobby, and the hotel was beautiful! We had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare one day and the selection was awesome (Lobster Eggs Benedict!!!!), and the character meeting was fun too. We mostly got take-out from Gasparillas...I had the quesadillas one night, which were delicious. One thing I found creepy though, was that old lady by the club elevators that sat there ALL THE TIME with the basket of stuffed animals? What's up with that??

Conference Perks: During the conference, I was able to tag along to a couple of events. One night they had an outdoor snacks and fireworks viewing around the boat docks (it was billed as finger foods and fireworks...but there was hand-carved roast beef, pasta, veg, cheeses...). The food was amazing! Another night I was able to go to the company Gala which was held in the big conference centre and was beautifully lit, big dance floor, a company logo'd ice luge for drinks, and REALLY awesome food! We also got a personal Mickey Mouse meet n' greet, where all the attendees got to get a souvenier pic with Mickey, printed on the spot and in a little frame! We got there early as DH was setting up and DS got to meet Mickey all by himself! He crawled all the way across the room to meet him, and Mickey went down on his knee and stretched his hands out to catch him. SOOO adorable. Another night his work arranged to shuttle all the attendees (not me...it was $150 to add family members and it was at 7pm - too close to bedtime) to Hollywood Studios for a private event at Indiana Jones - they had dinner right on the stage and everything. It was amazing from what I heard from DH!

All in all we had a great visit! We moved from there to the new Art of Animation resort (Cars wing) for 5 days. AoA was....different! I mean it was great, the theming was very cute and the restaurant had some cool selection. But now I'm spoiled with my GF stay!!

Thanks for all your tips/advice/pics in our preparation for our trip! If anyone ever has any baby-specific questions, questions about the suites in the main building, or questions about the conference facilities at GF, I am more than happy to fill you in! I have lots of pics, but not sure how to share them effectively. I have a video walk-through of the suite too, maybe I will figure out how to youtube it and will post a link later.

[k&a&c'smom]

beckysko - thanks for the review, your trip sounds amazing and fun. The conference events must have been a nice way to end the day for the attendees.

If the tub you are referring to is the same garden tub in the king deluxe turret rooms, then YES! it is hard for me to get in and out as I'm only 5'3". I have slipped more than once, and one time in particular left a huge bruise on my thigh. DD seems to have little difficulty, but she's younger and more agile. One of her favorite things is to put a Basin White bath bomb in for a long soak.

The lady in the lobby is a very sweet woman who comes to listen to the music most days. Her husband used to join her, but is deceased. We've talked with her several times and enjoy our conversations with her.

Originally Posted by MommyGina

On the phone with the IPO. My dining reservations that they made are messed up!

Oh, NO! Sorry for the inconvenience, I hope they get things straightened out quickly.

[MommyGina]

Got a very nice CM from IPO on the phone to get all my dining reservations corrected. Things are fine. I can't wait to eat my way through the world!

[tinkerbellmagic]

Hi there, What a wonderful, helpful thread. The photos are gorgeous!
I was wondering if anyone knew if any of the Victorian type prints they have hanging in the rooms at GF are available for sale in the gift shop? I remember when we stayed at BC, I fell in love with the beach themed prints and thought it would be nice to have a couple at home, but didn't remember to look for them in the shop while we were there. I saw some GF prints in the room photos throughout this thread and they are lovely, so I couldn't help but wonder if they are available.
Thanks!

[k&a&c'smom]

Originally Posted by MommyGina

Got a very nice CM from IPO on the phone to get all my dining reservations corrected. Things are fine. I can't wait to eat my way through the world!

I'm happy to hear they got everything fixed - what a relief! LOL about eating your way through the World!

Originally Posted by tinkerbellmagic

Hi there, What a wonderful, helpful thread. The photos are gorgeous!
I was wondering if anyone knew if any of the Victorian type prints they have hanging in the rooms at GF are available for sale in the gift shop? I remember when we stayed at BC, I fell in love with the beach themed prints and thought it would be nice to have a couple at home, but didn't remember to look for them in the shop while we were there. I saw some GF prints in the room photos throughout this thread and they are lovely, so I couldn't help but wonder if they are available.
Thanks!

Everyone here is so helpful, aren't they?!

What a great question. I've seen prints of the GF in the gift shop - I don't remember the ones from the room specifically, but I can't say they are NOT there. We've seen prints of the Poly and AKL (bought one of AKL for DD) in their gift shops, but again, didn't look for copies of the room prints.

Maybe someone there now can give some on-the-spot info!

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thanks so much for the reply! It's so good to know that Disney might have the Poly and AKL prints anyhow. How fun! I bought a print of the Disney Magic in the ship's gift shop about five years ago and a couple resort prints would be great too. I guess I'm looking for things to remind me of the trip already and we haven't even left yet!
ps. I'll keep my eyes open when I'm there, too.

Originally Posted by k&a&c'smom

What a great question. I've seen prints of the GF in the gift shop - I don't remember the ones from the room specifically, but I can't say they are NOT there. We've seen prints of the Poly and AKL (bought one of AKL for DD) in their gift shops, but again, didn't look for copies of the room prints.

Maybe someone there now can give some on-the-spot info!

[bethclayton]

Originally Posted by followthatmouse

K&a&c'sMom, I wish your Mom a very speedy recovery. Anything to do with weight-bearing joints can be painful. As someone who has spent the past week taking my own DM to doctor's appointments and tests, I do empathise.

We make our final ADRs tonight. We are so fortunate to have a long GF visit to plan and anticipate. The only bad bit is that our ADRs cannot be made with one fell swoop. 'Bad' being a thoroughly relative term! Let's face it anything to do with a GF trip cannot be seen as anything but fun.

I do have one question. We made our room booking more than a year ago. At that stage new construction work was yet to be confirmed. While far from definite, there is a possibility that our Main Building room request (4422) will be granted. We have loved this room in a previous trip. And we are extremely fortunate to be able to spend most of December at the GF on our next trip. Our minor concern is that a construction site is not always the most pleasing, or tranquil view. Has anyone found that the building works have detracted at all from their enjoyment of that particular end of the Main Building?

that room is across from the lounge right? overlooking the feature pool? if so, your view will be really impacted. we stayed there in april when the construction had just started. the view was awful (i posted it on the previous GF FAQ thread), and as the week went on and it grew in height, the view got even worse. i would think it would be really bad by now. if i can find my pic i will post it on this thread. we stayed there also in march 2010 and the view was stunning- now it is very, very marred by construction. we chose not to ask to be moved because my mother is in a scooter and we wanted to know that she would have good proximity to the lounge.

[beckysko]

[QUOTE=k&a&c'smom;45334782
The lady in the lobby is a very sweet woman who comes to listen to the music most days. Her husband used to join her, but is deceased. We've talked with her several times and enjoy our conversations with her.[/QUOTE]

REALLY! Wow, I wish I had known before my trip. We passed her several times, and I honestly thought she was part of the 'show', like representing a character who frequented the hotel or something! I thought it was strange, but had I known she was just hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere, I might have stopped for a visit! You should add her to your board details, maybe people will make a plan to stop and visit her while they are there!

[bethclayton]

view in march 2010:





view april 2012:

[tinkerbellmagic]

Me again. I'm wondering if anyone would like to take a guess if one or both pools will be open for swimming around the second week of August. I noticed the construction walls around the beach pool in some of the photos, but didn't know if that meant that the beach pool would be closed for swimming. We would be happy with just one pool open, if that's the case, but I think my grandson would be very happy if the themed pool (the one with the slide) was open when we're there. Of course he will be thrilled with either pool, but just wondering. This will be our first stay at GF and we're beyond excited!
TIA!

[aprestwich]

Hi Everyone,

We've booked our dream trip to the GF November 1st to 15th, 2012 in Club Level with Free Dining that I've upgraded to DxDP. This is also the first trip for our latest DS who is arriving mid-August! My DW, DS10 and DS6 can't wait to share our little obsession with Disney with the new arrival.

This also marks the first time that we'll be at the same hotel for the duration of our trip, we normally like to move around and try out the various hotels. Obviously it's not ideal to be packing everything a baby needs and moving around!

My question today is if anyone can tell me about both the cribs that you can get and the pack n' play playpen that they offer. What are they like? Any pictures?

We're undecided about driving or flying, so knowing what our options are for sleeping might help decide. Anyone that's been to the GF with a baby and has some thoughts or tips, it would be appreciated!

Andrew

[Jungle Cruiser]

Originally Posted by tinkerbellmagic

Me again. I'm wondering if anyone would like to take a guess if one or both pools will be open for swimming around the second week of August. I noticed the construction walls around the beach pool in some of the photos, but didn't know if that meant that the beach pool would be closed for swimming. We would be happy with just one pool open, if that's the case, but I think my grandson would be very happy if the themed pool (the one with the slide) was open when we're there. Of course he will be thrilled with either pool, but just wondering. This will be our first stay at GF and we're beyond excited!
TIA!

The Beach Pool has been enclosed by walls, but has remained open throughout the construction.



Hope this helps.

Bethclayton, those pictures kind of make me sad. I know it will be beautiful again, but it is going to be awhile

K &a&c'smom, sorry to heat about your mother.

Beckysko, thank you for the trip report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the GF!

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thank you! It's good to know the Beach Pool is open. Terrific photo! It's nice to know what to expect.

Originally Posted by Jungle Cruiser

The Beach Pool has been enclosed by walls, but has remained open throughout the construction.



Hope this helps.