(2014-2020) Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA + VILLAS Information & Questions

[Dariansue]

17 days till Disney!!! I'm soo excited! I don't know which one to be most excited about! The Poly, WL or GF!!!! No Monday blues today! Does anyone want to join me in a little "GOING TO DISNEY SOON DANCE?!"

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi everyone!
I booked my first gf stay for my 50th birthday!!! Yippee!! I booked it a couple months ago for 3 nights the first weekend in dec. I did book deluxe king club level in the main bldg. I am sooooo excited!!! It will just be me and dh. We are doc members and staying at the boardwalk villas for 6 nights before we move over to gf. I did request a theme park view with balcony. We have never stayed club level and I have been getting great info just by reading these boards. Should I request a certain room? Also should I make dining reservations if we are staying club level? I did book the first night at narcoosees Thanks for all your help!!! Can't wait for my trip!!!

What a great way to celebrate your birthday . The GF is amazing, you're going to love it!

Sounds like a fantastic birthday! I think Narcooses is a great idea.

Me too .

I've booked my first trip to the GF in November and also booked a deluxe king! Everyone on here has been extremely helpful with giving me tons of info so I'll share what I learned!

I agree, everyone here is very nice and helpful .

Lol, I meant my dh wants to try Vero Beach!!! He is a pro at FaceTime

She really is enjoying it!!! Her bf gma and gpa are celebrating their 60th and disney delivered chocolate covered strawberries tonight

Lol. That makes more sense....not sure what I was thinking . Glad DD is having a good time.

We are not booked CL at AKL, but might think about upgrading to enjoy their lounge. We did one time years ago. I recall they had a refreshing juice I just loved!

I think an upgrade to CL is a great idea .

So I made the mistake of googling the pictures of the Gingerbread House that goes up at the Grand Floridian and it is AMAZING.

Anyone know how early in the season this is up, typically? We do have an ADR at the GF during our trip and I'd be thrilled if it was up when we are there... (we go the week before Thanksgiving)

I don't know when the gingerbread house starts going up, but I know someone here will be able to answer .

17 days till Disney!!! I'm soo excited! I don't know which one to be most excited about! The Poly, WL or GF!!!! No Monday blues today! Does anyone want to join me in a little "GOING TO DISNEY SOON DANCE?!"

How exciting.....you will be checking in before you know it . Great choice of resorts.....we love all 3 of them .

 

[goofy4prez]

17 days till Disney!!! I'm soo excited! I don't know which one to be most excited about! The Poly, WL or GF!!!! No Monday blues today! Does anyone want to join me in a little "GOING TO DISNEY SOON DANCE?!"

We are also 17 days till Disney and staying at VGF & BLT... My ticker is two days off since we had to reschedule by two days. I'll join you in a "Going to Disney soon dance."

 

[trishadono]

So I made the mistake of googling the pictures of the Gingerbread House that goes up at the Grand Floridian and it is AMAZING.

Anyone know how early in the season this is up, typically? We do have an ADR at the GF during our trip and I'd be thrilled if it was up when we are there... (we go the week before Thanksgiving)

It is usually like the 13-15th when it is up. Last year was a little later than other years however. It is just as fun to watch it get assembled and see it before the store inside it is actually open. That takes a week or so, so you should see something.

 

[Northminnie]

The TPV rooms are on the 2nd floor, 4201-4209. If standing outside looking at the building they go left to right 09-01.

I had the "tree room" which is 4201. If I ever book that category again I would request any except that number, the others all looked fine.

Elevators: there is one that goes from the lobby to all floors 1-5. You need your MB to access 3-5.

The second one you access following the hall from the 3-5 floor rooms towards sago/bus stop end of the building or opposite of the lounge end(hope that not confusing) . Since the building is oddly shaped just keep walking until you see this elevator. It goes to the 2nd floor CL rooms but also to Gaspies, courtyard pool, and easier for bus stop too.

If you didn't know that elevator was there you have to traipse through the lobby with your swim gear on or take out food in hand!

I still remember dh arguing with me when I took him for that 2nd elevator the first time, he insisted I was wrong BUT I had read about and knew it was there and we found it very convenient

Thanks everyone for all the great info!
I really hope I don't get the room with the tree. I will ask for any room BUT that one. If I didn't enjoy sitting on the balcony so much I would change my request. I love having morning coffee and afternoon wine while reading a good book on a balcony with a beautiful view.
Another question I have is about dinners. Do you still go out for nice dinners or do you just pick at the appetizers and go out for a less expensive dinner restaurant? I am so excited about the scones. Lol.

Thanks again everyone!!! These boards are SO helpful!!!

 

[loveshak22]

Thanks everyone for all the great info!
I really hope I don't get the room with the tree. I will ask for any room BUT that one. If I didn't enjoy sitting on the balcony so much I would change my request. I love having morning coffee and afternoon wine while reading a good book on a balcony with a beautiful view.
Another question I have is about dinners. Do you still go out for nice dinners or do you just pick at the appetizers and go out for a less expensive dinner restaurant? I am so excited about the scones. Lol.

Thanks again everyone!!! These boards are SO helpful!!!

We love nice, relaxing dinners so we still have dinner ADRs booked every night. We plan on doing breakfast at CL most mornings, tea (when we are around), then maybe popping in for the hot apps right at 5:00 just to "taste" what's out, do a sit down dinner around 8:00, and then pop back in for a cocktail right before bed and maybe have a little "taste" of the dessert options. You'll probably have to roll us out of there by the end of the trip

Although, CL breakfast will be light and we don't have any lunch ADRs so I'm thinking this will work for us. On our last trip CL (at AKL), we also had the deluxe dining plan. That was our first trip CL and we only really did CL because I originally booked an Arusha view room and CL was only like $40 more a night so we gave it a try figuring even if we only ate breakfast and had cocktails then the cost would be worth the difference. On that trip we were at the parks all day so we really didn't get to enjoy CL much - except as planned with breakfast and cocktails. I think we got in for hot apps one or two nights. I will say that the DDP was way too much food, and we are big eaters!! Hopefully this plan works better for us!

 

[TeacherDL]

We have loved all of the resorts we've tried, but the Poly and GF are my two favorites. The Poly is slightly ahead of the GF for me, but the GF runs a very close second .

I want to try the Poly next...if I don't love the Grand so much that I can't leave!

 

[followthatmouse]

17 days till Disney!!! I'm soo excited! I don't know which one to be most excited about! The Poly, WL or GF!!!! No Monday blues today! Does anyone want to join me in a little "GOING TO DISNEY SOON DANCE?!"

I would love to join you in a little dance, Dariansue! Soon, you'll be counting down on fingers alone! How exciting!!!

 

[EvieBug]

It is usually like the 13-15th when it is up. Last year was a little later than other years however. It is just as fun to watch it get assembled and see it before the store inside it is actually open. That takes a week or so, so you should see something.

Thank you! I hope we can see it completed, I would be thrilled to see as much holiday decor as I can on this trip since Disney at Christmas will have to wait till the kids are a bit older!

 

[trishadono]

Thanks everyone for all the great info!
I really hope I don't get the room with the tree. I will ask for any room BUT that one. If I didn't enjoy sitting on the balcony so much I would change my request. I love having morning coffee and afternoon wine while reading a good book on a balcony with a beautiful view.
Another question I have is about dinners. Do you still go out for nice dinners or do you just pick at the appetizers and go out for a less expensive dinner restaurant? I am so excited about the scones. Lol.

Thanks again everyone!!! These boards are SO helpful!!!

Last year at POLY cl dd and i did sit down lunches instead. I never realized how many of the epcot resorts offer them. I say that because the mono resorts signature restaurants don't do lunch(example California Grill or Narcossees.} We liked that alot! It gave us more time to walk off the food.

With dh things are different. He doesn't like to pre book anything so we wing it. He did enjoy the appetizers at the tambu lounge over at poly. Best chicken wings!! He is happy to get a salad or burger from gaspies etc.

For a nice dinner option dd and i like Kona over at Poly. Reasonable prices and yummy food and close to GF.

I can't eat that much so after scones, appies, and desserts i am pretty full. If dd has me in a park late we sometimes share a burger like at 11pm.

 

[trishadono]

We love nice, relaxing dinners so we still have dinner ADRs booked every night. We plan on doing breakfast at CL most mornings, tea (when we are around), then maybe popping in for the hot apps right at 5:00 just to "taste" what's out, do a sit down dinner around 8:00, and then pop back in for a cocktail right before bed and maybe have a little "taste" of the dessert options. You'll probably have to roll us out of there by the end of the trip

Although, CL breakfast will be light and we don't have any lunch ADRs so I'm thinking this will work for us. On our last trip CL (at AKL), we also had the deluxe dining plan. That was our first trip CL and we only really did CL because I originally booked an Arusha view room and CL was only like $40 more a night so we gave it a try figuring even if we only ate breakfast and had cocktails then the cost would be worth the difference. On that trip we were at the parks all day so we really didn't get to enjoy CL much - except as planned with breakfast and cocktails. I think we got in for hot apps one or two nights. I will say that the DDP was way too much food, and we are big eaters!! Hopefully this plan works better for us!

The cl breakfast is my favorite thing. I keep thinking about booking non cl but then i think about waking up and not having coffee made for me and no fruit and oatmeal

I could live without the rest of the food but i do enjoy having the lounge space. It really does enhance the trip!

 

[grannyminnie]

The cl breakfast is my favorite thing. I keep thinking about booking non cl but then i think about waking up and not having coffee made for me and no fruit and oatmeal

I could live without the rest of the food but i do enjoy having the lounge space. It really does enhance the trip!

I agree about that CL breakfast! Quite filling...

 

[skibum25]

I could live without the rest of the food but i do enjoy having the lounge space. It really does enhance the trip!

Leaving in 4 days for SL! Been a few years since last CL stay at GF. What else do they have for breakfast besides fruit and oatmeal? I remember bagels, toast, muffins, sweet rolls, cereal. Am I missing anything?

 

[lala5176]

Leaving in 4 days for SL! Been a few years since last CL stay at GF. What else do they have for breakfast besides fruit and oatmeal? I remember bagels, toast, muffins, sweet rolls, cereal. Am I missing anything?

They have deli meats and cheese and yogurt also.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

I was just about to say I'm considering SL but won't know if we can do it financially for a little while. It's the same price as TPV outer building!?

 

[mickeynut1]

We are also 17 days till Disney and staying at VGF & BLT... My ticker is two days off since we had to reschedule by two days. I'll join you in a "Going to Disney soon dance."

It is usually like the 13-15th when it is up. Last year was a little later than other years however. It is just as fun to watch it get assembled and see it before the store inside it is actually open. That takes a week or so, so you should see something.

Thanks, Trish....I knew someone would be able to answer .

Thanks everyone for all the great info!
I really hope I don't get the room with the tree. I will ask for any room BUT that one. If I didn't enjoy sitting on the balcony so much I would change my request. I love having morning coffee and afternoon wine while reading a good book on a balcony with a beautiful view.
Another question I have is about dinners. Do you still go out for nice dinners or do you just pick at the appetizers and go out for a less expensive dinner restaurant? I am so excited about the scones. Lol.

Thanks again everyone!!! These boards are SO helpful!!!

I know there are only a few of those rooms, but if you do get the one with the tree, you could always ask if a different room is available. It's not guaranteed (especially since there aren't a lot of them), but it never hurts to ask .

We love nice, relaxing dinners so we still have dinner ADRs booked every night.

We enjoy nice dinners, too, even when we stay CL .

I want to try the Poly next...if I don't love the Grand so much that I can't leave!

I love the GF and while it is hard to stay at other resorts after staying there, the Poly is great and is worth a try . Both resorts offer beautiful, relaxing grounds, great pools, as well as great dining options. The nice thing is they are located close enough that it's very easy to visit the one you're not staying at .

Thank you! I hope we can see it completed, I would be thrilled to see as much holiday decor as I can on this trip since Disney at Christmas will have to wait till the kids are a bit older!

Disney during the holidays is amazing, I hope there are lots of decorations up during your trip .

I could live without the rest of the food but i do enjoy having the lounge space. It really does enhance the trip!

I agree .

I agree about that CL breakfast! Quite filling...

Leaving in 4 days for SL! Been a few years since last CL stay at GF.

Have a great trip .

 

[trishadono]

I was just about to say I'm considering SL but won't know if we can do it financially for a little while. It's the same price as TPV outer building!?

Usually yes.

 

[trishadono]

They have deli meats and cheese and yogurt also.

I remember watching someone warm up a croissant in the toaster and then added ham and cheese to make a breakfast sandwich, yum.

 

[catho72]

Hello all! We were able to take advantage of the Southwest airfare sale and in doing so added a day to our trip. We are already spending 9 nights at BC CL so our family voted on spending our bonus night at GF! We've never stayed here before and are super excited! We booked an Outer Building Lagoon View room. Which building should I request for being able to see a sidelong view of MK? Is this even possible? Does Boca Chica have any rooms in our category? Thanks!

 

[skibum25]

They have deli meats and cheese and yogurt also.

Thanks lala5176. Meat and cheese for breakfast doesn't sound appealing to me. Maybe that's why I don't remember it!

Have a great trip .

Thanks mickeynut1!

I'm from Chicago too (I'm assuming you are Chicago but maybe just a Bulls fan.) How do you feel about The Mayor as Bulls new coach?