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

[loveshak22]

I didn't walk it in the night this trip but have in the past and I did walk the gf grounds at night. I never have aproblem with lighting.

Did anyone notice in the first pic the light poles are white for gf then switch to brown for poly??

We have always enjoyed the path!!

However!! From poly to gf you pick up the path past the marina and it's pretty easy to find. From gf it's a little tricky to find. Dd and I have had to walk "the walk of grass shame" many times. Let me try to explain.

If you walk from main building at gf towards VGF and follow the path on the right side of the building and follow the path around and towards poly you realize you can see the correct path about 20 feet away towards the water. So you cut across the grass!!!

To get on the correct start you need to cut through beach pool area to the beach. Take the path that runs along VGF on the water side, that leads directly to poly.

Eh? Cutting across the grass isn't that big a deal, eventually they will make us a path!!

The walk of grass shame - oh no!

Thanks for the heads-up to avoid the "grass of shame"!!!

LOVE the pics! I think my favorite is the fireworks in the background over the glass of wine! Looks like a fun evening! Although those pictures at dusk are quite beautiful as well!

Safe travels tomorrow...glad you and your DS got away for a few days to relax and reconnect before she heads back to school!

 

[trishadono]

The walk of grass shame - oh no!

Thanks for the heads-up to avoid the "grass of shame"!!!

LOVE the pics! I think my favorite is the fireworks in the background over the glass of wine! Looks like a fun evening! Although those pictures at dusk are quite beautiful as well!

Safe travels tomorrow...glad you and your DS got away for a few days to relax and reconnect before she heads back to school!

Thanks!

All the abbreviations get confusing I know! I went on the trip with my daughter that's 20 but my son who is 18 is going to school tomorrow. My daughter, Lys will go Monday to set up her room but will come back the next day. She is planning on going back for the weekend and her classes start 8/31.

I think my mother in law will live with us for a bit while she heals from surgery. So no empty nest quite right away.

For our January girls trip staying moderate won't be so bad. When the girls stay out late I'll play on the monorail and visit all my favorite spots then take bus from MK back to our resort! So, looking forward to visiting the grand soon again.

 

[loveshak22]

Thanks!

All the abbreviations get confusing I know! I went on the trip with my daughter that's 20 but my son who is 18 is going to school tomorrow. My daughter, Lys will go Monday to set up her room but will come back the next day. She is planning on going back for the weekend and her classes start 8/31.

I think my mother in law will live with us for a bit while she heals from surgery. So no empty nest quite right away.

For our January girls trip staying moderate won't be so bad. When the girls stay out late I'll play on the monorail and visit all my favorite spots then take bus from MK back to our resort! So, looking forward to visiting the grand soon again.

Haha - trying to multitask talking to my DH and typing on here and I got it all messed up didn't I!! I did know you were at GF with your daughter and saw you said taking DS to school but just had your daughter in my head I guess and read it as DD! But then responded about you and your DS having a good trip together as I thought you were taking your daughter to school - and said DS when I meant DD... now that's a confusing explanation right!! Sorry about that!

Let me try again now that my focus is solely on the Dis! I'm glad you and DD had fun...safe travels with your DS tomorrow! Glad you have some more time with Lys before she goes back! LOL!

How's your MIL doing? Hopefully she's feeling a little better recovering from the surgery.

Monorail hopping sounds fun! Hopefully January will be here in no time for you. I can't believe August is almost over. I can't wait for Fall, it is by far my favorite season.

I'm off to bed - sleep tight everyone!

 

[Debbie6221]

I used to spend a lot of time on these wonderful disboards and feeling a little nostalgic back here! Wow! Well, I am head to GF on Tuesday the 25th! CAN NOT WAIT! Was hoping you guys could tell me if the Gasperilla is closed already or closing. I saw it was listed as a refurb but Im hoping it's delayed or something. Super bummed about it! Thanks!

 

[MommyGina]

Trish - thanks for the pictures. I can just hear the train whistle and the boat horn while I am looking at the pictures!

Oh, taking DS back to college already!!! I have 2 more weeks until my DS goes back to college. All that tuition money for such a short amount of time.

 

[rachdd]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on this thread for a few months but finally decided to say hi today as I am doing the double digit dance! 99 days until we check in to the Grand! Although we are Disney vets, this will be our first stay at the Grand and we are so excited!

 

[trishadono]

 

[Maddie's Nana]

Just back from SL and just looking at Trishadono's pics makes me want to GO BACK NOW!! Love the picture of Don at the Concierge desk. He was very helpful.

We had a fantastic time and I am now a convert. I have always loved the Poly CL but I really loved SL. Our room on the first floor was great - close to lobby and to side door - making it easy to get to main building or Gasparilla (especially during a rain storm). Will post more later with pics but have to do laundry now and unfortunately I don't see anyone preparing my afternoon tea or my evening appetizers. Darn!

 

[mickeynut1]

I am back from a fun and totally exhausting trip to the D23 Expo and will be pretty much doing my laundry and putting everything back in the suitcase for my trip to Florida.

Have a great trip .

I should have crafted that sentence better because it could be read as if I was asking if there were alligators smooching in the grass OR couples smooching in the grass! Both would be a fun sight but alligators smooching would definitely be noteworthy!

Thanks so much for all the pics, they have made my day I am getting so excited for our first stay.

Have a great time and enjoy the GF .

I used to spend a lot of time on these wonderful disboards and feeling a little nostalgic back here! Wow! Well, I am head to GF on Tuesday the 25th! CAN NOT WAIT! Was hoping you guys could tell me if the Gasperilla is closed already or closing. I saw it was listed as a refurb but Im hoping it's delayed or something. Super bummed about it! Thanks!

I can't answer about Gasparillas, but wanted to say have a great time at the Grand .

Hi everyone! I have been lurking on this thread for a few months but finally decided to say hi today as I am doing the double digit dance! 99 days until we check in to the Grand! Although we are Disney vets, this will be our first stay at the Grand and we are so excited!

I'm sure the next 99 days will fly by .

Just back from SL and just looking at Trishadono's pics makes me want to GO BACK NOW!! Love the picture of Don at the Concierge desk. He was very helpful.

We had a fantastic time and I am now a convert. I have always loved the Poly CL but I really loved SL. Our room on the first floor was great - close to lobby and to side door - making it easy to get to main building or Gasparilla (especially during a rain storm). Will post more later with pics but have to do laundry now and unfortunately I don't see anyone preparing my afternoon tea or my evening appetizers. Darn!

Glad you had a great time! LOL on not having someone prepare your afternoon tea or evening apps .....CL spoils you in that respect .

 

[AudreyLovesTheMouse]

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2015/08/walt-disney-world-monorail-hours.html

Here is the current Monorail schedule...This is my first time staying at a monorail resort since 1995, so I'm not sure how it works.

If I need to get to MK for an 8am ADR on Friday the 4th, I'm guessing I can't take the monorail, is that right?

Would I take the monorail to ticket and transportation then get a bus? Or should I get a monorail to the Contemporary and then walk?

Thanks for any advice!

I'm not sure if I managed to quote Ismo correctly. Sorry if I goofed... learning curve.
I checked the link you provided (Thanks!) I also would like to get going before the times posted. We are planning to do rope drop.
Do the monorails start servicing the resorts before the first scheduled MK monorail? Would Ismo's suggestion of taking a monorail to the contemporary and walking to MK work?
Also, is there any way of doing rope drop at EPCOT?
I have a boat question too... When do the boats start running to the MK?
Any advice/info?
44 hours until I check in at the GF !!!! (Yes, I'm counting the hours) WOO HOO!!!!!

And BTW... What do you gals like to do on your first day "home" at the GF? What are your first day must dos?

 

[got15]

I'm not sure if I managed to quote Ismo correctly. Sorry if I goofed... learning curve.
I checked the link you provided (Thanks!) I also would like to get going before the times posted. We are planning to do rope drop.
Do the monorails start servicing the resorts before the first scheduled MK monorail? Would Ismo's suggestion of taking a monorail to the contemporary and walking to MK work?
Also, is there any way of doing rope drop at EPCOT?
I have a boat question too... When do the boats start running to the MK?
Any advice/info?
44 hours until I check in at the GF !!!! (Yes, I'm counting the hours) WOO HOO!!!!!

And BTW... What do you gals like to do on your first day "home" at the GF? What are your first day must dos?

First day ritual: grab a drink from the pool bar and lay out by the Alice splash pad watching my kids go crazy and the monorail go by!!

 

[MommyGina]

AudreyLovesTheMouse - have a Grand time!!!

 

[Circusgirl]

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Thanks for taking us for a sweet ride through an amazing sunset!

 

[trishadono]

I used to spend a lot of time on these wonderful disboards and feeling a little nostalgic back here! Wow! Well, I am head to GF on Tuesday the 25th! CAN NOT WAIT! Was hoping you guys could tell me if the Gasperilla is closed already or closing. I saw it was listed as a refurb but Im hoping it's delayed or something. Super bummed about it! Thanks!

As far as I know that's still on. Sorry! Good news though that the pool bars have food and room service is a nice option too! Also it's a short walk or ride to poly and I love cap'n cooks QS.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[grannyminnie]

I was so happy to be away on the must needed break.

I will try to send the pix from my phone.

Basically I loved SL!!! Our room 6411 was great. I loved the dormer after all! The views were amazing and I watched fireworks from the balcony on our last night!!!

The service was amazing! Everyone was so friendly! By far my best CL experience!!!

Ok pic time:

Did you enjoy the CMs in SL? We find them to be friendly and helpful. Looking forward to visiting our faves on our next trip! Welcome back, but know you are already looking forward to your next visit!
By the way...love, love, love all your pics!!!

 

[VbChristy]

Looks beautiful! I plan on doing this walk at least once for some Tonga toast! Thanks for sharing the pics.

The worst part of out being diagnosed with celiac is that I don't get tanga toast anymore! They need to find a Gluten free version!

 

[branv]

Oh my, those boat pics are stunning! The only time we visited the GF was on our anniversary trip a few years back. We had an afternoon nap at CR, then decided to do a monorail tour. It was May, so of course it rained while we were at the Poly, but by the time we made it to GF most of the clouds had cleared. After walking around, we headed down to the boat to go to MK. It was actually pretty cold outside on that boat after the rain despite it being May. At first I was regretting the choice to use the boat, but oh my goodness, that beautiful view at sunset as we pulled away from GF, and then the view of MK as its lights started showing. Stunning!! One of my favorite memories of the World.

Well I finally choked about the buses and transportation "question marks" lately surrounding the monorail resorts. So we're renting a car. Really thought we'd finally make it on the ME, but oh well! With a 2 yo I just didn't want to spend all my time waiting for and riding on buses, where we may out may not have a seat. I'm just glad the only self parking isn't 200 miles away anymore!

 

[Maddie's Nana]

We checked out of SL on Thursday and haven't received an itemized bill yer. Is this usual? Don't they usually e-mail you a bill? TIA

 

[loveshak22]

We checked out of SL on Thursday and haven't received an itemized bill yer. Is this usual? Don't they usually e-mail you a bill? TIA

Hey!! How was your SL experience??

When we stayed AKL in 2013 I am pretty sure we got our itemized receipt by email almost right after checkout? But, I could be remembering that wrong...but I feel like I remember that is what happened.

 

[Maddie's Nana]

Hey!! How was your SL experience??

When we stayed AKL in 2013 I am pretty sure we got our itemized receipt by email almost right after checkout? But, I could be remembering that wrong...but I feel like I remember that is what happened.

We loved SL - didn't want to leave, can't wait to go back. I thought we received our receipt right away the last time we were at the Poly. Maybe they're not going to charge us since we were such good guests -