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

[Trixie Belden]

Got my IPO welcome letter today! While I don't have anything I need their help with it was exciting to get the letter.

Yay!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

2 weeks from right now we will be crawling into our beds at the GF for our pre cruise stay. I am sooo excited. I didn't request anything. Is that a mistake? I usually just let them assign me whatever and if I were not happy with it I'd go ask to switch, but that has never happened. This is our first GF stay.

 

[trishadono]

Yay!

Loved those Trixie books and then I introduced my daughter to them too!

Happy 50th! Celebrating a milestone at wdw is great but at GF it will be Grand

 

[kallanach]

We just checked out But I meant to find out what brand of pillows are used at the resort? Really liked them and wonder if they can be purchased retail.

 

[BlueSkies]

Hello fellow GF fans ....Its been a bit....but I am finally getting to pop in a say Hi!! and share my pre trip excitement...in a place where I know everyone else get it....lol....

Officially booked for RPC Standard room for my Birthday later this month, 8/27. One night

Angi How wonderful... Wishing you an early Happy Birthday...I know that it will be just GRAND!!

We paid the balance for our December RPC stay today! It's all very exciting and more than a bit naughty as it will be our second stay this year. I'm so happy to give my DM a festive vacation as she has had a rotten eighteen months health-wise. Minnie Mouse and the GF, the best possible medicine!

Woohoo...so nice to be PIF....What a great way to celebrate with your DM too.......We will be in RPC in December too...Its a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season....Have a magical trip....

Us too - checked in today and are in Big Pine Key We're right across from the Poly and I can see some beach to the right. It's going to be reallllly hard to leave this place!

....

We just checked out But I meant to find out what brand of pillows are used at the resort? Really liked them and wonder if they can be purchased retail.

If you brought home the booklet that was on the desk with resort and general WDW info.. I think??? lol...there should be info there about the bedding...mattress and pillows included....

We are doing the single digit dance ......not a GF stay this time...Poly and BWI instead...we always manage to get a few GF days in ..even with a split...so this is going to be be a change.......planning on a little GF visit though...do some shopping...saying HI to Sue and her DD (really had so much fun meeting up with Dispro and Trish last visit )...and hopefully not missing our fave resort too much....

ETA...grannyminnie and Wishes ..Hope all of the WDW trip planning is going well...

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday.... GF gal...who cannot wait to get back to WDW....

 

[KonaKaiTom]

@BlueSkies, wow, the favorite of dances -- the single digit fidget!!!!!!! Congratulations and have a wonderful trip - is the suitcase packed yet? I hope you get to Narcossees or Citrico's -- because it is all about the food!

Tom

 

[GPC0321]

View attachment 187940

Looking at that schedule, how would you get to rope drop at MK at 8am on Monday if the monorail doesn't start running until 8:30? And likewise, how do you get back to the GF if you stay until the park closes at 1am on Monday if the monorail stops running at 12am?
And what about evening EMH? On Wednesday they have EMH until 2am, but the monorail only runs until 1am?
Am I reading it wrong?

 

[HockeyMomR]

Looking at that schedule, how would you get to rope drop at MK at 8am on Monday if the monorail doesn't start running until 8:30? And likewise, how do you get back to the GF if you stay until the park closes at 1am on Monday if the monorail stops running at 12am?
And what about evening EMH? On Wednesday they have EMH until 2am, but the monorail only runs until 1am?
Am I reading it wrong?

Can answer one - we took a bus directly to MK yesterday as I wanted to make the Welcome Show. Was easy. My DH was a bit behind us, didn't care about opening show and took monorail right at 8:30. He missed opening show, but made it very quickly. FYI - leave yourself plenty of time for bag check at MK.

 

[GPC0321]

Can answer one - we took a bus directly to MK yesterday as I wanted to make the Welcome Show. Was easy. My DH was a bit behind us, didn't care about opening show and took monorail right at 8:30. He missed opening show, but made it very quickly. FYI - leave yourself plenty of time for bag check at MK.

Thanks for the reply. We won't be there until next December, so it's not a big deal, I was just kind of floored that the monorail wouldn't start running until after MK opened. Seems like a bummer to pay the expense for an MK-area monorail resort only to not even be able to get to MK by the monorail in time for the opening, not to mention apparently not being able to rely on the monorail to get you back to the resort when MK closes.
I'm not one to complain about WDW, but that's pretty crazy.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for the reply. We won't be there until next December, so it's not a big deal, I was just kind of floored that the monorail wouldn't start running until after MK opened. Seems like a bummer to pay the expense for an MK-area monorail resort only to not even be able to get to MK by the monorail in time for the opening, not to mention apparently not being able to rely on the monorail to get you back to the resort when MK closes.
I'm not one to complain about WDW, but that's pretty crazy.

It is and that's why I do not count the Monorail as a benefit. Ever. Not only is it in perpetual maintenance mode it's always breaking down. I prefer to NOT be forced in to using the dang thing

 

[GPC0321]

It is and that's why I do not count the Monorail as a benefit. Ever. Not only is it in perpetual maintenance mode it's always breaking down. I prefer to NOT be forced in to using the dang thing

Yeah, I can understand that.
We're still excited to stay at the GF next December anyway, and hopefully the monorail will be operating on a more reasonable schedule. But if not, we'll get to MK one way or another. The monorail isn't the main draw to the GF for us, but it sure seems like whoever came up with that schedule wasn't thinking things through. Is it on a moderated/limited schedule right now? Everything I've read elsewhere says the resort monorails usually start running 30 minutes to an hour before the earliest park opening and run an hour past the latest park closing. That makes sense.

 

[BabyFu18]

I can't believe it but we are leaving for the GF one week from today, I booked us a poolside cabana today for the day after we arrive so we can relax by the pool after traveling, unpacking, getting settled in, etc. I'm super excited!

We will be at the GF for two weeks so I'm hoping to really settle in and enjoy the resort as much as possible, it sucks to hear the monorail might be down a good bit, so we will probably have to use buses more than we'd planned (I can't use the boat transportation as I understand it, since I'm in a wheelchair and mobility devices aren't allowed on those boats), but it'll be okay since we are prepared and any monorail downtime won't be a surprise. We will also utilize taxis at WDW so that's not a huge issue.

I do have one question though, if the monorail is down what's the best way to get from the GF to the Ft.Wilderness campground for dinner without being able to use the boat from the GF? I thought the best way would be to take the monorail to MK and then take the FT.Wilderness boat from there (if it's an accessible boat) but maybe there is a better way especially if the monorail is down for whatever reason?

All the info I've gotten from this thread is just amazing, I'm so thankful for everyone here for that!

 

[Sue M]

Us too - checked in today and are in Big Pine Key We're right across from the Poly and I can see some beach to the right. It's going to be reallllly hard to leave this place!

We had similar view 2 yrs ago when we had lagoon view. Looks like you may be on 2nd floor?
Loved watching water parade from balcony. This stay I'm enjoying Wishes from balcony! Great location. Just got in from Beach pool

 

[KonaKaiTom]

I can't believe it but we are leaving for the GF one week from today, I booked us a poolside cabana today for the day after we arrive so we can relax by the pool after traveling, unpacking, getting settled in, etc. I'm super excited!

We will be at the GF for two weeks so I'm hoping to really settle in and enjoy the resort as much as possible, it sucks to hear the monorail might be down a good bit, so we will probably have to use buses more than we'd planned (I can't use the boat transportation as I understand it, since I'm in a wheelchair and mobility devices aren't allowed on those boats), but it'll be okay since we are prepared and any monorail downtime won't be a surprise. We will also utilize taxis at WDW so that's not a huge issue.

I do have one question though, if the monorail is down what's the best way to get from the GF to the Ft.Wilderness campground for dinner without being able to use the boat from the GF? I thought the best way would be to take the monorail to MK and then take the FT.Wilderness boat from there (if it's an accessible boat) but maybe there is a better way especially if the monorail is down for whatever reason?

All the info I've gotten from this thread is just amazing, I'm so thankful for everyone here for that!

@babyFU, there are two types of boats that go around the Seven Seas Lagoon (in addition to the large Ferry). From the GF to/from the MK, they use Launches, which sort of look like an open sailboat type of boat -- they cannot take ECVs aboard but if you can get out of your wheelchair and do the two steps down, they can take you and your wheelchair. From the MK to FW and WL they have Launches and Cruisers. Cruisers are much larger -- they are what are used in Epcot for the Friendship boats. Cruisers can take both wheelchairs and ECVs. If the monorail is down, I guess the option would be to take a bus to the MK and then take a cruiser to FW.

Enjoy your vacation and I hope the monorail operates flawlessly for you!

Tom

 

[Regan117]

Very excited!!! Because of all of the issues with the Poly bungalows, we were wanting to cancel ours but nothing was available we wanted until today. We will now be staying in a GF Main Bldg 2-Bedroom Suite for 4 nights and a VGF 2-bedroom villa for 4 nights! I'm actually relieved at the change and SO EXCITED to be back at the Grand.

 

[HockeyMomR]

Is it a standard room? If so I'd love to know the room number - maybe we can move right in after you guys when we arrive in 13 days!!!

We checked out yesterday. This was room 5319. We did have a Garden View room booked, not sure if this room was actually that category, but I suppose so. We loved it!

 

[michelepa]

We checked out yesterday. This was room 5319. We did have a Garden View room booked, not sure if this room was actually that category, but I suppose so. We loved it!

Thanks HockeyMomR for the info. Glad you had a great time!

We will be there on August 27th.

So this is one of my favorite parts about a vacation the two weeks leading up to vacay -the anticipation and excitement is building.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I thought this sounded like fun and I'll actually be staying at the BC that day so I can walk right over. I didn't RSVP since I'm not registered on FB, but I do plan on attending. Anyone else who might attend?​

 

[AngiTN]

Yeah, I can understand that.
We're still excited to stay at the GF next December anyway, and hopefully the monorail will be operating on a more reasonable schedule. But if not, we'll get to MK one way or another. The monorail isn't the main draw to the GF for us, but it sure seems like whoever came up with that schedule wasn't thinking things through. Is it on a moderated/limited schedule right now? Everything I've read elsewhere says the resort monorails usually start running 30 minutes to an hour before the earliest park opening and run an hour past the latest park closing. That makes sense.

The monorail has been in limited operation for a year at least, maybe more. It's a very long term upgrade and as far as I know, will still be in the same limited operation for a while. If they finish the upgrades then it will resume to the schedule you mention. If not, it will look like the one they have now.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Happy travels to everyone leaving soon for WDW!

Got my IPO welcome letter today! While I don't have anything I need their help with it was exciting to get the letter.

It's good you got a welcome - another one of those CL inconsistencies.

For my upcoming 3-way split, I was never contacted about my RPC stay, but I was immediately contacted about my CR stay. It was very generic though and didn't even have my name or the name of the CM. In the past, the IPO for both resorts was located at the GF so you would have expected to be contacted if booked at both resorts. Perhaps the generic IPO emails are now outsourced away from onsite IPOs or they're managed by a different group who aren't even located at the resorts anymore?

It is and that's why I do not count the Monorail as a benefit. Ever. Not only is it in perpetual maintenance mode it's always breaking down. I prefer to NOT be forced in to using the dang thing

I felt like you last August when we couldn't walk to MK from GF. It's so close, yet so far! I also like being able to easily walk to the TTC from Poly or walk from WL to FW. But, you can only walk to Poly from GF so I felt a little trapped having to rely on the wonky monorail to get to what I could see was so close.

Very excited!!! Because of all of the issues with the Poly bungalows, we were wanting to cancel ours but nothing was available we wanted until today. We will now be staying in a GF Main Bldg 2-Bedroom Suite for 4 nights and a VGF 2-bedroom villa for 4 nights! I'm actually relieved at the change and SO EXCITED to be back at the Grand.

WOW! I'd be excited, too. Sounds wonderful.