The *New* Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Frequently Asked Questions (FEB2004)

[poohluvrs]

HI Looks like a lot of us in Mass! We're going next fall w/ 2 year olds, there is a zero entry pool for little toddlers, right?! Any overall tips/advice can share? Staying concierge main....thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Belle...slide issues...I just covered this last night for the third time to convince myself....Speaking with CM's while making reservations I heard mixed reports...(long slide at YC/BC)....so I decided to call YC directly...the gal had me on hold 3 separate occasions while she made sure she had the correct information...she said YES YOU CAN GO down the slide with 'approved flotation devices'....they have some there but when I asked her about the zip up ski vests she said YES that is the approved device...you just could not slide down on your belly because the zipper may interfere....and my children DID use their vests at the Poly slide...so I'm going with the confirmation that you can...hope this helps!

Tara

 

[TammiMcMan]

Belle, I am almost postive that the slide was open. It's much smaller than the YC's main slide, but my 8 year old loved it.

Poohluvrs, Yes, the theme pool has zero entry from the beach. There are also water fountains to play in. Over at the courtyard pool, they have a very small kiddie pool that's probably about a foot deep. I like to think of the main building as my home away from home. If there's anything that I can help with there, just let me know.

Tammi

 

[poohluvrs]

Thanks Tammi! Good to know about the pools! We booked blindly, as my DH and I have never been to GF, but assuming the main concierge is a good room? (deluxe and tower rooms already booked solid)! Any tips/info would be greatly appreciated!!! CHecking airlines now, jetblue, most likely will book song as better flight times...thanks WOuld love to hear any info can share re the GF, etc thanks a bunch!!!

 

[TammiMcMan]

A few trips to Orlando, I've done better booking one way with JetBlue and the other with Flysong. They're not priced by round trip anyway, so it doesn't hurt to look at each way. There are a few differences with the two airlines, but they both have the TV's for entertainment.

The GF is a beautiful place to stay. If you want a deluxe concierge room, just keep checking. They are much bigger than a standard room, but still only sleep 4. There is no additional "charge" for the view, you can put in a request with the pre-planning team when your dates get closer. Rooms that have a perfect castle view are 4301-4309 and 4401-4409. The concierge staff sits on the 3rd floor and the lounge is located on the 4th floor. There are also some rooms and suites up on the 5th floor. You access the floors by putting your room key into a special slot in the elevator. When you first arrive at the resort, you'll be met by a member of the concierge team and escorted upstairs for private check in. The lounge is very bring, airy and has lots of seating. Cold drinks, tea and coffee are available from 7am-10pm and they have a few different food offerings. In the morning, you'll have deluxe continental with yogurt, fruit, cold cereal, muffins, breads, bagels. Next, is a light lunch offering with nachos, a salad, hummus. In true English fashion, they have an afternoon tea with warm scones, trifle, cookies. Dinner usually includes one or two hot appetizers, cheese, crackers, mini hot dogs, cupcakes, wine and beer. Finally from 8pm-10pm they serve a variety of desserts and cordials, including Baileys and Kahlua. In the evening, the orchestra a piano alternate playing on the floors below you and it is really beautiful to sit and listen while enjoying your wine or cordial and dessert.

Tammi

 

[poohluvrs]

Thanks Tammi for the DETAILS - wow! Concierge sounds lovely, would you recommend asking for one of the rooms you mentioned, or will any be ok? I am planning to call concierge long before we go, could you tell me what I should be asking them , like room specifics, am planning to ask about PS for some character meals, but the CRT seems to be a hard one to get, wondering if best to leave to concierge or try myself exactly 90 days before date wanted...any insight would be helpful Also wondering w/ the new Magical Express if jetblue is a part of that, or would have to go w/ Song b/c they're Delta (who is listed along w/ AA as airlines associated w/ ME?) Finally, since you're such a wealth of knowledge and are travelling from the same location as me, if you've travelled w/ a toddler, would you recommend a car seat for a 2yo for the plane and transfer shuttle? Thanks for any help in advance! So glad to hear +++ things re GF!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Poohluvrs, definitely touch base with the pre-planning department prior to your 90 day window. They can't make any ps reservations for you before then, but they will put them into the computer system for the appropriate time. Many have reported having luck with the staff getting them breakfast reservations, so I really wouldn't worry about it. You can definitely put in a request for a castle view and give them the range of room numbers that you're interested in. If you'd like to have them do any shopping for you before you arrive, they'll take care of that. You'll just need to supply them with your credit card information. They can help you out with private dining if you'd like to set up something special, like a meal or specialty dessert. The bakery has some really great items, like a white chocolate Cinderella shoe filled with mousse, or mini cakes with a white chocolate castle on top. They'll take care of spa appointments, entertainment tickets and recreation bookings for you (like Cirque or fireworks cruises). At the top of each page on the Resorts board, you'll see a FAQ thread. Open it up and go down to Useful Concierge Information. The first post on that thread has all the contact info including phone, fax and e-mail address for the pre-planning staff. If you have a reservation in the system now, you can drop them an e-mail, introduce yourself and request a packet of park maps, recreation guides, resort info and a pre-planning questionnaire. That will be fun to look through while the snow is falling again this weekend, YUCK.

I don't think JetBlue is participating with the Magical Express option, so even if the price is lower, it might not be worth having to handle your own luggage. Guess it would depend on the savings. My kids are older now, but we have travelled with them since they were little. Once they went beyond infancy, we brought the car seat. Other than being able to kick the back of the chair in front of them, it was a nicer way to travel. They just know that the car seat means you have to sit still for a while. You might want to look at headphone options. Flysongs are typical to what you'd get on a walkman CD player. You might have a more pleasant flight if you can find ones that will fit your child better.

Tammi

 

[jjohnson]

I'm a little confused on the standard rooms. I'm looking at photos at Laughingplace & the picture of the room in Conch Cay has a sitting area but the rooms in Big Pine Key & Boca Chica do not. Are some of the standard rooms larger than others?

 

[TammiMcMan]

Jjohnson, which picture numbers are you referring to on the ourlaughingplace website? The only ones that I see which are marked "Conch Key" show just the main lobby. The only other thing that I saw for that particular building was in the 360 degree section of the website. That room shown is slightly different from the others only because it's a corner room. Those are just a bit bigger and have 2 balconies. It shows the table and chairs being set up in that little extra bump out space as opposed to being situated near the large sliding doors. Rooms that have a seperate sitting area are called the tower rooms. Here's a link to a site which will show you the different layouts http://www.the-grahams.net/gf/rooms.html.

Tammi

 

[jjohnson]

Thanks Tammi. It is the 360 tours. I missed the heading on that one. It is a corner room. Are you able to request it? or just see if you get lucky when you get there.

 

[poohluvrs]

tower rooms were booked for Oct! We ended up taking main concierge which sounds lovely (thanks for all the info Tammi)! but the tower rooms looked so nice, hope main rooms good too!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Jjohnson, you can definitely request a corner room on your reservation. That way the room assignors will see it and do the best they can. You can always double check with the CM at check-in. They can review current inventory to see what's available too.

Poohluvrs, you can keep checking on the tower rooms as cancellations are bound to happen. I don't think that you'll be the least bit disappointed in the main building though. The standard rooms are the same throughout the resort, it's those added concierge benefits that make it extra special.

Tammi

 

[poohluvrs]

Tammi, you should get kickbacks from GF, you're a great spokesperson !!! I dont think Ill change our ressie, dont want to mess w/ it, plus prob wont be able to transfer AAA rate....I think concierge will be nice! Am listing everything I want them to book for us, PS etc....still 7 mos away!!! Disney addiction I guess Do you fly out of Logan? And how long is flight? thanks

 

[mma800]

Just booked (for August) a Main Building Concierge room at the Grand Floridian. was told Royal palm Court Room with Lagoon View. Anyone know what BJ code stands for?

Marlene

 

[TammiMcMan]

Tammi, you should get kickbacks from GF, you're a great spokesperson !!! I dont think Ill change our ressie, dont want to mess w/ it, plus prob wont be able to transfer AAA rate....I think concierge will be nice! Am listing everything I want them to book for us, PS etc....still 7 mos away!!! Disney addiction I guess Do you fly out of Logan? And how long is flight? thanks

I'm always afraid someone that I recommend the GF to will come back disappointed . Yes, we fly out of Logan, usually on JetBlue or Delta's Flysong. Both have direct flights and it's usually just under 3 hours. Both those airlines have the TV's though and that makes the time go by really fast.

Tammi

 

[TammiMcMan]

Just booked (for August) a Main Building Concierge room at the Grand Floridian. was told Royal palm Court Room with Lagoon View. Anyone know what BJ code stands for?

Marlene

Hi Marlene, the GF is one of my favorite resorts. I hope you enjoy it there. You'll actually see the term RPC used for the main building concierge. It stands for Royal Palm Club. Technically, there are no views associated with any of the rooms, so I'm not sure why they would state "lagoon view". Unlike the rest of the resort, the main building is not broken down into garden or lagoon view. You can definitely request what you'd like with the pre-planning staff. There are no rooms located on the front of the building. If you are standing facing it, they begin on the right and wrap around to the back. The rooms on the right will overlook the beach, lagoon and you'll see the Poly and Epcot in the distance. Working your way towards the back, those rooms will have more of a center courtyard view, with the lagoon on the right and the castle on the left. From the back, you'll overlook the marina and have a wonderful castle view. I know the castle view rooms range in numbers from 4301-4309 (3rd floor) & 4401-4409 (4th floor). These rooms are sort of set in their own wing and it is a longer walk to the concierge area and main elevator.

I'm not familiar with what that code stands for. I know the main building houses honeymoon suites, standard & deluxe concierge rooms and a few other suites.

Tammi

 

[lindeyspol]

finally getting around to getting some pix uploaded from our Valentine's trip to the grand. We had such a wonderful time. Renee was great about getting us back into our requested room 4422 again. Mousekeeping was great as you can see from the photos. The lounge staff was super efficient and friendly after approached. It was truly a relaxing escape. By the way, Renee also got us CRT for 8am Valentine's Day with much less than 90 days notice! She's WONDERFUL!!! I also added the photos of our oldests first trip to Neverland Club, which he loved and a couple other fun things like waking tinkerbell and finding devine at animal kingdom. Didn't take many more room shots since I posted those here after our Dec trip but a few more. Hope these help create excitement for those going and wonderful memories for those who have been.

Lisa

www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=7nu12oax.4ixw74d9&x=0&y=ivr49v

 

[vettechick99]

Great photos, Lisa!

I especially like the ones of the concierge table. I forgot how amazing that part of the service is. Every single night of my stay, I would run over to the kids table and sneak off with a Rice Crispie treat. That stuff is like crack!

Looks like a great trip!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Lisa, I loved your RPC pics. Thanks so much! I wish Dec. would hurry up and get here. That Valentine's dessert from Citrico's looked wonderful.

Lori

 

[TammiMcMan]

Lisa, great pictures! I'm so homesick and I still have over a year until our next visit to the GF. Until then, I'm going to envy everyone else.

Tammi