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

[Aurora0427]

OK so I've looking over all of the available room views for the "outer building, deluxe room, queen beds" and I know that my #1 request would be "balcony" because I do NOT want a dormer room!

I"m assuming I should then suggest buildings I would prefer (I'm assuming in order of importance) - BUT do you think that there is any reason why I can't put down as one of the buildings I would prefer as the Main building even though my room type specifies outer building?

I mean, could I request: "Balcony, Buildings #4, #7 or #5"

or is that totally wrong and inappropriate?

They will not give you a room in the main building. Those are all club level rooms and suites.

 

[noblemaidenfair]

Hi guys! Random question... Is the gingerbread house and the other decorations up by the week of Thanksgiving at the GF and the parks? I know the Magic Kingdom decorations go up right after Halloween.

Planning ahead for a possible Thanksgiving week 2017 trip now that our eldest daughter is in "real" school!

Our friends were there the week of Thanksgiving last year and the house and decorations were up at GF and decorations were also up at CR and WL

 

[PolyAddict]

Are there king rooms in Sugar Loaf?

 

[grannyminnie]

Trish, have a nice visit (if you haven't already headed down early!). I've been away this week and just came on to catch up a little. Saw your trip date is starting in a couple of days.

 

[dansdad]

OK so I've looking over all of the available room views for the "outer building, deluxe room, queen beds" and I know that my #1 request would be "balcony" because I do NOT want a dormer room!

I"m assuming I should then suggest buildings I would prefer (I'm assuming in order of importance) - BUT do you think that there is any reason why I can't put down as one of the buildings I would prefer as the Main building even though my room type specifies outer building?

I mean, could I request: "Balcony, Buildings #4, #7 or #5"

or is that totally wrong and inappropriate?

It's not wrong or inappropriate, but it's not a good idea as it would be a completely wasted request.

 

[dansdad]

Are there king rooms in Sugar Loaf?

Yup.

 

[PolyAddict]

Yup.

Any way to know which rooms are kings?

 

[dansdad]

Any way to know which rooms are kings?

Not that I know of. I do know that the Touring Plans room finder is not accurate when it comes to things like that. If you want a king, make that one of your requests.

 

[Avery&Todd]

It's not wrong or inappropriate, but it's not a good idea as it would be a completely wasted request.

They will not give you a room in the main building. Those are all club level rooms and suites.

OK, makes sense - so I'll just go with "Balcony", buildings #7 & #5" and see what happens!

thanks!

 

[PolyAddict]

Not that I know of. I do know that the Touring Plans room finder is not accurate when it comes to things like that. If you want a king, make that one of your requests.

True, thats what i was using and i picked a good room to request but just don't know if its a king

 

[Lisann]

OK so I've looking over all of the available room views for the "outer building, deluxe room, queen beds" and I know that my #1 request would be "balcony" because I do NOT want a dormer room!

I"m assuming I should then suggest buildings I would prefer (I'm assuming in order of importance) - BUT do you think that there is any reason why I can't put down as one of the buildings I would prefer as the Main building even though my room type specifies outer building?

I mean, could I request: "Balcony, Buildings #4, #7 or #5"

or is that totally wrong and inappropriate?

The only way you would get Main Bldg is if you booked it...or...you got an upgrade.

And just so you know...dormer rooms do have balconies, they are just solid balconies (when sitting you can't see through them).

 

[Lisann]

I was told by a bellman that there are only 18 king rooms at the Grand.

 

[LMO429]

I requested a crib for our upcoming stay. Will it be a crib or a pack and play????? Does anyone have pictures of it?

 

[kylaura]

18 days and counting until we go spend time at Sugar Loaf.

Did I read somewhere that club level got rid of ham and cheese for breakfast? I hope not, loved putting on a croissant to start my day.

 

[DLgal]

What time do the pools close in August? Do they both close, or does the courtyard one stay open, like a quiet pool?

 

[magical4us4]

18 days and counting until we go spend time at Sugar Loaf.

Did I read somewhere that club level got rid of ham and cheese for breakfast? I hope not, loved putting on a croissant to start my day.

I here you! We will be there in a month. I sent an email to guest services inquiring about my concern on the cutbacks. I advise you to do the same. The more they hear from us, hopefully we can get things back.

 

[My3TXGirls]

What buildings are the deluxe garden view rooms in? Need to make my online check in requests. Thank you!

 

[BlueSkies]

Morning fellow GF fans...

We are recently back from another wonderful GF stay......and I wanted to share some observations from our trip....

~Check in...This has been a subject much in question around here since the change in procedure...well...it definitely has not been ironed out yet.....lobby was busy..no greeters inside.. as.. from what I understand there generally are ?? So we inquired if there was a designated line for CL check in...nope..just stand on any of these lines.....so we waited..a while...not a catastrophe..but not so great either...

~Hotel/lobby/common areas and grounds...The hotel itself grounds included was looking Grand!! The lobby areas looked fresh,clean and tidy... the new carpet is a nice hue of dusty green and very Victorian looking...lots of fresh plantings...and many things in bloom added to the feeling of spring having arrived...

~Rooms..Here again..clean and fresh ...one change that we saw was..no turn down cards along with the chocolates..fortunately...they are still using those yummy creamy Belgian chocolates..but..I always thought the cards were such a nice touch...now in the last year or so..we have seen them come and go..so..maybe they are not gone for good...who knows...

~CL food offerings..oh I know this is a biggie...lol..its always about the food.....breakfast offerings were the SAME as usual..including meats ( fresh turkey and a deli ham)..and cheeses too...I did inquire..and was told that these are back on the breakfast "menu"...there was a nice variety of buns/muffins...cut fruits were cantelope, honeydew, pineapple and watermelon...the usual toasting station..bagels, a few different breads..and one spread besides the traditional butter and cream cheese..no additional spreads..these were discontinued a while back ..unfortunately .. two cold cereals and yogurt too...

Afternoon offerings seem to be the same also..veggies..chips and dips...dome bread sticks and breads..but honestly..we were not really around much in the afternoon...ONE thing that was missing at tea time was the wonderful triffle...but they did add a very delicious red velvet cupcake with a sweet cream cheese icing..yum...

Evening appetizers also seemed to be pretty much the same..two hot appetizers and two or three cold appetizers..and a cold soup...cheese and nut platter..still mixed together...childrens offerings were uncrustables..either corn dogs or chicken nuggets...not both on the same nights...I took some pics which I will post..just trying to organize them first... ...lol..

Desserts...They were ok..pretty much the same as we have seen in the last year or so...about four or 5 different items..fruit tarts, a choclate cake, key lime and chocolate tarts...and banana bread I'm guessing left from tea time..??? The children's area had brownies, cookies..and vanilla frosted cupcakes with a bowl of mickey sprinkles next to them so that the cupcakes could be decorated...this seemed to be popular...and..messy!!

Beverages..Sodas...coke, diet coke, sprite,gingerale and also small bottles of water..the water was always added in the evenings...as for adult beverages..again I will post pics...wines..less brands than before ..some changes I know people are not happy about, champagne..and yes cordials! There was DiSoronno and a few others...updating...Kahlua and Amarula are the other two...Have to look at the pics to be sure..lol..I looked quickly..and snapped a photo...hmmm..maybe another trip is in order..just to jog my memory......Disney logic at work...lol..

Lounge Area ~The lounge itself was busy...especially in the mornings...but food was always replenished as far as we saw...and although we always bus our own tables...I noticed many others did not..but the staff really stayed on top of that..one morning in particular was very busy and I even observed a manager cleaning tables.....

~Monorail..No long waits..and they seemed to be running very regularly..

~Bus service..Also..Running regularly..we even took the bus one afternoon to Disney Springs without much of a wait...... there was also a CM at the bus stop advising folks about the bus schedule..

~Shops..And I will say we did visit them all...lol...which are all generally and continue to be pretty well stocked.. did have some new resort specific merchandise..which was nice to see..

~CMs...As always..were friendly..and helpful...

The resort does seem to be in some transition...some things that we will miss, some not so important...and some new things to enjoy( retro beach party..on certain dates, the Princess Promenade..if you are at the resort one afternoon at about 3:30 I would recommend taking the time to see this...Disney magic at its finest! and the resort tour )...we did not get the time to do the new tour..but are looking forward to doing it another time...

All in all..we enjoyed every bit of our resort time...and while the check in process definitely needs some fine tuning...we really did have a Grand stay!

Hope that you are all having a super Sunday.. GF gal who is busy trying to plan another WDW trip! The only cure for the post Disney blues for sure!

 

[grannyminnie]

Hey, Blue! Good to "see" you!! It sounds like for the most part that you had a Grand stay for sure! Just the check-in was not "grand", I see....
Were you in RPC or SL?
I see that you do have another stay planned for the summer, so are you trying to plan an additional (possibly fall?) trip also?
DH and I are headed to Fla in a few days, and while we are traveling here and there, we will be staying in the DS area at the end of our trip so I will get to see some of the new area of DS, plus hopefully make a jaunt over to the monorail area to visit the Grand. And I'm in the process of talking my sister into a stay there in August!

 

[TJA]

Morning fellow GF fans...

We are recently back from another wonderful GF stay......and I wanted to share some observations from our trip....

~Check in...This has been a subject much in question around here since the change in procedure...well...it definitely has not been ironed out yet.....lobby was busy..no greeters inside.. as.. from what I understand there generally are ?? So we inquired if there was a designated line for CL check in...nope..just stand on any of these lines.....so we waited..a while...not a catastrophe..but not so great either...

~Hotel/lobby/common areas and grounds...The hotel itself grounds included was looking Grand!! The lobby areas looked fresh,clean and tidy... the new carpet is a nice hue of dusty green and very Victorian looking...lots of fresh plantings...and many things in bloom added to the feeling of spring having arrived...

~Rooms..Here again..clean and fresh ...one change that we saw was..no turn down cards along with the chocolates..fortunately...they are still using those yummy creamy Belgian chocolates..but..I always thought the cards were such a nice touch...now in the last year or so..we have seen them come and go..so..maybe they are not gone for good...who knows...

~CL food offerings..oh I know this is a biggie...lol..its always about the food.....breakfast offerings were the SAME as usual..including meats ( fresh turkey and a deli ham)..and cheeses too...I did inquire..and was told that these are back on the breakfast "menu"...there was a nice variety of buns/muffins...cut fruits were cantelope, honeydew, pineapple and watermelon...the usual toasting station..bagels, a few different breads..and one spread besides the traditional butter and cream cheese..no additional spreads..these were discontinued a while back ..unfortunately .. two cold cereals and yogurt too...

Afternoon offerings seem to be the same also..veggies..chips and dips...dome bread sticks and breads..but honestly..we were not really around much in the afternoon...ONE thing that was missing at tea time was the wonderful triffle...but they did add a very delicious red velvet cupcake with a sweet cream cheese icing..yum...

Evening appetizers also seemed to be pretty much the same..two hot appetizers and two or three cold appetizers..and a cold soup...cheese and nut platter..still mixed together...childrens offerings were uncrustables..either corn dogs or chicken nuggets...not both on the same nights...I took some pics which I will post..just trying to organize them first... ...lol..

Desserts...They were ok..pretty much the same as we have seen in the last year or so...about four or 5 different items..fruit tarts, a choclate cake, key lime and chocolate tarts...and banana bread I'm guessing left from tea time..??? The children's area had brownies, cookies..and vanilla frosted cupcakes with a bowl of mickey sprinkles next to them so that the cupcakes could be decorated...this seemed to be popular...and..messy!!

Beverages..Sodas...coke, diet coke, sprite,gingerale and also small bottles of water..the water was always added in the evenings...as for adult beverages..again I will post pics...wines..less brands than before ..some changes I know people are not happy about, champagne..and yes cordials! There was DiSoronno and a few others...updating...Kahlua and Amarula are the other two...Have to look at the pics to be sure..lol..I looked quickly..and snapped a photo...hmmm..maybe another trip is in order..just to jog my memory......Disney logic at work...lol..

Lounge Area ~The lounge itself was busy...especially in the mornings...but food was always replenished as far as we saw...and although we always bus our own tables...I noticed many others did not..but the staff really stayed on top of that..one morning in particular was very busy and I even observed a manager cleaning tables.....

~Monorail..No long waits..and they seemed to be running very regularly..

~Bus service..Also..Running regularly..we even took the bus one afternoon to Disney Springs without much of a wait...... there was also a CM at the bus stop advising folks about the bus schedule..

~Shops..And I will say we did visit them all...lol...which are all generally and continue to be pretty well stocked.. did have some new resort specific merchandise..which was nice to see..

~CMs...As always..were friendly..and helpful...

The resort does seem to be in some transition...some things that we will miss, some not so important...and some new things to enjoy( retro beach party..on certain dates, the Princess Promenade..if you are at the resort one afternoon at about 3:30 I would recommend taking the time to see this...Disney magic at its finest! and the resort tour )...we did not get the time to do the new tour..but are looking forward to doing it another time...

All in all..we enjoyed every bit of our resort time...and while the check in process definitely needs some fine tuning...we really did have a Grand stay!

Hope that you are all having a super Sunday.. GF gal who is busy trying to plan another WDW trip! The only cure for the post Disney blues for sure!

Thanks for the great review!! Your experience sounds a lot like ours over Easter (at RPC), so I'm glad to hear the food offerings haven't been cutback between then and now. We especially liked the treats at tea time . Can't wait to see your pics! Glad you had a great time.