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

[Sue M]

I am surprised some of the CM's have stayed. Denny used to be in IPO and I loved him there even more than curbside, such a friendly person to deal with. I know he retired from banking/finance up north. They basically are putting the CM's in all kinds of roles now. I know some that were concierge only that are working in food service in the lounge now.



I am a big critic of the service cutbacks but I am puzzled by this. The rooms are in wonderful condition with the exception of some of the tile work in the bathrooms that they chose not to replace during the last refurb.

I think that management has forgotten that it does not take much to influence guests opinions in a negative or positive way. Over at the Contemporary I have a neighbor that is raving about EVERYTHING at the resort. While I too like the resort she continually mentions that they received daily water and the larger size toiletries that we have only received in the suites at GF as a basis for her overall positive impressions. Again, small things but they really influenced her opinion in a positive way.

I agree, it's the little things that will make a hotel stand out. And now cutting back on toiletries, the mint foot cream and solar gel...was one of the things I looked forward to having in my room. Especially the mint foot cream. I kept it in night stand to put on before bed. So nice on hot tired feet after so much walking in the parks.
This is very short sighted cuts, and for the price of rooms here, shouldn't be happening IMO. Very sad. And will result in a negative way. It's hard to get guests back after receiving negative impressions. I hope they re think these small cuts. Maybe after getting enough requests from people looking for the foot cream?

 

[Lisann]

My DD17 will be a senior this year ...so we are going to visit FSU and of course we had to add on another Disney trip since we'll be so close! I hope it's a good school because we won't get in-state tuition (but she'd better get some scholarships!). My DD will be pre-med and says FSU has a good program, but she really loves FL because we've been taking her forever! It's all part of the plan

Pre-med is always good, no matter where! haha. FSU is a really great all-around school, and from what I can tell, has only gotten better through the years. And Tallahassee is very pretty. Pretty is important, right?

 

[Sue M]

My DD17 will be a senior this year ...so we are going to visit FSU and of course we had to add on another Disney trip since we'll be so close! I hope it's a good school because we won't get in-state tuition (but she'd better get some scholarships!). My DD will be pre-med and says FSU has a good program, but she really loves FL because we've been taking her forever! It's all part of the plan

Congrats to your DD. It's all part of the plan love it!

 

[Dispro1]

Ahem. I know it's slightly off-topic, but I'd like to recommend UF. It's got an exceptional program! And you can leave campus and be back at the GF in about 2 hours. Go Gators!!

UF ranks even higher than FSU actually, but they do not like to give as many scholarships unfortunately FSU supposedly is better about giving merit scholarships to out of state kids (we shall see) plus it's 8.5 hours away from home versus 10 hours (UF). And Tallahassee is only 1.5 hours from the beach! You can tell I've thought this one through, huh Now I just hope those scholarships come through for us! I can't see paying 45k a year for full out of state tuition when Vanderbilt is only 3.5 hours away and around that price!

Pre-med is always good, no matter where! haha. FSU is a really great all-around school, and from what I can tell, has only gotten better through the years. And Tallahassee is very pretty. Pretty is important, right?

Pretty is awesome! I can't wait to see it!

I completely agree. We were just there and the room looked wonderful.



I agree that these cutbacks are very short sighted and that they are not taking the guests into consideration here. I thought I remembered Denny from IPO a while back, thanks for confirming it. I can't say that the CMs we chatted with were pleased with all the cutbacks.



Smart thinking! My D chose to go to college on the east coast (we are in CA) but she didn't want to be in Florida. How wonderful it would be to visit WDW and a college kid at the same time!

I think the rooms are gorgeous too! I don't know what those people are talking about! My DH remembers Denny from IPO, but it seems like I have usually ended up talking to someone from another resort whenever I call because no one at GF answers and it rolls over?? But DH is usually the one that calls IPO anyway. I'm amazed that your daughter went to school on the other side of the country...I would freak out! That's why FL is so perfect because we already go a lot, and now we will go even more (assuming it all works out)! I think I'll need a condo in Panama City Beach because that will be close to Tallahassee and a nice stopping place on the way to Disney

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

In the picture a day thread someone posted a picture of one of the hallways at the GF and complimented how they have the linen baskets instead of the housekeeping carts. I think it looks nice when they are out, but I chuckled because on TripAdvisor someone recently posted a picture of the hallway with the baskets out and complained about them in their review.

Edited to add link to review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...n_Resort_Spa-Orlando_Florida.html#UR371726857

 

[Lisann]

In the picture a day thread someone posted a picture of one of the hallways at the GF and complimented how they have the linen baskets instead of the housekeeping carts. I think it looks nice when they are out, but I chuckled because on TripAdvisor someone recently posted a picture of the hallway with the baskets out and complained about them in their review.

Edited to add link to review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...n_Resort_Spa-Orlando_Florida.html#UR371726857

I put up the picture in that thread. That's a riot that someone complained about the baskets!! LOL! They are MUCH better than those housekeeping carts, which I can't stand. It takes all kinds, I guess.

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

Planning for worst case scenario but we check out of AKL and into GF RPC for the second part of our trip in September - the day we switch resorts we were going to drop our luggage in the AM with the bellstand to hold until our room is ready & head to Typhoon Lagoon. We have 4 PM Hoop Dee Do reservations - is there somewhere we can shower at the GF (pool, health club, etc) in case our room isn't ready by the time we get back from TL and need to clean up? (Last resort could be showering at TL I guess)

 

[baler31]

Planning for worst case scenario but we check out of AKL and into GF RPC for the second part of our trip in September - the day we switch resorts we were going to drop our luggage in the AM with the bellstand to hold until our room is ready & head to Typhoon Lagoon. We have 4 PM Hoop Dee Do reservations - is there somewhere we can shower at the GF (pool, health club, etc) in case our room isn't ready by the time we get back from TL and need to clean up? (Last resort could be showering at TL I guess)

You can use the pool showers/dressing area. If you don't have any major requests I would ask for the first available room as my request so you can get ready for your reservation.

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

You can use the pool showers/dressing area. If you don't have any major requests I would ask for the first available room as my request so you can get ready for your reservation.

OK, great and thanks, the early room request as priority is a good idea! We would like a King bed, but a private shower is definitely higher up on the list, HAHA

 

[TJA]

I put up the picture in that thread. That's a riot that someone complained about the baskets!! LOL! They are MUCH better than those housekeeping carts, which I can't stand. It takes all kinds, I guess.

I also posted a picture of these (in this thread or in the CL thread) in my review after we got back from RPC last month! I loved the idea and thought it was another nice touch offered at GF.

 

[baler31]

OK, great and thanks, the early room request as priority is a good idea! We would like a King bed, but a private shower is definitely higher up on the list, HAHA

If you booked a standard RPC IMO you don't want one of the king rooms unless they were to upgrade you to a deluxe king. The king rooms that are standard are very small triangle shaped rooms in the corner. Just enough space for the king bed and seem a lot smaller to me. When we had an electrical problem with our room they were trying to find a vacant room for us and showed us one and I had to remind the CM who was not an experienced RPC CM (it was the middle of the night) that the 4 of us would not fit in that room.

One of my RPC friends told me that a lot of people get uprgraded to those from outer buildings because not many people want the small room when they book RPC.

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

If you booked a standard RPC IMO you don't want one of the king rooms unless they were to upgrade you to a deluxe king. The king rooms that are standard are very small triangle shaped rooms in the corner. Just enough space for the king bed and seem a lot smaller to me. When we had an electrical problem with our room they were trying to find a vacant room for us and showed us one and I had to remind the CM who was not an experienced RPC CM (it was the middle of the night) that the 4 of us would not fit in that room.

One of my RPC friends told me that a lot of people get uprgraded to those from outer buildings because not many people want the small room when they book RPC.

OH GOOD!! I'm glad you said that - I have seen pictures of those rooms and definitely don't want one. Thank you very much! I'll leave King off the requests completely

 

[dzak1717]

Review of my first stay at VGF 5.11-18
This was a big family trip, we stayed in a 2 BD Villa. There were 2 children and 3 adults the whole time and 2 other adults staying partial time. Having the 2BD was great with the 2 full bathrooms. We loved everything about the resort and the room. We had room 1224, we were hoping for 1525 so we could view Wishes from the balcony but it was another failed TP Fax Request. But my son did love watching as the monorails came by, some added disney fun. We dined at GF Cafe twice and both times the food was great but the service was a tad slow. I understand they aren't as rushed to get you in and out as they are in the parks but waiting 30 min for our food seemed a little slower then normal. We also dined at Gasparilla a few times and the food was pretty good. Tried the pizza and the burger with some snacks mixed in there. It was a nice place to go when we didn't have a meal planned or just to grab a mickey bar! We also had some food at the pool bar while relaxing on our off days. Not a large menu but the chicken sandwich was a definite hit. On our last morning we ended the trip with breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Another breakfast buffet but had a few more options then the basics.

Transportation to and from the parks was never a problem. Only one morning did we have to wait for the first monorail at 8:30, other MK openings it had started earlier. We were on our way back one evening when we heard the monorail had been stopped so the boats were a little more crowded but luckily we were on a boat when the problem started. Having the boat option for the ride home was always a nice way to end a MK night and we were able to watch the water pageant and Wishes as we made our way to the resort. On the way home from EPCOT we walked from the TTC since there wasn't much of a time difference. Even added in a stop at the Poly for a drink. A nice way to end the evening there too.

Not sure the next time we will be back, we want to try out all of the DVC resorts but this one will always leave a nice memory with everyone and a very high bar. Thanks to everyone on this board who helped with questions during my planning or just all the information shared.

 

[TJA]

@dzak1717 great review and I'm glad you enjoyed GF! We had our first GF stay last month and also loved it. I agree it sets a very high bar -- good luck trying out the other DVC's!

 

[MommyGina]

dzak1717 - Thank you for sharing your vacation at the GF DVC with us! Sorry to hear that the service was a bit slow at the GF Cafe. We always found that the service was slow.

Wow, another fax lost with room requests. Something is not right in that department! Enjoy trying the other DVCs!

 

[Mousemommy1]

I agree, it's the little things that will make a hotel stand out. And now cutting back on toiletries, the mint foot cream and solar gel...was one of the things I looked forward to having in my room. Especially the mint foot cream. I kept it in night stand to put on before bed. So nice on hot tired feet after so much walking in the parks.
This is very short sighted cuts, and for the price of rooms here, shouldn't be happening IMO. Very sad. And will result in a negative way. It's hard to get guests back after receiving negative impressions. I hope they re think these small cuts. Maybe after getting enough requests from people looking for the foot cream?

I'm getting in on this comment late, but wanted to say that we got the solar gel and foot cream last month!!! But, I will say, any of the toiletries at Disney don't compare to the ones you get on DCL!! Full size stuff on DCL...I loved that!

 

[Avery&Todd]

I'm just excited to be able to sniff the toiletries in person in 17 days!!!

First stay at the GF and I'm having trouble sleeping already because I'm so excited when I crawl into bed and actually start thinking about it!!

and we are putting the finishing touches our out tie dyed Mickey head t-shirts tonight which means we're getting super close!!

 

[Sue M]

I'm getting in on this comment late, but wanted to say that we got the solar gel and foot cream last month!!! But, I will say, any of the toiletries at Disney don't compare to the ones you get on DCL!! Full size stuff on DCL...I loved that!

Yay! I hope they don't cut out that foot cream, I love it! Small, but one of the things I look forward to at GF.
Do the full size stuff at DCL get replenished daily?

 

[Mousemommy1]

Yay! I hope they don't cut out that foot cream, I love it! Small, but one of the things I look forward to at GF.
Do the full size stuff at DCL get replenished daily?

Yes! I was shocked at the toiletries on DCL, lol. I was just like "Look how big they are!!!"

 

[Missymoe4]

Just back from our Grand Floridian stay in a 1 bedroom concierge. This was our first time there so I can't compare but I thought I'd mention some things for those curious.

-I was under the impression that all outer building CL rooms would be in Sugar Loaf but actually we were put in Boca Chica. As a result, they gave us access to both the main building and Sugar Loaf clubs. Even though it was not as convenient as having a club in our building, it was nice to be able to compare. While I think the main building certainly looked nicer having natural light, etc , the offerings seemed to be the exact same to me. I was expecting breakfast to be sparse but I found the offerings to be plenty plentiful to make a good breakfast and the other treats during the day where a nice bonus. Really enjoyed having the cans of soda that we could easily take with us. (I'm afraid I didn't compare alcoholic beverage offerings so I can't comment on that.)

- Check in was a bit of a disaster with it taking several trips back and forth to get our magic bands to work. The CMs were very nice about it but still annoying to have to traipse back and forth several times with a tired 3 year old.

- Our room was nice but definitely not up to 5 star standards anywhere else. I guess that's the price you pay when you go to Disney but I don't see why a 1 bedroom doesn't have a functioning door so I can close the bedroom off (instead it was an adjoining room door without a handle from the outside which meant I had to keep the door a bit ajar all the time) or why the bathrooms have a super loud motion activated exhaust fan that had to be manually shut off every time.

- We had a dormer room and I felt it was plenty spacious but we didn't use the balcony except to dry our swim clothes. We aren't balcony people though. If balcony is important, it does feel closed in.

- The pool was a highlight - I think my daughter would have been happy to skip the parks altogether and just spend the whole time going down the waterslide til the end of time. It never felt over crowded despite being there on a very hot weekend.

- The princess promenade was really cute and such a nice bonus for staying at the hotel. I personally think they should skip the Disney photographer and just let the kids interact with the princess and prince for those few minutes but either way, it was a nice surprise for my daughter.

- I was surprised how much I enjoyed the boat to MK over the monorail. Maybe b/c we were closer to the boat dock in Boca Chica but it seemed like a much more civilized and enjoyable way to get to and from. Everyone told us to take the monorail there to avoid the extra minutes stopping at the poly but it didn't take long at all so I was happy to use it both ways.

Hope that helps!

I paid for CL in Sugar Loaf, but really wouldn't mind having a room (with a view) in Boca Chica! That would be a win for me.
Thank you for a thorough update.