Some if not many of the issues seem to be related to Club Level service, but the previous posters can correct me if I am wrong. If you really wanted to change, you could based upon availability. My two cents, the Grand is as lovely as the people here on this thread. The beach access is hopefully a temporary restriction, and it doesn't take away from the Grand lobby, the elegant and large rooms, the beautiful grounds and the proximity to that glorious castle. Again just my opinion, but I think you will have a GRAND TIME
-and no more Searacyers. I hope this isn't Permanent. On the bright side the MK resort boats are back. And if you want to rent the pontoon boats. Just no Searacyer. Which is a shame as that was in our plans.
We were in RPC about two weeks ago, and we had a fantastic time! Although I didn't see as many managers there as I usually do, I did not notice any significant change in service. It is my understanding that having someone escort you to SL or RPC in now subject to availability of someone to escort you, which is unfortunate, but we did get lucky...although I think that is because we arrived at a slow time. Obviously, there have been some disappointing changes in offerings in the CL there in recent years as well as some significant price increases, and of course we should let them know when we are dissatisfied with something at the resort, but GF is still my favorite resort - hands down! As a result of the price increases, we have been trying out new resorts at times, but we go to WDW multiple times per year. If we only went once a year and price wasn't a huge concern, I would choose GF! I do think Disney made a big mistake by not having adequate signs warning people about the possibility of alligators (I have seen an alligator and a snake in that water before), and I think they are overreacting now if they are keeping the beaches closed after putting in the fence! They can't undo what happened by being overly cautious now...everyone is aware of the potential now. I can't imagine that they would keep the beaches closed much longer, but I would probably contact the resort to ask...IPO if you are staying CL. Honestly, we didn't even go to the beach this trip. Since the villas have opened, the beach pool is pretty busy and noisy, and we found that the courtyard pool was much more relaxing! How can you argue with this...
Please understand that I am not saying that I am happy about the decrease in services or amenities in the past few years, but if you think about it, we are seeing the same pretty much everywhere today...smaller packages for the same price at the grocery store, etc! And the decrease in services has been pretty much in CL...with the exception of the foot rub and the aloe gel. We personally still get our money's worth out of GF for sure...we just can't afford to stay there as often. I hope this helps!
Showing the movie indoors seems silly to me since the movie was by the courtyard pool when we were there! I would understand moving it off the beach, but why not just relocate it to a quiet pool area at all the resorts??Was just reading wdwinfo updates. No more outside movies? Instead movies going to be inside?
...we are at BWI CL this summer. I didn't know that about the movies being indoors..strange. Things will settle, however the "not knowing when" is hard for guests with upcoming stays. We've never hung at the beach there, Poly and WL yes. The two pools would keep my family content I am sure.
yes, another one for my Grand friends.
I agree, moving movie inside seems silly. It was an unbelievably tragic accident. But in all the years they've been having movies on the beach there has never been a gator run up on the beach and attack someone.
We are looking forward to our upcoming stay.Thank you both for the replies! We are booked with a deluxe room but not CL so perhaps we won't notice those changes as much it sounds like. I've been reading about that here and it seems like the cutbacks on the CL have been a problem and disappointment to many long time guests who know what the service there used to be. That's so unfortunate because really the CL at the Grand should be nothing short of spectacular as it is Disney's flagship resort. I hope that changes.
The loss of the little boy there is incredibly heartbreaking - although I think the same thing could have happened at other resorts (I've seen alligators at CSR). I don't know that we would have used the beach much or the outdoor movies (we haven't for other stays on the property) so some of those changes won't matter so much to our stay.
The resort itself looks beautiful...I love that pic and that's the main reason I want to stay there.
Great pic of Courtyard pool. Did you happen to get any pics of what kind of fencing is up on the beach?
