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

[KonaKaiTom]

When are you going?
We leave the morning of the 6th and my daughter is having her senior pictures done at the Grand the morning of the 7th

I can't wait, I was lucky enough to get the Roots (a husband and wife photography team famous for Disney weddings) to book a session

We are doing a split stay, arriving Boca Chica lagoon view, on 2/4 and departing for Ft. Wilderness on 2/6.

Tom

 

[MichellelovesMickey]

We decided to stay at the GF the night prior to our cruise......so excited to experience the Grand!!!
Only 222 more days.....

 

[BlueSkies]

Maxie packs as I do, as long as mastercard, visa and american express are accepted, I've got what I need. Who says you need to buy your vacation wardrobe PRIOR to the trip?

Tom

...lol....

Hi, GF groupies! Such a yucky day here ...cold rain that might as well be snow! A good day to dream of being at the Grand, hanging out in the lobby (after having a nice cappuchino from the machine in the lounge )

I like that way you dream grannyminnie

Can someone give me a little more information about the afternoon tea in the garden room? We have never stayed at the GF (until this June), and I was just wanting some more information about it. My daughters are 16 and 10. Would they enjoy this? Do you make reservations?

As Trish's wonderful pics showed ..the afternoon tea is such a great experience..Enjoy!

Dd and i had a wonderful time and she heads back to college today

I am so jealous of you heading out soon!!! Are Ya packed yet? We took a lot of stuff and wore capris with a sweater or jacket most days but the last day was so HOT we wore shorts and sleeveless

Tom the vera has moved to the back wall in Summer Lace:

have a great weekend, need peeps!!

Fabulous pics Trish..thanks for posting them! Glad that you had a grand mother /daughter afternoon!

I know its not easy sending DD back to school... Hang in there..spring break is right around the bend...

We decided to stay at the GF the night prior to our cruise......so excited to experience the Grand!!!
Only 222 more days.....

What a great way to kick off your cruise...

There is lots of snow here.... More time to stay indoors and repack!! lol... vacation loving GF gal who can't wait to get to WDW....

 

[Stoneham92]

What is the maximum size that could fit on this bed?

 

[maryj11]

We have reservations in August and have had a request added to our reservations for Big Pine Key first floor. We want to be close to the monorail, the beach pool and boat to MK. So I would say we want to be close to everything or centrally located I have never been to the GF so I'm not sure if this is a good choice.
According to the map it looks like it may be centrally located ? What are the first floor rooms like ? Is it easy to get out from the first floor or do you have to walk down a hall to go out ?

 

[grannyminnie]

Blue, how many more days?? I know your ticker is off. You must be under a week now!

 

[trishadono]

What is the maximum size that could fit on this bed?

If you mean the one in the villas then it is a slim twin size bed. My son at 16 and 5"11 slept in it one night but really enjoyed that nook during the day on our break

 

[Stoneham92]

If you mean the one in the villas then it is a slim twin size bed. My son at 16 and 5"11 slept in it one night but really enjoyed that nook during the day on our break

Sorry do you mean the bed was too small for him so he slept on the floor on a nook?

 

[trishadono]

Sorry do you mean the bed was too small for him so he slept on the floor on a nook?

No we play musical beds on vacation.

1st night Dmil slept in King. Dh in 1q and dd in the other q in bedroom. I was in the q sleeper sofa in living room with ds who was in that pull down. Next night I slept with dd in a q, ds moved to the q sleeper sofa. Then mil left and dh and I moved to King and ds and dd each had 1q in the bedroom.

I also layed in the twin during the day for fun. It was comfortable. It was similar to the twins in the deluxe resorts cr/poly/gf.

Oh I called it a "nook" because it's cozy. It's kind of half enclosed vs fully open like the deluxe resorts.
Not the best pics but should help.

 

[pixarmom]

We stayed GF RPC earlier this month and I've been waiting to download all of my photos before reporting back, but it will be a while before I organize everything. So I'll start with a few photos from the RPC lounge and our room, and share a few thoughts about our stay. We're a family of five, but for this stay, I was traveling on my own with our three boys, ages 8, 14 and 15.

Rooms: Wow - they are huge and we absolutely love the new decor. Love the spacious bathroom, the hamper for the towels, the flooring, etc. Loved everything about the room - not a single complaint. We've stayed at every deluxe resort at WDW, and if choosing a resort based on the room alone, GF would be the clear winner. The view from our room was spectacular - nothing "standard" about it. We could see the beach pool, lagoon and then Poly in the distance. In the other direction, we could watch the monorail go by.

Pools: Our youngest absolutely loved the Alice splash pad and it was uncrowded at all times. The CMs lifeguarding were always very nice to him and he made several friends. The courtyard pool and the beach pool were very busy and were a little too crowded for me. But this is Disney, so that's the case at most main pools. And my kids don't love the BWI quiet pool, for example, as much as I do - so there are always trade-offs!

Dining: We had ADRs elsewhere during our stay, but our youngest fell asleep at Hoop Dee Doo (yes, you read that correctly - he actually fell asleep!) so we needed to get dinner #2 for him at Gasparillas. Wow - the CMs there were wonderful - I wish I caught their names, because they deserve a note to guest relations. They led my sleepy son through the ordering process and talked with him about his choices, laughed with him about sleeping through HDD and brought his food out with super speed.

Lobby: I know many will think this is crazy, but here goes. The ground floor of the GF lobby isn't really our style. We're less traditional and more contemporary. We're the opposite of many GF fans in that we love the new rooms, but not so much the more traditional decor on the ground floor. See below for the "don't judge a resort until staying there" part.

Shopping: I have three boys. I don't shop much on vacation, so I don't have much to add here. Like the lobby, the shops are not so much my style. We did visit the GF gift shop and the CMs were really friendly.

RPC: We made a last-minute decision to switch our reservation from SL to RPC. I was concerned that the extra cost of RPC would not be worth it because our youngest is active and we don't sit around in the lounge much. No reason for concern - I was 100% happy with the decision to stay RPC.

Our stay was the perfect example of why not to judge a resort until actually staying there. Even though I don't love the GF lobby from the ground level, I really really enjoyed it from RPC. It has a clean, peaceful and uncluttered feel in RPC. We LOVED the music - so relaxing and just the right volume - perfect. All the light streaming in from the windows creates an open, airy atmosphere. The lounge was uncrowded at all times, allowing everyone to spread out a bit. The views from the lounge - wonderful! And this is hard to describe, but coming and going from our room was always peaceful - again, open, airy, uncrowded. No narrow corridors or winding through grounds - just take the elevator downstairs and hop on the monorail. Yay!

For those who wonder about the vibe in RPC, here's our take. We really enjoyed meeting a few other families in the lounge. Nice to see the same families during our stay and say hello, sometimes chat a little. So a big thumbs up to our fellow family guests, especially those from Canada and New York! Some other guests . . . not so much. I entirely understand this is the luck of the draw, but we did encounter a number of guests taking themselves a bit seriously and talking to CMs in ways that I would find offensive and/or condescending. As our boys would say, these guests "fancied themselves fancy." So I understand the stereotype, just as I understand concerns others raise about Poly CL guest etiquette. It did impact the vibe a little and at first, I thought it might prevent a future stay at GF. But I've reconsidered that after reading everything else I wrote about our stay!

CL CMs: At first, our boys thought the CMs were not as friendly in RPC - most were relatively formal in their greetings or didn't initiate a greeting. My husband and my dad would have loved that - it's more their style - but the kids and I enjoy a little interaction. So after we initiated greetings or engaged with questions, CMs were very friendly. For us, the atmosphere was immediately more comfortable when we put forth a little effort.

Thanks so much to all who have contributed to this thread! Our boys are really into Poly and AKL right now and I need to get back to BC at some point, but I'd return to GF as part of a split stay again - and it would definitely be RPC.

 

[mevelandry]

Thanksfor that great review, Pixarmom!

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Happiness is: after hearing a forecast of a blizzard with at least TWO feet of snow starting Monday night and ending Wednesday night, and after working until 11pm every night, including tonight, for the past 6 days to release corporate earnings ontime; getting an email from Disney Destinations saying Congratulations, in 10 days your incredible vacation begins!

That is all, please free to carry on!

Tom

 

[DINKsAtDisney]

So excited! I went ahead and booked our trip for December after I finish my MBA. I always want to go back to GF but can't usually justify the price to myself, but since will be a special occasion I didn't even think twice!

I'm so excited for my husband to experience GF for the 1st time!

 

[BeenALongTime]

Happiness is: after hearing a forecast of a blizzard with at least TWO feet of snow starting Monday night and ending Wednesday night, and after working until 11pm every night, including tonight, for the past 6 days to release corporate earnings ontime; getting an email from Disney Destinations saying Congratulations, in 10 days your incredible vacation begins!

That is all, please free to carry on!

Tom

Good luck with the storm! Been watching the weather reports nervously and holding my breath. Not scheduled to leave until after but I hear there's snow due after this big mess too so just booked a room by the airport just in case - 'cause I'm getting to Disney come snow drifts or not! I may be shoveling here soon but I'll be dreaming of a view over the lagoon.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Happiness is: after hearing a forecast of a blizzard with at least TWO feet of snow starting Monday night and ending Wednesday night, and after working until 11pm every night, including tonight, for the past 6 days to release corporate earnings ontime; getting an email from Disney Destinations saying Congratulations, in 10 days your incredible vacation begins! That is all, please free to carry on! Tom

I wish our vacation was that soon lol...this blizzard is going to be the pits and we still have to wait 2 1/2 months before we are in FL lol

 

[ocalla]

Good Afternoon Everyone!

this September will be our 25th anniversary. We spent our Honeymoon in Disney and are thinking about spending our 25th there also!

Have never stayed at GF and really would like to for this trip. My question is for those that have maybe stayed at both GF and GFVillas. would you recommend to stay in the resort or the villas for a first timer??

it will be just Hubby and I.

Also considering a split stay with the Beach Club/Yacht club.

Thank you so much
Missy

 

[Jennygt]

As we brace for 2 or more feet of snow I am planning to spend alot of time planning for our Aug trip!

 

[amyisagoddess]

Hi All -

First time poster. Thanks to all who have posted their wisdom. I have learned SO much about our trip. Tonight at midnight I'll be reserving our fastpasses, fingers crossed!

Just wanted to throw this out there. I called the GF today and spoke to a lovely, friendly CM at Sandy Cove shop. She said that they sell umbrella strollers there for $65. We will be at GF for 7 nights, so this is considerably less expensive than renting a stroller from the park or from one of the Disney off-site providers. She even said that I could call a day or two in advance and they would hold one for me. I wanted to pass this along to all the other parents out there who are struggling with the stroller dilemma. Happy Monday to all!

 

[grubens]

I have seen some pictures of bathroom mirrors with televisions that are part of the mirrors. Is this now in all GF rooms or only at the Villas? Thanks!

 

[Candy Orlando]

I'm back in Massachusetts after another glorious week at the Grand. The Grand truly is my home as much as Lynnfield.

The weather was perfect, the flowers were beautiful, the pools were fun and the villas were inviting.

I spend so much time at the Grand now, the CM's keep telling me it is my home.

We almost had to stay an extra night like last January and they said they would always have a room for us because the Grand is our home, even if it was in the hotel because the villas were full.

If you are at the Grand right now enjoy every minute because the time goes by so fast.

I'll be back in March.

Candy