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

[uagirl]

Wish there was a way to get around that extra $25 a night charge for the extra adult. My son will be 21 for our August stay. It just kills me to pay extra, especially when the rooms are so expensive as it is.

Given the circumstances, we don't mind having to pay the extra $25 a night. Mostly, I don't want to lose that 25% discount on the room that we had going. We also had deluxe dining booked because my stepdad enjoys signature meals. We are going to drop that back to regular dining, so we may end up almost breaking even when adding my brother.

 

[pas130]

Well done Pas - excellent dance moves!!!! My suitcase is packed and waiting 54 more hours - but who is counting?

Tom

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Given the circumstances, we don't mind having to pay the extra $25 a night. Mostly, I don't want to lose that 25% discount on the room that we had going. We also had deluxe dining booked because my stepdad enjoys signature meals. We are going to drop that back to regular dining, so we may end up almost breaking even when adding my brother.

Sorry to hear your stepdad had to cancel out, and prayers for him and all of you! It is simply grand that you will be adding your brother onto your room, and I know you will all have a wonderful trip. I think you'll all be fine with the regular dining too. So cheers for saving a few bucks there. Happy planning!

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Given the circumstances, we don't mind having to pay the extra $25 a night. Mostly, I don't want to lose that 25% discount on the room that we had going. We also had deluxe dining booked because my stepdad enjoys signature meals. We are going to drop that back to regular dining, so we may end up almost breaking even when adding my brother.

So sorry to hear of your stepdad's illness -- I rode my bike 100 miles in the Yale Cancer Center Closer to Free ride back in September to raise funds for cancer research -- I had some memorial names on my shirt, including my dad as well as my best friend who had just passed in July to pancreatic cancer, however, I also had 3 survivor names on my shirt as well -- and I rode the last 27 miles with a father and daughter - the daughter was only 13 and she had on a survivor shirt!!!! So, I'm saying some prayers for your stepdad.

We are doing a split stay -- I'm at the GF for 3 nights and I conceded to let the nieces and boyfriends stay there with me 1 night -- but then we are moving to the AOA, because with 5 of us, we are definitely going to need 2 full baths -- especially considering that the two boys take longer to get ready than the girls!

Tom

 

[AllieBee]

Guys I'm kind of disappointed. I went to give our daughter a bath after the Halloween party, and discovered 6 hairs in the bathtub, not all from someone's head, and none belonging to us. I'd already wiped down the room earlier with chlorox wipes, but I forgot to do the tub. I took photos and proceeded to clean the tub myself, but I'm going to ask the front desk in the morning if they can send housekeeping up to thoroughly clean our bathroom. Just ewww. Not what I expect from the Grand. I also think they've thinned out the menu at Gaspy's, several items that were there in December are gone.

I was really disappointed with the mousekeeping at the Grand this trip. We found a palmetto bug in our bathroom our first night. (You can imagine how thrilled we were to chase that around the room after late EMH at MK!) Our beds were never fully made up after our initial check in, soaps were not replaced, turn down service was skipped one night, and we did not get a single towel animal - not even a towel Mickey at check in! I know I should have complained, but to be honest, it was a short trip, and we were constantly on the run. I just kept hoping that it would improve.

 

[MinnieMeep]

As I sit here drinking tea out of my EPCOT Starbucks mug, I realized I never commented on our RPC trip 9/15-9/19. We moved over to RPC from BWI CL on the morning of 9/15. We weren't greeted by CL staff when we were dropped off, so we had to go in to the lobby to check in (where we had a little snafu as they had the wrong check out date for us??). After a few minutes, someone came and grabbed us, and brought us up to the lounge area for check in. We were booked in a standard room, I had requested 4th floor with a poly/monorail view. Imagine my sad surprise when the staff member told us our room was not ready, and it was going to be on the third floor ............
But was a theme park view! I honestly did not believe it (he didn't seem to know what was going on, kind of awkward), so I didn't want to get truly excited until I had the room number lol! We went to to MK and came back around 3:00, still no room notification. We talked with Robert at the CL desk, as we needed to get ready for the MNSSHP. Within a half hour we were in our room... 4305, with a dead on, unobstructed view of the MK! I nearly died. What an anniversary gift from the GF! We had an absolutely wonderful stay. It really is my most favorite place in the world, and my favorite place to stay (with AKL CL in a close second). We watched both Wishes and HalloWishes from our balcony. That view has completely spoiled me! My goodness! Everything about this hotel is just perfect. Nothing beats sitting and listening to the GF orchestra playing, while sipping on a drink and some delicious snacks. The CL staff was top-notch, again, on this trip. Rob and Dan really went above and beyond, especially when they helped straighten out a HORRIBLE anniversary cake the CR made for our anniversary dinner at Cali Grill.

While we ended up purchasing DVC at Poly this trip, we still plan on visiting RPC at least once a year.

Here are some pictures:

And a few videos I took from the balcony:

 

[Aurora0427]

I was really disappointed with the mousekeeping at the Grand this trip. We found a palmetto bug in our bathroom our first night. (You can imagine how thrilled we were to chase that around the room after late EMH at MK!) Our beds were never fully made up after our initial check in, soaps were not replaced, turn down service was skipped one night, and we did not get a single towel animal - not even a towel Mickey at check in! I know I should have complained, but to be honest, it was a short trip, and we were constantly on the run. I just kept hoping that it would improve.

Yes, our room was also missing the coffee maker, glasses, and the decorative pillows that are supposed to finish out the bed. Granted we don't use the in room coffee pot, but I use the glasses to wash my daughters hair. It just seems like they missed a lot when they did up the room. However, my mother's lagoon view room in Boca Chica was perfect.

 

[Dispro1]

As I sit here drinking tea out of my EPCOT Starbucks mug, I realized I never commented on our RPC trip 9/15-9/19. We moved over to RPC from BWI CL on the morning of 9/15. We weren't greeted by CL staff when we were dropped off, so we had to go in to the lobby to check in (where we had a little snafu as they had the wrong check out date for us??). After a few minutes, someone came and grabbed us, and brought us up to the lounge area for check in. We were booked in a standard room, I had requested 4th floor with a poly/monorail view. Imagine my sad surprise when the staff member told us our room was not ready, and it was going to be on the third floor ............
But was a theme park view! I honestly did not believe it (he didn't seem to know what was going on, kind of awkward), so I didn't want to get truly excited until I had the room number lol! We went to to MK and came back around 3:00, still no room notification. We talked with Robert at the CL desk, as we needed to get ready for the MNSSHP. Within a half hour we were in our room... 4305, with a dead on, unobstructed view of the MK! I nearly died. What an anniversary gift from the GF! We had an absolutely wonderful stay. It really is my most favorite place in the world, and my favorite place to stay (with AKL CL in a close second). We watched both Wishes and HalloWishes from our balcony. That view has completely spoiled me! My goodness! Everything about this hotel is just perfect. Nothing beats sitting and listening to the GF orchestra playing, while sipping on a drink and some delicious snacks. The CL staff was top-notch, again, on this trip. Rob and Dan really went above and beyond, especially when they helped straighten out a HORRIBLE anniversary cake the CR made for our anniversary dinner at Cali Grill.

While we ended up purchasing DVC at Poly this trip, we still plan on visiting RPC at least once a year.

Here are some pictures:

And a few videos I took from the balcony:

Nice upgrade thanks for sharing your photos...the one of the lobby is fantastic! I'm guessing it was late at night since that seems to be the only time it's empty -lol! I'll bet the castle looked SO much closer in person. I'm always completely disappointed when I try to take castle pics from our room because it looks so much farther away in the pictures!! What a great view of the fireworks you had! Congrats on your Poly DVC

 

[uagirl]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear your stepdad had to cancel out, and prayers for him and all of you! It is simply grand that you will be adding your brother onto your room, and I know you will all have a wonderful trip. I think you'll all be fine with the regular dining too. So cheers for saving a few bucks there. Happy planning!

Thank you! I called today to cancel their reservation and move my brother. The cast member was able to waive their $200 cancellation fee and allow us to keep our discount!

 

[uagirl]

So sorry to hear of your stepdad's illness -- I rode my bike 100 miles in the Yale Cancer Center Closer to Free ride back in September to raise funds for cancer research -- I had some memorial names on my shirt, including my dad as well as my best friend who had just passed in July to pancreatic cancer, however, I also had 3 survivor names on my shirt as well -- and I rode the last 27 miles with a father and daughter - the daughter was only 13 and she had on a survivor shirt!!!! So, I'm saying some prayers for your stepdad.

We are doing a split stay -- I'm at the GF for 3 nights and I conceded to let the nieces and boyfriends stay there with me 1 night -- but then we are moving to the AOA, because with 5 of us, we are definitely going to need 2 full baths -- especially considering that the two boys take longer to get ready than the girls!

Tom

That is awesome! He has glioblastoma. Highly aggressive and terminal. Life expectancy is 12-15 months. We are hoping he responds well to treatment and are hoping to plan a short trip back to the GF once treatment is over and he is feeling up to it. GF is his favorite resort and he had really been looking forward to the trip with his grandkids.

 

[mandy200587]

That is awesome! He has glioblastoma. Highly aggressive and terminal. Life expectancy is 12-15 months. We are hoping he responds well to treatment and are hoping to plan a short trip back to the GF once treatment is over and he is feeling up to it. GF is his favorite resort and he had really been looking forward to the trip with his grandkids.

Hopefully he will. Prayers to you and your family. We've done Disney in between treatments when my mom was going through cancer treatments. Truly just hugs and prayers.

 

[sbeets]

That is awesome! He has glioblastoma. Highly aggressive and terminal. Life expectancy is 12-15 months. We are hoping he responds well to treatment and are hoping to plan a short trip back to the GF once treatment is over and he is feeling up to it. GF is his favorite resort and he had really been looking forward to the trip with his grandkids.

I'm so sorry about the diagnosis. We did a Disney trip after my MIL was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We certainly made magical memories. I hope you have the same opportunity. December will be our first trip back to WDW since our trip with her, and I'm certainly nervous. I hope we focus on the good memories instead of missing her.

 

[pas130]

That is awesome! He has glioblastoma. Highly aggressive and terminal. Life expectancy is 12-15 months. We are hoping he responds well to treatment and are hoping to plan a short trip back to the GF once treatment is over and he is feeling up to it. GF is his favorite resort and he had really been looking forward to the trip with his grandkids.

More hugs and prayers that he gets a trip in with his grandbabies! Very glad they waived the cancellation fee in this circumstance, certainly the Disney thing to do

 

[pas130]

ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MinnieMeep]

Nice upgrade thanks for sharing your photos...the one of the lobby is fantastic! I'm guessing it was late at night since that seems to be the only time it's empty -lol! I'll bet the castle looked SO much closer in person. I'm always completely disappointed when I try to take castle pics from our room because it looks so much farther away in the pictures!! What a great view of the fireworks you had! Congrats on your Poly DVC

Thank you!
You are correct! The lobby picture was taken at 12:30 am, after returning from MNSSHP; so peaceful and quiet. And it always stinks when trying to take pictures and things look so far away/smaller! The castle was not that far away!!
It definitely was a million dollar view and I'm grateful for the upgrade. It made us spend more time in the room in the evening! Seriously, I am more than fine with the standard view rooms in the main building, and that's what we've booked in the past.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is awesome and not to outdo you, but as they sing at the end of Les Miserables....ONE DAY MOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Tom

 

[Dispro1]

Thank you!
You are correct! The lobby picture was taken at 12:30 am, after returning from MNSSHP; so peaceful and quiet. And it always stinks when trying to take pictures and things look so far away/smaller! The castle was not that far away!!
It definitely was a million dollar view and I'm grateful for the upgrade. It made us spend more time in the room in the evening! Seriously, I am more than fine with the standard view rooms in the main building, and that's what we've booked in the past.

Nice avatar pic with Richard I can't believe he's 90!

 

[Nonsuch]

I have just completed reading this entire thread!
I'm a frequent visitor to the Grand Californian, but the Grand Floridian is new to me. Not completely new, since DW and I dined at the V&A Chef's Table in February 2015.

Our upcoming trip is in January 2016 and originally booked for an outer building LV. The recently released AP discounts (and this thread) prompted us to upgrade to a RPC Deluxe King. I will request a turret room, it would be great if this was a specific category (at least we are guaranteed to have a king bed).

I would like to thank all the contributors to this thread, most of my questions have been answered.
If anyone is planning a trip to DLR, check out the Grand Californian Superthread or the Villas Grand Californian Superthread (where I frequently post).

 

[pas130]

That is awesome and not to outdo you, but as they sing at the end of Les Miserables....ONE DAY MOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Tom

SAWEEEEET!!!

Nice avatar pic with Richard I can't believe he's 90!

wow! Bless him!! Grand greeter, is there anything better?

I have just completed reading this entire thread!
I'm a frequent visitor to the Grand Californian, but the Grand Floridian is new to me. Not completely new, since DW and I dined at the V&A Chef's Table in February 2015.

Our upcoming trip is in January 2016 and originally booked for an outer building LV. The recently released AP discounts (and this thread) prompted us to upgrade to a RPC Deluxe King. I will request a turret room, it would be great if this was a specific category (at least we are guaranteed to have a king bed).

I would like to thank all the contributors to this thread, most of my questions have been answered.
If anyone is planning a trip to DLR, check out the Grand Californian Superthread or the Villas Grand Californian Superthread (where I frequently post).

I'd love to go to DL! So much easier to stay on the East coast for us, one day I'll get there I'll be at RPC in a king room next week and I'm also hoping for a turret room, welcome to the other Disney Grand

 

[BlueSkies]

Hello fellow GF fans!!

Haven't caught up...just had a bit of time to pop in....Back to reality is no fun!

Tom & pas ....... It's almost trip time ...woohoo...

Hoping to figure out how to resize and post all of the pics that I took just to share here with you all....Wish me luck!

Hope that you all are having a terrific Tuesday. .. preppy GF gal who is happy to have been able to book a bounce back for 2016!!

 

[mmmears]

I have just completed reading this entire thread!
I'm a frequent visitor to the Grand Californian, but the Grand Floridian is new to me. Not completely new, since DW and I dined at the V&A Chef's Table in February 2015.

Our upcoming trip is in January 2016 and originally booked for an outer building LV. The recently released AP discounts (and this thread) prompted us to upgrade to a RPC Deluxe King. I will request a turret room, it would be great if this was a specific category (at least we are guaranteed to have a king bed).

I would like to thank all the contributors to this thread, most of my questions have been answered.
If anyone is planning a trip to DLR, check out the Grand Californian Superthread or the Villas Grand Californian Superthread (where I frequently post).

Welcome to the GF thread! I'm impressed that you read the entire thing! We are also frequent visitors to the GCH and I agree that is a very helpful thread over there. I think you'll like RPC