2014 Grand Floridian Resort & Villas FAQ: Vacationing in Grand Style!

[Sue M]

Hi friends! Prices are out for 2015. I nearly fainted. Price of 1 week in RPC, TPV, park hoppers and deluxe dining for 3 adults and 1 child is college tuition for a year!

Tuition will win out over Disney.

I can't look!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Our first visit to the Grand Floridian is coming up quickly. It will be a short trip. We arrive around 3:30 pm (hopefully no weather delays!), and then we will check out our room in Sugar Loaf. I'm hoping we can have a nice swim before heading to the lounge for a cocktail before dinner. We have an 8 pm dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare. We can have a relaxing walk on the beach to watch the MK fireworks.

We leave between 11 and 1 to head over to Port Canaveral to start our cruise on the Fantasy.

I'll be coming back to the Grand Floridian in October for the Gartner Conference, but that's work and not relaxing

I realize I forgot to say when I was going! We'll be at the GF on Friday.

Hope you have a great trip and enjoy the GF .

 

[MamaBear58]

Hello all. I'm new to this thread, having moved from WL to GF due to the pool construction at WL. DH, DS7.5, DD4.5 and I will be taking our first trip to Disney and staying at the GF 11/15 through 11/22. Excited to read through this thread to learn about the resort, and already have a Narcoossee's dinner booked!

So my question: On Sat 11/15 we are scheduled to land at MCO at 11 am. Is there just 1 Magic Express bus for all of the resorts? In what order are the drop offs? I'm trying to get a sense if we can get to GF, check-in and immediately take a taxi to HS to make a Fantasmic! Dining Package at 3:15 pm.

Thanks so much!

 

[KonaKaiTom]

Hello all. I'm new to this thread, having moved from WL to GF due to the pool construction at WL. DH, DS7.5, DD4.5 and I will be taking our first trip to Disney and staying at the GF 11/15 through 11/22. Excited to read through this thread to learn about the resort, and already have a Narcoossee's dinner booked!

So my question: On Sat 11/15 we are scheduled to land at MCO at 11 am. Is there just 1 Magic Express bus for all of the resorts? In what order are the drop offs? I'm trying to get a sense if we can get to GF, check-in and immediately take a taxi to HS to make a Fantasmic! Dining Package at 3:15 pm.

Thanks so much!

Hello, the ME that will take you to the GF does all of the MK resorts -- the stop order is WL, CR, Poly and last stop -- GF. We usually get off at the CR and take the monorail over to the GF as it saves a ton of time - at least 30 minutes.

Tom

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

We stayed in Boca last year, I didn't find it a difficult walk to Gaspys. If you look at the resort map you can see the paths. We either cut across the courtyard pool or took path to the right out of Boca.

Ok, thanks! Yes maybe it's better to view a map than the pics.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

Hello, the ME that will take you to the GF does all of the MK resorts -- the stop order is WL, CR, Poly and last stop -- GF. We usually get off at the CR and take the monorail over to the GF as it saves a ton of time - at least 30 minutes.

Tom

I don't think the order is set bec last year we stayed at WL and we were not first.

Hi Mamabear The buses come and go all day - as soon as one reaches a certain number, it leaves. Last time we got stuck because our bus was empty so we waited about 20 min before leaving.

 

[jerseygal]

Read on these boards that the order of the resorts vary depending on the distribution of guests on the bus....


Oh well, I read to "allow" typically 1 1/2 hours from Orlando airport to your resort as a timeguide!

 

[MamaBear58]

Hi MaggiesMom! and thanks everyone. I'd think that even it it took 3 hours we'd be there by 2...still plenty of time to jump in a cab to make a 3:15 at HBD. I just may risk it.

(It frees up a whole day for us later in our week after MVMCP, so if the kids are really tired that day it will be nice to not have to drag them away from the pool to make a 3:15 early dinner in HS.)

 

[ashnjam]

Hi MaggiesMom! and thanks everyone. I'd think that even it it took 3 hours we'd be there by 2...still plenty of time to jump in a cab to make a 3:15 at HBD. I just may risk it.

(It frees up a whole day for us later in our week after MVMCP, so if the kids are really tired that day it will be nice to not have to drag them away from the pool to make a 3:15 early dinner in HS.)

Sounds like fun! Im not sure where you're flying in from but just remember flights these days are almost always delayed it seems like lol. But if it were me i'd risk it anyway!

 

[coopersmom]

I'm not finding good answers elsewhere and am getting more confused. Can any of the experts here detail what types of deluxe rooms are available in the main building, and what views they have? Thanks!

 

[ahcupcake]

Thank you, ahcupcake!

You're Welcome!

Hi, ahcupcake.......always good to "see" you posting!

grannyminnie.....Been reading along just not posting

I'm not finding good answers elsewhere and am getting more confused. Can any of the experts here detail what types of deluxe rooms are available in the main building, and what views they have? Thanks!

Ok there are 2 types of the Queen Deluxe
- One is kind of triangular shaped
- One is rectangular like the regular rooms
- Views are either GFV/Poly or the courtyard pool

2 types of King Deluxe
- 6 turret(the rounded rooms) 3 w/monorail/GFV views &
3 w/GFV/lagoon/Poly views - NO BALCONY

- 9?(not sure if there are 6 or 9) regular rectangle shape rooms these
are located on the 2nd fl above Gaspies and have an MK/castle
view with a Jacuzzi tub and these HAVE a balcony

Hope that helps if not someone with better info than I will correct me!

 

[trishadono]

Hope that helps if not someone with better info than I will correct me!

Nicely done!

I believe there are 9 king deluxes on the 2nd floor. I hope to post pics of one of them soon

 

[baler31]

I'm not finding good answers elsewhere and am getting more confused. Can any of the experts here detail what types of deluxe rooms are available in the main building, and what views they have? Thanks!

There are king deluxe that come in two different styles as well as queen deluxe that come in two different styles. I do not know a lot about the king deluxe. I believe they are all the rooms on the 2nd floor that were once referred to as "honeymoon suites." These rooms are theme park view and come with a whirlpool tub but are the same size as standard rooms.

The second style of king deluxe are scattered on floors 3-5 and are in the turret areas of the resort so no balcony I believe. They have regular tubs but the rooms are much larger with a sitting area.

Now for the queen deluxe, these we have stayed in frequently as they are our favorite category. There are 6 total of these rooms with two different shapes. Sort of a triangle and the other is more square. Looking at where we have stayed I believe they are rooms 4319,4419,4320,4420 and 4322, 4422(these are the triangles) The square has a large garden tub that is very difficult to exit if you are vertically challenged. We much prefer the square shape as it seems much larger.

All the square deluxes overlook the courtyard area while the two triangles over look the Villas/beach pool side. 4320 is my personal favorite. I don't like to be on the lounge floor, I like the square, and I like the courtyard view. I have stayed in all except 4319 and 4419. Prior to the recent refurb these were an occupancy of 4 as there was not a daybed. We always received a rollaway as our children would prefer to sleep alone. I do not know if they are adding a daybed to these. HTH

 

[BlueSkies]

Hello fellow GF fans...Its been a bit and I am trying to catch up....

Hi Sorry no those rooms do not have a castle view. The view from those rooms is the courtyard pool. I know that 4420 is a deluxe queen and I *think* 4419 is a deluxe queen as well. Did you book TPV or standard view? Hope this helps, if not someone with more knowledge than I will be along.

Hey ah You are correct on all counts! 4419 is also a deluxe queen room..only difference is this is a handicap accessible room...

Thanks for posting the different deluxe room configurations...and your descriptions too! A picture is worth a thousand words...Just one thing that I noticed..pre refurb of course...the furniture layout is different than in the pics...the deluxe king rooms both have the small sofa located close to the foot of the bed now...or up until now??? lol.. And as you know the oblong queen deluxe the sofa is more of the center of the room with a sofa table behind it.... Wonder if they will keep that set up after the renovation?

I am really really looking forward to spending some evenings sitting on my balcony at the GF, enjoying a glass of wine. My question is: what are my chances of getting a room with a balcony? We are booked for an Outer Building Lagoon View room, and all I can find online is that "most rooms" have a balcony. I'd be sorely disappointed to not have a balcony.

All rooms with the exception of a few deluxe rooms have balconies...the only difference can be the type of balcony..some are the standard size...width of the room..with a railing...the other is a dormer room balcony..these are smaller and enclosed but still very nice...

Anxiously waitng pics of the new RPC .

Me too...

WE booked a standard garden view room (actually requested lagoon view top floor) - will we likely have a balcony? Also is there any area outside GF where we can see Wishes? And if so, where is best spot? TIA!!

All standard GV rooms at the GF have balconies..the only difference is.. as I describes above...IF you have a dormer room the balcony is enclosed..as opposed to having the railing... and I do believe that they are a bit smaller..

Looking to potentially revisit the Grand Main Bldg. in a couple months. Haven't been there since 2011 and wondered what had changed since the addition of the villas. Currently have a reservation but still mulling between the Grand and a suite at the Waldorf, which is what we did last time and was really nice. (Plus it had great fireworks view from ALL parks.)

Will the Grand's main bldg. room renovation be complete by then? And we are looking at deluxe rooms ... If you get a king will it have a daybed for sure? Just wondering as we have our son on the reservation, as well. Would love to get lucky and end up with one of the deluxes with theme park view, but don't want to sleep with our little one all week either. (Specifications on room type is deluxe with "theme park OR garden view")

Pre refurb...king deluxe rooms did not have a day bed.. both types only had that small sofa/love seat that did not open up to a bed...as for post rehab..??? We will all find out soon!

Talk to me about Disney's Electrical Water Pageant.

With a Lagoon View room in the Outer Building, is that something we'll be able to see from our balcony? Where is the best spot for viewing it?

What are some other fun evening activities for families? We don't tend to stay at the parks past dinner time, since we like to arrive at rope-drop. Our schedule is such this year that we're probably only spending 2 evenings in the parks. We have tickets to MNSSHP one night and have a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo in Epcot another night (and will hopefully stay for Illuminations, since we had a crap view last time). We will be kicked out of HS at 6pm, I believe, due to the Tower of Terror 10miler. Our other 2 park days will likely only extend to the late afternoon/early evening. So yeah...we'll need activities. (Other than sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine, and going to the pool).

Sounds like you have your days planned out very well! With a LV room you should be able to have a good view of the the EWP from your balcony..I am sure some of the other regulars will be able to make building recommendations for you...

Besides just enjoying the general ambiance of the resort..there is music in the lobby each evening..the GF Society Orchestra..and a pianist plays as well... and there is also a campfire on the the beach..and movies under the stars with a different Disney movie playing each nite...Another very nice thing to do..time a ride on the water launch to coincide with the EWP or the fireworks...

Hi Everyone! Patiently waiting for 2015 booking to open up. We would like to stay RPC during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend.

Will the 2015 dates be released on EST or PST? I'm located in California and I was wondering if I look at the website at 11pm PST tonight will I be able to book, or will it happen after midnight my time? I will be in back to back meetings tomorrow morning and I'm hoping to book as soon as I can.

Thanks in advance!!

I see that they have been released..Happy booking!

I just read the afternoon busses from TL are now dropping people off at Epcot to transfer to get back to your resort.
I should know this, but can't remember, do I then have to transfer at TTC to get back to GF? Ugh, I may change plan to BB!

Our first visit to the Grand Floridian is coming up quickly. It will be a short trip. We arrive around 3:30 pm (hopefully no weather delays!), and then we will check out our room in Sugar Loaf. I'm hoping we can have a nice swim before heading to the lounge for a cocktail before dinner. We have an 8 pm dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare. We can have a relaxing walk on the beach to watch the MK fireworks.

We leave between 11 and 1 to head over to Port Canaveral to start our cruise on the Fantasy.

I'll be coming back to the Grand Floridian in October for the Gartner Conference, but that's work and not relaxing

Congratulations on booking your first GF visit! Sounds like a wonderful trip...

I realize I forgot to say when I was going! We'll be at the GF on Friday.

Hi, Blue. what's been keeping you busy these days?

Hi there my friend! We were on vacation...No not Disney..I wish...lol...just a getting together with freinds..sunning and funning ....

Hello all. I'm new to this thread, having moved from WL to GF due to the pool construction at WL. DH, DS7.5, DD4.5 and I will be taking our first trip to Disney and staying at the GF 11/15 through 11/22. Excited to read through this thread to learn about the resort, and already have a Narcoossee's dinner booked!

So my question: On Sat 11/15 we are scheduled to land at MCO at 11 am. Is there just 1 Magic Express bus for all of the resorts? In what order are the drop offs? I'm trying to get a sense if we can get to GF, check-in and immediately take a taxi to HS to make a Fantasmic! Dining Package at 3:15 pm.

Thanks so much!

What a wonderful first trip...staying at the GF! The ME travel time to the resort generally takes about an hour at the time of day..and as Tom said.. almost always takes the same route WL CR Poly GF...

I am sure that you are going to enjoy your stay. Happy planning...

There are king deluxe that come in two different styles as well as queen deluxe that come in two different styles. I do not know a lot about the king deluxe. I believe they are all the rooms on the 2nd floor that were once referred to as "honeymoon suites." These rooms are theme park view and come with a whirlpool tub but are the same size as standard rooms.

The second style of king deluxe are scattered on floors 3-5 and are in the turret areas of the resort so no balcony I believe. They have regular tubs but the rooms are much larger with a sitting area.

Now for the queen deluxe, these we have stayed in frequently as they are our favorite category. There are 6 total of these rooms with two different shapes. Sort of a triangle and the other is more square. Looking at where we have stayed I believe they are rooms 4319,4419,4320,4420 and 4322, 4422(these are the triangles) The square has a large garden tub that is very difficult to exit if you are vertically challenged. We much prefer the square shape as it seems much larger.

All the square deluxes overlook the courtyard area while the two triangles over look the Villas/beach pool side. 4320 is my personal favorite. I don't like to be on the lounge floor, I like the square, and I like the courtyard view. I have stayed in all except 4319 and 4419. Prior to the recent refurb these were an occupancy of 4 as there was not a daybed. We always received a rollaway as our children would prefer to sleep alone. I do not know if they are adding a daybed to these. HTH

Baler Great descriptions..thank you..that along with ahcupcakes pics should really help to clarify things for those interested in the deluxe rooms in RPC....If I am not mistaken both 4419 and 4319 are both HA rooms... I think that the 43/4420 room is so very nice too....

Hi MickeyNut , k&a&c'smom, mommyGina, Candy, pas and all the rest of my fellow GF fans...

Hope that you all had a wonderful Wednesday.... preppy GF gal who is back to planning ..and replanning and fine tuning her next Disney vacation... ..lol...

Ugghh..had to edit..over on my smilies again!!! lol...

 

[coopersmom]

Thanks to everyone for the through responses! As always, you on the Dis know more than those at the resorts. (Or at least those at resort IPO.)

Does anyone know the room numbers of the Queen deluxes? Either shape is fine, I think, as they look pretty comparable. I believe we previously stayed in first version because we had the extra-large balcony and overlooked the beach area, but I could be wrong.

 

[Aurora0427]

Hello, the ME that will take you to the GF does all of the MK resorts -- the stop order is WL, CR, Poly and last stop -- GF. We usually get off at the CR and take the monorail over to the GF as it saves a ton of time - at least 30 minutes.

Tom

Genius!

 

[Aurora0427]

Just wanted to stop by and say 134 days until we are at the Grand Floridian! Not that I'm counting... Ha!

I love this thread, and I'm amazed at how much knowledge there is here about the GF!

 

[baler31]

Thanks to everyone for the through responses! As always, you on the Dis know more than those at the resorts. (Or at least those at resort IPO.)

Does anyone know the room numbers of the Queen deluxes? Either shape is fine, I think, as they look pretty comparable. I believe we previously stayed in first version because we had the extra-large balcony and overlooked the beach area, but I could be wrong.

There are 6 queen deluxes. 4319,4419,4320,4420,4322,4422.

 

[ms tom morrow]

60 days until we check into Sugar Loaf!

I got an email from IPO this evening that requested I send any reservations I booked myself so that they can be included in my "personalized itinerary." What exactly is the personalized itinerary, and is it useful? Will it just be a printout at the beginning of the trip, or is it something that I can use daily? I have some ADRs and a Keys to the Kingdom tour booked, so I'll let them know about those, but should I also list my FP+? It would be nice to have a daily printout in case the app is inaccessible, but I'm not sure this level of detail is included in the itinerary..? I honestly don't even remember getting this in WL CL...

And while I'm here, anyone taken the Keys to the Kingdom tour? I've heard mixed reviews -- some friends have said it's too much walking and were disappointed with the "inside scoop", and some absolutely raved.

 

[baler31]

Thanks to everyone for the through responses! As always, you on the Dis know more than those at the resorts. (Or at least those at resort IPO.)

Does anyone know the room numbers of the Queen deluxes? Either shape is fine, I think, as they look pretty comparable. I believe we previously stayed in first version because we had the extra-large balcony and overlooked the beach area, but I could be wrong.

There are 6 queen deluxes. 4319,4419,4320,4420,4322,4422. They cannot be booked online.