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

[k&a&c'smom]

Gitts2008 - I found the response from BCV23, here is the link to that post.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Thank you so much for info!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Here is what we have listed on the first page regarding accessible rooms at the Grand:

A limited number of handicapped accessible rooms are available, and early booking is advised. In Sago Cay, there are 3 rooms, Sugar Loaf has 2, Big Pine Key has 2, there are some in Conch Key and there is at least one accessible room in the main building. Some accessible rooms have roll in showers, others have tubs, so guests must describe their particular needs at booking to be assigned the correct room type.

If SL has only 2 rooms that are accessible (not sure if both are roll in) you will be very limited on location requests.

Thank you so much for info!!

You're welcome!

 

[plutosbuddie]

Thank you K&A&C's mom! I am too excited about this whole trip and getting married!! I think a standard room with a king size bed; that isn't to far from the elevators so my dad didn't have to walk that much, and view for my mom so she would be happy!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thank you K&A&C's mom! I am too excited about this whole trip and getting married!! I think a standard room with a king size bed; that isn't to far from the elevators so my dad didn't have to walk that much, and view for my mom so she would be happy!

Do you mean garden view? Technically, there are no standard rooms at the Grand - standard in size, maybe. No parking lot views at the GF, the cheapest rooms all have views of the grounds - pools, marina, landscaping.

So, if you are looking to book a garden view, and you want something close to the Main Bldg., you would probably want to request Big Pine Key. It is the closest building to the back entry to the Main Building, and is close to both pools. Ask to be on the Main Bldg. end, so you don't end up with the dreaded pool house view! Especially if you need first floor for your dad. When you ask to be near the elevator, be sure to add on the reservation that your dad has mobility issues. They usually try to get a good location when they see that on the reservation.

There are not a lot of king beds in the outer buildings, but there are a few, so do add that to the requests.

HTH! Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[ErinsMommy]

Sooo exciting. We just switched from the WL to the GF. Could not be happier - at least until my credit card bill comes in!!

 

[Kristina4109]

This thread is getting me excited to stay here on our next trip. I stayed here in 1991 on what was then called the Grand Plan. My husband has not, and I think he's jealous.

He keeps going back and forth from, "I wouldn't mind doing a Moderate next time to save some money" to "Let's stay at the GF next time!" We'll see.

 

[mickeynut1]

I worry to much

Try not to worry, I'm sure everything will be great .

I know I've asked a lot of questions, but this one is really bugging me and my DH is no help. I'm 105 days out from my trip....

Is it okay to start packing yet?



(NoButSeriously, would it be weird for me to open a trunk in the attic and start randomly putting in stuff I won't use until we get to Disney?)

It's never too early to get excited about a trip . 105 days seems like a long way off, but it will be here before you know it .

Stayed at VGF for the first time and fell absolutely in love! The grounds are stunning! Transportation was great. The food options are the best. Fireworks viewing is awesome. The whole vibe of the GF is just wonderful. I love the selection of stores. I just loved returning to it after being in the parks. It is now at the top of my list with Akl my other fave. We can't wait to return and are doubling our points there.

Glad you had a great stay and loved the VGF. We haven't stayed there, but the pics look absolutely beautiful .

I agree, when we first started vacationing at WDW, it was very difficult to find photos of the rooms. No internets, lol.

It's amazing how things have changed from years ago and how much information you can find on the internet today .

Sooo exciting. We just switched from the WL to the GF. Could not be happier - at least until my credit card bill comes in!!

You are going to love the GF. The WL is a great resort and we love it, but the GF is just amazing and is probably our second favorite after the Poly .

This thread is getting me excited to stay here on our next trip. I stayed here in 1991 on what was then called the Grand Plan. My husband has not, and I think he's jealous.

He keeps going back and forth from, "I wouldn't mind doing a Moderate next time to save some money" to "Let's stay at the GF next time!" We'll see.

You are going to love the GF on your next stay. LOL on how your DH keeps changing his mind .

 

[Sue M]

The GF recently underwent a full room decor renovation - new wallpaper, drapes, carpet, bedding, furniture, etc. This is why you are still seeing so many photos of the old rooms, it is in the final stages as we speak. All outer buildings have been completed with the red/beige color scheme. If you are seeing the gold/blue color scheme, these are photos prior to the renovations this year.

HTH!







I agree, when we first started vacationing at WDW, it was very difficult to find photos of the rooms. No internets, lol.



All SL rooms are in the club level. The whole building is club level, it has its own CL lounge on the first floor.



What kind of photos are you looking for? I doubt it was BCV23 who posted them, as she rarely does so. But she is our resident expert on all things concerning the accessible rooms, I know she posted some great info. I'll see if I can find her response.

You are asking the wrong person about surprising fellow guests. I can't keep a secret, I've tried to surprise DD and always end up telling her before the trip.



Not weird at all, I know many people who start their packing early.



Glad to hear you have fallen in love with the resort, it is hard to resist, isn't it?!



Welcome! Congrats on your upcoming WDW wedding, how magical!

It would help to know what room category you are hoping to book. Requesting specific room numbers at WDW is iffy - in case that room is occupied, the assigner doesn't know why you wanted it and cannot offer a similar option.



The answer to both questions is complicated. The resort is very compact, so walking anywhere is not very long.

For the "furthest garden view" - furthest from the monorail and pools is actually closer to the buses. Furthest from the buses is closer to the monorail! If you are walking from one of the courtyard buildings to the monorail station, allow yourself about 5 minutes or so, depending on how fast you walk. If walking from, say, Big Pine Key to the bus depot, allow about the same. Walking from Sago Cay to the bus depot, about 3 minutes, to the monorail about 6 minutes or so.

The buses from WL often share with the GF, with the GF being the last stop. I cannot give an idea of how long one is vs. the other, there are so many variables. There is a good travel time tool on the first page, I'll post the link. ETA: here is the promised link to the DIS tool for estimating travel times. Simply put in from WL to whichever park, then GF to the same park, it should give you an idea of the difference. HTH!



Sounds great!



The new rooms do all have red scarves; the older rooms prior to this year's renovation had no scarf at all to begin with, but a blue scarf when they switched the bedspreads out for white triple sheeting w/bed scarf. This was a temporary look.

Thanks. I think when we were there last aug they still had the bed spreads.

 

[j&j620]

My goodness, I didn't think I had asked my question so long ago, but I guess I did! Or this thread just gets a lot of action

I don't think that being place in a HA room without specifically booking one is very common...Did you request a room with a king bed?? Maybe there are more King HA rooms..I am not really sure about that... Just a reminder..if you check into a room that you are not happy with don't hesitate to request a change.. I am sure that the front desk at the GF will be very accomodatiing...

It wasn't something we requested. Honestly, we didn't check-in until after 10pm and I was so dazzled by the view/exhausted from an awful day of canceled flights and unexpected layovers that it didn't even occur to me that having the HA room would be a problem. I just wanted to crash!

When we got back, I looked into it and got the impression that this kind of thing happens a lot...at least at that particular resort.

As BlueSkies posted, HA/king bed rooms are usually given by request, however, sometimes guests might get them because that's what's available. With that said, you could put a request on your reservation for 2 queens. If you happen to get a HA room, you can always go back to the front desk and request a different room .

I will make sure we do that if it happens!

 

[mickeynut1]

I will make sure we do that if it happens!

Have a great trip .

 

[ninafeliz]

Thanks K&A&C'smom and mickeynut1 for the welcome and responses regarding Wishes from the RPC lounge. Just to make sure I understand - it sounds like you can kind of see some of the high bursts, but if you really want to see Wishes you should go out by Narcoossee's where you can see it all and also hear the music. We're used to seeing it from the Poly, will that view compare? Also, it seems like that might be a touch easier to do from SL than RPC?

I have a few more questions about RPC, I wasn't sure if I should ask here or on the Club Level thread, but I decided to start here since they only pertain to the GF, I hope that's ok.

We are booked in SL through a bounceback offer. Assuming there is availability with the offer, will we be able to switch to RPC and keep the 40% off? I know BB offers aren't the same as typical RO offers, which I know you can tinker with after the initial booking. Same dates, same hotel, just different room level.

Looking at the RPC options available without the BB I see Deluxe Kings rooms that aren't much more than a regular room. We have 2 adults, a 4 yr old, and a 1 yr old. I thought we would be allowed to book that category until the baby hits 3, is that correct? I saw they allow 3 adults with a roll in bed according to the website (which we wouldn't need, the 4 y/o would end up in the king with us anyway ).

However, regarding the deluxe kings, I think I remember from my reading of this thread a while ago that they have some rooms with a good view (yay) but that don't directly access the lounge somehow (boo)?? (again sorry, I just skimmed and didn't worry when I didn't understand b/c I never thought it would matter to us) Do you have to go outside, or down and back up, or something like that? Because I think that would be something that would push us to just take a regular room, with direct access to the lounge. if it isn't too much trouble, could someone either point me to the posts that explain these rooms in detail, or explain the deluxe kings again? I looked at the first page, but it didn't seem to go into the detail I *thought* I remembered reading somewhere in the thread.

How about deluxe queens? They didn't show up on the website as sold out for our dates, they just didn't show up at all. Do they exist, and if they do what is the view? I assume we wouldn't be able to get one at our discoubt anyway if they aren't showing as available without it.

OK, I think that covers it for now. Sorry for the questions that have been asked before! I'm excited to be even considering RPC, but also thinking that SL sounds pretty darn nice and it certainly won't be a tragedy if we just leave things as is The only other CL we've stayed at is the Poly, we did it once and were hooked so we kept going back. Then with the construction and my DS4 seeing the water play area we decided to try spomething different this time

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks K&A&C'smom and mickeynut1 for the welcome and responses regarding Wishes from the RPC lounge. Just to make sure I understand - it sounds like you can kind of see some of the high bursts, but if you really want to see Wishes you should go out by Narcoossee's where you can see it all and also hear the music. We're used to seeing it from the Poly, will that view compare? Also, it seems like that might be a touch easier to do from SL than RPC?

I have a few more questions about RPC, I wasn't sure if I should ask here or on the Club Level thread, but I decided to start here since they only pertain to the GF, I hope that's ok.

We are booked in SL through a bounceback offer. Assuming there is availability with the offer, will we be able to switch to RPC and keep the 40% off? I know BB offers aren't the same as typical RO offers, which I know you can tinker with after the initial booking. Same dates, same hotel, just different room level.

Looking at the RPC options available without the BB I see Deluxe Kings rooms that aren't much more than a regular room. We have 2 adults, a 4 yr old, and a 1 yr old. I thought we would be allowed to book that category until the baby hits 3, is that correct? I saw they allow 3 adults with a roll in bed according to the website (which we wouldn't need, the 4 y/o would end up in the king with us anyway ).

However, regarding the deluxe kings, I think I remember from my reading of this thread a while ago that they have some rooms with a good view (yay) but that don't directly access the lounge somehow (boo)?? (again sorry, I just skimmed and didn't worry when I didn't understand b/c I never thought it would matter to us) Do you have to go outside, or down and back up, or something like that? Because I think that would be something that would push us to just take a regular room, with direct access to the lounge. if it isn't too much trouble, could someone either point me to the posts that explain these rooms in detail, or explain the deluxe kings again? I looked at the first page, but it didn't seem to go into the detail I *thought* I remembered reading somewhere in the thread.

How about deluxe queens? They didn't show up on the website as sold out for our dates, they just didn't show up at all. Do they exist, and if they do what is the view? I assume we wouldn't be able to get one at our discoubt anyway if they aren't showing as available without it.

OK, I think that covers it for now. Sorry for the questions that have been asked before! I'm excited to be even considering RPC, but also thinking that SL sounds pretty darn nice and it certainly won't be a tragedy if we just leave things as is The only other CL we've stayed at is the Poly, we did it once and were hooked so we kept going back. Then with the construction and my DS4 seeing the water play area we decided to try spomething different this time

I can't help with the fireworks views or the king/queen deluxe room locations, but I can help with your BB question .

If RPC is available under the BB for your dates, you can change from SL and keep the discount. BBs work the same as other reservations in that you can change resorts and/or room type as long as what you want is available under the BB without losing the discount. Just for future reference, you can also change dates, provided the new dates were included in the original BB offer. Sometimes you have to speak to someone in guest services as CRO CMs might not be able to check availability and/or make the change, but I have worked with GS a few times and they are great to deal with .

As far as the RPC deluxe queen rooms, availability on those with a discount is hit or miss. They are becoming more popular and since there are only a few of each, sometimes they are included in discounts and sometimes not, it just depends on the occupancy of those during your dates.

Hope this answers some of your questions. With that said, don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have as everyone here is always willing to help (with a few GF vets that are very knowledgeable about the resort) .

 

[k&a&c'smom]

ninafeliz - I will try to clear up a bit of the confusion.

There are 2 types of king deluxe rooms; 6 octagonal, or turret rooms, which are the ones you describe. These are larger but have no balcony, and 3 of them do not have any view of the courtyard or Wishes (they overlook the Beach Pool and monorail).

The other 9 king deluxe rooms are on the 2nd floor, over Gasparilla's. This is the same area that has the theme park view rooms on floors 3 and 4, so they do have balconies and all will have a view of the castle and Wishes. These rooms are the same size as the regular rooms, but they have king beds, a sitting area and a Jacuzzi tub in the bath.

The 2nd floor deluxe king rooms are a little isolated, in that the main RPC elevator (the one in the lobby) does not go to the 2nd floor - due to the 2nd floor having public space. To get to these rooms, you go up the elevator to the 3rd floor, down a back hallway to the pool elevator (near Gasparilla's) and then down again. This does not affect the access to the lounge - just the front elevator and lobby. To get to the lounge, you just go up the back elevator and walk down the hall - the same as you would have to do if you were on the 3rd floor, but in reverse (walk down the hall and take the elevator).

If this is clear as mud, let me know, I'll try to explain a little better.

As mickeynut pointed out, there are only 6 deluxe queen rooms, 4 over the courtyard and 2 over the Beach Pool. These rarely appear online, as the ones over the courtyard are connected to accessible rooms and are either booked by families needing an accessible room plus another, or they are snapped up by guests who love them and book early.

Sooo exciting. We just switched from the WL to the GF. Could not be happier - at least until my credit card bill comes in!!

Very exciting!!

This thread is getting me excited to stay here on our next trip. I stayed here in 1991 on what was then called the Grand Plan. My husband has not, and I think he's jealous.

He keeps going back and forth from, "I wouldn't mind doing a Moderate next time to save some money" to "Let's stay at the GF next time!" We'll see.

Good luck! Hope he gives in to the urge to book at the Grand, it is a lovely resort.

....
It's amazing how things have changed from years ago and how much information you can find on the internet today .

It is amazing, isn't it?! Sometimes I can't believe things have changed so drastically.

My goodness, I didn't think I had asked my question so long ago, but I guess I did! Or this thread just gets a lot of action



It wasn't something we requested. Honestly, we didn't check-in until after 10pm and I was so dazzled by the view/exhausted from an awful day of canceled flights and unexpected layovers that it didn't even occur to me that having the HA room would be a problem. I just wanted to crash!

When we got back, I looked into it and got the impression that this kind of thing happens a lot...at least at that particular resort.

I did not read your original post, so I'm not sure at which resort this happened - but I can assure you, it is not a regular occurrence at the Grand. As BlueSkies posted, there are so few accessible rooms at the GF (if you look at my previous post to Gitts2008, there seem to only be about 10-12 of them spread throughout the buildings). In all our visits, we have never been assigned an accessible room, so I think your chances are very slim to none.

 

[ninafeliz]

I can't help with the fireworks views or the king/queen deluxe room locations, but I can help with your BB question .

If RPC is available under the BB for your dates, you can change from SL and keep the discount. BBs work the same as other reservations in that you can change resorts and/or room type as long as what you want is available under the BB without losing the discount. Just for future reference, you can also change dates, provided the new dates were included in the original BB offer. Sometimes you have to speak to someone in guest services as CRO CMs might not be able to check availability and/or make the change, but I have worked with GS a few times and they are great to deal with .

As far as the RPC deluxe queen rooms, availability on those with a discount is hit or miss. They are becoming more popular and since there are only a few of each, sometimes they are included in discounts and sometimes not, it just depends on the occupancy of those during your dates.

Hope this answers some of your questions. With that said, don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have as everyone here is always willing to help (with a few GF vets that are very knowledgeable about the resort) .

Thank you so much! Now I just have to call tonight and see if anything is available under the BB rate. I don't want to drop down to a lesser discount, we'll just keep SL if there isn't availability. I have hope that they might be available, as they are available online with the regular RO discount, both standard and deluxe king. So we'll see

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thanks K&A&C'smom and mickeynut1 for the welcome and responses regarding Wishes from the RPC lounge. Just to make sure I understand - it sounds like you can kind of see some of the high bursts, but if you really want to see Wishes you should go out by Narcoossee's where you can see it all and also hear the music. We're used to seeing it from the Poly, will that view compare? Also, it seems like that might be a touch easier to do from SL than RPC?

....
Looking at the RPC options available without the BB I see Deluxe Kings rooms that aren't much more than a regular room. We have 2 adults, a 4 yr old, and a 1 yr old. I thought we would be allowed to book that category until the baby hits 3, is that correct? I saw they allow 3 adults with a roll in bed according to the website (which we wouldn't need, the 4 y/o would end up in the king with us anyway ).

Oops, I missed a couple questions, sorry!

You can see much of the Wishes fireworks from the RPC lounge, but I wanted to be sure it was understood the view won't be unobstructed, which is why I mentioned "higher bursts". I'll post a photo of the view from the RPC lounge out over the courtyard, so you can see what I mean. You are looking across the GF grounds and outer buildings, so of course, the lowest fireworks will not be visible. You can still get a nice view and if you have seen Wishes often, or have seen them already on your current trip, it's a nice way to feel you are watching them while in the comfort of the lounge.

No, the view from anywhere at the Grand will not be the same as at the Poly. If you look at a map of the MK area, you can see the Grand is off to one side, whereas the Poly is directly across SSL. Map with aerial view of Grand, just zoom out to see the MK area.

You do not have to go to the walkway near Narcoossee's to see Wishes and hear the music. Many guests have said they hear the music from the marina (we have never been so lucky, CMs have told us there are sometimes problems with the speakers) and it is more comfortable there. You can grab a snack, find a spot to sit (maybe even get a Gasparilla's table - I'll post a photo of that, too) and enjoy. Near Narcoossee's, you are basically standing on the walkway from the boat dock. You can, however, sit at the boat dock, there are seats there and it is a nice view. May or may not have the music piped in, depending on the day, but it carries pretty well across the water.

It is slightly easier to access the grounds from SL than RPC, but not enough to matter. As I said earlier, there is a back elevator that drops you right by Gasparilla's, so if you choose to book RPC, you would just go down the pool elevator and out to the marina, or to the courtyard/boat dock, etc.

I can't answer the question about the king deluxe occupancy, sorry. Until recently, those rooms had a max occupancy of 2. Now, they are saying 3, and I did not understand it to mean 3 adults but if that is what the website says, they would know. I would assume the normal occupancy rules would apply to under 3 years old in a crib, but I am not sure. Asking the CM when you call for the reservation would be the way to go. Of course, that means you have to call, maybe you planned to book online? I assumed switching a BB required a call, but we've never done it.

HTH!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

This photo is from the 5th floor (lounge is on the 4th), where there is not technically an area to sit and watch. There's a walkway around the lobby atrium, with a couple wing backed chairs, but not the lounge seating such as on the 4th floor. But you get the idea of what is seen from the lounge below, and you can certainly go up to the 5th and stand there, if you prefer that higher view.

Fourth floor seating around lobby atrium - same windows and view as the previous photo, simply one floor down

I think this is taken walking out of the pool elevator door near Gasparilla's, looking at marina landing (castle in distance) - or it might have been taken as we walked out of Gasparilla's! lol

Another landing photo

Looking from courtyard area towards Gasparilla's seating, marina landing on the right of the photo

 

[ninafeliz]

ninafeliz - I will try to clear up a bit of the confusion.

There are 2 types of king deluxe rooms; 6 octagonal, or turret rooms, which are the ones you describe. These are larger but have no balcony, and 3 of them do not have any view of the courtyard or Wishes (they overlook the Beach Pool and monorail).

The other 9 king deluxe rooms are on the 2nd floor, over Gasparilla's. This is the same area that has the theme park view rooms on floors 3 and 4, so they do have balconies and all will have a view of the castle and Wishes. These rooms are the same size as the regular rooms, but they have king beds, a sitting area and a Jacuzzi tub in the bath.

The 2nd floor deluxe king rooms are a little isolated, in that the main RPC elevator (the one in the lobby) does not go to the 2nd floor - due to the 2nd floor having public space. To get to these rooms, you go up the elevator to the 3rd floor, down a back hallway to the pool elevator (near Gasparilla's) and then down again. This does not affect the access to the lounge - just the front elevator and lobby. To get to the lounge, you just go up the back elevator and walk down the hall - the same as you would have to do if you were on the 3rd floor, but in reverse (walk down the hall and take the elevator).

If this is clear as mud, let me know, I'll try to explain a little better.

As mickeynut pointed out, there are only 6 deluxe queen rooms, 4 over the courtyard and 2 over the Beach Pool. These rarely appear online, as the ones over the courtyard are connected to accessible rooms and are either booked by families needing an accessible room plus another, or they are snapped up by guests who love them and book early.

Thanks so much for taking the time to clarify! I still have a few questions, maybe since I've just never been in RPC it makes it harder to understand Let me know if I have this all correct

With the deluxe kings, we have a better chance of getting the theme park view on the second floor, because there are more rooms, but to get to them from the lobby and monorail we have to take 2 elevators?? That's so odd, and very inconvienient, but the view would be great. Also, to get to the lounge we have to take an elevator, no stairs? and the room isn't off of the lobby with the open views, orchestra, etc? They sound almost too isolated, I want to enjoy being in the RPC. What do you think?


The turret rooms sound better (to me), except for no balcony. But half of them would have a view of wishes and half would not, and it's just luck which you get? Plus luck if you get them or the 2nd floor? Are they on the same floor as the lounge, and just off of the open lobby?

I always said I wouldn't want a room without a balcony, but given the access to the 2nd floor I'm thinking I would want the turret rooms. But the odds are against me on that, just in number of rooms. Then, of the turret rooms, I would prefer one with views of wishes. I guess I'm thinking I might actually prefer a regular room - then I know I won't be isolated on the second floor and I won't have to have the stress of if I'll get a view that includes fireworks or not, b/c I'll know I won't.

This is getting to be a bit much, SL was so easy. Either marina or pool view, no other main options other than floor, dormer, and the 3 turret rooms!

Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions on the different king rooms? I suspect I am overthinking this!!

 

[Ferrentinos]

Arrived safe and sound and enjoying the pools until our room is ready. This resort is absolutely lovely! Had a late breakfast in the SL lounge. Amazing pastries!!! Going to go to MK after our room is ready and we have a bit of a rest. Any questions? I'm here for 9 days!!!!

 

[ninafeliz]

This photo is from the 5th floor (lounge is on the 4th), where there is not technically an area to sit and watch. There's a walkway around the lobby atrium, with a couple wing backed chairs, but not the lounge seating such as on the 4th floor. But you get the idea of what is seen from the lounge below, and you can certainly go up to the 5th and stand there, if you prefer that higher view.

Fourth floor seating around lobby atrium - same windows and view as the previous photo, simply one floor down

I think this is taken walking out of the pool elevator door near Gasparilla's, looking at marina landing (castle in distance) - or it might have been taken as we walked out of Gasparilla's! lol

Another landing photo

Looking from courtyard area towards Gasparilla's seating, marina landing on the right of the photo

These pictures look like there wound be a better view of wishes than I had expected, thank you so much for the pictures!! Now my DH may be more interested in changing, he doesn't really care about hanging around the lounge much, we take stuff back to the room more, but we would go and watch the fireworks from the lounge if we were around. If only they had the music like the Poly Maybe I could try to time it right from my Iphone