A Grand Vacation: The 2012 Grand Floridian FAQ!

[mag73]

[Unfortunately, Disney rarely ever lets out construction schedules. I've never seen it posted anywhere on their website when there is a refurb or major construction going on at the resorts. I feel lucky they gave out the schedule we have posted on the first page, they so seldom do it. I'm sure they would have far less unhappy guests if they did post these things, not sure why they won't.]

I agree, if it wasn' t for this site and others like this one I would have never know about the closures. Also some TA aren't so forthcoming either, when I was pricing our upcoming vacation few weeks ago (after the construction info was already posted on this site) one TA told me that the only closure is the Spa and then she quoted me full rack rate. I would be extremely upset if I got there after paying full price only to find out the main pool was closed, and the only QS restaurant was closed as well.

 

[Mrsdonaldduck]

Jungle Cruiser - LOL - no pressure. Yes, I'll take plenty of photos while there. Gasparilla's is due to close while we're at the GF, I'll get photos of that as well.

I wonder how pas130's trip is going/went? Hope she had a wonderful stay.

Mrsdonaldduck - Oh, no! I hope that is a typo, or misread of a memo, or something! I was sure they wouldn't close the courtyard pool until all of the beach pool construction was complete.

Tink rules - you are right, the Poly volcano pool will be very busy.

I really hope they do not close the courtyard
Pool until the beach pool area reopens! But the
Cast member who emailed me last night said courtyard
Pool was closing 8/23 and beach pool splash
Opening 8/31

 

[Lyons Family]

PAS
Thanks for the picks and one of the most informative concise posts I have read in awhile.

Still debating if a vacation in Dec. would be worth the cost if the GF is still in construction.

WE do miss her!!

Safe travels to all

Sue and crew

 

[pas130]

Thanks for the pics. Love that boat launch.

Me too!!! We had much better luck with boats this trip!!!!

Welcome home Pas! Glad you had a wonderful time-- and that you loved the WL!!

Thanks for the pics. It just looks so.... sad at the GF. I am completely terrified of getting there in Dec and not feeling like it's "home" anymore. I'm hoping that once construction is finished the Grand Vibe will return. If not, I might be "home"less for a bit.

I am hoping for the same my friend It will be Grand again, I just know it!!!

Thanks for the pics Pas130!
Glad you had a great time..

Well at least we can see the splash pad is lsowly moving along... LOL

I guess as for timetable... we all will just have to be patient... (Easier said then done)

Thanks!!! My DH & I agreed that it is surprising they will be working on the Poly before GF is done...What we loved the most about GF..the serenity wasn't there this trip, luckily we found it at WL! DH also thought it looked like another pool was in the works over by the DVC, but I didn't see what he referred to (it was from the monorail) I was too busy pouting with puppy dog eyes at the DVC building

Welcome back, pas, thanks for the photos!! Glad you loved the Lodge, isn't it pretty?! If the transportation were a tad better, we'd stay more often.

We had very good luck with the boats!!! And most of our fun was going back & forth...so relaxing!!!!!! It is so pretty, pictures do not do it justice! Glad I haven't been kicked off the thread for my latest change

PAS
Thanks for the picks and one of the most informative concise posts I have read in awhile.

Still debating if a vacation in Dec. would be worth the cost if the GF is still in construction.

WE do miss her!!

Safe travels to all

Sue and crew

She is still GRAND! And from the lobby, she is still amazing! It was hot! And we did a lot of pool time....I know I would have felt in those pools!

I agree with the cost factor Sue! And, you are welcome! I love the Grand, and DH still teases me that I had tears in my eyes taking those construction pics

 

[jackson2422]

[Unfortunately, Disney rarely ever lets out construction schedules. I've never seen it posted anywhere on their website when there is a refurb or major construction going on at the resorts. I feel lucky they gave out the schedule we have posted on the first page, they so seldom do it. I'm sure they would have far less unhappy guests if they did post these things, not sure why they won't.]

I agree, if it wasn' t for this site and others like this one I would have never know about the closures. Also some TA aren't so forthcoming either, when I was pricing our upcoming vacation few weeks ago (after the construction info was already posted on this site) one TA told me that the only closure is the Spa and then she quoted me full rack rate. I would be extremely upset if I got there after paying full price only to find out the main pool was closed, and the only QS restaurant was closed as well.

That was my thought. Would they close both pools at the same time? Doesn't seem like a logical thing to do. Also, I was told by Disney reservations that the beach pool was open? They didn't mention the splash pad, but said the beach pool was open, and QS dining would be available at the beach bar once Gasparilla closed.
I guess I'll be surprised when I arrive.

 

[Candy Orlando]

k&a&c'smom,

Am I correct in saying, the beach pool has been open during construction and will remain open.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

That was my thought. Would they close both pools at the same time? Doesn't seem like a logical thing to do. Also, I was told by Disney reservations that the beach pool was open? They didn't mention the splash pad, but said the beach pool was open, and QS dining would be available at the beach bar once Gasparilla closed.
I guess I'll be surprised when I arrive.

k&a&c'smom,

Am I correct in saying, the beach pool has been open during construction and will remain open.

CandyOrlando is absolutely right, the beach pool has remained open throughout the construction. The beach pool bar and a large portion of the beach have closed and been under construction.

The pool bar is set to open on August 23, with a new grill area; on the 24th, Gasparilla's will close for refurbishment and CS will be served at the pool bar and pre-packaged food at Mizner's. At least according to the first estimate given, posted on the first page.

The splash zone is what we are discussing, few details have been given as to the exact date it will be completed. We are all just speculating they will want to have the splash area finished before closing the courtyard pool - seems like a good idea to spread out the usage of the beach pool. It is only speculation, though, CMs recently told one DISer they will close the courtyard pool as soon as the beach pool bar & grill are opened even though the date for the splash zone was pushed back. Past experience has made us question the info.

 

[corndog]

We just returned home from 8 nights at the GF. The beach pool was open the entire time.

 

[bdklein]

We just returned home from 8 nights at the GF. The beach pool was open the entire time.

Thanks. Any impact from the construction? And how was the monorail working? There have been complaints about the monorail downtime.

 

[corndog]

Thanks. Any impact from the construction? And how was the monorail working? There have been complaints about the monorail downtime.

Some impact from the construction I suppose, like no view from the Beach Pool, as well as a lot of noise. You definitely see and hear it happening. We were in Conch Key, so we didn't hear it from the room.

We never experienced any monorail problems. I do recall hearing an announcement while we were waiting for the resort monorail at the MK that the express was delayed because one of the monorails could only travel at very slow speeds. That's it, though.

 

[pas130]

Thanks. Any impact from the construction? And how was the monorail working? There have been complaints about the monorail downtime.

I agree with the monorail going slowly....we stuck with boats and had much better luck

The monorail went down as I was leaving MK to visit a friend at the Poly, but they redirected people to buses and used the larger boats to do the MK-Poly_GF loop. There were some unhappy customers, but honestly, I have no complaints....

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

pas, thank you so much for the GF construction photos! Funny how curious we are about something we don't want k&a&c'smom is off to the GF soon and it will be interesting to see how much gets done in a couple weeks time.

Ahh, the monorail. With Disney putting more (expensive) rooms on the monorail line they are going to have to come to grips and fix it! I suspect they are already addressing the problem, and hopefully soon we will hear about new monorail cars on the line. Otherwise they better double the number of boats soon!

 

[Butterflygirl35]

16 more days!!!

 

[pas130]

pas, thank you so much for the GF construction photos! Funny how curious we are about something we don't want k&a&c'smom is off to the GF soon and it will be interesting to see how much gets done in a couple weeks time.

Ahh, the monorail. With Disney putting more (expensive) rooms on the monorail line they are going to have to come to grips and fix it! I suspect they are already addressing the problem, and hopefully soon we will hear about new monorail cars on the line. Otherwise they better double the number of boats soon!

So very true DH said he's done with the monorail....luckily our kiddos love the boats too!

16 more days!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

corndog - Welcome!! Hope you had a great time at the GF, Conch Key is my favorite non-CL building.

Jungle Cruiser - so right, with all the new rooms added between BLT, VGF and the possible Poly DVC, there will be more usage of the resort monorail. I hope they ARE planning to make it more reliable. When the cancellation of monorail service for EMH was announced, they claimed it was partly due to maintenance - I hope they are gearing up for more cars. The problem with more boats is the traffic on the Lagoon, it already seems we often have to wait for other boats to clear before we can cross the water.

One more week before we are at the YC.

pas130 - we love the boats, too. Such a nice way to unwind.

Butterflygirl - just 16 more days!

 

[scanne]

Hi. I was wondering if the "Queen Deluxe Room" is a bookable category for the RPC at the GF.

Thank you.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hi. I was wondering if the "Queen Deluxe Room" is a bookable category for the RPC at the GF.

Thank you.

Hi! Yes, it is - but it is listed as "main building - deluxe room - club level". The king deluxe rooms are separated out, I guess they feel designating non-king as "queen" is redundant, but it is a bit confusing.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Color me so surprised!! I was playing around on the WDW resort booking engine, and found this on the GF page (listed on the page where they give you an offer for your dates):


Please note, the following amenities at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will be closed for refurbishments:

• Sandy Cove Merchandise: August 21 to November 20, 2012
• Courtyard Pool: August 28 to November 30, 2012
• Gasparilla Grill & Games: August 24 to December 17, 2012
• Mouseketeer Club: August 8 to late 2012
• The Spa: April 19, 2011 to early 2013

These locations are being refreshed for your future enjoyment. In the meantime, you will have access to alternate options during your stay, so you can anticipate a truly grand vacation experience. Refurbishment dates are subject to change.

ETA: this list was on the Overview page of the Grand section of the website as well (mostly the same with the beach pool bar added).


Refurbishments*
In an ongoing effort to improve the quality of our offerings, the following amenities at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa will be closed for refurbishments:

Beach Pool Bar: April 2 to August 24, 2012
Sandy Cove Merchandise: August 21 to November 20, 2012
Courtyard Pool: August 28 to November 30, 2012
Gasparilla Grill & Games: August 24 to December 17, 2012
Mouseketeer Club: August 8 to late 2012
The Spa: April 19, 2011 to early 2013
These locations are being refreshed for your future enjoyment. In the meantime, you will have access to alternate options during your stay, so you can anticipate a truly grand vacation experience.

* Please note, refurbishment dates are subject to change.

 

[pas130]

One more week before we are at the YC.

Are you going to visit Kookster over at WL????

 

[Butterflygirl35]

Hello Everyone... Any news regarding Splash pad?