A Grand Vacation: The 2012 Grand Floridian FAQ!

[autumnpalm]

It definitely is magical. That is a great split.. Best of both worlds!! Epcot area and MK area.

I found out here last year about the Labor Day exclusive for 2012 and had an amazing time... I still can't believe it! Needless to say I am ECSTATIC that they are doing it again for 2013!! Love GF and feel so lucky to be able to stay there again!

I am completely booked for my 2013 Disney Vacations!!

Jan - Boardwalk
May - Bay Lake Towers
August - Grand Floridian (My favorite)
October - Wilderness Lodge

Now comes the hard part.... waiting.......

Yes, we have stayed at the Yacht Club a few times before and just love the Epcot resort area so we didn't want to miss out on that.

Luckily you will have your January and May trips to help with the wait!

Even though it is still quite a ways away, I am reminding myself that the wait will be worth it to see the GF with all of its renovations and rehabs. I can't wait to see the new pools, Gasparilla's and (hopefully?) the new DVC building.

Is there a timeline yet for completion of the DVC building? Or at least completion of the exterior?

 

[Butterflygirl35]

Yes, we have stayed at the Yacht Club a few times before and just love the Epcot resort area so we didn't want to miss out on that.

Luckily you will have your January and May trips to help with the wait!

Even though it is still quite a ways away, I am reminding myself that the wait will be worth it to see the GF with all of its renovations and rehabs. I can't wait to see the new pools, Gasparilla's and (hopefully?) the new DVC building.

Is there a timeline yet for completion of the DVC building? Or at least completion of the exterior?

It is definitely worth the wait !! I am not sure about the DVC but I am hoping... It would be nice to have the beach pool walls come down and actually see the beach

 

[lala3291]

Have a wonderful stay! It promises to be a magical time of year. We are not far from our own trip to the GF. It would be very kind of you to take the time to provide live reports. Any news would be both fun and helpful!

I will definitely do my best to provide live reports as often as I can! We are so excited...only 8 more days! I hope you have a wonderful trip as well.

 

[nonzerosum]

Thank you to the person who updated us that the pool construction is going more slowly than anticipated and that it may not be completed on time. Disappointing, but helpful info.

Any updates on the progress of Gasparilla's?

 

[Butterflygirl35]

To everyone going right now... I am jealous but HAVE A MAGICAL TRIP!!!

 

[pas130]

I get you...it's hard to read and post about your favorite resort without running to the phone (website)to book!

baler How cool! Can't wait for the pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A big hello to all my Grand buddies Hoping the Gingerbread house is up next week!!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

We just returned from at few days at WL OFC but we did visit GF. I was lucky enough to take a tour of the Grand Suite and Walt Disney suite, will post a few photos but I only had my phone and the photos are very low quality.

I was also told that the Courtyard pool construction is quite behind and they do not know if it will be finished on schedule. I am sure it has been reported but will mention that they had the RFID reader for the concierge elevator, seemed to work much better than the cards. This was especially nice at WL as they only have the one floor for CL it just automatically selects the floor for you.

Will get my pictures downloaded and post later. We also were lucky enough to eat lunch and dinner at BOG during our Fantasyland Passholder preview and have some photos of that. I have never done a trip report but may give it a try.

Welcome back, glad you had a great trip. How did you like WL CL? We love WL, so pretty.

Thanks for the info on the courtyard pool - disappointing but not surprising, more than one DISer has reported the work was stopped during the week prior to Sandy.

Hey there! Just checking on the Disney reservation center and I'm wondering if something is up with the RPC MK view rooms for Jan-Mar time frame. I checked quite a few dates and even did single night checks in a variety of weeks, but RPC MK view rooms never came up. At.all. Very unusual. Anyone know if they are rehabbing these rooms in the new year?

I noticed this as well, I tried several dates between now and next spring but nothing came up for main bldg. TPV. I have to assume it is the same problem as andyman's issue with garden view next August - simply not in the system. Weird.

On a side note, I was checking for someone else, not me - phooey.

Yes I did! Honestly it is a dream come true for us. We were planning on staying at a mod and doing one night at the GF at the end of the trip and now we are doing a 4 night GF/3 night BC split stay. Talk about some Disney magic!!

Magic indeed!

Hello fellow GF fans!

We will be in Disney one week from tomorrow! We JUST switched our resort from the Poly to the GF- Sugarloaf! We stayed in SL last year during this same week. We are SO excited! We can't wait to see all of the Christmas decorations!

I am so sorry if I missed this (I don't have time to read this whole thread), but is there somewhere to get a quick service meal with Gasparilla's being closed? I think I heard you can get something at Mizner's...

Thanks for any information! I also will try to give some live reports once at the GF, as I will have my laptop with me.

One week to go, woohoo! As Momof2DisneyBoys posted, quick service options at Mizner's until midnight, beach pool bar & grill until 11 pm. With Sandy Cove closed for refurb, you can get snacks and sundries at M. Mouse Mercantile, on the second floor near the monorail exit.

Hey Lauren!

I think you can get quick service at Mizners and at the beach pool bar now....

Live reports would be awesome!!

It definitely is magical. That is a great split.. Best of both worlds!! Epcot area and MK area.

I found out here last year about the Labor Day exclusive for 2012 and had an amazing time... I still can't believe it! Needless to say I am ECSTATIC that they are doing it again for 2013!! Love GF and feel so lucky to be able to stay there again!

I am completely booked for my 2013 Disney Vacations!!

Jan - Boardwalk
May - Bay Lake Towers
August - Grand Floridian (My favorite)
October - Wilderness Lodge

Now comes the hard part.... waiting.......

Wow - I'm envious of your trip schedule. What a wonderful 2013 you have planned.

baler How cool! Can't wait for the pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A big hello to all my Grand buddies Hoping the Gingerbread house is up next week!!!!

One more week to go, I'll bet you can hardly sleep. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the gingerbread house and look forward to a report on the progress.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Just stopping in for a quick hello

We got hit hard by Sandy, still no power and they don't expect us to get it back until the middle of next week . We got lucky and we able to get a room at the local hotel starting last night when their power came back.

Sounds like a lot of people are getting ready to go to the Grand Floridian soon. I know that our pas will give us an update next week when she is at the Poly, let's just see if she stays with the Poly

Disappointing to hear that the pool is behind, except there isn't much swimming in January. However, I think we will all be happy just to look at the courtyard pool and not construction!

Just saw the artist renderings of Gaspirillas, amazing. Looking forward to checking it out when we are there in early January!

BVC, did I read you are at WDW now? Hope you are having a wonderful time! Where are you staying?

k&a&c'smom

 

[baler31]

Welcome back, glad you had a great trip. How did you like WL CL? We love WL, so pretty.

Thanks for the info on the courtyard pool - disappointing but not surprising, more than one DISer has reported the work was stopped during the week prior to Sandy.

We have stayed at WL a few times but not in several years. I decided to give OFC another try but it is just not for me. I don't enjoy the menu nearly as much as GF and the lounge is just too enclosed.

We requested bunk beds and close to lounge and our room location was perfect. We did have a fairly serious maintenance issue that took two requests to be repaired . The room was very clean and we had excellent mousekeeping.

The most serious issue for me was the constantly empty beverage cooler. I have a fairly serious diet soda addiction that I manage to keep in check at home but when on vacation I tend to have one in my hands at all times. I disliked having to constantly ask for a soda. They always went and got me one but I began to feel like I was a burden after the third or fourth time. I knew that the lounge was locked between service but I had planned on just putting a few in my fridge but that did not work out as they always seemed to be empty. Had the same problem with the Moosehead beer as well.

However, my kids really adored the Lodge, they don't remember it very well as they were much younger the last time we stayed there. They liked the lounge as they felt it was "cozy". They had special activities for Halloween that the kids enjoyed.

The transportation was very good and we actually used the bus system and found it was not as bad as we had thought. The bus to MK was much faster than the boat.

Someone asked about Gasparilla's, I was told it was on schedule

We are staying CL at the Poly after Christmas for NYE. We are going with friends/family and decided to splurge on the Grand 1 for the NYE fireworks. I will try to take plenty of pictures and report back.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Jungle Cruiser - Sooo sorry to hear you were hit by Sandy. I'm glad you are in a hotel now, but it must have been a tough week, and the road ahead must seem very long. I've been wondering about you and our other NE GF-lovers.

baler31 - I felt the same way about the food service at WL, but didn't want to say so if you loved it. We adore WL, and will definitely book a courtyard view room again (or even woods) but doubt we'll do CL there again. We enjoyed the lounge around the lobby, though.

Thanks for the info on Gasparilla's, hopefully it opens on schedule.

Your NYE plans sound great! Enjoy the Grand 1, we booked it with a group of friends one year and it was fabulous.

 

[followthatmouse]

Just stopping in for a quick hello

We got hit hard by Sandy, still no power and they don't expect us to get it back until the middle of next week . We got lucky and we able to get a room at the local hotel starting last night when their power came back.

Oh, Jungle, what a shocking week. May I send you a long-distance hug from Oz? I wish I could more. At least you have a lovely January to look forward to. Please take care.

 

[longhornlaura]

I noticed this as well, I tried several dates between now and next spring but nothing came up for main bldg. TPV. I have to assume it is the same problem as andyman's issue with garden view next August - simply not in the system. Weird.

On a side note, I was checking for someone else, not me - phooey.

In response to the comments about no rooms being available in the main building with TPV, my family was originally booked to be in the main building TPV for the week of Thanksgiving. I received a call a little over a month ago letting us know that we were being moved. It is my understanding that guests are being moved due to Gasparilla's construction and how noisy it would be in those rooms. I would suppose that they are not taking reservations for those rooms until construction is expected to be completed.

 

[i_heart_the_mouse]

In response to the comments about no rooms being available in the main building with TPV, my family was originally booked to be in the main building TPV for the week of Thanksgiving. I received a call a little over a month ago letting us know that we were being moved. It is my understanding that guests are being moved due to Gasparilla's construction and how noisy it would be in those rooms. I would suppose that they are not taking reservations for those rooms until construction is expected to be completed.

I have a one night reservation for RPC TPV on 12/30.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Hey everyone, I am sad to say that we won't be going to the GF until 2014 but happy to say that we found out Monday that our DS will be attending a summer program for his video tech class which he is excited about and he comes highly recommended by his tech teacher. This program is a college credit program which is another big plus as well.

So, the GF will just have to wait for us until we arrive in 2014 for our DS HS graduation trip. Sometimes I find myself feeling really guilty about being sad but our DS's education comes above all. I have to get all my out before our DS comes home from school. I don't want him to feel bad in anyway. So I will have to live vicariously through everyone else who will be going to my beloved GF. Hey, I look at it this way, it gives me more time to put more money away for RPC.

To anyone who is going soon or is there now, have a magical trip.

 

[Butterflygirl35]

Hey everyone, I am sad to say that we won't be going to the GF until 2014 but happy to say that we found out Monday that our DS will be attending a summer program for his video tech class which he is excited about and he comes highly recommended by his tech teacher. This program is a college credit program which is another big plus as well.

So, the GF will just have to wait for us until we arrive in 2014 for our DS HS graduation trip. Sometimes I find myself feeling really guilty about being sad but our DS's education comes above all. I have to get all my out before our DS comes home from school. I don't want him to feel bad in anyway. So I will have to live vicariously through everyone else who will be going to my beloved GF. Hey, I look at it this way, it gives me more time to put more money away for RPC.

To anyone who is going soon or is there now, have a magical trip.

Congratulations for your son! That is a great opportunity.. Of course you are going to be sad missing Disney but you are doing what is best for your children so at the same time you should feel proud!!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Hey everyone, I am sad to say that we won't be going to the GF until 2014 but happy to say that we found out Monday that our DS will be attending a summer program for his video tech class which he is excited about and he comes highly recommended by his tech teacher. This program is a college credit program which is another big plus as well.

So, the GF will just have to wait for us until we arrive in 2014 for our DS HS graduation trip. Sometimes I find myself feeling really guilty about being sad but our DS's education comes above all. I have to get all my out before our DS comes home from school. I don't want him to feel bad in anyway. So I will have to live vicariously through everyone else who will be going to my beloved GF. Hey, I look at it this way, it gives me more time to put more money away for RPC.

To anyone who is going soon or is there now, have a magical trip.

WHAT!?!?! So, is your whole Poly/GF trip cancelled now???

But....what a great opportunity for your son!

 

[pas130]

Hey everyone, I am sad to say that we won't be going to the GF until 2014 but happy to say that we found out Monday that our DS will be attending a summer program for his video tech class which he is excited about and he comes highly recommended by his tech teacher. This program is a college credit program which is another big plus as well.

So, the GF will just have to wait for us until we arrive in 2014 for our DS HS graduation trip. Sometimes I find myself feeling really guilty about being sad but our DS's education comes above all. I have to get all my out before our DS comes home from school. I don't want him to feel bad in anyway. So I will have to live vicariously through everyone else who will be going to my beloved GF. Hey, I look at it this way, it gives me more time to put more money away for RPC.

To anyone who is going soon or is there now, have a magical trip.

Congrats to your DS...and RPC will be worth the wait....and the thread will get you through

I have a one night reservation for RPC TPV on 12/30.

Perhaps it will be okay..and the reservation will stay intact

One more week to go, I'll bet you can hardly sleep. I'll keep my fingers crossed for the gingerbread house and look forward to a report on the progress.

We have GF Cafe for a late lunch next Thursday...here's to hoping

Sounds like a lot of people are getting ready to go to the Grand Floridian soon. I know that our pas will give us an update next week when she is at the Poly, let's just see if she stays with the Poly

Still at Poly....not that I haven't been checking availability

So glad to see you posting

We are staying CL at the Poly after Christmas for NYE. We are going with friends/family and decided to splurge on the Grand 1 for the NYE fireworks. I will try to take plenty of pictures and report back.

Fantastic That sounds absolutely GRAND

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Congratulations for your son! That is a great opportunity.. Of course you are going to be sad missing Disney but you are doing what is best for your children so at the same time you should feel proud!!!

Thank you so much Butterflygirl35. Oh I am extremely proud of Michael. I have to say and not because he is my DS, but he really is a great kid. Straight A student in advanced classes, never have any trouble with him whatsoever. I mean we have our differences sometimes, but that's it. With some of the kids that I have seen today, we are truly blessed in all aspects.

WHAT!?!?! So, is your whole Poly/GF trip cancelled now???

But....what a great opportunity for your son!

Yes, Mousemommy1 the whole trip is postponed until 2014. The course will take up all but one week at that end in August. There are talks of the class going to California to film. So, we may be heading to the west coast for a week.

Congrats to your DS...and RPC will be worth the wait....and the thread will get you through

Hi pas130 Thank you so much. Michael is very excited about the program as we are as well.

Yes, you are right, RPC will definitely be worth the wait and a nice HS graduation trip for him as well.

Oh only a couple more days until your trip.

 

[pas130]

Hi pas130 Thank you so much. Michael is very excited about the program as we are as well.

Yes, you are right, RPC will definitely be worth the wait and a nice HS graduation trip for him as well.

Oh only a couple more days until your trip.

It's all good!!! Will you do a Poly/GF split? Fingers crossed a RPC room with the AP discount doesn't appear in the next few days... No GF during construction...I'm on strict orders

 

[Mousemommy1]

Thank you so much Butterflygirl35. Oh I am extremely proud of Michael. I have to say and not because he is my DS, but he really is a great kid. Straight A student in advanced classes, never have any trouble with him whatsoever. I mean we have our differences sometimes, but that's it. With some of the kids that I have seen today, we are truly blessed in all aspects.



Yes, Mousemommy1 the whole trip is postponed until 2014. The course will take up all but one week at that end in August. There are talks of the class going to California to film. So, we may be heading to the west coast for a week.



Hi pas130 Thank you so much. Michael is very excited about the program as we are as well.

Yes, you are right, RPC will definitely be worth the wait and a nice HS graduation trip for him as well.

Oh only a couple more days until your trip.

Well, at least when you go in 2014, all of the construction should be DONE!!! So, you will be able to enjoy GF to the fullest!!!