A Grand Vacation: The 2012 Grand Floridian FAQ!

[mickeynut1]

MickeyNut Thanks for the encouraging words! Love to hear about those rain stories! As for the flip flops..I think that is an anytime except for the dead of winter must for you..??? LOL..

I hope that they dont take the waterfall out of the Poly lobby tho..I think its very unique..and gives the lobby an certain ambiance...

You're welcome....rain or no rain, you're going to have an awesome time . You are so right......my flip flops are always handy, even during the winter months because you never know when something strange might happen to make those temps hit 40 or 50 degrees .

I agree about the water fall in the Poly lobby....that's one of my favorite things....I love to listen to it .

 

[BlueSkies]

Just out of curiosity, I tried to price out next July 15 to 22 at the GF RPC, TPV. There are no available rooms in the main building for most of the month. Has anyone here booked yet or has Disney not released these rooms yet? Board Walk and other resorts are all available.

Have not tried pricing anything out for 2014 ...yet...LOL....But have had some interesting experiences with checking room availability..last year I was trying to book a shorter trip..5 nights..GF of course.. ...lol... and there was no availability..but when I put in more nights..9 I think..same room category..same dates included and there was availabiltiy.... Not sure why this happens..but it does...The down side of that is... we eneded up staying more nights..since they were available! Not sure if that is really a down side...LOL... So you might want to try and add extra nites to the dates you are checking and see what comes up???

 

[MommyGina]

All of July in main building says "room unavailable" and part of August too. I wonder if this is due to room refurbishment?

 

[mariamouse]

All of July in main building says "room unavailable" and part of August too. I wonder if this is due to room refurbishment?

I certainly hope not! I was under the impression that GF room refurbs would more likely start this fall... already much overdue!

My guess is that it is a fluke in the booking system since it seems highly unlikely that the main building would already be booked up that far in advance. If you are able to book with additional nights before/after your actual dates, you could always book and then just call back to cancel the additional nights that you do not need.

Hopefully another poster can help provide clarity regarding why those dates are not showing up for you.

 

[princessap]

I am considering a stay at the grand floridian for our next trip and after reading this thread it looks great!! The zero entry pool and splash area look great for our kids.

My concern is if it is kid friendly enough?! We have three girls all under 7 and they loved the poly but we want to try something new this time.

Can anyone offer me advice??

thanks

 

[mickeynut1]

I am considering a stay at the grand floridian for our next trip and after reading this thread it looks great!! The zero entry pool and splash area look great for our kids.

My concern is if it is kid friendly enough?! We have three girls all under 7 and they loved the poly but we want to try something new this time.

Can anyone offer me advice??

thanks

The GF is amazing and is definitely just as kid friendly as any other resort . I love the Poly, but I also love the GF for different reasons.

 

[swimfly]

I am considering a stay at the grand floridian for our next trip and after reading this thread it looks great!! The zero entry pool and splash area look great for our kids.

My concern is if it is kid friendly enough?! We have three girls all under 7 and they loved the poly but we want to try something new this time.

Can anyone offer me advice??

thanks

We were there for the 4th and had similar concerns but our daughter is 18 mths. I thought the resort was "stuffy" before we stayed and I was completely wrong. The GF takes service to a whole new level (compared to BC, YC, BWI & Poly) but maintains the Disney connection. I never felt like my DD was out-of-place or any part of the resort was not child-friendly. We're woeking our way through every Disney resort (only 4 to go) but GF is by far my favorite! I cannot wait to take DD back!

ETA: the pools are fabulous. We had a tough time getting our DD out of the water. We actually extended our trip 2 nights.

 

[Sue M]

Big changes reported about the Poly DVC...very scaled back as of now... still going with 1 building (Tahiti) as DVC and possibly the over the water bungalows... also they are possibly taking the volcano out at the pool...

Stay tuned...

Glad they are scaling back, and hope they don't go with the water bungalows. But I'd rather they left Tahiti alone, and put it down on the other end toward GF. Or past Tahiti.

 

[Sue M]

Thanks for all the advice on views. I changed my request to Boca Chica! I guess it will just require another stay so I can check out the marina view too!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks for all the advice on views. I changed my request to Boca Chica! I guess it will just require another stay so I can check out the marina view too!!

I like your way of thinking .

 

[princessap]

We were there for the 4th and had similar concerns but our daughter is 18 mths. I thought the resort was "stuffy" before we stayed and I was completely wrong. The GF takes service to a whole new level (compared to BC, YC, BWI & Poly) but maintains the Disney connection. I never felt like my DD was out-of-place or any part of the resort was not child-friendly. We're woeking our way through every Disney resort (only 4 to go) but GF is by far my favorite! I cannot wait to take DD back!

ETA: the pools are fabulous. We had a tough time getting our DD out of the water. We actually extended our trip 2 nights.

Thanks. Our youngest will be two so i think she will like the splash pad and I like the zero entry pool for her. My DH thinks it looks great but is worried about the kids there.
they loved being able to see the castle from the pool at the poly and watching wishes from the beach. are there places to do either of those at the GF??

I am not a fan of the rooms at the GF from pictures but the villas look amazing!!! hoping to get one of those!!

 

[princessap]

The GF is amazing and is definitely just as kid friendly as any other resort . I love the Poly, but I also love the GF for different reasons.

thanks Mickeynut!! who knew picking a resort would be sooo hard. lol.

We have ruled out the poly till all the construction is done so it is looking like GFV or CR GW. but if the discounts arent that great for the cR we might just do a week in a one bedroom villa! Can you add dining plan on if renting points??

 

[mickeynut1]

thanks Mickeynut!! who knew picking a resort would be sooo hard. lol.

We have ruled out the poly till all the construction is done so it is looking like GFV or CR GW. but if the discounts arent that great for the cR we might just do a week in a one bedroom villa! Can you add dining plan on if renting points??

You're welcome . It's nice that there are so many choices when it comes to Disney resorts, but it also makes it hard because there are so many great choices. Since you ruled out the Poly, I would try the GF. It really is a beautiful resort and I'm sure your girls would love the splash pad.

Yes, you can add the DDP when renting points, you just have to tell the renter which plan you want as they have to add it to the reservation. I think the DDP has to be paid for at the time it's added, but I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully someone who is familiar with that will be able to confirm it or give the correct information .

 

[cgulls]

Question: the Boca Chica rooms that face the water (as opposed to those that face the Courtyard Pool), are those categorized as Lagoon View or Theme Park View?

Thank you.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We were there for the 4th and had similar concerns but our daughter is 18 mths. I thought the resort was "stuffy" before we stayed and I was completely wrong. The GF takes service to a whole new level (compared to BC, YC, BWI & Poly) but maintains the Disney connection. I never felt like my DD was out-of-place or any part of the resort was not child-friendly. We're woeking our way through every Disney resort (only 4 to go) but GF is by far my favorite! I cannot wait to take DD back!

ETA: the pools are fabulous. We had a tough time getting our DD out of the water. We actually extended our trip 2 nights.

I have a question since you have stayed at the YC...... YC has been our favorite so far and I'm wondering how the GF is going to compare for us.... in what way do you feel GF takes service to a whole new level compared to YC?
We are very excited to stay at the GF but also hoping we made a good choice.

 

[pas130]

I have a question since you have stayed at the YC...... YC has been our favorite so far and I'm wondering how the GF is going to compare for us.... in what way do you feel GF takes service to a whole new level compared to YC?
We are very excited to stay at the GF but also hoping we made a good choice.

I have also stayed at both, and while YC service was wonderful, the GF goes above and beyond...I need to add the CL staff at WL is a close second to GF IMHO

 

[pas130]

Thanks for all the advice on views. I changed my request to Boca Chica! I guess it will just require another stay so I can check out the marina view too!!

You are close to your trip my friend!

 

[pas130]

Back from the GF. The fence around the CY pool was fine. It blended in nicely. I liked the new flatbreads at Gasparilla's. It is always beautiful at the GF. Concierge was outstanding as usual. However, my son got the influenza A flu while there. Emts were called, security was called, manager was called all because DH asked for a doctor. GF provided a car to the walk in. When DS and DH got back, DS wanted 6 Mickey waffles. In room service would not do it. They would only make two. Oh well, settled on a roll from Gasparilla's. because it was 7 pm.

Sorry to hear your son was sick, hope he is feeling much much better

I know!! This is why I'm starting now, before I end up scrambling at the last minute.

I'm counting on everyone to help me with all the VGF info, I am totally clueless when it comes to DVC.

Glad I didn't miss the new thread! We will be home tomorrow, did Universal, but paid a quick visit to the monorail. And a prayer at Gf for our junglecruiser.

Although I didn't feel all lovey dovey for the Villas, the CM talked me into booking for next June...a 2BR, only me...

 

[cgulls]

I have a question since you have stayed at the YC...... YC has been our favorite so far and I'm wondering how the GF is going to compare for us.... in what way do you feel GF takes service to a whole new level compared to YC?
We are very excited to stay at the GF but also hoping we made a good choice.

I've stayed at both. I didn't find the service to be any different. Waitstaff, desk, bell services, room service, mousekeeping, concierge (in the lobby; we didn't stay at Club level in either), lifeguards . . . all similarly very good service and added to the atmosphere.

We only explored the interior of our own building (Boca) and I can say the hallways are in better condition and "newer"-feeling than Yacht Club's.

GF has more interesting grounds to explore and has great access to MK.
YC has a more interesting pool for younger kids and great access to EP and HS.

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

Does anyone know when the next room refurb at the GF will be? From the pictures, it looks like the current rooms go back to 2007 or 2008. Thanks!