HM
My tag from the Tag Fairy is now too long to use.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2001
- Messages
- 10,491
Just thought I'd post some of my opinions and experiences at the Boardwalk and Grand Floridian.
Boardwalk-- 4th floor room/ 2 queens and small daybed
Lovely room decor and very quiet...never heard neighbors. I like that the resort is basically contained in one building (one of the reasons I really like WL and AKL too)
Room overlooked courtyard with view into Epcot from which we watch Illuminations our first night.
Great location for those who enjoy MGM and Epcot. We walked to the parks each day and beat the boats every time. This feature is way up on our list of great things about this hotel, because our luck with waiting for monorails and buses during our 9 days at WDW this trip was dismal (we always seemed to have just missed one as waits were usually 15-20 mins).
Boardwalk is very quiet during the day and most kiosks are closed until the evening. Very lively at night with lots of families taking surry bike rides and others just enjoying the atmosphere.
Missed having a fast-food place in the resort, but made do with sweets from the Bakery and Seashore Sweets in the evening.
The Main pool was very pleasant and didn't feel crowded at all whenever we went by or were there. The waterslide is the best one we've ever been on at a resort (way better than the Poly, GF, WL, AKL, or CBR).
There is a lot to look at throughout the resort. The pictures, bookshelves, artwork, etc were really nice.
Great hotel. We would like to try and stay here again.
Grand Floridian--2nd floor, Sago Cay facing the Monorail line
Lovely room decor (Wind in the Willows) and great service in the room (early cleaning each day and turndown at night). However, the walls are quite thin here. The first night I awoke at 4am to hear a toilet flush and then shortly thereafter heard 3 more. It became ridiculous how many flushes you could hear while we stayed there... We also could hear our neighbor's wake-up call, took them 4 rings to answer the phone. I can't imagine why the designers/builders didn't manage to plan more insulation for an expensive hotel like this.
The location is nice for those who plan to spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, but for anyplace else...it is too far out of the way. As mentioned above, we had numerous long waits for buses while vacationing. Then the drive to our desination was always a good 20 or more minutes (TL, DD, AK). Return trips necessitated stops at the Contemporary and the Polynesian.
The resort itself is beautiful. The grounds are very well kept. While there we saw grass beds turned overnight into planted beds. Touch-up painting on the interior of the Main building was on-going. There was always someone doing something around the resort. I've never seen so many visible workers at one resort (groundskeepers, bellmen, housekeepers, etc)....it is a busy place for those who work there. We made good use of the covered porches around the Main building for commuting from our room to the monorail....keeps off the rain, but also cuts down on the number of steps taken as the walkways are not as direct. Also found that we did not have to go through the main building to get to the bus stop....we took the path around the circle drive between Sago Cay and the Conference center (didn't really look like a Guest path, but cut down on time and distance considerably and we noticed many conventioneers using it too).
We enjoyed the marina several times (when the weather cooperated). The staff there was very nice and it was fun riding the mouseboats around the lakes.
We made extensive use of the Gasparilla Grill. The order and wait method there is a bit confusing and could be tuned up (giving out numbers or creating a line or something). The food was fine, not special, but worked for us. We used our refillable mug a lot and were glad to be in a close building. I wish the arcade was not in the room with the tables though, much too hyper...we usually ate outside where it was the birds who were hyper.
We took the time to get our kids Pastel Portraits done in the lobby. Katherine did a very nice job of capturing our children's essence. It did take a good hour for each child though, so if you plan to do this, bring something to keep yourself busy (I played cards and read the newspaper).
I used the Spa for a facial and manicure/pedicure and enjoyed both experiences (new to me). The women who worked with me Katie and Anna, respectively, were very nice and did a good job.
We used the walkway to the Polynesian a couple times (kids stayed at Neverland one night and we did the Luau one night). Very nice way to travel. Saw a lot of rabbits on the lawns.
Overall our stay there was very nice. My only real complaints were the toilet noises and the distance GF is from other parts of the World (we planned to stay mostly around the area while there, but venturing away just took too much time/effort if that had been the only resort we stayed at). We will not likely be back to stay here because of these things, the price and the fact that we've been there-done that now.
Hope this helps anyone who is interested in these resorts. I'll check back to see if anyone has any questions.
-HM
Boardwalk-- 4th floor room/ 2 queens and small daybed
Lovely room decor and very quiet...never heard neighbors. I like that the resort is basically contained in one building (one of the reasons I really like WL and AKL too)
Room overlooked courtyard with view into Epcot from which we watch Illuminations our first night.
Great location for those who enjoy MGM and Epcot. We walked to the parks each day and beat the boats every time. This feature is way up on our list of great things about this hotel, because our luck with waiting for monorails and buses during our 9 days at WDW this trip was dismal (we always seemed to have just missed one as waits were usually 15-20 mins).
Boardwalk is very quiet during the day and most kiosks are closed until the evening. Very lively at night with lots of families taking surry bike rides and others just enjoying the atmosphere.
Missed having a fast-food place in the resort, but made do with sweets from the Bakery and Seashore Sweets in the evening.
The Main pool was very pleasant and didn't feel crowded at all whenever we went by or were there. The waterslide is the best one we've ever been on at a resort (way better than the Poly, GF, WL, AKL, or CBR).
There is a lot to look at throughout the resort. The pictures, bookshelves, artwork, etc were really nice.
Great hotel. We would like to try and stay here again.
Grand Floridian--2nd floor, Sago Cay facing the Monorail line
Lovely room decor (Wind in the Willows) and great service in the room (early cleaning each day and turndown at night). However, the walls are quite thin here. The first night I awoke at 4am to hear a toilet flush and then shortly thereafter heard 3 more. It became ridiculous how many flushes you could hear while we stayed there... We also could hear our neighbor's wake-up call, took them 4 rings to answer the phone. I can't imagine why the designers/builders didn't manage to plan more insulation for an expensive hotel like this.
The location is nice for those who plan to spend a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, but for anyplace else...it is too far out of the way. As mentioned above, we had numerous long waits for buses while vacationing. Then the drive to our desination was always a good 20 or more minutes (TL, DD, AK). Return trips necessitated stops at the Contemporary and the Polynesian.
The resort itself is beautiful. The grounds are very well kept. While there we saw grass beds turned overnight into planted beds. Touch-up painting on the interior of the Main building was on-going. There was always someone doing something around the resort. I've never seen so many visible workers at one resort (groundskeepers, bellmen, housekeepers, etc)....it is a busy place for those who work there. We made good use of the covered porches around the Main building for commuting from our room to the monorail....keeps off the rain, but also cuts down on the number of steps taken as the walkways are not as direct. Also found that we did not have to go through the main building to get to the bus stop....we took the path around the circle drive between Sago Cay and the Conference center (didn't really look like a Guest path, but cut down on time and distance considerably and we noticed many conventioneers using it too).
We enjoyed the marina several times (when the weather cooperated). The staff there was very nice and it was fun riding the mouseboats around the lakes.
We made extensive use of the Gasparilla Grill. The order and wait method there is a bit confusing and could be tuned up (giving out numbers or creating a line or something). The food was fine, not special, but worked for us. We used our refillable mug a lot and were glad to be in a close building. I wish the arcade was not in the room with the tables though, much too hyper...we usually ate outside where it was the birds who were hyper.
We took the time to get our kids Pastel Portraits done in the lobby. Katherine did a very nice job of capturing our children's essence. It did take a good hour for each child though, so if you plan to do this, bring something to keep yourself busy (I played cards and read the newspaper).
I used the Spa for a facial and manicure/pedicure and enjoyed both experiences (new to me). The women who worked with me Katie and Anna, respectively, were very nice and did a good job.
We used the walkway to the Polynesian a couple times (kids stayed at Neverland one night and we did the Luau one night). Very nice way to travel. Saw a lot of rabbits on the lawns.
Overall our stay there was very nice. My only real complaints were the toilet noises and the distance GF is from other parts of the World (we planned to stay mostly around the area while there, but venturing away just took too much time/effort if that had been the only resort we stayed at). We will not likely be back to stay here because of these things, the price and the fact that we've been there-done that now.
Hope this helps anyone who is interested in these resorts. I'll check back to see if anyone has any questions.
-HM
...not very pleasant. We found the rooms noisier there than any others we've stayed in, including ASMu.
