Did you get a sleeping bag at GCH?

[fidoprincess]

We booked GCH yesterday for me, dh and 3 kids to arrive 8/16. Our kids are 2 10 year old girls and a 15 year old boy. One of the girls might be under 5" tall but no one else is so we will not fit in the queen/bunk room. When I made the reservation, I knew enough to book a standard view and request a 2Q+daybed room. We would like a view but no view rooms have this bedding configuration.

I know there are only about 10 of these rooms on each floor above the driveway looking across to DLH but the CM assured me that we will almost surely get this type of room because of our kids ages. How can that be?! Plus we are driving and checking in on a Monday but it is a long drive so no way will we get there early, maybe 4 at the earliest.

I don't believe the CM saying we would not end up with a sleeping bag but then I went through all the boards and trip reports and only found one negative report from long ago about adults getting sleeping bags so maybe they reallly do try and we will have enough beds?

I am bringing a cot or airbed just in case and the girls are not too picky but how many of you actually did get a sleeping bag or know someone who did that did NOT want one? Thanks in advance.

 

[heatherleigh]

This is why we ultimately decided against the GCH. I would be livid if I wound up with a sleeping bag, and I know beds are not guaranteed.

 

[fidoprincess]

I know Heather, it is insane but do you know of anyone that actually got a sleeping bag?

DH is the one that wants to stay there and already said if that happens, he will sleep on the floor! I would hate to see that (and he would not be happy) so I am bringing along some other bedding and figure the girls will either do cots or an airbed. Half the time they share an upper bunk bed for fun, so I think they can be flexible but no one really wants that. It looks like whatever room we end up with, we can move the table and chair to make room for the cots or airbed and since we are not flying, we can easily bring them. (Huh, am I crazy? $300/night and have to bring my own beds!)

 

[KCmike]

I posted this on the GCH Superthread a little while ago. I couldn't believe that they don't have a daybed in their Grand Flagship Resort Hotel. Who planned that? Probably the same person that didn't plan on having benches or seats for WOC. We are now planning for the inevitable. We are taking an air mattress for the trip. Isn't that crazy! A $400 hotel and your not guaranteed a bed? There should be some kind of warning to anyone with five or more people booking a stay there.

 

[nv_disneyfan]

Call them 2 days before your reservations to remind them that you want a daybed room. Also you can check in by phone in the morning of your reservation.

 

[fidoprincess]

KCmike, I have been reading everything I can find and it seems like many people get to GCH and don't get the room type they want, bunks, king, etc.. Lots of people wrote that they complained loudly and most got switched to what they wanted. From what I've read, check in is awful but the squeaky wheel gets the grease so be prepared to stand firm.

I have not read one post or review that said anything about tipping (ie, the $20 trick) like in Las Vegas so I guess that doesn't work either.

That said, still be prepared for getting the wrong bedding. We have camping cots that the kids think are okay to sleep in. You can buy them at most stores like KMart and Target for around $25-$30 and they fold up fairly small, kind of like an extra long umbrella. If you are flying, I am pretty sure it won't fit in a suitcase because it's so long but if you are driving, it won't take up much room at all. We also have a queen size airbed that will fit in a suitcase but from all the pictures I've seen, it just doesn't look like anything larger than a twin will fit.

nv, we tried to do that before, the check in by phone and no one would help us when we were staying at DLH. Do you know for a fact that this works and do you know the number for the front desk direct? What time do you suggest trying this?

I have also called ahead a few days to "remind" them of our request for a daybed at DLH and many times when we got there, they had no request on our reservation despite asking at the time of booking and calling ahead. I sure wish I knew how it all worked! Any other tips would be great. Thanks for your reply.

 

[MCSfromWA]

We went to DLR last August and we stayed at GC. We had 5 people: my DH, DD (14 then) and DD (10 at that time), my DM and myself. We have been staying for most of our visits since it opened in 2001 and have always been able to have 2 queens and a daybed -- until last August. We requested that configuration when we booked and we called that morning to confirm. We arrived late afternoon but when we called in mid-afternoon to do the phone check-in (I don't know if they do this still) we were told that they were sold out of 2 queens and a daybed. When we arrived we were told that we would be given a sleeping bag. We would have moved to the Marriott but the rest of my family was staying at the GC and it is harder to be with family when you are staying at different hotels. The lesson that I learned was this: if we need to stay at a hotel and there are 5 of us it is far better to stay at DLH. They actually have a cot that is like a daybed that they bring and set up in your room if you are assigned a room without a daybed. If it is really busy and there are 5 of you and you stay at GC it is possible that one of your party will be sleeping on the floor. The only thing they could do was to move us the next day. While that was good that we had the room configuration that we needed for the next 6 nights, it was not great for my 14 year old to sleep on the floor. Now we stay at GC in the villas and so we never have to worry about that scenerio again. Good luck with your decision.

 

[fidoprincess]

Thanks for posting, MCSfromWA. Now that I've asked, it seems that a lot of people do end up with sleeping bags.

I agree that DLH is MUCH better for 5 but they wouldn't guarantee us that we wouldn't be near the construction (Bonita/Wonder/Frontier Tower,geez they keep changing the names.) We used to get the 2 queens and daybed and a free rollaway and still had plenty of walking around room. I LOVED getting in the sierra/dreams/adventure tower with the high park view but when I tried to book that, the CM said they are now suites. That was my all time favorite and I loved watching the fireworks from the room and hearing the music from dtd and people watching. We were so comfortable there. Now, if you book the premium view (High floor pool/resort view) you are going to get either the pool view from any tower (and it might be Bonita/w/f with construction) and the only park view would be bonita unless you have a suite in dreams. There is no park view from Marina/Adventure/Fantasy. If you have ever been in that tower, you can really get a good view of the fireworks but it is considered a standard view because you overlook the parking lot.

I think we were stuck this time so we'll just hope for the best, be prepared with cots and airbed and hope if we don't get it, we can at least move the next night like you did. I was reading about someone wishing GCH would just charge extra for those rooms but think of all the people that would not book if they knew they were not getting one! They tell you 90 percent chance but it's not guaranteed and most people have no idea how few of that room type there are. I've seen people book a view room with that request and the CM's say okay but know there are no views but standard for that room. You know those people are never going to get the daybed and the rest of us just hope!

If we don't get it and have no chance to move to it the next night, I will ask (and pay for) a view and hope we can upgrade because if we are going to be squished, I want a good view-lol!

 

[DizMe]

We've stayed at GCH several times. Once we had a bunk bed room, once we had sleeping bags and the rest we had 2Q + daybed. I have to say that my kids MUCH preferred the sleeping bags to the bunk beds. They thought it was pretty cool, actually. They bring you a thick mat thingy plus the sleeping bag, so you're not directly on the floor. My family is ok with that but I know some people hate the idea of not having a bed when you've paid premium prices. I personally thought the bunks were a big waste--kids couldn't see the TV, the beds were tiny and it was a pain in the rear having to deal with the pull-out trundle, which takes up all of the floor space when it's out. Those rooms are also small.

I myself would go with sleeping bags if it meant staying onsite. I did recently stay in DLH (Jan) while it was undergoing renovation. We were quite near the construction site...a few doors down was the curtain separating the finished part of the wing with the one under construction...and we never heard anything from our room. That was the Dreams tower.

 

[fidoprincess]

Oh DizMe, Your girls are sooo cute! Thanks for posting. Your girls are at lot younger than mine, ds is 15 and almost 6 feet tall! Can you picture him in a bunk? I don't see how we could do a bunk bed room so if it was that or the 2Q no daybed, I'd pick the Queens.

Mine are not at all happy with the idea of a sleeping bag so I really hope we get the room with the daybed. I think the girls, it's dd who is 10 and her friend, will be more flexible for sleeping so I am not really going to stress over it anymore. I will do the "call a few days ahead and remind them" and also try to do the morning check in over the phone but since we won't get there until around 4 (and that is if we are lucky with the traffic), I am not going to count on it.

I am glad that I asked though, because for a second, I almost believed the CM telling me we would surely get the daybed. Now that I've asked here, there are a lot of people who didn't get it, even those who did all the right things, calling, reminding, booking a standard view, etc..At least we will be prepared and not shocked and upset.

Was your stay long, more than one or two nights, and did you press them for a room change? Just wondering....I am starting to dread checking in there after reading pages of horror stories of long waits. Did you have any trouble?

Whatever we get, the kids will be fine if I bring along the cots or airbeds but I am wondering how DH and I will cope with a QUEEN bed-lol! We have a king and he is 6'3 and a bed hog. I might end up on the floor myself!

Once again, thanks for posting your experience.

 

[DizMe]

Oh DizMe, Your girls are sooo cute! Thanks for posting. Your girls are at lot younger than mine, ds is 15 and almost 6 feet tall! Can you picture him in a bunk? I don't see how we could do a bunk bed room so if it was that or the 2Q no daybed, I'd pick the Queens.

Mine are not at all happy with the idea of a sleeping bag so I really hope we get the room with the daybed. I think the girls, it's dd who is 10 and her friend, will be more flexible for sleeping so I am not really going to stress over it anymore. I will do the "call a few days ahead and remind them" and also try to do the morning check in over the phone but since we won't get there until around 4 (and that is if we are lucky with the traffic), I am not going to count on it.

I am glad that I asked though, because for a second, I almost believed the CM telling me we would surely get the daybed. Now that I've asked here, there are a lot of people who didn't get it, even those who did all the right things, calling, reminding, booking a standard view, etc..At least we will be prepared and not shocked and upset.

Was your stay long, more than one or two nights, and did you press them for a room change? Just wondering....I am starting to dread checking in there after reading pages of horror stories of long waits. Did you have any trouble?

Whatever we get, the kids will be fine if I bring along the cots or airbeds but I am wondering how DH and I will cope with a QUEEN bed-lol! We have a king and he is 6'3 and a bed hog. I might end up on the floor myself!

Once again, thanks for posting your experience.

Thanks! My girls are a lot bigger now, but I can't seem to bring myself to update our pictures . Oldest dd is 10 and her twin sisters are 7. The twins were 6 when they slept in sleeping bags and big sister begged for one, too . Yeah...6' in a bunk bed would make for a funny picture but wouldn't be too fun!!!

We stayed 5 nights, but we only had the sleeping bags for 1 night because we made a last minute request to stay an extra night. We kept the same room but added 2 more people (my mom and sister, who had been staying next door). That put 6 of us in one room, which is over the limit but the concierge said not to worry about it . Under those circumstances, we didn't mind the sleeping bags because we got to stay an extra night! It was a great bargain, too, because we'd originally reserved DLH concierge. They called right before we left and told us that the DLH lounge was out of commission during our stay and we got moved over to GCH concierge at the same rate ($189/night ap rate, I think). They let us add the extra night for that same price.

Since we were concierge, check in was easy and fairly quick. The times we didn't go concierge were pretty fast, too. We've never stayed at GCH during the summer, though.

I will say that I've never seen any good come of special requests, phone calls, etc for DLR. I don't think it ever gets to the check-in desk, or they don't pay attention to it if it does! The time we got the bunk bed rooms, I'd actually called to request them and was told there weren't any and we were set up for 2Q + daybed. Sometime during the next day that was changed so that when we arrived that night, a bunk bed room was all that was left! I quickly learned that I am not a fan of the bunk bed rooms. At the time, the twins had bunk beds at home so there wasn't any great allure to them and the room was very small, or seemed so to us. We'd always stayed at DLH until then and were giving GCH a try. The bb room was a disappointment--not only was it very small and not too comfortable, but it was MILES from the elevators. It seemed like the walk was worse than from DLH because of our location in the hotel. Since then, I've made sure we weren't put in the outer limits and we've come to love the GCH. I really wonder at the whole design of the place, though, which is sort of a maze and needs more elevator locations. I also wonder why they don't offer rollaways.

 

[disneymom23]

We are leaving a week from today. It was supposed to be today but I pushed it out a week. We have a new puppy who had pneumonia and had gotten behind on his shots so wouldn't be ready for boarding today.

Anyways, we are staying at DLH this trip. It was supposed to be myself and 3 kids, but now DH is coming too. I called the hotel to let them know there would be 5. So I guess we'll have 2 queens and a day bed? We haven't stayed as a family at DLH before.

We always stay at GCH at Christmastime. Well, for the last 2 years. We have gotten the bb room both times. We've been fine with it. But I agree that its small and the trundle takes up the entire floor. My oldest DD is 12 but it 5'7" and wears a back brace at night so its pretty cramped for her. My other 2 like the bunks though.

We have gotten lucky with the proximity of the room. Both times we were very close to the elevator.

 

[bumbershoot]

The lesson that I learned was this: if we need to stay at a hotel and there are 5 of us it is far better to stay at DLH. They actually have a cot that is like a daybed that they bring and set up in your room if you are assigned a room without a daybed.

FWIW, all PPH rooms have a couch that flips over to become a bed. Not a terribly LONG bed, but a bed with a mattress all the same. And all ya gotta do is figure out HOW to get it to flip over (took me three stays!).

 

[fidoprincess]

Ack, My posts are gone! I don't know what happened but I guess I will try again.

DizMe, I wouldn't switch those cute pictures out either! I miss the days when I could dress up my dd. She had a ton of cute disney outfits and my favorite was her Minnie Mouse Dress. Now that she is 10, she would never wear a tiara again but will still wear the ears.

I think you are right about the "special" requests at GCH. I just called vacation planning to make some ressies and talked to her about the rooms. She said our request was noted on the reservation and again, we wouldn't get a bunk bed room since we are 5 people but I am still planning on bringing the extra gear. I was going to try the sneaky way of ordering the girls ears to be in the room but that didn't guarantee it either and they couldn't promise me the ears would be there when we got the room either!

disneymom23, did I reply to you on another post? I think I did telling you about requesting certain towers? If not, yes you will surely get the 2Q+daybed room at DL, and you can even ask for a free rollaway too. There is plenty of room for the rollaway. I hope you have a great trip!

bumbershoot, I do like the PP rooms a lot. Why in the world were you flipping the sofa over? They are supposed to do that for you. Each night they made the bed up for us just like the other beds. Those rooms are not as large as the DL rooms and even thought they have the daybed, they won't let you have a rollaway too. I like being able to open the doors up at the DLH and the windows don't open at PP but nothing beats that view! I LOVE the view if you get an upper park view. Once dd got sick, really sick for 2 or 3 days, and we took turns being stuck in the room with her and I spent hours watching out the window. One night, they closed CA early and we got to see a private party come in. We think it was some movie star but was so interesting. I had no idea who or what the party was but it was fun to speculate. Every other time we stayed there, I made sure to pack binoculars!

Thanks for all of your replies!

 

[CrazyDuck]

One of the girls might be under 5" tall but no one else is...

Wow! You got yourself a real live fairy there! Don't lose her in Pixie Hollow!

 

[fidoprincess]

CrazyDuck, You made me laugh so hard!! Yes. excuse my typo, I meant 5 feet.

This is what happens when you get a new laptop with a stupid BLACK keyboard. I can barely see the letters but forget even finding the punctuation keys if the light is just a little dim. Never get a black keyboard that doesn't have a backlight!

Thanks so much for the laugh, I needed it as I was just getting so serious about all this planning. I was actually almost fainting over ordering the fantasmic tickets so you really cheered me up!