GF main bldg experts, please help!

[halfway there]

We are in the process of planning our 20th anniversary for this Nov and have decided to splurge on a stay at the GF main bldg concierge. Despite everything I've read, seen and heard, I'm very confused by conflicting info regarding rooms in the main bldg. I understand there are a variety of floorplans. Could someone please clarify what is what so I will know exactly what to ask for and what I'll be paying for so I don't try to book something that doesn't exist or spend more for things I don't want?

What I think I want:

main bldg
concierge
Honeymoon room (which floorplans are these exactly?)
balcony
view of castle (this must be lagoon view, right?)
king bed
privacy
quiet
larger room (I've seen 3 different deluxe room floorplans)
wet bar

That's not too much to ask for, is it?! I've seen the 3rd floor and know that the 2nd floor has 9 rooms set aside as Honeymoon rooms but I'm not sure which floorplan these are as I was told that they could be either the tower/octagon shaped room (which doesn't make sense) or a triangle kind of room with an angled balcony. Is this true? Or are they just standard rooms, perhaps a little larger? Also, do the turret rooms have no balconies at all or just not on the 5th floor? And are these the same as the tower/octagon rooms? Do these rooms also have no wet bar? What other room/view choices are there in the main bldg?

Thanks for any help you can provide. I know these are some detailed questions but I'm a very detailed oriented person unfortunately! I want to know what I'm getting and at what price. Have mercy on me, please!

 

[jel0511]

I've stayed in the main building once. It is my understanding that none of the honeymoon rooms have a view of the castle. They are all on the other side of the main building, and overlook the pool and wedding pavilion. The only rooms that have a MK view are a regular concierge room (the same size as a regular room), or some of the multi-room suites.

 

[halfway there]

Thanks for the reply!
The woman I spoke to at the front desk showed me a map and said that the Honeymoon rooms were on the side facing the Marina between bldg 5 and 6. Rooms 1-9 I'm guessing. She also showed me that the two floorplan options for this area were the deluxe and the tower rooms. This is why I'm confused because it doesn't seem to match up with what I've read on this board.

 

[jel0511]

The honeymoon rooms must be on the 2nd floor then, becuse, the rooms on the 3rd and 4th floor in that area rooms numbers 01 - 09 are all regular concierge rooms and the 5th floor has suites. That area IS NOT quiet as it is right above Gasparilla's and you can hear the delivery trucks in the early AM deliving the clean linens. We heard it up on the 4th floor, I can't imagine that racket from the 2nd floor, balcony or not. The room number has to have a low number, to have a view of the castle, as the rest of the view is blocked by the other buildings, or looks awaw from MK. The view of the castle from the Main Building is nice, but isn't as spectacular as a regular Lagoon view at GF. We stayed Main Building first and Lagoon View second and will always stay Lagoon View for now on. The view is MUCH better and closer and personally I didn't think it was worth all the extra money to be in the main building. If a view of the castle is what you want, go for Lagoon View or a 1 bedroom suite in the lodge buildings that gives you the view. It really is a MUCH nicer view and you'll be guaranteed the view. With the suite, you'll also have access to the RPC lounge, which isn't all it's cracked up to be.

 

[Mickymark]

I can tell you that there are a total of 6 deluxe rooms in the main bldg.. There are two each on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors. There are also 2 different layouts for these deluxe rooms. One is sort of a corner room and the other is not. The very best room in my opinion is room 4422. It is a very large room just across the balcony from the lounge. To view the castle from a main bldg room you would need a mirina view. As far as the honeymoon rooms go, I think they are all "turret" rooms.

 

[ead79]

We stayed in both types of main building honeymoon rooms on our honeymoon in December 2003. Disney does make it a bit confusing, so let me see if I can explain it.

There are 2 types of honeymoon rooms at the GF main building. There are turret honeymoon rooms and (for lack of a better word) regular honeymoon rooms.

Turret honeymoon rooms--these rooms are in the large turrets located on the corners of the main building. They are octagonal in shape and do not have balconies. There are large windows all around, and they have a really neat shape. The views from these rooms vary, but I know that at least some of these do have MK views. Ours had a view of the monorail, main pool, Wedding Pavilion, and a lot of the roof of the resort. These rooms have regular tubs and have HUGE walk in closets with drawers and shelves. It's really just personal preference, but we liked this room a bit better.

Regular honeymoon rooms--these rooms are located in a secluded area of the 2nd floor (not accessible by day guests). These rooms are located just above Gasparilla's Grill and look out over the GF Marina towards the castle. They all face the Magic Kingdom. It is possible that the tall palm trees could somewhat obstruct your view however. These rooms have small jacuzzi tubs (definitely no more than 1 person could fit, as the tub is small) and regular closets. They do have balconies.

All the honeymoon rooms have a king bed and a sitting area with a loveseat, coffee table, and chair. I know that our turret room had a wet bar, and I'm relatively sure that the other room did as well (but I'm not 100% sure on that). The turret room seemed larger overall, but I think that had a lot to do with the layout. The regular rooms might be a little more quiet, but we didn't have any noise problems at all from either room. You really can't go wrong either way.

You don't really request a specific view type, just request which type of honeymoon room you would prefer (of course requests are not guaranteed).

 

[TammiMcMan]

From everything you described in your wish list, room #4021 would be the perfect fit for you. We had this room last January and it was incredible. It's one of the larger turret style honeymoon rooms, complete with a king bed, wet bar, seating area, full walk in closet and views from the Poly, Wedding Gazebo, lagoon and the castle. It's very quiet up on the 5th floor, as only various rooms and suites are up there. You'll be giving up a balcony though with the larger turret room.

2nd floor honeymoon rooms are basically the same as the standard floorplan, only all come with king beds, balcony, castle view and private area. The turrets are so much bigger. As Ead mentioned, they're only available by request. If you want to check out this GF pictures link and the turret suite is shown in pictures 11-17. This link has two pictures of the 2nd floor honeymoon rooms, just to give you an idea of the differences.

Hope that helps,
Tammi

 

[halfway there]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

jel0511 - When you say "regular concierge rooms" do you mean standard size rooms? I was told the Honeymoon rooms are on the 2nd floor like you thought and are a bit larger than standard rooms with a sitting area, jacuzzi, wet bar and balcony. Does this mean I can only get this type of room on the 2nd floor and not the 3rd or 4th?

Also, thanks for the tip on the noise level! I read somewhere that Gasparilla's was closed last Nov. Would this be the case for this Nov as well thus alleviating the noise/crowd problem for the 2nd floor?

I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my dream of a main bldg room just yet but thanks for the advice on the LV rooms. I'm considering that 'view' is not at the top of my priority list anymore. Although I prefer not to be looking at the pool or another bldg!

Mickeymark - Are the "corner rooms" you speak of the same as the octagon rooms everyone is talking about? If 4422 is one, do you know where the other one is? I'm wondering if they're the in the same location on every floor and right next to each other. I read that 4022 is connecting to 4024 so would that be true on the 4th floor? Did it connect to another room?

Also, if 4021 is a turret room then are they right next to each other on the 4th floor or is the 5th floor a whole different ballgame? I did tour the third floor and saw where all the entrances are, noting room #'s. I did like the separate entrances to the ones overlooking the lobby rather than the long hallway of doors.

ead79 - Thank you for the explanation of the two different room types!! This is what I've been trying to figure out as I believe the woman at the front desk gave me wrong information. So, are the turret rooms actually a whole room in that octagon shape? They are not the same as the lodge tower rooms that have an octagon shaped separate sitting area then? This is one of the floorplans she showed me as being a honeymoon room. Do you remember the room # of the one you stayed in? I'm trying to get an idea of location.

I'm guessing here that I'll have to choose between a balcony with MK view on the 2nd floor and a larger room with privacy/quiet on a higher floor.

TammiMcMan - Thank you for the links to pictures! I know exactly where room #21 is on the 3rd floor, I assume it would be in the same place on the 5th? How is it that you were able to view the castle and the Poly at the same time? Sounds tricky! I'm thinking the 4th or 5th floor would be ideal for peace and quiet.

Are you sure the 2nd link was for a deluxe room and not a standard? It looked very small and cramped! The turret sounds like our best bet but I noticed in the pic a lot of the furniture was in front of the windows. Can these windows be opened?

In summary - I called and booked a deluxe concierge king room which apparently used to be called a honeymoon room . It had a code BP and is one of the two floorplans ead79 described. The other room I was interested in that the woman at the front desk told me about (who shall now be refered to as 'liah'! J/K) is a triangle shaped room labeled as deluxe but only has 2 queen beds, not a king. It's 634 SF as opposed to the 448 SF of the 2nd floor rooms and has a large angled balcony, sitting area and wet bar. Anyone know anything about these rooms? Or the SF of the turret room?

Thanks again!!

 

[TammiMcMan]

The honeymoon rooms are only located on the 2nd floor. I didn't think they were any bigger than a regular room though. I'm only basing this on the fact that all the balconies line up with the 3rd and 4th floor on that end of the building. The link I sent you to the Allears site did say in the description that this was a concierge honeymoon room. As for Gasparilla's, that was closed earlier in the year for rehab, but has since reopened. They do not shut down seasonally.

Yes, room #xx21 on the 3rd, 4th and 5th are all the corner turret honeymoon suites. The reason why we had that panoramic view was from the 8 palladium windows that encompass the room. No balcony, but we really didn't it miss it too much. I'm trying to find where it stated the square footage of this room. It was at least 800 square feet, if not more.

Here is the photo of the larger triangle shaped concierge deluxe room:

 

[halfway there]

The honeymoon rooms are only located on the 2nd floor. I didn't think they were any bigger than a regular room though. I'm only basing this on the fact that all the balconies line up with the 3rd and 4th floor on that end of the building.

Yes, this is exactly why I was confused too. The floorplans that I saw in the book at the front desk are also at this link:
http://www.the-grahams.net/gf/rooms.html

The first one on the top is a standard room but I assumed the second one was the honeymoon room since it is larger with a sitting area, although a smaller balcony. Perhaps I'm wrong but it does look like the pic at All Ears of room#4320. That's not a 2nd floor room. It also has a wet bar and supposedly the HR don't. Maybe the regular rooms in the main bldg are all a little larger??

The third one, which you so nicely posted for all to see (since I'm technologically deficient) is the one the lady told me was available as a HR as well as the first one on the bottom which is called a tower room and I now realize must be in the outer lodges. This one you posted is the one I'm interested in but it only has 2 queens supposedly BUT it looks just like the other pic on All Ears of room #4429 and it does have a king bed! Are some of these photos old so that they may have changed the beds around?

I also realized later that the smaller cramped room I was talking about at All Ears was called a Honeymoon Lagoon and is possibly in the outer bldgs? Maybe? I'm hoping anyway. Otherwise these honeymoon rooms are tiny and I'm not interested! Why would they put two such disparate floorplans in the same category and price? It doesn't make sense!

The only safe way to get a bigger room is to request a turret but that won't be guaranteed and I could end up with a tiny HR. That's not fair! How do I go about requesting this triangle room and is it possible they have king beds in them even though the CM at CRO said NO? Also, is there only 1 turret room per floor? So far I can only confirm that #21 is one. Thanks to you!

I think the SF for the octagon shaped rooms must be 623 SF because that is what she told me over the phone but I was looking at the tower room thinking that is what she was talking about.

Thanks ever so much for going over this with me. I think I'm even more confused now than before! Hopefully I will know what to request before it is too late. I just wonder if I need to change my room code to get that triangle room. It must be the same price as the other two, right? I believe the other code she mentioned was BO but I'm not sure if that was in reference to this floorplan or not.

Anyone else want to wade in this muck with me?? LOL

 

[webray]

View of the castle is marina view.

 

[ead79]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

ead79 - Thank you for the explanation of the two different room types!! This is what I've been trying to figure out as I believe the woman at the front desk gave me wrong information. So, are the turret rooms actually a whole room in that octagon shape? They are not the same as the lodge tower rooms that have an octagon shaped separate sitting area then? This is one of the floorplans she showed me as being a honeymoon room. Do you remember the room # of the one you stayed in? I'm trying to get an idea of location.

I'm guessing here that I'll have to choose between a balcony with MK view on the 2nd floor and a larger room with privacy/quiet on a higher floor.

No problem, I’m glad to help!

The entire turret room does not fit inside the octagon, but most of it does. The bed as well as the sitting area, tv, wet bar, and table/chairs is all in the turret part. The bathroom, vanity area, and walk-in closet are outside the turret. These rooms are larger than the lodge tower rooms since the turrets are larger on the main building than they are on the lodge buildings.

It is possible that you could have a castle view in a turret room (there are a couple of turret rooms with this view), but it’s not guaranteed. Our turret room was on the front side of the resort, so we could see the monorail as well as the roofline of the rest of the main building. We were in room 4330. Here is a link to my pictures so you can see what the room was like and get an idea of the view.

GF Turret Honeymoon Room Pictures

 

[ead79]

Oh, I also meant to tell you that those 2 pictures Tammi linked to are the regular honeymoon rooms on the 2nd floor. They are just old (so they are in the old decorating scheme, not the new one). Ours didn’t strike me as being much bigger than a regular room if at all. The turret rooms are much larger.

 

[TammiMcMan]

The first one on the top is a standard room but I assumed the second one was the honeymoon room since it is larger with a sitting area, although a smaller balcony. Perhaps I'm wrong but it does look like the pic at All Ears of room#4320. That's not a 2nd floor room. It also has a wet bar and supposedly the HR don't. Maybe the regular rooms in the main bldg are all a little larger??

No, the regular concierge rooms are the same exact size as all the other standard rooms at the resort. That first picture is both a standard, as well as a regular concierge and the same size as a 2nd floor honeymoon suite. The bed setups are a little bit different, with kings being available in all the honeymoon suites. The second picture is not of a honeymoon room, but of a different style concierge deluxe room. They just happen to have two different floor plans available.

The third one, which you so nicely posted for all to see (since I'm technologically deficient) is the one the lady told me was available as a HR as well as the first one on the bottom which is called a tower room and I now realize must be in the outer lodges. This one you posted is the one I'm interested in but it only has 2 queens supposedly BUT it looks just like the other pic on All Ears of room #4429 and it does have a king bed! Are some of these photos old so that they may have changed the beds around? I also realized later that the smaller cramped room I was talking about at All Ears was called a Honeymoon Lagoon and is possibly in the outer bldgs? Maybe? I'm hoping anyway. Otherwise these honeymoon rooms are tiny and I'm not interested! Why would they put two such disparate floorplans in the same category and price? It doesn't make sense!

I think part of the confusion is that both the 2nd floor HR rooms and the concierge deluxe rooms are priced the same, even though the 2nd floor HR rooms are not as big. The concierge deluxe rooms are not even located on the 2nd floor. From all the descriptions that I've read, the concierge deluxe rooms have 2 queen beds. Now, they could have a few that have a king bed, but you probably won't be guaranteed one unless you go with the 2nd floor room. Yes, the lodge tower room shown is only available in the outer lodges. No, there are no "honeymoon" rooms in the outer lodges.

The only safe way to get a bigger room is to request a turret but that won't be guaranteed and I could end up with a tiny HR. That's not fair! How do I go about requesting this triangle room and is it possible they have king beds in them even though the CM at CRO said NO? Also, is there only 1 turret room per floor? So far I can only confirm that #21 is one. Thanks to you!

Simply request a concierge deluxe room. Unless you specify "honeymoon" then you will not be placed on the 2nd floor. As I said before, I think these style rooms only come with 2 queen sized beds. There are 2 turret style rooms per floor, for a total of 6 rooms. The three ending in #21 have the panoramic view from the Poly to the castle. Looks like according to Elisabeth, rooms ending in #30 will have the panoramic view from the monorail to the beach area. The turret room we had seemed to be much larger than 623 square feet. I thought it was close to double the size of a standard room. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the codes, but here is my suggestion. Call and book the room that you are most interested in (which sounds like the triangle shaped concierge deluxe). Once your reservation is in the system, drop an e-mail to the IPO department of the GF, GF: wdwgfplanning@disney.com. These are the folks who will be helping you with all your pre-planning needs, like priority seating and what not. They will also take a room request. I would explain to them, that your first choice is one of the turret style honeymoon suites, preferably ending in #21. If that is not available, you would like to go with the triangle floorplan of a deluxe concierge room. They'll enter it into their system and the concierge room assignor will see your request. That's probably the best that you can do.

Don't feel bad about asking the questions. It is very confusing with all the room styles and the different room codes.

Tammi

 

[halfway there]

Thanks again everybody!
I think I am finally getting the hang of this thanks to all the wonderful pictures posted and linked! Isn't modern technology great?!

ead79 - Thank you so much for the link to your pics. They were wonderful!! They also confirmed my suspicions that room #30 was indeed the other turret. I did notice from photos that the turrets are larger in the main bldg. That explains that anyway! I appreciate the time you took to describe the actual room. I'm thinking either turret room would be magnificent after seeing pictures of both!!

So I'm curious what the benefit would be to getting the 2nd floor HR if they are the same size as a standard room? Just the king bed and the private floor? I'm sure the lady on the phone told me that the two floorplans for the HRs were considered Concierge Deluxe King now which, to me, would mean the larger deluxe room but perhaps not. Also, that old decor was a bit funny looking compared to what I've seen recently!

TammiMcMan - Boy! I've been reading a lot of your posts/threads about the GF and are you knowledgable! I finally finished reading the FAQ (yes, all 32 pages!) and you were very helpful to many including me! I know you are right about the rooms on the 2nd floor although I've been trying to dig up a photo of that side of the resort in order to see for myself. Anyone have one they can post of the marina side of the main bldg?

Do you think this other style of deluxe concierge is only located in other bldgs or also in the main bldg? It may be that this style only has the 2 queens though. I'm considering giving up the King for a larger room but I will have to convince my DH first! LOL Thanks for the clarification regarding the various room types and locations!! I think I figured out that those triangle shaped rooms are #22 and #29 for anyone else whose interested.

I have booked a Concierge Deluxe King room which I was told used to be called the Honeymoon room so I'm wondering if I should change that description because I don't think I want to end up on the 2nd floor anymore. You have given me great step by step advice on how to request what I want! Do I use my confirmation # in my email to IPO? I was curious if they would send something about that with my confirmation letter or if you only hear about that from these boards!

At least now I have a plan of action. Many thanks to all!!

 

[TammiMcMan]

The benefit of the 2nd floor concierge suite is that you're guaranteed both a king bed and castle view. You would also get the small sitting area, jacuzzi tub, wet bar and private floor. Even though the size is the same as a standard room, I think the guarantee of these amenities is what makes them more attractive (and more expensive).

Deluxe rooms are only available in the main building and they come in either of those two floor plans. Perhaps based on the room code, the CRO knows that it's a triangle shaped room that's available. Unfortunately, they are sometimes not that knowledgable about all the different resorts and the agent could just have some wrong information.

If you have a concierge king booked, then I'm 99.9% sure that you will be placed on the 2nd floor. Because the price is the same as the other style deluxe room, I'd just advise you to ask the pre-planning staff for clarification. They don't need your reservation number, because you have concierge booked, they'll be able to pull you up in their system just based on the name used in your reservation. Your confirmation will come from CRO. The GF pre-planning department will send you copies of your itinerary with ps #'s, and other things that you have scheduled per day.

Tammi

 

[halfway there]

After re-reading the front page of the FAQ regarding room types, I realize that both the 2nd and 3rd floorplan on the grahams site are considered concierge deluxe as you stated but these only have 2 queens apparently. (Although I did see a picture of room 4429 with a king bed, it could be an old photo.) This is how it's explained there:

What is the Concierge Deluxe Guestroom?

The Concierge Deluxe Guestroom is an oversized room in Royal Palm Club. These rooms are about 700 square feet, and have two different floorplans. All Concierge Deluxe Guestrooms feature two queen size beds, a sofa, TV with VCR, writing desk, wetbar, and balcony. They have all the same features as the regular concierge guestrooms. Some Concierge Deluxe Guestrooms also have a deep soaking tub. Views are of either the quiet pool/courtyard or the Seven Seas Lagoon/theme pool.


I also looked into my old 1990 Birnbaum's and it says that the 6 Honeymoon Rooms are all housed in the turrets. Perhaps they added the 9 rooms on the 2nd floor as an overflow which brings the number to 15 as described in recent books.

I agree that there is a certain allure to a private level and a balcony with a guaranteed MK view. That's what first got me but here's what it says on All Ears regarding these two room types:

It's my honeymoon! What is the difference between the octagon and jacuzzi honeymoon rooms?

Octagon rooms do not have a balcony or a jacuzzi tub . However, this room is bigger than the jacuzzi room , has a wet bar, and has windows almost all of the way around, providing a greater view. Jacuzzi rooms do have a balcony and jacuzzi tub, but no wet bar or walk-in closet. Jacuzzi rooms are also located on a part of the second floor with no through traffic, providing a quieter atmosphere. Both rooms include all concierge benefits.

The lack of a wet bar in these rooms was a minus for me and gradually the location wore off its original luster as well. I'm guessing that the small sitting area is provided by the absence of the 2nd bed since it is just standard size. I'd rather have the larger room but apparently they're in two different categories.

Thanks for letting me bounce this off of you and everyone else. I warned you that I was detail oriented! Hopefully this will provide some good info for people interested in the main bldg. I think at this point I could probably draw up a map of the entire 3rd and 4th floor!! I noticed from a picture that the other deluxe room style is probably #19 & #20, another turret divided in half but with balconies.

BTW, Tammi I am originally from MA too!

 

[TammiMcMan]

The lack of a wet bar in these rooms was a minus for me and gradually the location wore off its original luster as well. I'm guessing that the small sitting area is provided by the absence of the 2nd bed since it is just standard size. I'd rather have the larger room but apparently they're in two different categories.

You were right on target in your last post up until the above quoted statement. The 6 turret rooms are in exactly the same category as the 9 second floor honeymoon suites (deluxe kings). That's why I suggested that you book the triangle deluxe concierge room (as this room seemed to be the one you were leaning towards) and then simply put in a request for a turret room with your concierge pre-planner. That way, if one is available, you'll have it at the same price that you're already paying and if not, you still end up with a room that you're happy with.

I hope that makes sense and I do applaud all the research that you've done.

Tammi

 

[halfway there]

I guess I should have said "the larger rooms" meaning the two floorplans in the concierge deluxe category rather than the honeymoon category. I guess I have a 50-50 shot of getting the turret style with what I have booked right now. The king bed is what's throwing me. The other category only has queen beds according to CRO but I've seen at least one pic of a king in a somewhat modified form of the triangle room (#29). So if there's, say, 3 of these type rooms and 6 turret rooms with king beds then what are my best odds? I'm hoping that whichever I request as my top choice it won't matter what I have on my reservation, since as you said, they are all the same price. I'm in the process of composing an email to IPO right now. Got my confirmation in the mail yesterday and it say "various" under view. I'm guaranteed main bldg if I booked deluxe, right?

Also, how is it you find these posts so fast? I'm always paging through thread after thread. Are they still sending emails to notify you? I know I used to get them but don't anymore. I thought they must have discontinued them. Perhaps you just have good eyes!

BTW, you did make perfect sense after I read it over several times! It's me, not you!

 

[TammiMcMan]

The 2 deluxe concierge floorplans, the 9 honeymoon suites on the 2nd floor and the 6 turret rooms are all priced the same. "Various" view is correct as you could have anything from the beach to the lagoon, the courtyard gardens or the marina. I believe that room requests are handled by a separate room assignor for concierge, so just let your pre-planner know that your first choice is one of the 6 turret style rooms and second choice is a king bed in your specified (triangle shape) room category. I think that should cover you.

Yes, only the main building has deluxe rooms, so you are all set there.

After an upgrade a few months on the DIS boards, I know that I had to reset some of my mail options. Just click on the UserCP link at the top of the page and then "edit options". Scroll down to "messaging & notification" section and the default thread subscription mode can be reset there.

Tammi