GF Main or Outer Bldgs

[mindy20]

We are heading to the GF in May for 9 nights. We are a family of 5 Me, DH, DS 5, DD 3, & DD 2. We are also bringing along my MIL & FIL and are paying for their vacation. Its nice to spend time with them and they are also alot of help to us. I have booked us in the main bldg in a deluxe king and standard room. with the 30% spring discount. Deluxe Dining, and park tickets. We can save $3100 by staying in the outer bldg(1 CL room and one not since we made our adr's with ipo) We were at the Boardwalk in Sept and stayed CL and didnt use it much, but I do like that they make adr's and help with planning. So my question is do you think it is worth $3100 extra to stay in the main bldg ?

 

[SusieBea]

Boy, I don't think it's worth it! $3100 is a whole vacation in itself. The outer buildings are not far from the main building. We stayed at the GF using our DVC points and were placed in Big Pine Key with a nice view of the Poly.

 

[bethclayton]

So, I think you are looking at being in different buildings than the IL's since one of you will be CL and the other, not.

For me, personally, I would forego the deluxe dining before I would scrap the Main building. $3100 is an insane amount of money but I think GF RPC is a once in a lifetime experience and worth a splurge. It's more than the location and more than the CL, it's just the whole experience of it. But.... Maybe that's just me. I found the outer building (non CL) to be a huge disappointment after staying in the main building.

 

[Pakey]

Yes, I think RPC is worth the extra money if I'm going to stay at GF.

I do not like staying outer building at GF; if I can't stay RPC, I'd choose another resort.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Just my opinion...If the discount allows you to make changes, I would let go of the deluxe dining and stay with the GF Main Building.

We were there just last month. The breakfast choices are more than adequate for a full day to start the day. We did one big meal a day and used the Club lounge foods for everything else. One night (actually early am) we had pizza at Gasparilla Grill after EMH at MK.

Dining takes lots of time. Unless you're truly counting the restaurant experiences as a big part of your vacation, you could make the days easier and spend more time at the parks and resort pool, etc.

 

[Angie789]

Obviously, you know your own family best, but whatever you decide about your room at GF, I'd seriously consider dropping the deluxe dining plan. The deluxe plan requires a lot of structure to your days that I personally would not be comfortable with 3 little ones - if your kids are happy at a park or playing in the pool, you'd have to hustle them out to make your reservations EVERY SINGLE DAY. With the deluxe plan, your entire days revolve around food.

DH & I are planning a trip for just the two of us and we'll do the deluxe plan then, but I know our 2 & 4 year old kids aren't interested enough in the food experience to spend that much time in restaurants. They are there to ride rides, meet characters and enjoy the pool!

 

[tobin04]

I absolutely LOVED the main building! But you need to decide if you want to spend the extra or not. It was heaven to us. We are going back to the Grand tonight and we weren't able to get RPC-we are staying in a garden view room, which I know will be lovely-but I'll be missing RPC!!

 

[Scarlett81]

We just stayed last month, GF main building CL, TPV, tix with PH, no dining plan- 10 days, no discount, paid ALOT of money for that trip.

On recollection, I would have switched to outer building. To me, outer building was just as nice. We thought it would be so much less walking, but for us, our room was a far walk off the elevators anyway and it was alot of walking to get to the lobby or monorail anyway. It was nice to walk in at night and hear the band playing, but you can do that anyway each night when you walk through the lobby to the outer buildings.

To me, doing CL and the deluxe dp is WAY overkill. That is tons of food. We are serious foodies, and that would be too much for us. We did CL bkfst, CL snacks and hors'doevres or split a sandwich at lunch, and then had a big splurge dinner each night. If you did the Plus dining plan, you'd still have plenty of food imo. However, personally I'd never do CL and a DP. Too much.

Another thought is that personally I'd never do one room CL and not the other. You really want some of your party to go into the lounge for snacks and not all of you? I think that will be a big regret.
If it were my trip, I'd do 2 CL outerbuilding room, with plus dining-I think you'd be more than happy with that. But thats just my 2 cents. Happy planning!

 

[Mrs K]

I totally agree with Scarlett81. We stayed in Sugarloaf last July and it was great. RPC is just too expensive and I love the outer building. It's quiet and near the pool. I would book two CL rooms. It would stink to have only half your party have access to the lounge.

 

[rlovew]

We loved staying at RPC and would love to do it again if money allowed. We had the regular dining plan and RPC and had leftover credits at the end of the week. i can't even begin to imagine trying to eat at CL and Deluxe Dining.

 

[mindy20]

Thank you for everyones advise. I know we wont use the CL louge at all we were only there once or twice on our last trip. Wish I could get main Bldg without the CL. I am going to look into dropping deluxe dining. My kids love the character breakfasts so we do one most days we are there and eat a TS dinner but Im thinking we might still not get out moneys worth from the plan. Dropping the Deluxe Dining would definitly save us some money.

 

[bethclayton]

If I can be so bold, I would like to uge you to try to make use of the CL lounge. It is totally in a class of its own. I have only ever stayed CL at the GF and the Poly, but you could not even compare the two, so what you experienced at the other resort might not be near the same caliber you could expect at the GF. Just give it a try and you might really like it. Don't make any decisions based on what you experienced elsewhere. You might even consider eating breakfast there and then doing character lunches since you will more likely be out and about during lunch anyway.

 

[eah7]

We are staying SL CL and the only reason I am considering the DDP is because DH and I are planning to have dinner at 2 credit ts restaurants. It is just the 2 of us and when I compare the cost of oop with DDP, it seems to break even. The other reason is my DH likes to have the plan just because he feels it makes things easier.

I am thinking we will have later dinners each day to make use of the CL. After reading this tho, I am now wondering if reasonable. Does anyone know what kind of hor d'ouerves are served? What about desserts?

Thank you!

 

[SharonZ]

Regardless of what you decide as far as building location, I would skip the deluxe dining. I think with your three young children, you are better off with the regular dining plan - especially if you choose to stay with CL.

 

[elaw]

The other buildings just dont have the same magic as the Main building ... I've tried the other buildings but it was just not the same without that grand lobby.

 

[Scarlett81]

We are staying SL CL and the only reason I am considering the DDP is because DH and I are planning to have dinner at 2 credit ts restaurants. It is just the 2 of us and when I compare the cost of oop with DDP, it seems to break even. The other reason is my DH likes to have the plan just because he feels it makes things easier.

I am thinking we will have later dinners each day to make use of the CL. After reading this tho, I am now wondering if reasonable. Does anyone know what kind of hor d'ouerves are served? What about desserts?

Thank you!

For you, the DP might be worth it if you are going for 2 credit restaurants. I would price out a few 2 credit restaurants and see what the average costs are vs the DDP. We did all OOP dining last trip and for us (2 adults, one 4 yr old) every dinner was at least $100. I don't know if the plan makes things easier, but it does help to keep track of what you are spending on food.

CL hors d'ouevres are incredible. From blinis, to seafood, cheeses, hot selections, cold...Each evening there's probably an average of 7-8 hot options, and 3-4 cold ones, plus wine and champagne. The nighttime dessert is wonderful too, but you have to be back by 10:00 pm to get it. There's about 6-7 things to chose from, from gourmet to kiddie, plus wine, champagne and cordials.
The afternoon also has really nice snacks-think really good cheese, gourmet chips and crackers, vegetables, etc.

I loved getting up early and bringing coffee and bkfst back to my room-sitting on the balcony and taking my time. We purposely tried to get back by 9:45 to get dessert and wine before bed.

On another note, I can't understand why anyone would pay to be CL and not go in the lounge. Trying to donate to disney? j/k (hey I'm not one to talk...we spent an insane amount of moola on our last trip)