GF or CR. Need help please!

[Nesnboy]

We are booking a last minute trip to Disney for five nights before Labor Day. We have three children, 1, 4 and 7. We have a choice between one room at the GF or two rooms at the the CR for $300 more. We would love to do two rooms at GF, but it's $1800 more than one room. I know we could all fit in one room, but it would be so much nicer to have some privacy and a quiet room where the baby could take naps.

I have a few questions:

Does the GF and/or CR have adjoining rooms?

Should we book our one room at the GF and then try to cut a deal for a second room when we get there? Has anyone had luck doing this?

Are the rooms at the GF that much nicer than at the CR?

I have been getting a lot of great information from this forum. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Nesnboy]

bump. Anyone?

 

[beccasmom]

Here are some links -

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_gf.htm
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_con.htm

The CR does, I believe, have adjoining rooms; not sure about the GF.

The rooms at both hotels are nice; in fact, if you compare the standard rooms, the CR's are larger. Both have their good points. I personally find the GF's pricing to be way too inflated. For a special occasion, we would definitely splurge on at least a few nights, but otherwise I feel the other resorts offer more value. But that's just my opinion; it's certainly a premier hotel. My kids adored the CR pre-DVC membership. I think they just felt more comfortable there.

 

[markblu]

I stayed with my 4 kids in June at GF in connecting rooms. Don't know what the rooms at the CR are like, but my 3,5, and 7 yr olds were more interested in the pool after a hot morning at the park than anything else. GF has a great pool with a water slide that they really enjoyed.

Also GF has a 24hour "cafeteria" that comes in handy for bedtime juice, milk, and early cereal. I don't think you'll have much luck getting a deal on a room when you arrive.

Good luck

Mark

 

[amyhwang]

For the price, have you looked into a one bedroom villa at either WL, BCV, or BWV? At WL you'd be close to MK (sounds like that's a desire as you're looking at GF and CR). The villas are spacious, and perfect if someone is napping in the bedroom, you could be in the living room. Plus you'd have the full fridge for milk, snacks, even cereals and stuff. We just stayed in one at the Boardwalk with two children, and it's really nice. The queen pullout sofas are usually comfy, and the kids love the big jacuzzi tub for bubblebaths at night. I believe you may find one to be similar to your budget. If you like Epcot the ones near there are fun. We prefer that area as we don't care for the restaurants at the MK, but folks who love the character dining have a great time with all those character meals there. We stayed at GF on our honeymoon, and it was special. We stayed there with DS when he was 3, and although it was really nice and it's the super cleanest resort, it really isn't worth the premium so very much. As the previous poster said, the CR rooms are bigger, but ours last time we were there wasn't as clean. It was huge though, and I kind of cleaned the bathroom myself a bit with their towels, so it was fine (we got a great rate of $120/night from SOG overflow, so we had fun). You wouldn't need two rooms at the CR, the room is huge, and the daybed actually flips down to a big twin bed. Good luck with the decision.

 

[amyhwang]

Sorry forgot to mention, the last stay at CR the food in the food court area was really bad (don't know if it was just an off week) and yes, I agree the GF snack bar has really good food. I've even popped over there with the kids while staying at CR to get lunch - it's much fresher and the ladies there substituted fresh fruit salad for the cookie in the kids' meal for my son (he has allergies). I also like the food at Mara in AK resort - just the CR food was so gross the kids didn't even like it. I do believe since then, they may have remodeled it though. I still suggest if you want space to looking into a DVC resort for the trip - it's less than two CR rooms probably. ALso, you get a washer/dryer!

 

[bdlily]

I know GF has adjoining rooms, we had two on our last trip. You CANNOT cut a deal upon arrival- they don't do that. If you haven't secured a discount before you arrive there is NO luck getting a deal. Occasionally you can get a view upgrade but that's VERY rare.

The rooms at GF are MUCH nicer than the non-renovated rooms at CR but it also depends on your taste. If you like late 60's,early 70's contemporary modern you will like CR. My family generally prefers the traditional, slightly Victorian feel of GF so we like it better. However, CR's new rooms are really beautiful.

Monorail access to MK is easier from GF and the boat launch is very convenient for the way home. It's easy to get back from MK to CR but taking the monorail to MK from CR is not worth it.

Oh, and Gasparilla Grill at GF is GREAT for keeping the older kids entertained and fed. I don't know what they have at CR like that, it's been 25 years since I stayed there.

You have 2 adults and 3 kids? It WOULD be nice to have a separate room for nap times BUT we slept 4 adults and 2 kids (one was under the age of 1) in our room last trip and it worked out just fine.

I wish I could make your decision for you but you have to decide which is more important to you- two rooms that might not be renovated or one room that is spacious and nicely decorated. Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

The Contemporary has rooms that sleep 5 and your family would technically only be a family of four plus one infant under the age of three. Do you need two rooms?

 

[Nesnboy]

Thank you all so much for your replies. Very helpful. I think we'll stick with the GF. Sounds like it has everything we want and access to the MK is key.