Going to WDW in December and staying at GF!

[swidman]

BTW, this is my first post on these boards.

This will be my first time staying at a deluxe resort. My wife stayed at Poly a long time ago before we were married and she has been wanting to stay at a monorail resort for a while now (especially with an 8 year old who will be almost 9 when we go). My parents are taking us as a special holiday present (my sister and here family are coming too) and I'm just wondering what anyone thinks of the GF? I've always thought of it as a stuffy place, but have been curious about staying there. Now I am.

I've seen some nice pictures and it's location is great. The pools looks nice, nothing extravegant, and the dining option are by all accounts exceptional. I have no intensions of eating at V&A's, but Narcoossee could be on the menu one night.

So, if anyone has stayed there, please tell me about your experience.

TIA

 

[scoutsmom99]

Welcome to the dis swidman,
I haven't stayed at GF, but I have eaten there and looked around the grounds it is beautiful I think you will enjoy it. I did the afternoon tea there this fall with my mother and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Enjoy your trip

 

[swidman]

Yes, my wife has already told our daughter about having tea at GF. The grounds do look very nice, too.

Thanks.

 

[TammiMcMan]

As you can probably tell by my list of recent trips, the GF is one of our favorites. What you need to remember, is that all the Disney resorts are themed. The GF has the look of Victorian elegance, but I've never felt stuffy or snobby being there. In fact, it's pretty interesting if you're a people watcher, like me. I've seen many instances where you'll have a tired out dad, sitting on one of the sofas in the main building, resting his eyes. He'll be dressed in his park clothes. Sitting right next to him, there can be a wedding guest in a designer gown. Both look and feel completely comfortable and neither is out of place.

The GF has 2 swimming pools. One is the theme pool that's open limited hours (usually 10am-8pm). They have a water slide and zero entry from the beach. There are also 3 cabanas located here, which are available on a first come, first serve basis. The other pool is much larger, but not as fancy. It's open 24 hours and they usually have a childrens activity here daily.

There is a 24 hour counter service restaurant called Gasparilla's. The food is surprisingly good and I thought the prices were fine. A step up, is the Cafe. It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Again, I thought the prices were excellent and you can get everything from pasta and steak, to a cheeseburger or turkey sandwich. The artichoke dip is amazing. 1900 Park Faire offers a buffet character breakfast and a buffet character dinner. It's quite popular and I've only eaten breakfast there, but it was very good. We had plenty of character interraction both times we've eaten there. Narcoossees and Citricos are more upscale, but you will find a lot of families at Narcoossees. This restaurant sits right out over the water and you can see the fireworks and electric water parade go by. Victoria & Alberts is adults only and very upscale and romantic. Room service is always an excellent choice. My youngest always insists on ordering a grilled cheese sandwich and eating it out on the balcony.

There are a number of things for the kids to do, some are at an additonal cost. As I mentioned, they ususally have something at the courtyard pool daily and they have arts & crafts and storybook time in the evening. You'll get a resort information sheet when you check in that has all the dates and times. For an extra charge, there is the Pirate cruise, grand adventures in cooking and of course the tea.

The convenience to the MK park is priceless. You're only one monorail stop away going over and if you'd like, you can take the resort boat back and the GF is the first stop.

For mom and dad, the GF spa is the definition of relaxation. There is no additonal cost to use the healthclub or lounge if you are a GF guest. They do have treatments available also. My DH is a healthclub snob and he says that this is the one of the nicest he's ever been to. There are seperate lounges for the men and women complete with changing areas, showers, lockers, steam, sauna, whirlpool, chairs, tea, water, razors, combs, etc.

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help out,

Tammi

 

[Goofy's Muse]

TammiMcMan's post says it all. As for staying in December particularly (as we did this past December), we found the GF to be beautifully decorated. To say the Christmas tree is huge is an understatement... over 200 full-sized birdcages decorated this tree and somehow they did not look out of place! There was also a life-sized gingerbread house, fully decorated, that was unbelievable! Staff were selling gingerbread and other items from within that house. I expected I might feel out-of-place with my very laidback family of 5 but we were surprisingly comfortable here. Lucky you to be the recipient of this wonderful treat!

 

[swidman]

Thanks for your input Tammi. I do love to people watch. Being a person in the arts field, I am a person who looks for little details and people watching is priceless fun, especially with a child (everyone is different, but we are all the same stuff). I can't wait to see the Electrical Water Parade! And I didn't know the GF was the first stop back on the water transport. That is a very nice tip. We usually stay at POFQ and we like that one because it's usually the first drop off, and at the end of a long day, first drop off is a great way to end the day.

Goofy, I saw a load of pictures from the holiday at another WDW site and the holiday decorations look great. Can't wait to watch the decorating demos of the gingerbread house. My daughter is already wanting to walk through the life-size one.

 

[Goofy's Muse]

...My daughter is already wanting to walk through the life-size one.

She may have to settle for walk-around as only staff were inside the house, but it was awesome just the same!

 

[minniesota]

I totally agree with Tammi and Goofys'Muse! We have stayed at the GF 4 or 5 times and DH now says "why stay anywhere else?" We love the relaxing atmosphere and I think what some people think of as stuffy, we see as sophisticated and elegant. Can't tell you how many times we have drifted off to sleep in the loungers around the "quiet" pool! And watching Wishes from the boat dock last October was wonderful. And then there's the orchestra music or grand piano entertainer in the lobby. Sometimes it's hard to go to the parks! Enjoy!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

First of all - WELCOME! We love the GF. Our family travelers consist of me, DH, 2 dds (7 and 6) and ds (4). They all love GF and never want to stay anywhere else. Even though the themed pool with the slide is the one everyone talks about they love the "quiet" pool (which is never quiet). It's open 24 hours a day and since we go in the summer they love to swim at night. It also has a nice pool bar/snack shop there. We always try to stay in Sago Cay, (marina is garden view) or lagood view room. It's very peaceful and watching the marina or lagoon from your balcony is especially relaxing. The kids love Gasparilla's arcade and fast food. When we have a gv room we go down to Gasparilla's at night, the kids have ice cream and we watch wishes from the tables and chairs in front of Gasparilla's. Last summer they even had the music piped in. Kids also love - Wonderland Tea Party, Pirate Cruise, and 1900 Park Fare dinner and breakfast. This year they will be trying Grand Adventures in Cooking for the first time and the girls and I are going to try the afternoon tea. Kids like the beach and we like to rent the water mice boats. You also can schedule a fireworks cruise on either a pontoon boat or the Grand I. We don't think the GF is stuffy at all and CMs have been very nice to our children. We were never lucky enough to receive a towel animal but the maid was very nice and rearranged the kids stuffed animals in funny poses. All in all I think it's the nicest place to stay. BTW take the monorail to the magic kingdom and the ferry on the way back -- that's the fastest route. ENJOY!

 

[swidman]

These replies are great! I have to ask my mom which area we are staying. I know it's a GV room, but I need more info from here. I guess she booked right before the Silver Package expired and that's what we have. Lots of extra stuff such as the usual character breakfast and pin w/ lanyard. But she said there are other things included.

You know, I'm going to be thinking about this trip from now until we actually leave.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Glad we could be of help. Here's a nice GF website that I found during my trip planning. It has room layouts and a good sized resort map.

http://www.the-grahams.net/gf/

A little more info on this site and some great pictures.

http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/ASP/costcalc.asp?resId=GF&pageFunction=researcher

 

[erinz]

The GF is BEAUTIFUL during Christmas!!! I remember the first time I walked into the lobby (during Christmas season). I stood there and cried. Ofcourse I'm a Victorian era fan...

We will be at WDW Dec too! Although we will be at the CR making our way through construction....

Oh well...

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

We stayed at the GF last spring. It was absolutely beautiful. I concur with all the previous posters. We had a lagoon view at Sago Cay. It was an end room so we got to see the castle from our room. It was awesome because a few of the days we were there, the MK closed early for high school grad nights. But we were able to watch the fireworks from our room each night!

We ate at Grand Floridian Cafe, Narcoosee's and Citricos. We got mugs at Gasparilla's and bought snacks there frequently. We also rented mouse boats...fun!

We didn't get towel animals either, but our housekeeper posed our DD's stuffed animals evey night for turn down. It was cute.

I had no complaints at all with the GF, but of course, I think the key is the CM's you interact with. Some are friendlier or more helpful than others. But there were no problems. The only pain was that the self parking lot is a bit of a walk from the front door, but it was no biggie for us. However, if you're suffering from theme-park blisters, you may want to wait out front and have another member of your party go get the car.

You will have a great time!

 

[PrincessCandaceMarie]

Cool! I love the GF, have fun and enjoy the grounds, it's beautiful. Eat at the restaurants you can or want to, and be sure to take tons of pics!

 

[swidman]

The last time I rode the water sprites was on my first trip back in 1981. Epcot wasn't even open and I was only 15. I think it's time to ride those lagoon waves again!

 

[momtoPrincessA]

I Love the GF!! Had a special mom/daughter trip last year with my DD (6). I'm hooked and now trying to convince DH that GF is the only place to stay! We had a great GV room overlooking the pool with a very large, very private deck. At night we could watch the fireworks from the pool and sit and watch the castle change colors. Pure Magic!

 

[awatt]

Loved the GF last year! It is lovely and staff were very good. We really enjoyed that it is a slightly quieter resort, not so bustling as some others, which was very relaxing. Proximity to MK also a big plus.less hassle than elsewhere. Try dinner at Narcoosee's. If you time it right you can see the fireworks during dinner.they pipe in the music. Have a wonderful time!

 

[localdisfan]

My dh and I stayed at the gf for 2 nights in may. Resort is very nice. great pool and wonderful restaurants. My DH only complaint was that we had the smallest tv ever made in our room. room was overlooking the fw.. awesome!
the door to the bathroom hit the toilet each time it was being closed.. so the door remained open the rest of the time... not so great if traveling with kids..choc on pillow is always a nice treat. the resort is great ..you are going to pay alot of $ and I'm sure you are... make plans to spend at least a day enjoying it.

 

[tclowe]

TammiMcMan must have saw my husband snoozing on the sofa in the GF lobby in May. They have some very comfortable chairs and sofas in the lobby. We signed up our son for the pirate cruise and the wonderland Tea Party. We were staying at Poly and AKL. My husband and I hung out at the GF from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm. (didn't want to be far from our small son in case of emergency). We ate at GF Cafe and visited every shop in the lobby. Saw the Perfectly Princess tea party and afternoon tea party. Last 1 1/2 hours spent sitting in the lobby, just people watching. Every staff we met or passed by were pleasant and friendly.

Told my husband, "next time we are going to WDW, we are staying at this Hotel!" Guess what, we are staying at the GF in early December. Can't wait.

 

[GF Girl]

I have just returned from the GF. You will love it. I stay there every year & I would not want to stay anywhere else. The hotel is just lovely. Beautiful grounds and the rooms are gorgeous.

There are two pools there. If you have children, I would stay at the smaller pool which has a slide & zero entry. Kids can also play on the beach which is right by that pool. The main pool is much larger and a little quieter, but can also get a little crowded at times. Both pools are enjoyable.

As far as the restaurants, Narcoossee's is very good and you can watch the fire works from there.
Citricos is out of this world. The food is the best!
The Grand Floridian Cafe is also good, they also have a wonderful breakfast menu. It's my favorite place for omelettes.
For children, you would enjoy the character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare which is a buffet.

Hope you enjoy your stay! I hear the Christmas decorations in the lobby are very impressive