tigger137
"Smile and wave boys, just smile and wave ..."
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2006
- Messages
- 1,315
We have just returned from 4 nights in a Golden Forest room. We were more than a little disappointed and I wanted to let anyone who has booked, or is thinking of booking, a GF room about our experience.
Firstly, breakfast. The exclusive breakfast was our main reason for booking a GF room but it was far from being exclusive. Our first clue that breakfast would not be as expected was at check in when we were given tickets for early (0700-0900) or late (0900-1030) breakfast. That came as an unpleasant surprise we had understood that we would be able to enjoy breakfast any time between 0700 and 1030.
The 2 GF rooms (breakfast room and lounge) and the corridor outside hold at least 200 people. Yes, I did say corridor there are at least 6 tables in the corridor, between the shop and the door to outside, against the window. On our first morning (late ticket), these areas were full. Admittedly we were seated straight away, but the overall atmosphere was that it was very full and busy, and not in the least exclusive.
Second morning (early ticket), same again. Breakfast with 200 other people is hardly exclusive.
Third and fourth mornings (both late tickets) were much quieter, possibly about half the number of people. In numbers and atmosphere it was more as we had expected. For anyone only experiencing those days it may well have seemed the exclusive benefit advertised.
We can take or leave close character interaction but on the first 2 days I felt sorry for those families for whom it is important. Instead of waiting for the character to visit their table, as it is intended, some children were running up to the characters and mobbing them, generally with the encouragement of their parents. This detracted from the enjoyment of those people at the table the character was visiting.
The fact that many people didnt appear to understand that the characters would visit each table was one of my first suspicions that there were many people eating breakfast there who were not staying in GF rooms. Also, the numbers just didnt tally if at any one time over 2 sittings there were 200 people eating, that seemed far too many for the number of GF rooms even at full occupancy. Yet the number of people we saw in the GF lounge in the afternoon and evening was tiny, even though the weather was dreadful and youd expect people to be taking a break from the parks. Our room was on the 7th floor and from what we saw and heard Id guess that less than half the rooms were occupied, and I cant see why the numbers would differ much on the other GF floors. In addition, Beaver Creek Tavern is closed so half the hotels breakfast capacity for non-GF guests is not available and these guests have to be provided with breakfast somewhere.
From our second morning, I was convinced that there were probably far more non-GF guests eating breakfast in the GF area than there were those who had paid for the upgrade. Since returning home, I have read reports online of recent Sequoia guests being given GF breakfast tickets for the duration of their stay.
Now to the lounge. If you are thinking of concierge lounges at Disney Florida hotels or, indeed, other hotel chains, think again. There are 2 rooms, one of which is only open for breakfast and contains the buffet area. The other is the one with the tree décor and which is open from 12002230. It is basically a breakfast room with café-style seating, tables and chairs designed for dining, not for having a drink and relaxing. There are only 2 sofas with coffee tables in the area nearest the door the door is always kept open so anyone walking past can see in, and they often wander in just to have a look.
There are drinks menus on the table but only a small proportion of the offerings are included, just tea, coffee, hot chocolate and then soft drinks such as Coke and Minute Maid. The drinks are not self-service. As you enter the room a Cast Member will approach you and ask for your hotel Easy Pass which indicates you have access to the GF room. As you choose a seat they take the ticket away and appear to check it off on a list. They then bring it back to you and take your drinks orders. Between 1600 and 1800 there are snacks the Cast Members refer to them as pastries but to me they were cakes. Some afternoons the CM brought them to the table, a plate with a selection of small cakes (brownies, coconut macaroons, madeleines, doughnuts); other afternoons the same selection was set out on a small buffet area for you to serve yourself.
It was a quiet retreat but it wasnt particularly comfortable or relaxing. Certainly not what we have experienced of several hotel lounges elsewhere. In truth, it is that you have access to the breakfast room during the afternoon and evening.
Another consideration, depending on what time you plan to leave on departure day. We were returning on the direct Eurostar which doesnt leave until 1800, and we had thought the lounge would be useful as somewhere to wait that afternoon. But then on our second day I overheard a conversation which made me think perhaps this wouldnt be an option. So I went to the GF reception area to check, where I was told unequivocally that we would only have access to the GF room until 1100 on our day of departure. In other words, we would get breakfast but not be allowed into the GF room that afternoon. This really knocked me for six, and together with the breakfast situation and the lounge being somewhat lacking, I was seriously questioning just why I had paid the GF upgrade.
In the event, on our last full day as we left the lounge, the CM said See you tomorrow. That encouraged us to give it a try on our departure day. We spent the morning in the park, then had lunch, but then had a few hours to kill so we decided to risk it and see if we would be allowed access to the lounge. The same CM was on duty, he took our ticket as usual and we took a seat. When he came over we were prepared that he might ask us to leave but he didnt, he chatted as usual and brought our drinks.
So you may have the same experience. But just be aware that the official line from the GF reception is that you only have access to the lounge until 1100 on departure day.
I must say that all the GF CMs we met, both at breakfast and later in the day, were friendly and pleasant, without exception. Far more than in the parks, these CMs definitely had the Disney touch.
As with any holiday, your experience may vary from ours. I just want to let people know what our experience of the Golden Forest concept was because it was certainly not as we expected nor, I believe, as we paid for. I want people to be fully aware of how it may be so that they can make an informed decision as to whether it is worth it for their family.
Please feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try my best to answer. I do have some photos of the Golden Forest room but havent downloaded them yet. I will post them as soon as I get chance.
Firstly, breakfast. The exclusive breakfast was our main reason for booking a GF room but it was far from being exclusive. Our first clue that breakfast would not be as expected was at check in when we were given tickets for early (0700-0900) or late (0900-1030) breakfast. That came as an unpleasant surprise we had understood that we would be able to enjoy breakfast any time between 0700 and 1030.
The 2 GF rooms (breakfast room and lounge) and the corridor outside hold at least 200 people. Yes, I did say corridor there are at least 6 tables in the corridor, between the shop and the door to outside, against the window. On our first morning (late ticket), these areas were full. Admittedly we were seated straight away, but the overall atmosphere was that it was very full and busy, and not in the least exclusive.
Second morning (early ticket), same again. Breakfast with 200 other people is hardly exclusive.
Third and fourth mornings (both late tickets) were much quieter, possibly about half the number of people. In numbers and atmosphere it was more as we had expected. For anyone only experiencing those days it may well have seemed the exclusive benefit advertised.
We can take or leave close character interaction but on the first 2 days I felt sorry for those families for whom it is important. Instead of waiting for the character to visit their table, as it is intended, some children were running up to the characters and mobbing them, generally with the encouragement of their parents. This detracted from the enjoyment of those people at the table the character was visiting.
The fact that many people didnt appear to understand that the characters would visit each table was one of my first suspicions that there were many people eating breakfast there who were not staying in GF rooms. Also, the numbers just didnt tally if at any one time over 2 sittings there were 200 people eating, that seemed far too many for the number of GF rooms even at full occupancy. Yet the number of people we saw in the GF lounge in the afternoon and evening was tiny, even though the weather was dreadful and youd expect people to be taking a break from the parks. Our room was on the 7th floor and from what we saw and heard Id guess that less than half the rooms were occupied, and I cant see why the numbers would differ much on the other GF floors. In addition, Beaver Creek Tavern is closed so half the hotels breakfast capacity for non-GF guests is not available and these guests have to be provided with breakfast somewhere.
From our second morning, I was convinced that there were probably far more non-GF guests eating breakfast in the GF area than there were those who had paid for the upgrade. Since returning home, I have read reports online of recent Sequoia guests being given GF breakfast tickets for the duration of their stay.
Now to the lounge. If you are thinking of concierge lounges at Disney Florida hotels or, indeed, other hotel chains, think again. There are 2 rooms, one of which is only open for breakfast and contains the buffet area. The other is the one with the tree décor and which is open from 12002230. It is basically a breakfast room with café-style seating, tables and chairs designed for dining, not for having a drink and relaxing. There are only 2 sofas with coffee tables in the area nearest the door the door is always kept open so anyone walking past can see in, and they often wander in just to have a look.
There are drinks menus on the table but only a small proportion of the offerings are included, just tea, coffee, hot chocolate and then soft drinks such as Coke and Minute Maid. The drinks are not self-service. As you enter the room a Cast Member will approach you and ask for your hotel Easy Pass which indicates you have access to the GF room. As you choose a seat they take the ticket away and appear to check it off on a list. They then bring it back to you and take your drinks orders. Between 1600 and 1800 there are snacks the Cast Members refer to them as pastries but to me they were cakes. Some afternoons the CM brought them to the table, a plate with a selection of small cakes (brownies, coconut macaroons, madeleines, doughnuts); other afternoons the same selection was set out on a small buffet area for you to serve yourself.
It was a quiet retreat but it wasnt particularly comfortable or relaxing. Certainly not what we have experienced of several hotel lounges elsewhere. In truth, it is that you have access to the breakfast room during the afternoon and evening.
Another consideration, depending on what time you plan to leave on departure day. We were returning on the direct Eurostar which doesnt leave until 1800, and we had thought the lounge would be useful as somewhere to wait that afternoon. But then on our second day I overheard a conversation which made me think perhaps this wouldnt be an option. So I went to the GF reception area to check, where I was told unequivocally that we would only have access to the GF room until 1100 on our day of departure. In other words, we would get breakfast but not be allowed into the GF room that afternoon. This really knocked me for six, and together with the breakfast situation and the lounge being somewhat lacking, I was seriously questioning just why I had paid the GF upgrade.
In the event, on our last full day as we left the lounge, the CM said See you tomorrow. That encouraged us to give it a try on our departure day. We spent the morning in the park, then had lunch, but then had a few hours to kill so we decided to risk it and see if we would be allowed access to the lounge. The same CM was on duty, he took our ticket as usual and we took a seat. When he came over we were prepared that he might ask us to leave but he didnt, he chatted as usual and brought our drinks.
So you may have the same experience. But just be aware that the official line from the GF reception is that you only have access to the lounge until 1100 on departure day.
I must say that all the GF CMs we met, both at breakfast and later in the day, were friendly and pleasant, without exception. Far more than in the parks, these CMs definitely had the Disney touch.
As with any holiday, your experience may vary from ours. I just want to let people know what our experience of the Golden Forest concept was because it was certainly not as we expected nor, I believe, as we paid for. I want people to be fully aware of how it may be so that they can make an informed decision as to whether it is worth it for their family.
Please feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try my best to answer. I do have some photos of the Golden Forest room but havent downloaded them yet. I will post them as soon as I get chance.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I definitely feel you should put your very well put and detailed comments to guest relations. I'm one of those excitingly anticipating a GF room later this year so very concerned now. I think I might even look into changing our booking to the HNY instead. Please let us know what response if any you get from Disney. 
