Golden forest?

[noodlesmum]

Hi all,

Im trying to convince my DH that by the time we have paid for our offsite hotel at Christmas plus Tickets/annual passes that we may aswell just stay onsite and have a bit more magic

I would normally go for the APs but it's unlikely that we will return again in a 12 month period and as our dates are high season we would need to buy dream passes for our trip which doesn't really seem worth the outlay to use them only once.

With going at Christmas I think sequoia would be the best hotel to stay at and soak up some Christmas magic (especially now finding out if we stay at Santa Fe the park breakfast is unlikely ) so I was wondering now about the golden forest rooms. Information on the Disney site is shockingly sparse about them!

I'm sure someone has stayed in these rooms and I wondered if they could offer some advice?

1) Where is the lounge? Is it on the ground floor?

2) are all the GF rooms in the main building?

3) can you take the complimentary drinks out of the lounge? I love that big fireplace and would rather relax with a drink there than locked away in a lounge somewhere

4) can someone explain the complimentary fast pass to me - is it just one per day? To be used on one ride? Do they give you these daily? Or say if you are staying 5 nights can you use all 5 in one week then just not have any for the rest of the week?

5) does anyone have any pictures? They are surprisingly hard to find!

6) other than the coffee machine in the room are there any other differences between that and a "normal" room?

Finally just a general question - I haven't stayed at SL for over ten years and I've read quite a lot that people find the pool cold - I don't remember this being the case but I was ten years younger with no kids lol! What are other peoples opinions on this - is it cold? Too cold for little ones?

Thanks so much for you help - hopefully armed with these answers I can convince DH

 

[Dobbycog]

So we stayed in gf in march.
1) the lounge is on the ground floor, just round from the shop. It's nice and peaceful, tables, sofas and TV for littlies. We used it for some calm down time and it does have cakes in the afternoon.
2) rooms are on 5,6,7 floors of the main building. We had lake view on 7th floor. We had view of the castle and with windows open could watch some of dreams and fireworks, including hearing the music.
3) we had mixed experience about taking drinks out. Some days we could, others we were refused. I'm sure if you explained they may let you.
4) the fast pass is one per night, they are dated but can be stamped by reception if not used that day. They allow fp access to one ride with fp You can then also get regular fp on top. The hotel one cannot be used between 1-4pm and often it's bit mad straight away at 4, so wait half hour and use then.
5) I've pics of the lounge but don't know how to share- sorry!!
6) you get a kettle and a nespresso machine. We also had a fridge in the room, useful for keeping bits in it.
We didn't use the pool, but I think it may be cooler than some uk pools but is imagine it would be ok

Also breakfast is calmer, no time slots and although characters won't be there after November, it was quite a relaxed affair. No waiting on tables and plenty of breakfast- including hot American breakfast from November.

 

[noodlesmum]

Thanks for this So I presume when you say you can get the FP stamped by reception that means that then you could then use them the following day? Also as we will be travelling with a baby that's really useful to know that there is a fridge in the room

Can I be cheeky and ask if you had to pay extra for a high/lakeside room? being able to watch dreams and the Fireworks sounds amazing especially as the baby will be in bed by then!

Thanks for your help

 

[Dobbycog]

No problem, yes if it's stamped you can use next day. When we went it was pretty quiet and so we barely used fp at all!! However it did mean the 3 adults who rode coasters could use the extras on some bigger rides and minimise wait for oh and monkey pants (2).
We took few drinks with us, they went in fridge and when we did get drinks to take away we used it to keep them cool.
We didn't know we had lake view until we arrived!! I don't remember paying extra, but I might have missed it! Combined with having a nightmare booking process and a very difficult trip many years ago! So I'm not sure if these contributed to our upgrade!! That said they seemed to be redoing things in non-lake view rooms when we passed so it may just have been their convenience. No harm in emailing and expressing your excitement at visit, baby's first trip.....then inserting a comment about you were wondering if a lake view room would be possible? Those that don't ask and all that!!

 

[noodlesmum]

Fantastic oh I have no issues emailing and asking for a little extra magic! It will be baby's first trip so I would be being honest! Thank you again for your help

 

[noodlesmum]

We've just booked! 28th - 31st Dec in a GF room So excited! I'd still appreciate pictures if anyone has any of wither the rooms or the lounge

 

[Tinydancer34]

We went in Feb 2008 and the pool was absolutely freezing my son who was 11 at the time refused to go in there after the first day!

 

[Mum to Belle]

We've just booked! 28th - 31st Dec in a GF room So excited! I'd still appreciate pictures if anyone has any of wither the rooms or the lounge

Good choice! I have some photos - not sure if I posted them before but I'll try & upload. Pool was better this time, they had a sign up showing the temperature & while not warm it was warmer!

 

[noodlesmum]

Good choice! I have some photos - not sure if I posted them before but I'll try & upload.

Thank you!! Any would be appreciated I've had a bit of a tough time "selling" this to DH without any visual aids!

Pool was better this time, they had a sign up showing the temperature & while not warm it was warmer!

Great to hear!!

Thank you so much