Grand Floridian pros and cons?

[pizza45]

Having a hard time deciding on where to stay;
Think we have it narrowed down to GF but would love to hear others thoughts and the pros and cons.
We have 3 kids ages 17,12, and 10.
Any info is appreciated; Thanks!

 

[clapton]

We love the GF, it's beautiful. The GF cafe is one of my favorite restaurants, the grounds and pools are beautiful and it's one stop from the MK. The lobby is absolutely gorgeous. Nothing negative to say about it, you will love!

 

[August2010]

There are only pros! The only con is when you have to go home! (And maybe the price)
The service here is second to none. It has more staff than any other Disney resort. It starts when you check in and they drive you to your room and help you with luggage.
The location is awesome too! Being on the monorail track is so convenient.
The pools and restaurants are a plus too.
Overall it's an amazing resort. You will not regret booking it.

 

[ktlm]

We've stayed at GF a couple of times and enjoyed it.

Pros:

Beautiful resort
Great staff of CMs, they will take good care of you
Proximity to MK- a quick boat or monorail ride away- we actually prefer getting to MK by boat as it is generally much less crowded in the mornings.
Monorail
Several TS restaurants
View of MK fireworks from dock with music piped in.
Good shopping
Live band alternating with piano player in the lobby in the evenings
If you are going during the holiday season it is absolutely gorgeous

Cons:
Bus service can be a pain from there.
Shared busses and GF is the last stop in the mornings, so expect crowded buses and buses passing through that just open the door and say they can take no more passengers.
CS is okay, but we did not find the CS as good as most of the other Deluxe resorts where we have stayed.
Price

To us, while we love the GF, the main drawback is the bad bus service. It is ridiculous for the price that you pay to stay there that they can not do better with the bus service. We have stayed at GF, Poly, WL, BC, AKL and POR and GF has the worst bus service of any of them. The resort is still a great choice though. We do really enjoy it there.

 

[houstonmama]

Dates of stay?

We love GF. The lobby is lovely and so are the grounds. My kids, 5 & 2, really enjoy the pools. Im guessing your kids will be a little big for the little feature splash area but the other two pools are great! The pool area restaurant is very good as well as Grand Flo Cafe. The only con, for us, would be that Gasparillas isn't our favorite but it's easy to jump on the monorail and get to CR, Poly or MK and grab a bite.

I believe they started refreshing the rooms recently. I would check the Grand Flo thread for more info.

 

[HairyChest]

Beautiful grounds even at night
Very relaxing
Themeing is beautiful
Narcoossees is amazing
Pool is large and relaxing
Hot tub
Monorail
Complimentary turn down service with chocolates left on the beds
Recent refurb on the rooms
Bright and airy

Cons:
Price
You wont want to stay anywhere else

 

[kmb584]

The only gripe I have when to comes to the GF is the bus service. It's spotty at best and because the resort is the last stop more often than not the bus that did arrive just left because there wasn't even standing room. It was actually during a stay at GF that we decided we'd be better off with our own vehicle while visiting WDW.

 

[Cotillard]

The only gripe I have when to comes to the GF is the bus service. It's spotty at best and because the resort is the last stop more often than not the bus that did arrive just left because there wasn't even standing room. It was actually during a stay at GF that we decided we'd be better off with our own vehicle while visiting WDW.

Agree.

Only other negative I can think of is the cost

 

[Px4]

We've stayed at GF a couple of times and enjoyed it. Pros: Beautiful resort Great staff of CMs, they will take good care of you Proximity to MK- a quick boat or monorail ride away- we actually prefer getting to MK by boat as it is generally much less crowded in the mornings. Monorail Several TS restaurants View of MK fireworks from dock with music piped in. Good shopping Live band alternating with piano player in the lobby in the evenings If you are going during the holiday season it is absolutely gorgeous Cons: Bus service can be a pain from there. Shared busses and GF is the last stop in the mornings, so expect crowded buses and buses passing through that just open the door and say they can take no more passengers. CS is okay, but we did not find the CS as good as most of the other Deluxe resorts where we have stayed. Price To us, while we love the GF, the main drawback is the bad bus service. It is ridiculous for the price that you pay to stay there that they can not do better with the bus service. We have stayed at GF, Poly, WL, BC, AKL and POR and GF has the worst bus service of any of them. The resort is still a great choice though. We do really enjoy it there.

We are here now and the bus service is horrible. The monorail service to Epcot hasn't been all that great either. If they would run one more monorail to Epcot, that would help.

My only other complaint is the toilet paper holder. Everytime you use it. It falls off. A bit annoying.

Otherwise, we love it here! We have had amazing service since the moment we arrived. We are in Big Pine Key and it's a really good location. We were originally booked in Sugar Loaf but DH wanted to stay in a refurb room more the club level. We regret that choice now. Love the refurb room, just like the location and services offered with club level better.

Narccoossee is AMAZING! We lucked out with seating and getting the amazing Tom as our waiter, but our food was really great. Gasp Grill is what it is. It's good enough. Nothing special. We eat at the Cafe this evening. We have ate there a lot in the last tho and always love it.

With all that said, we do like AKL better. We like everything being in 1 building. But that is the only thing that puts it alittle higher for us. But we would stay here again and again and again!

 

[Px4]

One other con for me I forgot to add, the beds are on the harder size and not very comfy. I really expected a better mattress. My back is killing me from sleeping on it. Maybe it is because I am used to a memory foam bed? But DH and I both felt it was to hard for us.

 

[merriwthr]

We're staying there in a couple of weeks. I had heard about the bus service, but my thought was to just take the boat to MK and grab a bus from there. Is that not a doable option?? I just figured since MK had a huge bus station - that would probably be the easiest way to get to other places instead of waiting for the bus in front of GF. Am I missing something?

Michelle

 

[gogo]

Only con off the top of my head is that there is not a quiet pool. There is a really cute kid's themed pool and the family pool. My personal preference is a quiet pool to escape to.

Depending on your travel party and vacationing style this may not be important. But, what I missed most on my recent GF stay was the quiet pool and hot tub at BWI.

 

[DaisyNY]

Pros...Beautiful resort, convenience of monorail, especially pretty at Christmas with tree, gingerbread house and entertainment in lobby....

Cons...Pricing and if you have teenagers I would seek out a resort with a better pool area...

 

[jeffbear]

Pros are rather obvious

Cons:
Scale of the main building ... some people are put off by that much open air, same as at the Contemporary.

Theming ... it's lovely but Victorian beach resort colors and details just aren't everybody's cup of tea. It's really an issue that keeps me from returning there. I just don't like the colors and general feel of the theming.

Activity level ... like all of the Monorail resorts, it can be kind of a zoo around the resort with a bunch of people headed a bunch of different directions ... not all of whom really know where they're going. It's can be a lot more calm somewhere else if that's an issue for somebody in your group.

 

[disney meema]

I just love it (( swoon )) no resort is perfect but this is pretty close to perfect to me : )

 

[Indio]

We really thought we wouldn't like it - theming just isn't our cup of tea and it felt stuffy when we visited. BUT, when we finally got to stay there for the 1st time (through a convention), we really liked it. It's not stuffy at all when you are staying there and there are a lot of families so it's fun. I still don't love the theming - I'm more of a way out there theming kind of person! And as a previous poster said, those beds are HARD! I didn't sleep the whole time we were there. As soon as we sat down on the plane coming home, I crashed and didn't wake up until we landed - and I never sleep on planes! My family thought I was sick!

Would I stay there again? ABSOLUTELY if I had a deeeeep discount! Wouldn't pay rack rates for it though.

 

[Babsy]

Pros - already stated

Cons - buses (as mentioned)
- walking outdoors from main building to exterior buildings with rooms. Unless you are staying in the main building RPC then you have to go outside from your room to get to the main building where check in, restaurants and transportation are located. For a luxury resort of this caliber I would expect the ability to walk in air conditioning/shelter to resort amenities.

 

[Sue M]

Love GF. We stayed in Boca Chica last summer. The children's activities were held in. Courtyard pool, so we headed to Beach pool.
We found Gasperillas fine. Mostly just had breakfast there.
Rooms are large and comfortable. Grounds are beautiful. I didn't think the bus service was that bad, but it was a short stay. We'll be there 2 weeks in August so guess we will find out then.
We have stayed at Poly and their bus service was great. Can't see why GF would be any different.

 

[toodycat]

It is our absolute favorite resort. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and manicured. The rooms are pretty and among the largest at WDW. Mousekeeping is excellent. Cast members will go out of their way for you. They will make you feel special the very moment you arrive. All the restaurants are excellent. We love having our breakfast at the outdoor tables at Gasparilla's, overlooking the marina. Narcoosee's is great and there is nothing quite like stopping your meal to go out on the dock and view the fireworks. The GF lobby is beautiful and the flower arrangements are breathtaking; there's a pianist who plays Disney tunes throughout the day. Both pools are lovely and very clean. My favorite is the courtyard pool, but the feature pool and splash area are great for kids. The GF also has very nice shopping. Of all the resorts I've visited, the GF is the one where I've purchased the most clothing and gifts.

We've never had much of a problem with transportation. The monorail is super convenient, and the boat to MK is really fun. The captain shared some interesting stories with us. Did you know that on 9/11 all the parks were closed? The only thing that did not break its routine was the evening Electric Water Pageant---another special treat if you stay at the GF or other MK resorts?

The only con I can think of is the price, but it is so worth it!

 

[Scott MC]

Pros:

-You get to tell your friends, "I'm staying at the Grand Floridian." It's a kick.
-The main building has everything you need from the monorail, to shopping, to my favorite restaurants on property (Narcoossee's too!), to a nice lounge, to the music...oh the music!
-The monorail gets you to MK pretty quickly
-Rooms are huge
-The toiletries are my favorites
-If you can afford Club-Level, the RPC in the main building is incredible

Cons:
-It ain't cheap...but I'm sure you knew that.
-I'm not crazy about the newly renovated rooms. They look like what you'd find at any Marriott, Sheraton or Hilton...which is fine for those hotels, but I expect something really special from Disney's flagship resort.
-Staff: we found them a bit stuffy compared to the staff at any of the Epcot resorts.
-Transportation: I've stayed at 11 WDW hotels, and I have to say it was the worst at the GF. Yes, it's convenient to get TO the MK, but it's a long ride back, you have to switch monorails to get to Epcot, and I once took a bus ride back from DHS that took over an hour. It was a real pain.