Grand Floridian Room help please

[MatthewNY]

I thought I had this all figured out but I was reading some old posts and some issues came up.

I have a lagoon view room via CRO with the request "Magic Kingdom View" on the reservation. I was going to send a more elaborate fax to the hotel 4 days prior to basically say "Unobstructed Magic Kingdom View - Big Pine Key end wing or Boca Chica, dormer room if possible". Now after reading some old posts around the boards I'm not sure if this is what I should do. Here are my questions and if anyone can help I'd appreciate it.

- Dormer Balconies, is it true they are poor for a small child? I have a 4 year old daughter and someone mentioned they wouldn't recomend thier room for a small child, I guess they were saying the balcony didn't have bars so for the child to see thru without being picked up, they didn't mention it was a dormer room but I got that impression. If so, maybe I should request just a high floor with a full balcony ? Not sure if that is the way to word it.

- Magic Kingodom View / Water Pagent View - which buildings have the best views of the fireworks and water pageant ? I was told Boca Chica or the end wing of Big Pine. (I realize the main wing of Big Pine doesn't.)

- Proximity to the pool/monorail. I know this is a relative issue. It's not that I'm lazy as much as I tend to get wiped out with my daughter. I keep looking at the map wondering if I should even care which building I'm in as they don't seen all that far. (I've been there once before as well.) But maybe you GF vets could put it into perspective for me.

- Fax or Call ? WDWIG insists fax is better yet on her site she does include a letter from someone saying they were told they prefer a phone call. Any exp with this ?

So there it is, I'm not even sure I should ask for anything more than the "Magic Kindom View" that is on my CRO reservation, but I guess I need something to think about for the next 2 weeks.

Thanks for the help

Matt

 

[Snurk71]

The dormer balconies are pretty small. A lot of people don't care for them that want to spend time on the balcony. I think they might have a higher railing or some kind of viewing obstruction too, as I recall someone mentioning that they couldn't see MK from their bed.

Boca Chica will have the most rooms with water pageant and fireworks views.

And all the buildings are close to the pools. Big Pine would be the closest - right next to the quiet pool and closest to the new pool. Boca Chica would be next closest - right next to the quiet pool, but a little farther from the new pool.

 

[ZerasPride]

DH and I stayed at the Grand Floridian a couple of years ago and had a wonderful experience. I faxed the room assigner/controller a few days before our stay. It was during a time when there was a lot of renovation going on at the hotel and I was a little concerned about it so I called. I was informed that we had been upgraded from our gardenview to a lagoonview. In my fax I said something like, "We are hoping to be upgraded to a Magic Kingdom and/or lagoon view room with a king bed. We have heard absolutely wonderful things about Sago Cay and would like to request a dormer room there or in Big Pine Key." We checked in to the most absolutely perfect room IMHO. We had a totally unobstructed view of the MK and the fireworks were spectacular. We were actually able to sit on our balcony or the king bed and watch the fireworks each night. Also, the first night I was in the bathroom and heard music and was totally delighted to find the EWP went right past us.

I hope you have a wonderful trip and get your MK view. We really enjoyed ours!

 

[beattyfamily]

I'm of the opinion that I shouldn't ask for too much or give too many details or criteria about location and bldg, room etc...

I pick the 2 most important and mention them when I make the reservation and that's it. Usually it's a MK view and close to the main bldg if possible.

We stayed at GF last year on DVC points. We had no choice; it was the luck of the draw but I did say in my phone call I'd love a MK view if possible.

Much to my surprise, we were in the Boca Chica bldg with an amazing view of the lagoon; MK, the other resorts, and the whole lagoon. IMHO, Boca Chica has the most rooms with a view of the whole lagoon and MK.

It is VERY close to the adult/quiet pool and a few steps away from the new pool.

My fear is if I ask for too much, I won't get anything, not even the most important one, a view of MK.

Good luck!