HAVING A GRAND OLD TIME! The 2013 Grand Floridian Resort & Villas FAQ

[davale4]

We have looked so many times at DVC and I just can't commit. I think its the kitchen...lol!! I just don't want to see one while I am away!!! Never mind the laundry room!!

I find it hard to commit too. I don't feel ready for it and I would definitely not even step into the kitchen either .

 

[BreezysMom]

Just read the same thing!!! I would love to bounce back for the holidays!!!



We have looked so many times at DVC and I just can't commit. I think its the kitchen...lol!! I just don't want to see one while I am away!!! Never mind the laundry room!!

I find it hard to commit too. I don't feel ready for it and I would definitely not even step into the kitchen either .

So funny! This is why I do not think I will EVER do DVC. I go on vacation so I do not have to cook! There is nothing like 8 days of not having to cook, do dishes, make beds or touch a vacuum!

If there is a kitchen and cooking involved then that is a getaway I'll take the vacation thank you and I am looking forward to my Grand Vacation!

 

[BlueSkies]

OMG...I had huge post that just poofed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I don't have time to repost it....I'll have to do it later...

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday....

 

[mommyrosa2]

We have looked so many times at DVC and I just can't commit. I think its the kitchen...lol!! I just don't want to see one while I am away!!! Never mind the laundry room!!

I find it hard to commit too. I don't feel ready for it and I would definitely not even step into the kitchen either .

We are in the same boat. We keep going back and forth on DVC and I just cannot pull the trigger. I have no desire to spend any time in a kitchen while I'm on vacation and my girls can't stand the thought of sleeping on a sofa bed. Last tour we went on, they actually "thought" DH & I would take the couch while they took the bedroom

 

[ahcupcake]

Good Afternoon How is everyone on this soggy Wednesday? Well it's soggy in my part of PA....I've had some internet issues but I've finally gotten them taken care of, I'm ecstatic to be back online was going through withdrawl

ahcupcake I am so glad that you enjoyed my pics and texts..I always say its the next best thing to being there..happy to share my trip!

Love DWTS....do tell...who is gong to be on it this season???

OK..back on topic....

My GF thought for the day~ lol.... With the rooms being renovated..will the main lobby be renovated too??? Not a full reno....but the wall paper and furnishings to keep everything tied together...with the new look in Gaspies...which ties in with the look in the VGF lobby?? As usual..inquiring mind here...

Yes it is, love when friends that have trips planned offer texts to those of have no trips planned.......I'm not too thrilled with seasons crop of celebs, although NeNe from RHoA will be on and I think my Maks finally got a winner.........I was wondering if the lobby was going to be reno'd too? But didn't they just(well a few yrs ago) change the carpet & put in those fab marble floors?

Hi ahcupcake, nice to see you posting again. Thank you for your thoughts.

You're Welcome

There isn't a bad view from any room in the main building aka RPC...

There are two room categories for "regular" rooms..standard room and TPV..The TPV rooms have a distant but very nice view of the castle... The "standard" views are either of the courtyard pool area..or off of the the atrium area..with a view towards the VGF and the Poly...(these rooms while in the standard category are larger than the rooms with a courtyard view..and have a small entrance hallway and a wet bar as well)

Agree no bad views from RPC, I personally love the courtyard pool view

Morning Everyone!!!


Regarding Big Pine Key and views...I think I have been in almost every room with a garden view. I am a people watcher so I rather look at the kids in the pool then the lake. We had a ground floor ONCE....which included a VERY large black rat snake after day 4. They said he was wrapped up under the couch and it could have been there a while. Needless to say, we got a beautiful suite very high...lol lol!! I still choose Big Pine Key with a no ground floor. I haven't had a problem yet!!!

Hi WishesQueen Good to "see" you again.........I remember that snake problem<shivers>

So happy! Today was my ADR day and the GF IPO got us everything we asked for at the exact times! My e-mail came at 6:32 Central Time.
That means 6 months from this very minute, we'll be on a plane bound for The Grand Floridian! First time staying there and I'm so excited!

Yay glad you got all of the adr's that you wanted marlaine8

OMG...I had huge post that just poofed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I don't have time to repost it....I'll have to do it later...

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday....

Eek sorry about the poofed post Blue

 

[davale4]

We are in the same boat. We keep going back and forth on DVC and I just cannot pull the trigger. I have no desire to spend any time in a kitchen while I'm on vacation and my girls can't stand the thought of sleeping on a sofa bed. Last tour we went on, they actually "thought" DH & I would take the couch while they took the bedroom

Too funny! I can see my kids thinking the same thing .

 

[davale4]

So funny! This is why I do not think I will EVER do DVC. I go on vacation so I do not have to cook! There is nothing like 8 days of not having to cook, do dishes, make beds or touch a vacuum!

If there is a kitchen and cooking involved then that is a getaway I'll take the vacation thank you and I am looking forward to my Grand Vacation!

I'm happy with my yearly stay at the GF . I don't think DVC is beneficial for us right now. The more I research, the more I see it's not for us.

 

[mmkenn]

So funny! This is why I do not think I will EVER do DVC. I go on vacation so I do not have to cook! There is nothing like 8 days of not having to cook, do dishes, make beds or touch a vacuum!

If there is a kitchen and cooking involved then that is a getaway I'll take the vacation thank you and I am looking forward to my Grand Vacation!

This is exactly why we won't do DVC either! I will plan and plan before we get to WDW, but once I am there, I will not cook or clean! Doesn't housekeeping only come 1 every 3 days in DVC also? My only wish would be for an in room washer/dryer because I will occasionally do one wash while we are there.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hello, my GF friends! I was offline one day and the thread took off! I skimmed through a bit, I'll try to answer a couple questions that may still need some input - if we missed any, post again, I'm sure someone will answer.

OMG...I had huge post that just poofed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I don't have time to repost it....I'll have to do it later...

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday....

Gaaah - hate it when that happens! Hope you are having a good day, too.

I am getting "antsy" again about which room type to request for our RPC Deluxe (two Queen) trip. I do understand that nothing is guaranteed and will love whatever we end up with, but want to at least put in our room requests and see what happens.

I have seen the two different shape room layouts and we are leaning towards requesting one of the rectangle shaped rooms (silly, but my husband likes the direct view of the TV when falling asleep).

However, I am wondering if the views from the triangle shaped rooms are better or if the water view has now been obscured by the VGF building.

Thanks for your wisdom!!

Nothing is guaranteed, but there are so few of those rooms and IPO tries very hard to give requests when they can, so there's a good chance you'll be able to have whichever type you prefer.

The views from the triangular deluxe rooms are over the beach pool, looking toward VGF and the Poly. VGF will take up a lot of the view, but I'm sure it is still very pretty. On the other hand, the rectangular deluxe rooms, overlooking the courtyard, have pretty views and a good chance of seeing the higher fireworks if you happen to be in the room during Wishes.

HTH!

BTW - that in room w/d is the only real draw for me, too.

I thought I may have read this somewhere.... but are GF standard rooms the only standard deluxes that have king beds? And is that true - a standard room can come with a king instead of 2 queens?

Also - are any of those cute dormer rooms standard kings by any chance?? Are they popular?

Husband and I still dreaming of staying here, we might just splurge for our anniversary

Sorry, I think we are all a little confused with this question. I'll see if I can help at all, if not, just ask again, hopefully we'll be able to work it out together.

There are standard rooms(booked as "garden view") with king beds at the GF, but not many. For the outer building (non-club level) rooms, it is by request only, you cannot pay and have it guaranteed. Make the request on your reservation.

In the Main Bldg. (all club level) there are a very few garden view king rooms, again request only. You can book a room called a "king deluxe - main building" room, which has a guaranteed king bed. There are two types: 9 rooms on the second floor, basically the same as standard rooms but with a Jacuzzi tub and views of the Castle; and 6 turret rooms on either end of the Beach Pool side of the lobby atrium, with more space, a larger walk in closet and a garden tub (no balcony). These rooms are among the most expensive at the resort, outside of the suites.

The dormer rooms are popular with some, less so with others (including me!) for the enclosed balconies. There may be a few with king beds, in fact I vaguely recall seeing a photo, so there is a chance, at least.

HTH! If you need more info, don't hesitate to ask, it's why we're here.

 

[stazmatic]

This may have been asked before - but I couldn't find it. Are guests allowed to play the piano in the main lobby?

 

[WishesQueen]

Morning all!!

In NY with wind that sounds like it could blow my house down!!!
Done with winter!!! Come on Spring!!!

Waiting to call for discount this morning. I hope the info was good.

This may have been asked before - but I couldn't find it. Are guests allowed to play the piano in the main lobby?

I have seen guest play the piano with the pianist standing next to them. I am assuming they asked or paid. I will tell you that the guests played very well!! I have also seen guest sing with the orchestra....that was a lot of fun!!

 

[jojomickey]

Good morning everyone
I didn't think the DVC would be for us either but we go every year and two rooms was just not enough space for us . I will not be cooking or doing laundry but it is nice to know that I can throw something in the washer if I choose too. I will pay the extra for the maid service every day, but will miss the turn down service at night but that's ok, I really think we will enjoy the extra space .

 

[disneynutz]

Good morning everyone
I didn't think the DVC would be for us either but we go every year and two rooms was just not enough space for us . I will not be cooking or doing laundry but it is nice to know that I can throw something in the washer if I choose too. I will pay the extra for the maid service every day, but will miss the turn down service at night but that's ok, I really think we will enjoy the extra space .

If you are a regular WDW vacationer, DVC can save you some money depending on the resort, room size, price paid, and how often you vacation. We do not miss someone coming into our room to clean daily, we just don't make enough mess to bother with it. We cook if we feel like it and save even more money which we use to extend our stay. We pack light and throw stuff in the laundry as needed.

DVC isn't without it's issues and learning the system prior to purchase takes some commitment but the cost savings has allowed us to vacation at WDW on a regular bases.

Bill

 

[grannyminnie]

This may have been asked before - but I couldn't find it. Are guests allowed to play the piano in the main lobby?

We have seen it happen; once a parent asked if the child could play (I believe Christian was performing at the time). I thought that the child was going to be a prodigy, but he only played a simple piece. (only a little elevated from Chopsticks!) I thought I saw a look of on Christian's face!

Blue, it was a good visit with my Dad, altho still sad. It was good to hug my sisters again.

Wishes, I remember that awful snake story... We don't like first floor rooms either, because of that, but last visit, did have one, and survived!!

Altho those DVC rooms are gorgeous, I don't think we will ever book one. I love the thought of the lounge too much!!

It's after 7, and I haven't seen any Disney Visa discount info...where is it?

 

[k&a&c'smom]

grannyminnie -

This may have been asked before - but I couldn't find it. Are guests allowed to play the piano in the main lobby?

As others posted, the pianist will sometimes let a guest play, but I thought I would add - the piano is locked when the pianist is not in the lobby.

 

[MommyGina]

Hi Friends! I am waiting for next Monday when, I believe, the general public discount will come out. Whatever we save, it is more spending money for me at Disney.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hey, MommyGina! Good luck with your discount hunt.

If you are a regular WDW vacationer, DVC can save you some money depending on the resort, room size, price paid, and how often you vacation. We do not miss someone coming into our room to clean daily, we just don't make enough mess to bother with it. We cook if we feel like it and save even more money which we use to extend our stay. We pack light and throw stuff in the laundry as needed.

DVC isn't without it's issues and learning the system prior to purchase takes some commitment but the cost savings has allowed us to vacation at WDW on a regular bases.

Bill

Thanks for giving some perspective! I hope the DVC regulars will continue to add their comments and advice, VGF is so new most of us on the FAQ need help.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Well....the discount roulette wheel landed on GF this morning! I was able to get a 35% discount off a GV room July 23 - 29. Was cheaper than CR and Poly which had lesser discounts or disc only on higher room categories. Go figure Anyhoo......REALLY hoping that the refurb room touches will be modified just a bit to include at least the nesting table. If not, we will make the best of it. Probably have to bring in an extra chair from the balcony...lol

 

[DisneyDreamingInMI]

Well....the discount roulette wheel landed on GF this morning! I was able to get a 35% discount off a GV room July 23 - 29. Was cheaper than CR and Poly which had lesser discounts or disc only on higher room categories. Go figure Anyhoo......REALLY hoping that the refurb room touches will be modified just a bit to include at least the nesting table. If not, we will make the best of it. Probably have to bring in an extra chair from the balcony...lol

Congrats - how exciting!!! I'll keep my fingers crossed about that nesting table!! I was surprised that it wasn't in our refurbished room in Conch Key after seeing the pictures that CircusGirl (if I recall correctly) posted of the empty nesting table boxes?!?! Maybe another poster will chime in and report if any nesting tables have been added to the room.

That discount makes me want to call my DH and ask about a quick getaway to the Grand this summer!!! He'll probably keel over since we were just there in February!!!

By the way, was the discount with the Disney Visa? Do you happen to know when the discounts will be released to the general public? Thanks!

Edited to add: Sorry, I just read above that the discounts for the general public may be released next Monday. Missed that on my first read through!!!

 

[yce22princess]

Joining you guys over on this thread! I switched us from a CR GW room to a GF GV room for the 35% discount this morning! Sooooo excited!!! Can't wait for July!!