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

[ClareH37]

CLAREH37!! HELLO!!

I just made a GF TPV booking for my June trip (also staying BWV) nice to see you still going back to your happy place! Always remember Christmas dinner at Cape May

Hello you too Your June trip sounds amazing, I love the BW area so much but equally looking forward to shifting out of my comfort zone this time round.

Oh yes, how can we forget our Christmas dinner at Cape May, loved it

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi Ladies. I have enjoyed reading/catching up on the latest on the G.F. It really makes me want to stay there again soon! I am so hoping for an October pin so I can start my planning.

I hope a good discount comes your way and you are able to get back to the GF in the fall .

Happy Saturday GF thread! Thank you so much for all of the information you have provided me as we prepare for our first GF stay in July!! We are booked SL for mid July - what are the odds that they will really be done with the refurb by then? I love the look of the new rooms and would love to experience them!

Everything seems to be on schedule so far, so I think the chances of SL being done by mid-July are pretty good .

I originally booked RPC for May, then got a little jittery (OK, a lot jittery ) at the thought of not staying in my favourite resort area which is the Epcot area, so cancelled and switched to the YC CL. But there's something about the GF, particularly RPC, that is so appealing and I've switched back.

I'm staying at the Waldorf for a couple of non park days before moving over to RPC for some park time but also spa and relaxation time Disney style

I keep reading this thread over and over again, I know the resort is even more beautiful in reality and I cannot wait

Congrats on switching back to RPC. We've stayed at the BC and while we liked the resort, for us, there's nothing like the MK area....and staying GF RPC just can't be beat . Have a great trip!

 

[yce22princess]

Happy Saturday GF thread! Thank you so much for all of the information you have provided me as we prepare for our first GF stay in July!! We are booked SL for mid July - what are the odds that they will really be done with the refurb by then? I love the look of the new rooms and would love to experience them!

Looks like SL is supposed to start June 1st, so hopefully it'll be done by mid-July!! We are requesting Sago...maybe our paths will cross!

 

[MommyGina]

Hi Blue and k&a&c'smom! Hope all is well.

Ferrintinos - SL will be open beginning July 1!!! We are booked in SL from July 15-23. I know that one of our other friends here will also be in SL at the same time. It would be fun to meet with all of you. My GF vacation can't come soon enough.

DS heard from top choice. He was accepted to the branch, not main campus.

Have a Grand Saturday my friends!

 

[Ferrentinos]

Everything seems to be on schedule so far, so I think the chances of SL being done by mid-July are pretty good .

YAY!!!!

Looks like SL is supposed to start June 1st, so hopefully it'll be done by mid-July!! We are requesting Sago...maybe our paths will cross!

Definitely! I'm sure we will both be visiting the pools frequently with the July heat!

Ferrintinos - SL will be open beginning July 1!!! We are booked in SL from July 15-23. I know that one of our other friends here will also be in SL at the same time. It would be fun to meet with all of you. My GF vacation can't come soon enough.

Those are our exact dates! July 15 - 23! Great prices on JetBlue which was why we booked those dates. How funny is that!?!? I'm sure we will see lots of each other in the lounge!

 

[Gryhndmom]

Congrats on your first GF stay, you will love the resort.

It would help to know what kinds of things you would like to hear. There's a lot of info on the first page, if you want to explore there to learn about the resort.

The grounds are beautiful just to stroll around; we like sitting in the lobby any time, but especially in the late afternoon to listen to the music; browsing the shops; having a drink at Mizner's is relaxing, especially if you catch Wishes (can't see it all, but the bigger shots are visible); afternoon tea at the Garden View Tea Room; grabbing a snack at Gasparilla's and sitting on the marina landing, waiting for Wishes; watching EWP; having a drink and a swim (seeing a pattern? ); renting a Sea Raycer or two and zipping along SSL; having dinner at Citricos, Narcoossee's or...be still my heart...V&A's. So many things, love the Grand.

HTH!

You are my kind of gal...have a drink...watch the sights, have a drink go shopping etc...love it !

Loved all the info on the 1st pages...looks like I will be well fed at the concierge lounge so no worries there. Since I have a late afternoon return flight on my checkout day I have two questions. Any luck getting a late checkout time and if I have to check my bags with the bellman will I still have access to the concierge lounge ?

Much thanks! Only 42 more days!

 

[mickeynut1]

Loved all the info on the 1st pages...looks like I will be well fed at the concierge lounge so no worries there. Since I have a late afternoon return flight on my checkout day I have two questions. Any luck getting a late checkout time and if I have to check my bags with the bellman will I still have access to the concierge lounge ?

Much thanks! Only 42 more days!

You will have access to the lounge until midnight of your check out day . Late check out depends on how busy the resort is and some say you have to check with housekeeping the day before as they are the ones who make the decision, but we had a late check out once at the WL and I got approval from the front desk . With that said, staying CL may be different, so hopefully someone else will be able to give more insight to who makes that decision.

 

[burnetta696]

Eeek, put in my building request today for my first ever stay at the GF. Trip is in just about 2 months and I can't believe it's coming up so fast. We have a garden view room, so I requested Conch Key- SE facing. Used touring plans to get an idea of the view. Hoping its a good one. On a side note- has anyone ever shipped bottled water and other groceries to the GF from amazon or walmart? Definitely want to ship at least the water and just trying to find the best way to do so.

 

[trishadono]

Eeek, put in my building request today for my first ever stay at the GF. Trip is in just about 2 months and I can't believe it's coming up so fast. We have a garden view room, so I requested Conch Key- SE facing. Used touring plans to get an idea of the view. Hoping its a good one. On a side note- has anyone ever shipped bottled water and other groceries to the GF from amazon or walmart? Definitely want to ship at least the water and just trying to find the best way to do so.

My dates are 5/30-6/4 at the poly CL but I will be visiting gf a lot

One of the good things about gf is that the views are all great

I am not sure about shipping water but some people buy water at that gas station near Epcot area.

Keeping my fingers crossed for no rain for our trip

 

[mickeynut1]

Eeek, put in my building request today for my first ever stay at the GF. Trip is in just about 2 months and I can't believe it's coming up so fast. We have a garden view room, so I requested Conch Key- SE facing. Used touring plans to get an idea of the view. Hoping its a good one. On a side note- has anyone ever shipped bottled water and other groceries to the GF from amazon or walmart? Definitely want to ship at least the water and just trying to find the best way to do so.

You are going to love the GF . We've never stayed in Conch, but IMO, there isn't a bad building at the GF. I can't help with your shipping question as we've never done that, but hopefully someone else will be able to give you some insight .

 

[gocubsgo]

Has anyone stayed at Boca Chica recently? IS the room rehab completed there? Would like to stay there in an updated room-unless active remodeling is taking place.
Thanks

 

[mickeynut1]

Has anyone stayed at Boca Chica recently? IS the room rehab completed there? Would like to stay there in an updated room-unless active remodeling is taking place.
Thanks

I'm not sure if Boca Chica is completely done yet, but if not, it should be close as it was started the beginning of February. If you are wondering about other buildings, the refurb schedule is at the top of the first page of this thread .

 

[marlaine8]

How is the transportation at GF? How long after boarding does it take on ME? We've always stayed at The Polynesian, and I can't remember if we were on the same ME bus or not. I'm assuming the GF is the last stop?

Also, does anyone know how long it takes by bus to get to AK? We have a 8:00 a.m. breakfast reservation at Tusker House.

 

[Tink rules]

My dates are 5/30-6/4 at the poly CL but I will be visiting gf a lot

One of the good things about gf is that the views are all great

I am not sure about shipping water but some people buy water at that gas station near Epcot area.

Keeping my fingers crossed for no rain for our trip

I hope you're staying on the pool side... the construction pics are quite messy right now...

 

[gdrj]

It looks like you saved about 17% on your room ($369). Was your original 7/23 - 7/29 booking made using the summer discount codes?

I want to believe that there's a deal out there, but I'm skeptical because I have tested several different booking options and haven't been able to beat the rates offered through Disney directly.

The discount "can" be real. I used cheaptickets.com (orbitz owned). We added a last minute night at POR before moving to VGF. Disney site had room with taxes at about $199 (booked this a few months back on Disney site with Spring Promo). Later I was able to use a cheap tickets 20% off, which saved some money. The following week they had a 30% off for first 200 people. I ended with room with taxes at $153 (April 11 arrival). While looking at the site sometimes the site was day or two behind the Disney site rate, other times Disney had raised their rate (based on occupancy) and the site had not. Looking more recently I have not seen that the Disney World Hotels have been eligible for Promo, but it could be worth checking it out.

 

[marlaine8]

Could someone give me some suggestions for room requests for RPC? From previous responses, I've narrowed it down to asking for the 4th floor (although I won't complain about the 5th floor, as someone suggested).
And from what you guys have already told me, I'm interested in a full balcony-no dormer.
Our reservation is for a Standard Queen room.

I guess I'm asking about views.

 

[trishadono]

Could someone give me some suggestions for room requests for RPC? From previous responses, I've narrowed it down to asking for the 4th floor (although I won't complain about the 5th floor, as someone suggested).
And from what you guys have already told me, I'm interested in a full balcony-no dormer.
Our reservation is for a Standard Queen room.

I guess I'm asking about views.

The views are pretty good everywhere. We had a deluxe king on the back by the monorail and our view was still a good view of VGF, poly and pool.

Luckily I read here about the elevator to the courtyard pool. It was a long walk from our room near lobby to the elevator. I believe the MKV rooms are by the elevator to pool and the regular rooms in the center. By the lobby are mostly suites but we got one room there for a night because I requested a king. They have a few that can connect to a suite. I loved being that close to lobby. I would stand and overlook the balcony rail below before exiting/entering the room

Others will know if different but my guess is you will be in that center section. The view of courtyard pool has been posted many times and looks lovely.

Also we were on 3 and 5th floors and had fun running up and down the cute staircase by the lounge. The elevator never took long though if you prefer that.

We loved RPC so much dh and I barely left the building.

Just came back to add one more thing. Make the time to head up to the 5th floor and walk around. The views are amazing! By the last day dh and I just took our food up there to eat.

 

[MommyGina]

Could someone give me some suggestions for room requests for RPC? From previous responses, I've narrowed it down to asking for the 4th floor (although I won't complain about the 5th floor, as someone suggested).
And from what you guys have already told me, I'm interested in a full balcony-no dormer.
Our reservation is for a Standard Queen room.

I guess I'm asking about views.

We love room 4403. No palm tree in the way of the castle or fireworks. Stayed in this room last year. It is away from the noise of people up and down the hall, but away from the lounge. It is a full room with regular balcony and two queen beds.

 

[BlueGiraffe]

I've just paid the final balance. Wahoo!!! It's official - we're coming to the GF!

 

[Mousemommy1]

I've just paid the final balance. Wahoo!!! It's official - we're coming to the GF!

Congrats!!! What a great feeling!!! We are all PIF as well, however, I keep toying with the idea of adding CL....and then we wouldn't be anymore.....