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

[mommyrosa2]

I've done it many times. It's easy. You order online a week before. (Don't wait too long because they only accept a certain number of orders each day and you might miss out during a busy period.) If you can't find something on the list, you write it in under the Comments section, including alcohol.

If you set up the order for a time you're going to be there, they will deliver it right to your room. If you're not there, they'll hold it at Bell Services, and even refrigerate cold items. (Though that involves more expense and I'm not sure how much Bell Services enjoys having a bunch of grocery bags hanging around. Plus it's a little embarrassing when they come walking down the pathway with all your grocery items hanging off the luggage cart. )

They call you on your cell phone when they're on their way, but pay attention to your phone because it's easy to miss the call, which I've done while right at the pool.

You can include the tip when you place your order if you want (which is good if you miss seeing them to give cash) and there is a fee for the order.

We didn't do an order last month because I was planning to upgrade to Concierge, but as I mentioned, the resort was full and it didn't work out this time. But I missed having some of the items I usually get, although we picked up a few things at the Hess station to the left just inside the MK gate.

FYI re: Hess if it's helpful to anyone - they have Nathan's hot dogs 2/$3 and whole pizzas for $6, as well as inexpensive subs, breakfast sandwiches and pastries, etc. (They have items like beer, wine, Mike's, too. ) When we ran in all the local construction workers were getting lunch there. Worth a trip if you have a car. If you don't, there are actually quite a few items at each resort's store. (I think I posted some pics a few pages back.)

Thanks for this... I'd actually prefer to plan delivery once we're there as I don't want to deal with lugging anything nor do I want to inconvenience bell services to have to make the delivery...I'll have to see how that goes. As far as ordering, would you say like a month before is good or is that way too early?

Hi all,

I'm so excited to join this thread. I've always wanted to stay at the GF and just booked using that awesome travel agent deal! We'll be there August 17-21 next year.

... they do have a great deal... congrats!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hi all,

I'm so excited to join this thread. I've always wanted to stay at the GF and just booked using that awesome travel agent deal! We'll be there August 17-21 next year.

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing how you booked?

Thanks for this... I'd actually prefer to plan delivery once we're there as I don't want to deal with lugging anything nor do I want to inconvenience bell services to have to make the delivery...I'll have to see how that goes. As far as ordering, would you say like a month before is good or is that way too early?

I don't know if it's possible to order that far in advance. I want to say there's a two week window, but I'm not positive. A week or 10 days out should be fine. You can call them beforehand and they can tell you how busy they are on the day you want your delivery and they'll make recommendations on when you should order by, etc. Very user-friendly company!

 

[mommyrosa2]

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing how you booked?


I don't know if it's possible to order that far in advance. I want to say there's a two week window, but I'm not positive. A week or 10 days out should be fine. You can call them beforehand and they can tell you how busy they are on the day you want your delivery and they'll make recommendations on when you should order by, etc. Very user-friendly company!

Perfect....I'm going to check them out online this weekend.

 

[AmyKat]

I ordered from GG about 3 months ahead for our last trip. I had Disney fever bad and needed to do something concrete to feel like I was actively preparing for the trip.

 

[KonaKaiTom]

I forgot to post this before...

It all started with a mouse afterall...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE!

KKTom Thanks for posting that menu...

Room Service Suggestion~

Although it is so nice to have room service delivered right to your room...

Meredith after a travel day I am sure that your parents will enjoy that...

You can have room service delivered to a variety of places..We have a breakfast delivered poolside...also had late nite sandwiches delivered to our window side table in the RPC lounge...and nice way to watch the fireworks and enjoy a meal at the same time...

Just a few ideas...

followthatmouse I am thinking of that Mickey waffle too...I'll take mine with blueberries..Yum!

Oh Mousemommy Do I see a new ticker in your siggie..with a different resort than was listed earlier today...??? lol...

Blueskies, thanks for following up on mine, what a wonderful suggestion!!

Tom

 

[Anonomom]

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing how you booked?

PMd you.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Has anyone ever ordered from them and if so, how was it? I'm thinking since we won't have CL this time, I may want to get a few things, you know the essentials like beer and wine . In all seriousness, I'm thinking it would be nice to order a few things to have in the room, especially water, but don't have any experience doing this. Any advice from folks who have done it? Is it worth it or should we just make a run ourselves upon arrival?

Just wanted to add that we too have used GG several times and will do so again this July. They are AWESOME! We --meaning me...HAHAHA--usually order about two months ahead of time so that I can have no doubt of getting my order scheduled at the time window slot we want. They have always been more than happy to acquire items that are not on their website as long as they are readily available at typical stores in the area. I once asked for a specific wine that I didn't think would be an issue as it is in most groceries here in WI. He called me twice the week before our trip to verify the name as he was having trouble finding. He finally found at the third store even though I gave him an alternative if he didn't want to continue looking. Also ordered large sand buckets/shovels for the girls several years ago in the comments section and they were more than happy to acquire. Last trip we ordered two packages of Oreos and they only delivered one pkg. I did not even notice as we had ordered so much other stuff and the next day there was a phone message for me about the issue(that I was clueless ever happened) and they dropped off the second package at bell services with an apology note.

Needless to say....they get an A++++ from me

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I ordered from GG about 3 months ahead for our last trip. I had Disney fever bad and needed to do something concrete to feel like I was actively preparing for the trip.

Isn't it funny how we find little things to accomplish for our Disney addictions that make us feel temporarily calmed? I booked the resorts. I have a short list of the restaurants we will want ADRs but still unsure as to which will be dinner or lunch ressies. I am jonesing right now because I NEED the July park hours/fireworks/etc to be released so that I can plan our itinerary. UGH!!!

 

[yce22princess]

Isn't it funny how we find little things to accomplish for our Disney addictions that make us feel temporarily calmed? I booked the resorts. I have a short list of the restaurants we will want ADRs but still unsure as to which will be dinner or lunch ressies. I am jonesing right now because I NEED the July park hours/fireworks/etc to be released so that I can plan our itinerary. UGH!!!

I'm the same way! I'm a July person too and I keep going over our ADR "lineup" as I impatiently wait for the July schedules!

 

[red712371]

I just placed my Garden Grocer order for the second week of December. That was the LAST thing that we nedeed to take care of besides packing. I'm so excited - now the trip is real!

This is the first time that I used them and so far, I'm very happy with their customer service. It will be nice to have some drinks in our room.

 

[baler31]

Just wanted to pop in and write a mini review of our Halloween stay.

k&a&c'smom : I did get photos of the courtyard pool area and will add those as soon as I get the photos downloaded.

We had a nice stay in RPC, I believe our room number was 4428 (not very good with the numbers ? Anyway it was one of the slightly odd shaped rooms (that we request and like, no connecting door) when we are unable to book the queen deluxes. It is next to the turret room overlooking the beach pool. We booked the trip the week before so I was happy we got our request and fastpass+ reservations.

The CL offerings and staff were as fabulous as ever. Our room was very clean but our furniture looked like it had been through a tornado, large gouges and general disrepair. No complaints because we knew this would likely be the case as has happened with other rooms.

The food was very good, there were several (new to me) appetizers. I really enjoyed a deconstructed loaded baked potato app one evening, and a tuna app. Breakfast was basically the same but my children noticed that the cinnamon pastries had been replaced with 2 varieties of muffins that they did not care for. I don't eat muffins or sweet things for breakfast so I did not notice but they assured me it was different.

Unlike other CL drink offerings I appreciate the larger variety of sodas in the fridge. We had Ginger Ale, Diet Coke CF in the cooler without having to ask. I did not notice any changes to wines or beers.

One of the main reasons we return are the CM's and they were wonderful. They do seem VERY busy with assisting guests with FP+ reservations and problems. Seems a lot has been added to their duties with no extra concierge CM's added.

Will add photos later. We are returning for Thanksgiving and will be in Sugarloaf for the first time, a little nervous as we love the main building. My husband already commented that for a Mother/Daughter trip I did RPC but with him I booked Sugarloaf. Tried to explain that Thanksgiving was rack rate and Halloween had AP discounts.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Just wanted to add that we too have used GG several times and will do so again this July. They are AWESOME! We --meaning me...HAHAHA--usually order about two months ahead of time so that I can have no doubt of getting my order scheduled at the time window slot we want. They have always been more than happy to acquire items that are not on their website as long as they are readily available at typical stores in the area. I once asked for a specific wine that I didn't think would be an issue as it is in most groceries here in WI. He called me twice the week before our trip to verify the name as he was having trouble finding. He finally found at the third store even though I gave him an alternative if he didn't want to continue looking. Also ordered large sand buckets/shovels for the girls several years ago in the comments section and they were more than happy to acquire. Last trip we ordered two packages of Oreos and they only delivered one pkg. I did not even notice as we had ordered so much other stuff and the next day there was a phone message for me about the issue(that I was clueless ever happened) and they dropped off the second package at bell services with an apology note.

Needless to say....they get an A++++ from me

Wow...that is excellent service. I was talking to DH earlier about GG and just mentioned your experience too and he agrees that we will definitely be ordering from them.

Isn't it funny how we find little things to accomplish for our Disney addictions that make us feel temporarily calmed? I booked the resorts. I have a short list of the restaurants we will want ADRs but still unsure as to which will be dinner or lunch ressies. I am jonesing right now because I NEED the July park hours/fireworks/etc to be released so that I can plan our itinerary. UGH!!!

This is me as well...none of my friends and family understands how or why I plan stuff for Disney so far in advance and I don't understand how anyone could just "wing it" . I've already created my little calendar spreadsheet with our dates and am just waiting until I can plug in park hours so I can then figure out our dinner ressies...obsessed? Maybe to some, but for me? Yeah, not so much...Disney is my happy place after all

 

[mickeynut1]

Just wanted to pop in and write a mini review of our Halloween stay.

k&a&c'smom : I did get photos of the courtyard pool area and will add those as soon as I get the photos downloaded.

We had a nice stay in RPC, I believe our room number was 4428 (not very good with the numbers ? Anyway it was one of the slightly odd shaped rooms (that we request and like, no connecting door) when we are unable to book the queen deluxes. It is next to the turret room overlooking the beach pool. We booked the trip the week before so I was happy we got our request and fastpass+ reservations.

The CL offerings and staff were as fabulous as ever. Our room was very clean but our furniture looked like it had been through a tornado, large gouges and general disrepair. No complaints because we knew this would likely be the case as has happened with other rooms.

The food was very good, there were several (new to me) appetizers. I really enjoyed a deconstructed loaded baked potato app one evening, and a tuna app. Breakfast was basically the same but my children noticed that the cinnamon pastries had been replaced with 2 varieties of muffins that they did not care for. I don't eat muffins or sweet things for breakfast so I did not notice but they assured me it was different.

Unlike other CL drink offerings I appreciate the larger variety of sodas in the fridge. We had Ginger Ale, Diet Coke CF in the cooler without having to ask. I did not notice any changes to wines or beers.

One of the main reasons we return are the CM's and they were wonderful. They do seem VERY busy with assisting guests with FP+ reservations and problems. Seems a lot has been added to their duties with no extra concierge CM's added.

Will add photos later. We are returning for Thanksgiving and will be in Sugarloaf for the first time, a little nervous as we love the main building. My husband already commented that for a Mother/Daughter trip I did RPC but with him I booked Sugarloaf. Tried to explain that Thanksgiving was rack rate and Halloween had AP discounts.

Thanks for your review . I'm glad you had another nice RPC stay. I agree about the RPC CMs in that they are very accommodating and friendly . LOL on your DH commenting on SL for his trip .....but I agree that rack rate vs a decent discount can make a big difference where you book. Looking forward to your pics .

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

...none of my friends and family understands how or why I plan stuff for Disney so far in advance and I don't understand how anyone could just "wing it" . I've already created my little calendar spreadsheet with our dates and am just waiting until I can plug in park hours so I can then figure out our dinner ressies...obsessed? Maybe to some, but for me? Yeah, not so much...Disney is my happy place after all

Yeah, I get that comment as well. But I know with all the preplanning, we get to experience so much more with less stress than those "crazy" folks who just "wing it"....LOL. AND our expertise is often called upon to answer questions by those friends and family. What is so frustrating (or at least for me) is when I give them information and advice, they ignore it because they "know better" and then they come home and complain. They complain because the lines were long, couldn't get into a TS meal when they were hot and tired, driving to their off site condo took too much time, yada, yada, yada,......I give them no sympathy, cuz I told you so!

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

For those of you who have been to Disney in the summer, I need some advice as we have only traveled to Disney in the spring and fall. I am trying to plan a cabana rental at GF during our July 23-30 vacation. I do not want to spend the money on a whole day as it is not our style to stay at the pool ALL day. With the hot weather and storms I am in a dilemma. Should I schedule a morning 10-2 on a day we are sleeping in and only going to a park at night OR should I schedule for an afternoon 3-7 when we have a day we are not going to a park at night? Are storms more typical in early or late afternoon? I would hate to schedule our one cabana day and be rained out after an hour. Do they give any compensation if you are kicked out because of weather after less than half of your rental time? I think I read you are not charged if it rains you out of the whole rental but are there partial refunds? And how far in advance can you cancel? Is it going to be like the new ADR timeline of minimum 24 hr notice? I am thinking of making two rental days and canceling one while we are there but A--I do not want to take some one else's chance to reserve the cabana and B--I do not want to waste the money if I can't cancel in the needed time frame.

Any thoughts?????

 

[baler31]

For those of you who have been to Disney in the summer, I need some advice as we have only traveled to Disney in the spring and fall. I am trying to plan a cabana rental at GF during our July 23-30 vacation. I do not want to spend the money on a whole day as it is not our style to stay at the pool ALL day. With the hot weather and storms I am in a dilemma. Should I schedule a morning 10-2 on a day we are sleeping in and only going to a park at night OR should I schedule for an afternoon 3-7 when we have a day we are not going to a park at night? Are storms more typical in early or late afternoon? I would hate to schedule our one cabana day and be rained out after an hour. Do they give any compensation if you are kicked out because of weather after less than half of your rental time? I think I read you are not charged if it rains you out of the whole rental but are there partial refunds? And how far in advance can you cancel? Is it going to be like the new ADR timeline of minimum 24 hr notice? I am thinking of making two rental days and canceling one while we are there but A--I do not want to take some one else's chance to reserve the cabana and B--I do not want to waste the money if I can't cancel in the needed time frame.

Any thoughts?????

In my experience in the summer months late afternoon thunderstorms are more common. We have done both rental periods as like you we won't spend all day poolside. For the earlier time we just have lunch by the pool and do something else in the evening. I don't know about partial refunds as we have not dealt with bad weather while at the cabana. My guess would be the refund would be issued if the pool is closed ?


This is the policy from the Disney website about cancellations and weather.

Cabana rentals may be cancelled by the Resort hotel due to inclement weather, but Guests will not be penalized in this case. Otherwise, 24 hours' notice must be given. Please be aware that the full price of your cabana will be forfeited in the event of no-shows or same-day cancellations.

 

[followthatmouse]

One of the main reasons we return are the CM's and they were wonderful. They do seem VERY busy with assisting guests with FP+ reservations and problems. Seems a lot has been added to their duties with no extra concierge CM's added.

Couldn't agree with you more, baler31. The CMs are wonderful. I was ill for a few days during our last trip. The day I came down with my bug, we had an ADR for Narcoossee's. I really couldn't face an evening out. Not only did the RPC CMs cancel the reservation without penalty, they also proved adept at magic moments - delivering a bunch of Mickey balloons to our door without a sound. To them 'special' is part of an ordinary day.

 

[grannyminnie]

Couldn't agree with you more, baler31. The CMs are wonderful. I was ill for a few days during our last trip. The day I came down with my bug, we had an ADR for Narcoossee's. I really couldn't face an evening out. Not only did the RPC CMs cancel the reservation without penalty, they also proved adept at magic moments - delivering a bunch of Mickey balloons to our door without a sound. To them 'special' is part of an ordinary day.

Wow! That was so sweet of them! We have gotten excellent service both in SL and RPC.

(time to update my vacation countdown; now I need to find the excellent tutorial someone gave me before...was it you, Mickeynut?)

 

[mickeynut1]

Couldn't agree with you more, baler31. The CMs are wonderful. I was ill for a few days during our last trip. The day I came down with my bug, we had an ADR for Narcoossee's. I really couldn't face an evening out. Not only did the RPC CMs cancel the reservation without penalty, they also proved adept at magic moments - delivering a bunch of Mickey balloons to our door without a sound. To them 'special' is part of an ordinary day.

That is awesome that they did that!!!! That's one of the many things I love about RPC....the CMs are amazing and are always there ready to help with anything you may need .

(time to update my vacation countdown; now I need to find the excellent tutorial someone gave me before...was it you, Mickeynut?)

Hi grannyminnie . I think I did give you some instructions before, although I'm not sure how easy they were to follow ......but I'll try again . This if for *********************** :

1. Under "ticker types", click on "vacation countdown"

2. Choose your background, then scroll down to bottom of page and click on "step 2 to select your slider"

3. Choose your slider/marker, then scroll down to bottom of page and click on "step 3 to input text"

4. Follow instructions there to input dates, etc., then click on "create ticker"

5. Copy and paste the PseudoHTML, UBBCode™ or BBCode into your signature.

Hope this is easy to follow, if not, let me know and I'll try again .

 

[trishadono]

Just wanted to pop in and write a mini review of our Halloween stay.

We had a nice stay in RPC, I believe our room number was 4428 (not very good with the numbers ? Anyway it was one of the slightly odd shaped rooms (that we request and like, no connecting door) when we are unable to book the queen deluxes. It is next to the turret room overlooking the beach pool. We booked the trip the week before so I was happy we got our request and fastpass+ reservations.

We just had our first RPC stay and we were in 4329 (odd corner room with double sized balcony on 3rd floor). We loved it until we moved to 4030 king deluxe(top floor octagon room).

The food was very good, there were several (new to me) appetizers. I really enjoyed a deconstructed loaded baked potato app one evening, and a tuna app. Breakfast was basically the same but my children noticed that the cinnamon pastries had been replaced with 2 varieties of muffins that they did not care for. I don't eat muffins or sweet things for breakfast so I did not notice but they assured me it was different.

The pastries varied and we saw cinnamon buns Saturday.

One of the main reasons we return are the CM's and they were wonderful. They do seem VERY busy with assisting guests with FP+ reservations and problems. Seems a lot has been added to their duties with no extra concierge CM's added.

It took 40 mins when we transferred rooms to fix MB's and a family behind us had to wait for that to be finished. It was very frustrating.

Will add photos later. We are returning for Thanksgiving and will be in Sugarloaf for the first time, a little nervous as we love the main building. My husband already commented that for a Mother/Daughter trip I did RPC but with him I booked Sugarloaf. Tried to explain that Thanksgiving was rack rate and Halloween had AP discounts.

For New Year's Day we are staying in SL for that reason. We had passholder in November but New Years We arrive late and transfer the next day so ... Save the money for something else.

Thanks for the review!