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

[imobsessedwithdisney]

funny you should ask, i couldn't remember very many but dh is gluten intolerant and could not eat any of them, so he (painfully) remembers every single one! lol!

last week they had egg rolls, bacon wrapped chicken sausage, spanakopita, two kinds of chicken- one was like a sweet and sour and the other was more of a buffalo something, brie and cranberry in phyllo (my fave), and turkey wellington. actually, that is only seven so i am missing one. oh, and in addition to the two hot offerings one night, they also had mini corndogs. they were incredible. true story- i tried one and loved it so much, that i later went back and got three more, and loudly announced to my friend in front of the CL staff that i was taking them back to the room for ds. but i was completely lying. they were all mine.

Haha, about the corndogs! Thanks for the info! I was curious bc I'm a vegetarian and didn't know if they offered much in that way.

 

[vernema]

Woohoo, a new thread! Thanks for doing this! I've been lurking on the last one reading whatever I can find. We're considering GF for May 2014, since the Poly construction is so up in the air. First time at GF, other than Citricos for dinner.

Can some of you knowledgeable gurus post a summary of what is/isn't under construction at this point at GF, and how you think that would affect guests in the various buildings? We'll have our DD7 with us and would love advice on non-CL quieter room/bldg choices. We would prefer not to hear the 2am boat horns or the band playing all night.

Also, where to find Mickey Waffles for breakfast? ahem..for my DD, of course...

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

 

[MommyGina]

Also cheese and crackers are available along with raw vegetables. There is also grilled squash and zucchini. Asparagus is offered as well. I can't remember what time of day that was put out. I know before dinner though.

 

[JoBird]

Hello from the Grand!!


It's a beautiful morning here. Sun is shining and it's pretty quiet down on the boat dock.

So far, we have unfortunately, not had the best of trips. Nothing major, just a lot of little things that have happened that equals not the best experience. When we checked in, everything I had requested was ignored and I had the exact opposite. Having to ask to move and get that straight doesn't start you off on a magical journey.

We were finally given the room number I had originally requested on my reservation made back in December. And while I realize that it's only a request, never a guarantee, we have always been given exactly what we asked for upon check in. The hotel was operating at 37% capacity on Friday night as well, so that was not the reason requests weren't met.

As many of you know, I am a Grand lover thru and thru, but I have to say she is in need of repair. The room I am in (our favorite room we have stayed in twice now, btw) is beaten up. The furniture is terribly scratched; bare wood is showing thru in a large chunk on the dresser. That said, it is very very clean. Just shabby. Not what I have experienced in the past.

The courtyard pool as of yesterday is closed. I just found out that a drain pipe burst underneath and so they are having to drain the entire pool, fix it and refill it. Concierge could not tell me when it would be open again. Sorry for those whom are checking in in the next few days. It's very disappointing to me. It's little things like that, that keep occurring to cause me to say this isn't the best trip we've had.

That said, we are heading out to Epcot later-- crowds are not bad at all.

I have pictures, but can't for the life of me get photobucket to cooperate, so I will wait to upload them until I have more time.


I will be back with more updates later in the week. If anyone has any questions I'll try to find the answers!

 

[MommyGina]

Hi JoBird! Sorry to hear about the room. I noticed too that our room was a bit run down. I have already sent in my room request for next July and was told that it might not be honored.

Sorry that the CY pool is closed. It was just redone!!! Have fun at Epcot today. Would love to hear about your travels.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Hello from the Grand!!


It's a beautiful morning here. Sun is shining and it's pretty quiet down on the boat dock.

So far, we have unfortunately, not had the best of trips. Nothing major, just a lot of little things that have happened that equals not the best experience. When we checked in, everything I had requested was ignored and I had the exact opposite. Having to ask to move and get that straight doesn't start you off on a magical journey.

We were finally given the room number I had originally requested on my reservation made back in December. And while I realize that it's only a request, never a guarantee, we have always been given exactly what we asked for upon check in. The hotel was operating at 37% capacity on Friday night as well, so that was not the reason requests weren't met.

As many of you know, I am a Grand lover thru and thru, but I have to say she is in need of repair. The room I am in (our favorite room we have stayed in twice now, btw) is beaten up. The furniture is terribly scratched; bare wood is showing thru in a large chunk on the dresser. That said, it is very very clean. Just shabby. Not what I have experienced in the past.

The courtyard pool as of yesterday is closed. I just found out that a drain pipe burst underneath and so they are having to drain the entire pool, fix it and refill it. Concierge could not tell me when it would be open again. Sorry for those whom are checking in in the next few days. It's very disappointing to me. It's little things like that, that keep occurring to cause me to say this isn't the best trip we've had.

That said, we are heading out to Epcot later-- crowds are not bad at all.

I have pictures, but can't for the life of me get photobucket to cooperate, so I will wait to upload them until I have more time.


I will be back with more updates later in the week. If anyone has any questions I'll try to find the answers!

Hi JoBird! Sorry to hear about the room. I noticed too that our room was a bit run down. I have already sent in my room request for next July and was told that it might not be honored.

Sorry that the CY pool is closed. It was just redone!!! Have fun at Epcot today. Would love to hear about your travels.

Hopefully the rumored room refurbs (say that 3 times fast...) will take care of the issues you noticed.

JoBird I hope the rest of your trip is super magical.

 

[bethclayton]

JoBird i was so sad reading your post! i hate it when that happens, as we have had trips like that, too. i have also had nothing but bad experiences with the GF front desk staff in the lobby, i am so sorry to hear that getting the room you wanted was such an ordeal. i hope that something magical happens soon to turn things around. truth be told, most our recent visit started off as a disaster (long story and i don't even want to get into it, it was during our first few days at BC before the GF), but things improved dramatically ; i hope the same for you.

Haha, about the corndogs! Thanks for the info! I was curious bc I'm a vegetarian and didn't know if they offered much in that way.

well, why didn't you just say that, silly! dd is a vegetarian and i can tell you that kid never went hungry. the spanakopita and the brie were the only two that were vegetarian in the four nights that we stayed. but there were lots of other things she could eat. almost all of the breakfast items are vegetarian, midday snacks were chips/ dips/ crackers/ breadsticks and assorted veggies (carrots, celery, squash, asparagus, broccoli and cherry tomatoes), the stuff they out put with scones was all vegetarian, and in the evening they had all the veggies again, cheese and crackers, and often one of the cold offerings was vegetarian. i remember that the night we left they had the signs up already for the evening offerings and one was veggie sushi roll.

 

[imobsessedwithdisney]

well, why didn't you just say that, silly! dd is a vegetarian and i can tell you that kid never went hungry. the spanakopita and the brie were the only two that were vegetarian in the four nights that we stayed. but there were lots of other things she could eat. almost all of the breakfast items are vegetarian, midday snacks were chips/ dips/ crackers/ breadsticks and assorted veggies (carrots, celery, squash, asparagus, broccoli and cherry tomatoes), the stuff they out put with scones was all vegetarian, and in the evening they had all the veggies again, cheese and crackers, and often one of the cold offerings was vegetarian. i remember that the night we left they had the signs up already for the evening offerings and one was veggie sushi roll.[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much for the info! I'm so excited. Our first 4 nights is at RPC then our last 5 nights is at BC CL. I can't wait!

 

[jojomickey]

JoBird, I'm so sorry your trip has started off like this

The rooms do need some fixing!!!! We thought the same thing . I hope the rest of your trip is extra magical with extra pixie dust!!!!!!

 

[TX Momof2]

Hi JoBird, I hope you have a magical day at Epcot! I'm sorry to hear about the Courtyard Pool; hopefully, it will be fixed soon.

Have fun and smile you're at DW!

 

[meredith1]

I have to rooms reserved for December. One of them is a standard with a Lagoon view. The other is a queen deluxe with a garden view.

My parents will be staying in the standard room with my five year old.

My husband and I will stay in the queen deluxe with our three year old twins.

My question(s) are do the queen deluxe rooms give us added room that is worth wild or is it simply a sofa and chair? Does the sofa pull out into a bed? Also, is there room in the deluxe room to put a roll away bed in there?

I'm trying to decide whether or not to forego the deluxe room and just get another standard if there isn't more room where I can separate the twins if there is an issue at night....

I saw the picture of the deluxe room posted on the first page of this thread and it looked awesome however, I'm now seeing other pictures and they don't look as big. I have to wonder if the picture of the queen deluxe on the first page of this thread is a suite.....

 

[mickeynut1]

mickeynut, i LOVE the poly. as a resort overall, it is my favorite, even a little more than GF. if i had to pick between a standard room at GF or at poly, i would choose poly (although i would pick GF RPC over anything, anywhere!). with that said.... do not get your hopes up about their CL. the CL staff were awful, i mean truly miserable, eye-rolling, annoyed people who seemed to detest all of us. A simple question (I don't even remember what it was, but it was super simple, like, which way to the monorail?) elicited a sigh, an eye roll, and a sneer. the food offerings were several steps below GF in quality and ALSO quantity. i felt like we were all vultures pouncing on every bite. there was so little to be had and not a lot of replenishing, and a LOT of guests there even in "off" season. and there were constantly kids running wild in the lounge, with their parents not even attempting to get them to them to settle down. we recently also stayed CL at BC and while their offerings were comparable to Poly CL, their staff at least were delightful and for the most part, other guests were not disruptive. So I am comparing it to not only GF but also BC.

with all that said, did i hate poly CL? no. i liked the building location, i LOVED the castle view from the lounge, and despite the fact that the food situation basically sucked, i do enjoy the convenience of having the mediocre-at-best food available, particularly during breakfast. it is not completely out of the question that if we got a good rate, we would possibly stay CL there again for those reasons alone. but to compare it to GF, it is in a whole different league. i would say it is like comparing a value resort to a deluxe.

Thanks so much for your input . We've stayed at the Poly and LOVE it (it's also our favorite resort ), and I am excited to try CL there. Honestly, I'm not expecting to like it better than RPC, but I'm hoping it comes close. We have stayed RPC, SL, & WL CL and for me, WL CL comes in at a very close second to RPC. I'm hoping to add Poly CL to that "close to first" spot, so we'll see come December. We are only there 2 nights after our cruise right before Christmas (we fly home Christmas Eve) so I know it will be super busy, but hopefully I can still can get a good idea of how it is. Thanks again .

Hello from the Grand!!


It's a beautiful morning here. Sun is shining and it's pretty quiet down on the boat dock.

So far, we have unfortunately, not had the best of trips. Nothing major, just a lot of little things that have happened that equals not the best experience. When we checked in, everything I had requested was ignored and I had the exact opposite. Having to ask to move and get that straight doesn't start you off on a magical journey.

We were finally given the room number I had originally requested on my reservation made back in December. And while I realize that it's only a request, never a guarantee, we have always been given exactly what we asked for upon check in. The hotel was operating at 37% capacity on Friday night as well, so that was not the reason requests weren't met.

As many of you know, I am a Grand lover thru and thru, but I have to say she is in need of repair. The room I am in (our favorite room we have stayed in twice now, btw) is beaten up. The furniture is terribly scratched; bare wood is showing thru in a large chunk on the dresser. That said, it is very very clean. Just shabby. Not what I have experienced in the past.

The courtyard pool as of yesterday is closed. I just found out that a drain pipe burst underneath and so they are having to drain the entire pool, fix it and refill it. Concierge could not tell me when it would be open again. Sorry for those whom are checking in in the next few days. It's very disappointing to me. It's little things like that, that keep occurring to cause me to say this isn't the best trip we've had.

That said, we are heading out to Epcot later-- crowds are not bad at all.

I have pictures, but can't for the life of me get photobucket to cooperate, so I will wait to upload them until I have more time.


I will be back with more updates later in the week. If anyone has any questions I'll try to find the answers!

I'm sorry your trip has been less than magical so far. I do agree, though, that the rooms are in need of a refurb. Rumor has it that a refurb is coming soon, so hopefully it does take place . I hope your trip turns around and you have a great time from here on out.

 

[BlueSkies]

BlueSkies I can speak to this somewhat. I can't believe I didn't take a pic of the beach area. At least, I don't think I did... I will check. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at the beach area. While it is certainly not what it was, it was pretty and bigger than i expected. The children's play area is right behind it but it was nowhere near as obnoxious or loud as I had expected. They built a lovely fire pit with permanent seating around it. So, left to right, starting near the summerhouse, you have a nice stretch of beach with chaises, then to the right of it is the fire pit, and then the pool bar with a nice, ample area with tables and chairs. Past that to the right is more beach next to the beach pool. We spent a few hours out there with friends one night and it had great ambience and was very uncrowded every time we looked out there. I am pretty sure that all the "beach" walls were already down.

Thanks bethclayton for that info! that is good news ..I love those little spots here and there that you can sit relax and be removed from any hustle bustle..and the GF beach was always one of those places...

Hi, I thought I read somewhere that if staying RPC you also had access to the lounge in SL. Is that correct? Also is the Alice water play area close to the main building? Thanks!

As others have said...with the old key system you were able to access SL if you were staying RPC..on our spring trip I too tried to acess SL..wanted to take some pics..maybe grab a cold beverage??? .is that CL hopping??? will I get flamed.... JK!!..this is a friendly place...but..No access..I think this is due to the new updated key system...

The GF is amazing, but anytime I have stayed there, I did miss the Poly. I do love RPC though and I can't wait to try Poly CL in December and compare the two. I am also looking forward to our CR stay. We have never stayed there as the theme/decor has never appealed to any of us, but my DH wants to try it, so I booked it .

MickeyNut Am looking foward to your thougts after your holiday trip..You will have so many CL's to compare..

funny you should ask, i couldn't remember very many but dh is gluten intolerant and could not eat any of them, so he (painfully) remembers every single one! lol!

last week they had egg rolls, bacon wrapped chicken sausage, spanakopita, two kinds of chicken- one was like a sweet and sour and the other was more of a buffalo something, brie and cranberry in phyllo (my fave), and turkey wellington. actually, that is only seven so i am missing one. oh, and in addition to the two hot offerings one night, they also had mini corndogs. they were incredible. true story- i tried one and loved it so much, that i later went back and got three more, and loudly announced to my friend in front of the CL staff that i was taking them back to the room for ds. but i was completely lying. they were all mine.

Lots of good food offerings! Im getting hungry! Just a suggestion..you can always mention that your DH is gluten intolerant..and they will probably be able to have a few extra offerings that he can eat..LOl on the corn dog comment..I've had them too...so delicious!!

Haha, about the corndogs! Thanks for the info! I was curious bc I'm a vegetarian and didn't know if they offered much in that way.

No worries imobsessed..there are always lots of fresh and grilled veggies...and other food offerings that would suit a vegetarian diet...midday..late afternoon..let me just say the scones..and the triffle are word taking a midday park break for...and in the evening too...

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Hello from the Grand!!


It's a beautiful morning here. Sun is shining and it's pretty quiet down on the boat dock.

So far, we have unfortunately, not had the best of trips. Nothing major, just a lot of little things that have happened that equals not the best experience. When we checked in, everything I had requested was ignored and I had the exact opposite. Having to ask to move and get that straight doesn't start you off on a magical journey.

We were finally given the room number I had originally requested on my reservation made back in December. And while I realize that it's only a request, never a guarantee, we have always been given exactly what we asked for upon check in. The hotel was operating at 37% capacity on Friday night as well, so that was not the reason requests weren't met.

As many of you know, I am a Grand lover thru and thru, but I have to say she is in need of repair. The room I am in (our favorite room we have stayed in twice now, btw) is beaten up. The furniture is terribly scratched; bare wood is showing thru in a large chunk on the dresser. That said, it is very very clean. Just shabby. Not what I have experienced in the past.

The courtyard pool as of yesterday is closed. I just found out that a drain pipe burst underneath and so they are having to drain the entire pool, fix it and refill it. Concierge could not tell me when it would be open again. Sorry for those whom are checking in in the next few days. It's very disappointing to me. It's little things like that, that keep occurring to cause me to say this isn't the best trip we've had.

That said, we are heading out to Epcot later-- crowds are not bad at all.

I have pictures, but can't for the life of me get photobucket to cooperate, so I will wait to upload them until I have more time.


I will be back with more updates later in the week. If anyone has any questions I'll try to find the answers!

JoBird sorry to hear that you had a bumpy start to your trip........ sounds like you are not letting it ruin your overall vacation tho!! I agree with you about the conditions of the furnishings in the rooms these days...our dresser had a big chunk of wood missing from the bottom moulding..as for the room assignment... I understand the "just a request" reasoning..but we too have almost always been assigned the room that we requested...Just curious..did you do online check in??

Hope that rest of your stay is absolutely wonderful!!

I have to rooms reserved for December. One of them is a standard with a Lagoon view. The other is a queen deluxe with a garden view.

My parents will be staying in the standard room with my five year old.

My husband and I will stay in the queen deluxe with our three year old twins.

My question(s) are do the queen deluxe rooms give us added room that is worth wild or is it simply a sofa and chair? Does the sofa pull out into a bed? Also, is there room in the deluxe room to put a roll away bed in there?

I'm trying to decide whether or not to forego the deluxe room and just get another standard if there isn't more room where I can separate the twins if there is an issue at night....

I saw the picture of the deluxe room posted on the first page of this thread and it looked awesome however, I'm now seeing other pictures and they don't look as big. I have to wonder if the picture of the queen deluxe on the first page of this thread is a suite.....

The deluxe room has a nice bit of extra space IMO...it is the size of a standard room with the addition of a turret bump out...in that bump out area there is a love seat, chair, coffee table and a tv amoire...in addition that area is all windows..so its a nice bright space ...I dont think that those rooms are generally connected to another room..not sure on that tho... have only stayed in the one in SL...I also believe that this room does not have a day bed..and the sofa is not a pull out..but I do think there is room for a roll away...hopefully someone who has stayed in one recently will be along to better answer this...

I believe that all of the deluxe rooms are GV...so with rooms in both of those room categories Im sure that you can have rooms that across the hall from each other...I would ask for that to be noted in my ressie...

HTH...

mommygina Sounds like you are prepared for next summers trip! What is your preference in SL..CY view or marina view...?? Although both lovely..I really like the view of the CY pool...

Happy Sunday GF fans... Hope that everyone is enjoying this nice long weekend!

 

[meredith1]

I have to rooms reserved for December. One of them is a standard with a Lagoon view. The other is a queen deluxe with a garden view.

My parents will be staying in the standard room with my five year old.

My husband and I will stay in the queen deluxe with our three year old twins.

My question(s) are do the queen deluxe rooms give us added room that is worth wild or is it simply a sofa and chair? Does the sofa pull out into a bed? Also, is there room in the deluxe room to put a roll away bed in there?

I'm trying to decide whether or not to forego the deluxe room and just get another standard if there isn't more room where I can separate the twins if there is an issue at night....

I saw the picture of the deluxe room posted on the first page of this thread and it looked awesome however, I'm now seeing other pictures and they don't look as big. I have to wonder if the picture of the queen deluxe on the first page of this thread is a suite.....

 

[Traceylee]

So I hear previous posters talk about the rooms being 'worn'. Our upcoming trip will be the first time to stay at GF (my dream). But I worry about the room being worn and being disappointed. Will I be disappointed? I had originally booked Poly; but switched because of the construction. I booked a garden view room if that helps.

 

[JanaDee]

So I hear previous posters talk about the rooms being 'worn'. Our upcoming trip will be the first time to stay at GF (my dream). But I worry about the room being worn and being disappointed. Will I be disappointed? I had originally booked Poly; but switched because of the construction. I booked a garden view room if that helps.

We switched to the GF for the same reasons you did. I sure hope I won't be disappointed in "worn" rooms.

For the price people pay per night to stay there, the rooms better not be worn!

 

[MommyGina]

Hi BlueSkies-We like marina view. Have always stayed where the marina was our view. Some things are just hard to break away from. DS loves to sit on the balcony and look at the water. It's calming.

My request is 3rd floor, not dormer, marina view and away from the elevator.

 

[chemnerd09]

I see some posts on the how worn the rooms were and I was wondering if this is in general or in specific buildings? We're going to be staying in the Main Building in December and I want to make sure I know what to expect. The outside of the resort is quite elegant and its been a while since we've stayed at the GF.

 

[lin7]

I see some posts on the how worn the rooms were and I was wondering if this is in general or in specific buildings? We're going to be staying in the Main Building in December and I want to make sure I know what to expect. The outside of the resort is quite elegant and its been a while since we've stayed at the GF.

Two years ago, we stayed in Big Pine Key in March and Conch Key in December within in the same year. Big Pine Key was in really good condition and Conch Key seemed very worn down. This year we we stayed at Sugar Loaf and the room was in okay condition, so I think it could be the room you are given. Honestly we love GF, but really wished they would update the room, but the atmosphere and surroundings really makes for it. We are DVC members, and we always stay at GF despite out of pocket expense. That's how much we love it.

 

[grannyminnie]

Ahcupcake, how are ya?

You too, Mickeynut, greetings!

Blue, I know I need a ticker!! I'll love you forever, if you make me one! I'll PM the info in a jiffy in case you can....