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

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DisneyDreamingInMI, thanks so much for the wonderful photos!

I hope they left the hamper in the dressing area, but I get the feeling it is gone.:worried: DisneyDreamingInMI, can you tell us, is the hamper and the bench at the end of the bed still there?

I agree, the hamper and bench are necessities. My other problem is with those tiny drawers on the dresser...what can you fit in them besides socks and underwear?!

I think the overall decor is lovely, but I still miss my early 2000's blue and yellow Alice rooms in Conch Key...so resistant to change! Didn't notice any hidden Mickeys, either...*sigh*




:sunny:
 
Thank you so much!!! First impressions...meh. Maybe it's just such a shock. I don't mind the beds. I hate the armoire. Can we see bathroom pics? I think a little more color on the pastel side would be great. Am I the only one who thinks the sconces and the armoire look a little cheap? Eek. Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I like the red and gold because it reminds me of Victorian and the grand with it's red roof and all...the armoire is...not what I'd envisioned. Bathroom pics would be great! :-)

Thank you thank you thank you though for the pics! :-) I can't wait til July!!!
 
Thank you, DisneyDreamingInMI, for the pictures!

I am underwhelmed. Everything is pretty generic, and I agree with k&a&c'smom about the mirror over the daybed. I will really miss having a comfy reading chair. Although the blue chair was not a design or style that I would look at twice in a furniture store, it was extremely comfortable and was my favorite place to relax when in the room. Oh well. Here's hoping the decor will be more festive in person. The headboards are pretty, but I wonder how well the light color will wear.

It looks like they have eliminated the floor lamp and the light sources will be just the desk lamp and the 3 sets of sconces. The rooms looked darkish from the outside with just the sconces on. Another favorite thing for me was how light the rooms were...

With all the other elements, I hadn't even noticed the lighting but you are right. Looks like less light in the bedrooms, for sure.

I, too, will miss that chair. Can I take back my complaint about how ugly it was?!;)

Hi. I just booked a theme park view room in the main building for my 40th birthday this summer.
We MAY be doing a three night cruise prior to our stay at the Grand. (Disney Dream). Would we get to the resort by the afternoon to make a 1/2 day cabana rental worthwhile?

Also, how is the main building? We have stayed at the WL club level. Love the convenience....especially for breakfast.

Would love opinions.
Thanks!

I can't help at all with the time frame for arrival after a cruise, I hope someone else can answer that for you.

What I can say is RPC is the BEST CL we have tried on property. We've stayed at AKL, WL, YC, Poly, BWI CL, as well as Sugar Loaf CL at the Grand. RPC (Main Bldg.) is awesome, truly. There are a lot of photos on the first page, if you haven't seen them.

The food service at RPC is amazing, lots of choices for breakfast, including ham, turkey, cheeses, etc.

I would say you will get a similar feel in the RPC lounge as that of the WL - atrium lounge overlooking the lobby. However, the RPC lounge is far more spacious, more room to spread out and several floors of nooks to curl up in.:goodvibes
 
Just went back and looked...looks like there may be a bench at the foot of the first bed in the picture with the 2 beds shown. Also love the Mickey on the back of the desk chair. :-) but I agree, the mirror with sconces looks cheap and out of place...
 

I just showed my girls the new decor and they squealed with excitement! :goodvibes

We all agree that that's what we would expect from the Grand Floridian. It seems luxurious and well.....grand!:p

The current "old" decor never wowed me at all. In fact, it was one of the main reasons for not booking at GF. As you know, we booked GF for this summer because the Poly is out of commission but now I am truly beyond excited about our upcoming GF stay!!!! :cool1:
 
Large hug for k&a&c'smom and for DS.

I will reserve judgement on the furnishings in DisneyDreamingInMI's fine photos. Thank you for making the effort to post! If the refurbishment schedule is to be believed, we'll miss out on the new decor in May. So, we will just have to wait for December to enjoy a refreshed RPC. We are very fortunate to visit at all. We'll be comfortable no matter the color scheme. :goodvibes
 
followthatmouse - the hug is much appreciated.:hug:

YAY for a May trip to RPC. What could be bad about that, right?!:cool1:

Mousemommy1 - :goodvibes Glad you and the girls are excited about the new rooms. Don't mind my grumpy posts.;)

My DD isn't very happy, she said we'll have to stay at YC or AKL more now.:teeth: Or, club level, as we will be out in the lounge as much as in the room. What a sacrifice!:laughing:

Koh1977 - thanks, you could be right. It does sort of look like a bench there.:scratchin Hope so, with the loss of the arm chair it will be necessary for a place to sit to put on shoes, etc.
 
followthatmouse - the hug is much appreciated.:hug:

YAY for a May trip to RPC. What could be bad about that, right?!:cool1:

Mousemommy1 - :goodvibes Glad you and the girls are excited about the new rooms. Don't mind my grumpy posts.;)

My DD isn't very happy, she said we'll have to stay at YC or AKL more now.:teeth: Or, club level, as we will be out in the lounge as much as in the room. What a sacrifice!:laughing:

Koh1977 - thanks, you could be right. It does sort of look like a bench there.:scratchin Hope so, with the loss of the arm chair it will be necessary for a place to sit to put on shoes, etc.

It's ok to be grumpy! You're a GF diehard and long time lover of the resort. The new decor is quite the departure from past styles, so it's totally understandable.

Soooooooo excited!!!! :dance3:
 
Thanks for the link


To all of you that are alittle u underwhelmed by the new rooms, dont worry

When the poly had the room refurb i saw the pix and was very underwhelmed but when i actually went there in december is was beautiful!

I can tell from the pix these rooms look LUXORIOUS face to face.

I cant WAIT!!!
 
We are here now :cool1: We are in a MK view room but we could not hear the Wishes music very well from our balcony. Is there a channel on the TV that plays it like at CR???:confused3 The front desk said no and we are so disappointed. Thought someone on here might know different::yes::
 
This is my neck of the woods today:

Oh, how I am missing the Grand!

We have the same weather here. I am so ready for spring as I've had about enough of the cold and snow.....LOL. With that said, we're due to get more snow tomorrow night, which could be as much as 10" :faint:.

:hug: All good in the hood, I may be making a Grand decision regarding my August trip...BC CL will be fab...but you know...it's not the Grand :goodvibes

Glad things are going well :goodvibes. We've stayed at the BC (although not CL) and while it is a beautiful resort, I agree it's not the Grand.

Renovated room in Conch Key!

The entryway and bathroom have wood flooring and there is tile in toilet/shower area.

Thanks for the pics :). I have to say, I'm not a fan of the new decor as I don't think it fits the GF. I think Disney is taking all of the fun/whimsical things out of the resorts when they do these refurbs and are making all of the rooms look more alike rather than keeping them different. I think they did the same thing to the Poly. The pics of the Poly rooms look nice, but I think they took out the Polynesian feel and replaced it with a generic feeling. I know refurbs need to be done, I just wish Disney would keep the unique touches rather than replace them with a generic look that resembles any other ordinary hotel room :(.

I hate the armoire. Am and I the only one who thinks the sconces and the armoire look a little cheap? Eek.

I agree about the armoire and no, you're not the only one who thinks the armoire and sconces look cheap. But I also want to add to that the mirror over the daybed. It doesn't go and is really out of place, IMO :sad2:.

Maybe it's the shock, not at all what I expected.

Not what I expected either. I'm not a long time GF guest as my first stay was in January 2010, but I did like the old decor (minus the bedspreads) as I thought it was whimsical and fun. Now it's just a generic every day looking hotel room to me :(.

Me, me! That was my first thought - I didn't notice it as much with the sconces, but the armoire looked cheaply made right off the bat. I hope that isn't the case when you see it in person, but I don't think the TV case and base look like they go together.:confused3

I don't like the idea of wood flooring in that area, I was hoping that aspect of the villas would stay there. I'm just not used to resort rooms with wood(look) flooring.

it's kind of a mish mash of eras as far as the furniture goes.

I couldn't agree more with everything here. I think the TV case and base look funny as they don't make a very good match. I'm with you on the wood flooring as I don't like that either. They did that at the WL and although I haven't seen that in person, the floor looks very plastic-y and cheap to me. I don't like the looks of it at the WL and if it's the same stuff at the GF, I can't see it looking very nice :sad2:.

I think many of us were more than ready to do away with the bedspreads, but speaking for myself, I was hoping for something more in keeping with the Main Lobby decor. I loved the old wallpaper, both the older stuff in the bath/dressing area and the newer damask-type in the bedrooms.

I'm with you. I don't think the new decor is victorian in any way compared to what it was. A lot of people saw the rooms as "grandma's house", but I never saw it that way, but everyone sees things differently and everyone is entitled to his/her opinion ;).

Anyone else hate that "mirror" over the daybed? It doesn't work on any level - not big enough for the space, not the right period and the mirror is too small to be of much use.~sigh~

I am right there with you.....that mirror does not go at all!! I think there is too much mismatched periods of furniture as nothing seems to flow together, IMO.

I am underwhelmed. Everything is pretty generic,

It looks like they have eliminated the floor lamp and the light sources will be just the desk lamp and the 3 sets of sconces. The rooms looked darkish from the outside with just the sconces on. Another favorite thing for me was how light the rooms were...

I agree everything is pretty generic. I also loved how the rooms were light and airy, but now seem dark (in the pics at least). Not at all what I thought it would look like.

Hi. I just booked a theme park view room in the main building for my 40th birthday this summer.
We MAY be doing a three night cruise prior to our stay at the Grand. (Disney Dream). Would we get to the resort by the afternoon to make a 1/2 day cabana rental worthwhile?

Also, how is the main building? We have stayed at the WL club level. Love the convenience....especially for breakfast.

Would love opinions.
Thanks!

You should be off the ship pretty early in the morning and if you head straight to the GF, you could probably make it there by around 10-11 am, of course this would depend on how you are getting there (town car service, rental car, Disney, etc).

As far as RPC.....you are going to love it :thumbsup2. We've stayed WL CL and while we loved it, RPC is just amazing and is hard to beat. As k&a&c'smom said, the RPC lounge is set up like the WL lounge as it overlooks the lobby, but it's larger and more spacious with more nooks and crannies to sit and relax :cloud9:.

My other problem is with those tiny drawers on the dresser...what can you fit in them besides socks and underwear?!

Didn't notice any hidden Mickeys, either...*sigh*

I thought the same thing....the drawers look pretty small. I could have missed them, but I also didn't notice any hidden Mickeys :sad2:.

The food service at RPC is amazing, lots of choices for breakfast, including ham, turkey, cheeses, etc.

I would say you will get a similar feel in the RPC lounge as that of the WL - atrium lounge overlooking the lobby. However, the RPC lounge is far more spacious, more room to spread out and several floors of nooks to curl up in.:goodvibes

:thumbsup2

We are here now :cool1: We are in a MK view room but we could not hear the Wishes music very well from our balcony. Is there a channel on the TV that plays it like at CR???:confused3 The front desk said no and we are so disappointed. Thought someone on here might know different::yes::

Unfortunately, the CR is the only resort where the music is played on the tv :(.
 
A few more pictures to share! :goodvibes

Room views

303be439b1d64b4026e0b63e97156cb2_zps58ae9c51.jpg


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Entryway

ed54d6f81088ddf1832ec9da0fc55787_zps0ef56a94.jpg


Bathroom

10fd0785e500a1ed9b583478f0617bbb_zps6e16866d.jpg


27a31578a7dd236b8d75fd1617f86692_zps80f1ee24.jpg


7496c92273286cce1fcfbddc259e5227_zps86332cdc.jpg
 
DisneyDreamingInMI Thank you SO MUCH for the pics! U rock:thumbsup2


WARNING: Grumpy post to follow.....

So I like the wallpaper(can't believe I would utter those words), the carpet, the drapes, the daybed, and the artwork. The beds....I like the padded headboards but they look too small for the space. Seems like they should be a little taller and those sconces just look out of place in style and placement with the headboard. The armoire looks cheap and the drawers are so small....like a big(mini) fridge area and a few small flanking drawers? odd. Speaking of odd, I like the shape of the bedside table but I do not care for the finish on the drawers. Again, it looks cheap. The desk is OK and I like the chair but where is the nesting table? And I couldn't tell if that was a bench at the end of the bed or ??? So sad there is no chair to curl up and relax during downtime. sigh:sad1:

Maybe the room décor will "grow" on me after this initial shock. I am happy to see the red color looks like more of a brick red or deep coral....at least on my computer.
 
I hope they left the hamper in the dressing area, but I get the feeling it is gone.:worried: DisneyDreamingInMI, can you tell us, is the hamper and the bench at the end of the bed still there?

I just double checked and I don't see a hamper. I peeked in the closet to see if it was in there, but it wasn't. Also, there is no bench at the end of the bed. Maybe the new couch/pull-out is larger, as I don't see how there would be much space in our room for a bench at the end of the bed!

If anyone else has questions, let me know! :goodvibes
 
I just double checked and I don't see a hamper. I peeked in the closet to see if it was in there, but it wasn't. Also, there is no bench at the end of the bed. Maybe the new couch/pull-out is larger, as I don't see how there would be much space in our room for a bench at the end of the bed!

If anyone else has questions, let me know! :goodvibes


Thank you for taking the time to post here on your vacation! Quick question....is there a small nesting table on wheels that fits under the desk?
 
And I couldn't tell if that was a bench at the end of the bed or ???

I am happy to see the red color looks like more of a brick red or deep coral....at least on my computer.

No, that is our messy, open suitcase resting on a folding luggage stand. ;) The wonderful bellhop took it out of the closet and set it up for us!

Yes, I would say the red is more of a brick red!
 
A few more pictures to share! :goodvibes

Thanks for more pics :). Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't look like much was done to the bathroom besides the shower curtain as the flooring is the same, as is the tile in the bathtub/shower :confused3. And in the vanity area, it looks like they took out the vanity mirror that was on the wall :confused:.

And I couldn't tell if that was a bench at the end of the bed or ???

To me, it looks like one of those folding luggage holders (if I'm looking at the same thing you are), but it is kind of hard to see to know for sure.
 
And in the vanity area, it looks like they took out the vanity mirror that was on the wall :confused:.

To me, it looks like one of those folding luggage holders (if I'm looking at the same thing you are), but it is kind of hard to see to know for sure.

The vanity mirror is still there, I must have missed it in the pictures! It is on the bathroom wall adjacent to the entryway.

And yes, that is a folding luggage holder! :goodvibes
 
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