"Having a GRAND time - The Official GF Chat Thread"

[johnsonet]

Yes, in just about every GF room. Most have 2 queens and the daybed.

OK...so I just went to my dryer...that load should have been DONE...it's still soppy damp. I am so not a happy camper here now. Not sure what I did wrong...PLUS the button was lit up for a loud buzz/beep (not sure because I never heard it) at the finish of the drying and it was totally quiet. So....put the clothes on again for another 45 minutes. I thought these were supposed to be FAST w/D. That load took me so far 50 min for the wash and then 45 for the dry and it is needing another 45....that seems really sh**ty. I am feeling like maybe I got some lemons??

Make sure the vent hose was set up properly behind your new dryer!

 

[johnsonet]

...These are my final arrangements for my b-day trip. This a mother/daughter trip and since I'm an only child I'm a So mom is spoiling me in many ways a trip to the GF RPC and the Platinum Plan, now for the details Sunday May 25 6 am flight (yuck have to be @ the airport by 4) 8:10 arrival at MCO Then it's ME to GF and RPC check-in(hoping the room is ready). Off to the Crystal Palace for a late breakfast w/ . Dinner at LeCellier and after we'll stay for Illuminations(my butt is draggin it's been up since 1:30 am). Back to GF for some much needed sleep. Monday, May 26 Sleep in. Since we are on the Platinum Plan we are going to use most of it's featues, going to the GF Spa & get massages Mom and I thought the massages would be best after a long day.We'll do nothing after except wander around the Grand. Get ready for my b-day dinner at Victoria and Albert's ....3 hrs later elevator up to the lounge and sit for a little then back to the room for some sleep Tuesday, May 27
get up around 7 grab some breakfast in the lounge cuz mom needs her then it's off to the AK for a 1 hour safari(Wildlife Discovery Excursion) this is an extra $45/pp Then it's back to GF to get ready for dinner @ Jiko I just the filet with the macaroni and cheese (i need to get the recipe for it) Hopfully we make it back to the GF before they take away the DiSarrano. Wednesday, May 28
Today every meal is a character meal, starting with breakfast at CP (I ) ,then it's lunch at CRT , followed by dinner at 1900ParkFare Thursday, May 29
EPCOT day and lunch in Italy and dinner will be back at the GF at my 2nd fav
Narcoossee's(if V&A didn't exist it would be #1) Friday, May 30
Today we'll head to DHS lunch will be at the Brown Derby
Then it's an early dinner @ California Grill after dinner we're off to the MK for SpectroMagic and Wishes
Saturday, May 31--Last Day Not doing much except we do have the Keys to the Kingdom Tour booked. Back to GF in time to retreive our bags from bell services and catch a 6pm ME bus to the airport for our 9pm flight back to reality: laughing: . I hope I didn't babble too much!!!! Thanks for listening
~~AnnMarie

Sounds really fun and festive! Lots of incredible meals to look forward to! And I would love to take the time to do the Keys to the Kingdome some time! I have been taking my daughter (also an only child ) to the GF since she was 2. She is now almost 12. Last summer we stayed in the Main Bldg. for the first time ever and it was really, really special. I loved being right there! We had had access to the lounge and itinerary planners before when we'd stayed in the Everglades Suite in Conch Key once but never had we had a room "in the Lobby" and it was delightful
Have a wonderful birthday trip

 

[goofygal531]

Hi everyone! I've been off the computer for two days and I seriously can't read all the posts from this thread!

I got caught up reading "Losing It" Valerie Bertinelli's book. I got it from the library. It was okay. She revealed basically the entire book on all the talk shows, so it wasn't that exciting. It was a quick read.

Mandy: Yeah! Planning is fun! Our 10th anniversary is next May. I'm waiting until we return from this trip to plan the DL one. I need to spread out my Disney planning OMG! So sorry to hear about Bawb! I just really started getting into their podcasts and listen to a bunch of old ones over the weekend. It will not be the same without him

Mandy and Kristin: I'll be hitting MK alone one EMH-AM, and I'll be mostly in Fantasyland. I'll be running to Dumbo the minute the rope drops, can I park my stroller anywhere near Dumbo or do I have to go ALL THE WAY to the stroller parking lot by Small World?

Brook: Love those outfits. At least now I'll be able to find you at the GF by Savannah's wardrobe!

Annette: Congrats on the Confirmation and the cabana war your winning!

Linda: La Nouba is nothing like Vegas Cirque shows. I felt the theater was intimate (or maybe that was our seating?), the clowns came out in the audience and the overall show felt more circus-like than any other Cirque show. The Vegas shows are more theatrical. Does that make sense?

Lesly: I live in Manhattan, on the Upper East Side.

Kelly: Welcome back!

Channing: Sorry you're having w/d trouble.

For DS4 class we have to purchase Scholastic books each month, well this month they had the best book yet! I got a Disney Cookbook! The recipes are so cute and I have to say very WW friendly! I'm hoping that it will get my picky eater to eat new things if he made it himself and it's inspired by his favorite disney characters. They have the cutest Lightning McQueen wraps cut into 4 to resemble his wheels. I'm desperate, I'll try anything to get this boy to eat anything but kid food!

http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Magic-...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209587663&sr=8-1


Mare

 

[vbarry]

O.K. guys- I am ready to start one of those polls SL vs. RPC....PLEASE STOP the MADNESS!!

Should I do the high class thing and stay in RPC or go slummin and stay in the SL.....decisions...decisions

Channing- I hope your dryer is vented

 

[Lives4Disney]

MY advice...do not touch anything. Put it in the washer and adjust to what you have in there. Then do the drying the same way. It has the sensor adjust on there and it can tell if they are wet, damp or dry and will adjust for the amount of moisture in the clothes.

Express wash does cut down on time but I have not used it much. See what the book says about that.

Now remember...you are putting twice the amount of laundry in and you are saving on water and electricity in case you are trying to save the world. Your gonna love them.

Vanessa, thanks for the support.....I think I am just in panic mode because I am surrounded by laundry. OOPS Something is beeping!!!!! It was just the damp/dry button....12 more minutes.....Hopefully this load that had the extra spin will be done.

Make sure the vent hose was set up properly behind your new dryer!

Thanks! I just talked to DH and he said the same thing...he's coming home early to check it all out for me.

Linda, I hear what you're saying. PLUS, the GF is just so magical anyway....it's worth it.


AnnMarie - Sounds wonderful! Have a great birthday!

 

[Lives4Disney]

O.K. guys- I am ready to start one of those polls SL vs. RPC....PLEASE STOP the MADNESS!!

Should I do the high class thing and stay in RPC or go slummin and stay in the SL.....decisions...decisions

Channing- I hope your dryer is vented

Well....You'll love either one.....how's that. YOu don't know any difference. There are some wonderful CMs in SL and the problem becomes once you try RPC you cannot go back. It is a sickness.

Ya, it should be vented, but you never know.....the guys looked like they knew what they wre doing. DH will KNOW. He should have stayed home & helped me.

Hey, Mare!! You asked a while back about Disney Visa and any great things about it.....I have never used it that way....Most of the "deals" are packages and I do not do packages. They do send coupons for the Disney Store and online store once in a while. I have it just for the cuteness of it and earning points...totally dorky I know. I am so sad about Bob, too. He was such a nice guy. He booked our Swan stay last May and he really helped me sort out a problem when that stupid hotel overcharged me for my "complimentary" upgrade. I couldn't believe I was actually talking to "THE" Bob. I feel just so awful for the whole podcast team. I started listening to their anniv show - the one where they talk about how they met etc...I hadn't until recently because I missed some and then you nmentioned that show....I cried when Pete talked about what a GOOD FRIEND Bob is. He will be sorely missed by so many people.

 

[johnsonet]

R I'm not sure why everyone (not on this thread, but on other threads I've read) scoffs how GF / deluxes are so not worth the price for a so-called "luxury" resort. Have they tried pricing hotels anywhere else? It's expensive everywhere, people. I'm looking at a Fourth of July weekend trip to Williamsburg, VA for my family and even the freakin' Super 8 is pricing out at $90 per night. Super 8! For reals? Another option is to go into Washington DC for the weekend (we live in the 'burbs) and the Sofitel is $300 per night and the Mandarin Oriental is almost $500. And that's NOT concierge. And at the Sofitel, we'll need to book two rooms since the maximum occupancy is 3 in one room. Even the Embassy Suites in DC is pricing out at $339 per night, and don't even get me started on the Four Seasons (starting at $750 per night for a standard room with no view). And these prices are not jacked up for the holiday weekend -- they're the usual "weekend special" rates. I'm starting to think that the GF is not such a bad deal after all.

Good point The occupancy thing IN PARTICULAR is a bargain at WDW. So many nice hotels I've been to/loOked into in Southern CA and NYC and DC and also other parts of FL are geared towards couples and/or business travelers and have many more king rooms than doubles/queens so they accomodate 2 adults max. It's horrible trying to organize a Girls' Weekend that way

 

[praline3001]

O.K. guys- I am ready to start one of those polls SL vs. RPC....PLEASE STOP the MADNESS!!

Should I do the high class thing and stay in RPC or go slummin and stay in the SL.....decisions...decisions

Channing- I hope your dryer is vented

Just remember Vanessa.... people LIKE me stay SL

 

[SleepingUgly]

Ladies ... I have a dilemma. I keep going back to this "free dining" deal that will be available when we are at WDW in late August and I keep thinking that it's a better deal than what I have now (RPC, no free dining). Granted, we'll have to make ADRs and stick to those like glue everyday (or risk "wasting" credits or going hungry), but still -- the price difference keeps grabbing my attention.

Here's our deal now (if you don't mind) -- $5000-plus for RPC room for eight nights. That's not including tickets for 2 adults and 2 children, and not including any meals. Just the tix alone would be another $1000. And then the meals, of course. I've got three character meals already planned, along with Fantasmic package. And we have to eat on other days as well. So total would be something like $6750-$7000.

Free-dining -- $4841 for free dining in a MK view room at the GF, and that's including tickets. I would need to add one night since we arrive on 8/23, and that's the day before free dining starts, and so that's another $434 for a GV room for our first night. So total, with meals, tickets and a MK view room for eight nights would be less than $5300.

$6750 vs. $5300. You see what I mean re: the price difference? What would you do? I would love to stay in the RPC, but that $1400 price difference keeps popping up in my head. We don't go to WDW as often as the rest of you, and so it's not like we can try another resort / room later this year or even next year. So if you were not to take another trip to WDW for at least another couple of years, which would you choose?

Linda

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Ladies ... I have a dilemma. I keep going back to this "free dining" deal that will be available when we are at WDW in late August and I keep thinking that it's a better deal than what I have now (RPC, no free dining). Granted, we'll have to make ADRs and stick to those like glue everyday (or risk "wasting" credits or going hungry), but still -- the price difference keeps grabbing my attention.

Here's our deal now (if you don't mind) -- $5000-plus for RPC room for eight nights. That's not including tickets for 2 adults and 2 children, and not including any meals. Just the tix alone would be another $1000. And then the meals, of course. I've got three character meals already planned, along with Fantasmic package. And we have to eat on other days as well. So total would be something like $6750-$7000.

Free-dining -- $4841 for free dining in a MK view room at the GF, and that's including tickets. I would need to add one night since we arrive on 8/23, and that's the day before free dining starts, and so that's another $434 for a GV room for our first night. So total, with meals, tickets and a MK view room for eight nights would be less than $5300.

$6750 vs. $5300. You see what I mean re: the price difference? What would you do? I would love to stay in the RPC, but that $1400 price difference keeps popping up in my head. We don't go to WDW as often as the rest of you, and so it's not like we can try another resort / room later this year or even next year. So if you were not to take another trip to WDW for at least another couple of years, which would you choose?

Linda

Thats a tough one. I would look at where you want to eat and then call dining and see if you can get ressies. If you cant get any good places to eat I dont know if free dining is worth it.

 

[vbarry]

Just remember Vanessa.... people LIKE me stay SL

 

[praline3001]

Linda, we had a similar issue with our Feb trip.... not free dining but we wanted the Deluxe meal plan...my boys eat a lot
We were also not planning on spending tons of time in the resort and were eating mostly in the parks. For my family doing the GV with Deluxe meal plan was worth it and saved us a lot on snacks!

It really depends on how much time your going to spend in the parks and how big of eaters your family is.
If you are planning to live in the parks, then go with the meal plan, if you are planning on spending a lot of time at the resort, go RPC.

With Savannah and I this trip... neither of us are big eaters. We are staying SL and I was going to pay OOP for meals. After looking at the meals SHE picked, they are mostly buffet character meals where you POP. I am going to go with the basic meal plan as it would be cheaper for us.... plus she can get a snack in the parks.

NOW the Deluxe is NOT for the faint of heart.... TRUST ME now with my 2 boys I still shelled out 500 bucks that week on snacks above and beyond the deluxe plan...well DH and the boys So are family had no trouble using our credits!

You can also use 2 of your credits for room service breakfast and the tip is included. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the breakfast room service at the GF!!!!

 

[praline3001]

I thought that would help you decide

 

[vbarry]

Hey Kelly- I forgot to ask but did you get a room close to the elevator or did you have to walk down those LONG hallways at the BWV??

 

[SleepingUgly]

Thats a tough one. I would look at where you want to eat and then call dining and see if you can get ressies. If you cant get any good places to eat I dont know if free dining is worth it.

That is a good idea, Kelly. So I should try to see if I can even get any ADRs first for that week before deciding. You've been so, so, SOOOOO helpful every step of the way. I may have to try this route and see what happens.

Have I mentioned that you've been extremely helpful?

Then again, I just got a surprise raise yesterday. Fiften percent! Wasn't expecting it at all, but it was definitely a nice surprise. Since my colleague is not returning from maternity leave, that leaves just l'il ol' me in charge of the department, so I guess it was warranted. So maybe that can go towards the "difference" between free dining and RPC.

I can't wait until August. At least then, I won't have to make any more decisions re: this vacation.

Linda

 

[Alicnwondrln]

LONG ELEVATOR yes the BWI was actually worse than the villas. But the view at the Inn was right above the ESPN arcade and it was a grat view.

 

[praline3001]

Linda,
Kelly knows her disney

 

[ahcupcake]

Sounds really fun and festive! Lots of incredible meals to look forward to! And I would love to take the time to do the Keys to the Kingdome some time! I have been taking my daughter (also an only child ) to the GF since she was 2. She is now almost 12. Last summer we stayed in the Main Bldg. for the first time ever and it was really, really special. I loved being right there! We had had access to the lounge and itinerary planners before when we'd stayed in the Everglades Suite in Conch Key once but never had we had a room "in the Lobby" and it was delightful
Have a wonderful birthday trip

Thanks We took the Keys tour last Oct. and it's great. A couple of years ago we took that 7 hour 3 park tour OMG did my feet hurt after that and the lunch we had made me don't know if they(Momma Melrose) were having an off day or it was me. I'm afraid to try them again. Between the 2 tour I'll take Keys To The Kingdom any day. ~~AnnMarie

 

[SleepingUgly]

Linda, we had a similar issue with our Feb trip.... not free dining but we wanted the Deluxe meal plan...my boys eat a lot
We were also not planning on spending tons of time in the resort and were eating mostly in the parks. For my family doing the GV with Deluxe meal plan was worth it and saved us a lot on snacks!

It really depends on how much time your going to spend in the parks and how big of eaters your family is.
If you are planning to live in the parks, then go with the meal plan, if you are planning on spending a lot of time at the resort, go RPC.

With Savannah and I this trip... neither of us are big eaters. We are staying SL and I was going to pay OOP for meals. After looking at the meals SHE picked, they are mostly buffet character meals where you POP. I am going to go with the basic meal plan as it would be cheaper for us.... plus she can get a snack in the parks.

NOW the Deluxe is NOT for the faint of heart.... TRUST ME now with my 2 boys I still shelled out 500 bucks that week on snacks above and beyond the deluxe plan...well DH and the boys So are family had no trouble using our credits!

You can also use 2 of your credits for room service breakfast and the tip is included. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the breakfast room service at the GF!!!!

Thanks, Brook! The girls and I are not big eaters, but dh has a pretty hearty appetite. And you're right as well (this is why I love this thread and its experts on cabana boys ... uh, I mean on GF) -- we are planning to spend quite a bit of time at the resort. Since we're going in late August, and it will be hot as you-know-what, I want to take it easy and return to the resort every afternoon and let the girls swim / relax. If we have to rush back to the parks or another resort for dinner, that may take away from the relaxing I'm aiming for as part of this trip. I guess being able to relax is priceless in itself.

Decisions, decisions. I really am more decisive than this in othe aspects of my life ... I think. Or maybe not. I'm not sure about that one either.

Linda

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Dont let Brook scare you off ladies shes a riot!!
I spend so much time chatting with Chan lately on the phone my DH says I should just take the boys and go meet her at the GF.