Just back from GF and BWI!!

[minster22]

Hello everyone......during 18 days of Disney bliss, truly one of the only things I missed was the DIS!!! Just a quick report here. We checked GF with our lagoon view on April 26, and they had assigned us to an attic room. Since this was a relax, sip our coffee on the balcony kind of vacation , we requested another room with a full balcony and we given a room in Big Pine Key, second floor, right around the corner from the elevators.They were quite willing to change our rooms for us and I felt comfortable asking for what we wanted. We have stayed at the BW many times and the BW has always been our favorite resort, which is why we chose to stay there second.Well, the GF far surpassed our expectations!!I have read many so so reports about the GF here and was ready for a nice but not necessarily Grand stay. Well, I loved it there!!! Great pools, fabulous food everywhere (will post more on this on the restaurant board), really loved the access to Gasparillas and the food there was very good for fast food, fun Mouseboats, beautiful room,loved having drink service at the pool!! Will stay here again anytime, loved every moment of it!!!! And now we move over to our beloved BW, and wonder did we make a mistake coming here second?? I got up early the morning of the move to check into the Inn just to let them know we were willing to wait for a room with a view of Illuminations. During the checkin process I waited very patiently until the point he started looking on the computer for our room and then asked about the view, if possible.At this point a supervisor comes over and asks if it would be a problem for us to stay in one of the garden cottage suites with concierge priviledges?? I almost fainted!!Our stay at the Inn was to be for 10 nights and I never expected any kind of upgrade for such a long stay!!!Well this became our true "home "for the next 10 nights and we still just love the BW and now the concierge staff there, especially Jackie, Robin and Scott!! Sorry so long here but I know that only fellow Dis'ers will understand the unbelieveable good fortune at work here. Any questions, please ask.....we did very little park time this trip, lots of food and resort time, also spa time.

 

[sotoalf]

I'm glad you had such a great time. Our trip in June will also focus on good eating and relaxing rather than parks. Tell us where you ate!

 

[missypie]

What great good fortune for you! However, yours is the type of once in a lifetime story that gives the rest of us pie in the skiy ideas that we'll get the upgrade of our dreams every time we visit!

 

[BrianD]

WOW!

 

[Cris]

sounds like a fabulous trip!!! Do you remember who the manager was??

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Minster22- It sounds like you truely had a Magical vacation. I'm glad you fell in love with the GF. It has always been a favorite resort of mine. And talk about luck at the BWI. You must have been glowing with Pixie Dust all week.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

GOOD FOR YOU!


Congratulations on your upgrade and the great time you had at the GF!

We will be at the GF starting July 5 for 6 nights after 3 at the HRH.

We can't wait!

Thanks for your report!

 

[minster22]

Cris, I think his name may have been Richard. The person checking us in was getting his "Mouse Ears" and he stepped in as a training supervisor to finish the transaction. I was so astonished with our good fortune that i was literally in a cloud of Pixie Dust for quite sometime!!
Thank you everyone for all your shared enthusiasm...that is what makes the Dis great!!

 

[Pooh's Pal]

Minster22 is a spoiled brat!!! LOL

Nothing like being treated like a princess on vacation!. I'm so glad your home....and thanks for all the Disney STUFF!!!

 

[Harambe]

So glad to hear you loved GF - we are going for our first time in Sept. And I can't believe you got a Garden Suite! They are so pretty. Now if that happened to me, I would burst into tears and embarrass the whole family! LOL!

 

[TwingleMum]

OMG!!!! How great was that trip. It was as if the resort fairys were playing " can you top that?" Thanks for sharing your magical trip.

 

[minster22]

I was brought to tears a couple of times....saying goodbye and thank you to Jackie, Robin and Scott from concierge at the BWI....it truly felt like home and family when we left. And we had enjoyed our tea at the GF so much the first time, we went back just before we left for the airport and got the same lovely waitress again, Dottie.When we were finished, she gave each of us a big hug....totally unexpected! Well, that when the tears welled up in both our eyes.
Harambe,I hope you enjoy the GF also!!!I was actually a bit nervous about staying there....having really loved the Boardwalk and seeing so many negative things about it on these boards.It is just so pretty and relaxing and of course convenient to MK. We also loved the food options, had fabulous dinners at Narcoosees and Citricos and having Gasparillas Grille for a quick bite was awesome.And of course the afternoon tea really set the tone for our vacation, I highly recommend it if you have someone in your family who would also enjoy it.Thanks everyone!!

 

[Micca]

I love it at Disney when you think things are really cool, they get even better Sounds like a great trip

 

[newmousecateer]

What a wonderful vacation!! And how wonderful you got a fabulous upgrade like that at the BW. Enjoy all of your memories!!

 

[Ladyhawke10]

Oh my gosh, I guess I haven't read the boards enough but I can't imagine someone not liking GF. This is my favorite hotel in the world, and I am a bit of a luxury hotel addict. The GF experience is sublime, and I've stayed there many times. Well, I'm sure glad you got to experience it, and congrats on your upgrade at the BW as well. How fun !

 

[wdwfan]

Wow!! What an amazing stay you had!! One of these times we'll stay at the Grand. Soon we'll be at the BWI again and this time we are staying concierge. Can you tell us more about the concierge lounge at BWI? And what made the cm's so special? I'd love to hear more about your experience, especially since it sounds so magical!! What a wonderful surprise to have that unexpected upgrade. Disney magic strikes again!!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

WOW! I would have been a puddle of tears on the floor. I can't believe they upgraded you for 10 days.

I'll be at the GF in about one week. I can't wait.

Lori

 

[yecats]

Wow you really had the true magical experience. Glad to hear that you had a wonderful vacation.

 

[minster22]

wdwfan....what made the cm's so special, it was 3 of them in particular, Robin, Jacki and Scott was mostly their personal interaction with us and other guests, not so much they did for us (and they did make a couple of ps's, spa stuff). An example, we walk into the lounge and Robin is gently wiping the hands of a little boy as if he is her DS and sending him off with his Mom and Dad for the day at the parks.A small gesture for sure, but when done from the heart, very touching. Jacki, always asking about our adventures of the day....she got such a kick out of the day we went over to Canyon Ranch at Gaylord Palms for a spa treatment,my best buddy and I have always requested and gotten women for our treatments and this one day we both had young men come out to get us.....well our mouths must have dropped to our knees with surprise and after telling this little story to Jacki, she just was always there to hear our days events or non events. And Scott was just as fun and sweet as Robin and Jacki.
I think it all worked because we both of had the attitude that no matter what happened on this special vacation (18 days!! and we saved for 2 years to do it) it was just perfect whatever happened. We also did very little park time, lots of resort time, nice dinners, spas, plenty of time to relax and smell the roses.The more I go to WDW, I find that the MAGIC happens when you least expect it and having this long amount of time to savor everything allowed that MAGIC to really take hold.
I thank you all for your thoughts and wish all of you the same Magical moments!!

 

[Patio]

I am so HAPPY for you. What a truly magical trip!!