Nervous about Grand Floridian. Please help.

[Jasminetigger]

i don't think there are any service areas that you could overlook.......i don't recall seeing any service areas when i've walked around the resort (where the buildings are)...

it really is a very quiet and peaceful resort....

and very disney....to me it IS disney.....sort of like being a princess....

i may have seen some service areas on the walk over to the spa....but there are no rooms over there......it's just the walkway to the spa (and from there to the wedding pavilion and the poly)...

as for trucks...i don't even know where the trucks deliver...i don't think i ever noticed one...
there are those little motorized vehicles the bellboys use and the mousekeepers use for linens, but no real delivery trucks....there must be service areas of the hotel that are completely hidden from the guests (and not near the rooms)...

Thanks for the info. That's good to know. Well we are all set now. Put the deposit down on the room. We are sticking with the GF. Just got off the phone with WDW and purchased our MNSSHP tickets. There's no turning back now.

 

[wdhinn89]

 

[Familyof6]

Whoooooohoooooo!! I'm so excited for you!

Oh, that reminds me...for our originally planned trip in 2001 we had tix to MNSSHP. I'm glad that you are getting to go! (we obviously didn't )

I know already that you will have a magical time!

Familyof6

 

[Sammie]

there may be garden view rooms that view water, but this is not guaranteed...if you have a GV view, you might just be looking at trees and shrubbery and nothing else....
so don't plan on it being anything but that....you might be lucky and get something else..
if you want to be guaranteed a water view, then you should upgrade to marina view....but it's really not worth the extra money.......
i can't remember the building we were in on that stay (it's the one right across from the main building (boca chica?), but we didn't have a pool or marina view...we were around the side of the building and faced the building off to the side (possibly sugar loaf?) and trees and grass and bushes....
but it was also pretty...nothing wrong with it and we had a really good rate on that stay....so i wasn't complaining...

There is no marina view. The rooms that face the marina are Garden Views rooms. There are only three types of views at the Grand Floridian.

Garden, which includes views of the grounds, views of the pools, and views of the marina. You are correct in that not everyone gets this view but it is still garden view.

Then lagoon view and then theme park view.

 

[Sammie]

The view is not that major of a deal to me. Trees and shrubbery will suit me just fine. My main concern would be noise. I wouldn't want to overlook some service area where loud trucks are there late in the evening/early in the morning. Does anyone know if any of the garden view rooms overlook the service area?

Yes there are some in Sago Cay that overlook the back of the convention center and service area and you will hear the delivery trucks and the beep beep when they back up.

 

[LoriZH]

I had always wanted to stay at GF but was a little reluctant didn't think it would be our type of resort, but boy was I surprised at just how much we LOVED this resort! It is beautiful and cozy and all that is right about Disney. You're treated absolutely wonderful and I am sure you will have a beautiful time there. The pool is actually very nice, your kids will enjoy it I'm sure.

HAVE FUN!

 

[disneyholic family]

by the way, you can request a specific building, even a specific room number...
there is no guarantee that you will get it, but you can put in a request on your reservation (if you booked directly with disney)...

i've only done that when i've stayed in the RPC concierge (when i give them the numbers of the rooms that i know have a castle view - and they always come through)....i've never made a special request when i stay in one of the standard buildings, but you can...and they'll make an effort to accomodate you....(i've done this often in other WDW resorts and they always meet the request pretty)...

the "unoffical Guide to WDW" has descriptions of the various room locations and what to request....there may be places online with the same information, but i'm not familiar with them.....so i'd recommend the unofficial guide and putting in a request for a specific building if it's important to you...

ok....i just went and looked up the GF in the 2007 edition of the Unofficial Guide...
this is what he says (i've skipped sections that refer to lagoon views and have only included the garden view parts):

"of the five lodges, three (Conch Key, Boca Chica and Big PIne Key) have one long side facing the lagoon and the other side facing the inner courtyards and swimming pools......................
Less expensive rooms in the same building (Conch Key) that offer good views are 72-,73-, 74-, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, and 72-, 73-, 74-12 and 14 (Grand Floridian room numbers are coded. Take room 7213: 7 is the building number, 2 is the floor, and 13 is the room number).

Note that many Garden View rooms in Big Pine Key and a few in Boca Chica, have views obstructed by a poolside building. There are the worst views from any Grand Floridian room."

The two remaining buildings, Sugar Loaf Key and Saga Cay, face each other across the marina. The opposide side of Sugar Loaf Key faces a courtyard, while the other side of Sago Cay faces a finger of the lagoon and forested area. All these views are pleasant but not in the same league as those from the rooms listed above."

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So based on the above excerpt from the Unofficial Guide, it would seem that you should request a room in Conch Key. That will be your safest bet. However, as i said, the only time i made a request was when i stayed in the main building. When we stayed standard i just waited to see what they gave us (we got Boca Chica both times).