Question for those who have stayed at GF

[princessap]

I have three little girls and am contemplating a stay here next year...am wondering for those that have stayed here before what their kids thought of it....it looks very regal and think they would like it but not sure if the theming appeals to me, LOL

Any advice would be great!

 

[mickeynut1]

I have three little girls and am contemplating a stay here next year...am wondering for those that have stayed here before what their kids thought of it....it looks very regal and think they would like it but not sure if the theming appeals to me, LOL

Any advice would be great!

The theme/decor never appealed to me either and I always thought it felt "stuffy" whenever we visited and never saw myself staying there. With that said, I had a whole new perspective after taking the plunge and experiencing the resort by actually staying there. The GF isn't my favorite resort, but it does rank high on the list. I can't comment on kids as we have boys and they are older (18 & 20) and just go with the flow as far as which resort mom picks....LOL....but I think your girls would love the GF. The new splash pad looks great for little ones and I think your DDs would love it. Good luck.

 

[kpm76]

We stayed at the GF on our honeymoon in one of the outer buildings and honestly, it was not as "grand" as we expected. It was fine and I'm glad we tried it but I don't think we will be back (maybe in one of the villas just to try it someday).

We have two children, DD6 and DS2 and we've stayed at most of the deluxes. DS doesn't have much of an opinion yet, but DD sure does (haha) and her favorites are the Poly (she loves the volcano slide) and the BW (she loves the pool and the bakery).

 

[princessap]

My DD6 LOVES the poly too!!! which is what I planned on doing for the week until my Dh said he wanted to try somewhere new...lol....I had it perfectly planned to do two nights TPV at CR and then five at the POLY but he said no so trying to come up with a new plan!

 

[kpm76]

My DD6 LOVES the poly too!!! which is what I planned on doing for the week until my Dh said he wanted to try somewhere new...lol....I had it perfectly planned to do two nights TPV at CR and then five at the POLY but he said no so trying to come up with a new plan!

I just replied to your other GF thread. While we have not stayed at the GF villas (obviously haha), we have stayed in many other studios and we are only a family of 4. Honestly, I think with 5 you will be crawling the walls in a studio. OKW is the exception because they have 2 queens but the location is not convenient with little ones.

WL ranks high on our list as well. The pool is nice but a manageable size for young children. DD6 and I stayed at YC in May and while we loved it, I realized that our son is much too active for me to be able to enjoy time at SB. He'd be everywhere!

 

[princessap]

Thanks....just looking at room size and there is 100 sq feet more in a poly room vs studio....just wish there was a splash pad like the one at GF for my girls...it looks super cute!

 

[Princess Katherine]

The theme is kind of snobby, if your girls like a princessey type of resort they will like it. Honestly, it doesn't really apply to adults but. the pool is really nice and quite and the layout isn't confusing. The shops are nice too.

Katie

 

[JessiMommy]

My family loves the GF. This includes my DD who was 9 and 10 when we stayed there on two different trips. We had a MK view corner room in Boca Chica both times and it was amazing to watch the MK wake up every morning from the balcony with my coffee. Great view of the fireworks too.


DD & DH

It does have that upscale feel but we never felt like anything or anyone there was too stuffy. I say take a look at loads of pictures from every resort you are considering. I always kinda know where we should stay based on how we all feel looking at the pictures.

 

[skuttle]

We've never felt the GF was stuffy. And we've never felt out of place there. The last time we stayed there our DS was almost 7. He loved it there. The pools, the monorail...he really enjoyed it.

I just asked him where was his favorite place that we've stayed (we've done with him WL, GF, AKL, ASMu, POR-FQ, and AKL-kidani) and he said GF because if the monorail and how close we were to MK.

I felt more out of place when we stayed at the dolphin several years ago and had to walk through the bar area filled with convention people when we were just coming in from a full day at the parks!

 

[bballmom56]

We stayed at GF many, many years ago when my DD was 8 and DS was 3. We were there two years in a row with grandma and grandpa. They loved it! We did not find it stuffy or snobby. CM's were very friendly and always greeted us. The kids being young was never a problem. Now that they are in their mid-late 20's, their goal is to be able to stay there again someday.

DH and I love to visit the GF when we are at WDW. The lobby is magnificent and takes us back to those trips with my parents. We describe the ambience as a quiet elegance. Just a simple, but refined elegance. We listen to whatever music is being played - either someone is playing the piano or the last time we visited there was a small band playing.

If we could afford it, we would love to stay there again and those visits when my kids were little are precious memories.

 

[DebbieB]

I just replied to your other GF thread. While we have not stayed at the GF villas (obviously haha), we have stayed in many other studios and we are only a family of 4. Honestly, I think with 5 you will be crawling the walls in a studio. OKW is the exception because they have 2 queens but the location is not convenient with little ones.

WL ranks high on our list as well. The pool is nice but a manageable size for young children. DD6 and I stayed at YC in May and while we loved it, I realized that our son is much too active for me to be able to enjoy time at SB. He'd be everywhere!

VGF is the only studio that allows 5 (unless one is under 3) because of the pulldown bed. OKW and others only allow 4.

GF was the first resort I stayed in at WDW, in 1994. Also stayed there when I took my niece in 1999. Loved it! Looking forward to VGF (assuming I can get in at 7 months with DVC).

 

[kmb584]

I've stayed at the GF numerous times as both a child and adult and have never once found it to be . I've had a standard view and a theme park view, I've stayed in the main building and RPC level. Growing up my family stayed in presidential suites during our October trips (May was standard rooms) and when I was 13 we stayed in the Grand Suite which was incredibly beautiful and large enough to fit my entire (current) home into.

My most recent stay was in April '11 as my daughter had just turned 2 and I'd learned from prior trips that staying at a monorail resort made life a heck of a lot easier for me (I'm a single parent and just don't have 8 hands to juggle everything that comes with a toddler!).

I think it's all about perspective. If you go in thinking that you don't belong, that's how you're going to feel for the entire stay.

 

[clapton]

We stayed at GF years ago when my kids were younger, but we always visit and eat in the GF cafe when we are at WDW, it's one of my favorite restaurants. We just added on to our DVC with points at the GFV and we are looking forward to staying there again! I love it and think it's a beautiful resort.

 

[Disney Spaz]

We stayed there in 2007 when DD was only 13 months and loved it so much that we just bought into VGF. I would say try it you never know.

In 2008 we stayed at CSR because I had heard so many wonderful things about the resort and was super excited after looking at all the pictures. I just knew it would be our new favorite mod. Boy was I wrong. I spent the whole time unhappy with our choice and wishing I had gone with POFQ like I had planned. It was just not for us and felt too much like a convention hotel versus a WDW resort.

But that is just us and each person has their own perspective.

 

[kpm76]

VGF is the only studio that allows 5 (unless one is under 3) because of the pulldown bed. OKW and others only allow 4.

GF was the first resort I stayed in at WDW, in 1994. Also stayed there when I took my niece in 1999. Loved it! Looking forward to VGF (assuming I can get in at 7 months with DVC).

Right, good point She mentioned in another thread that one of the girls will be 2 at the time of the trip, so she could book any of the other studios, but I would caution against it.

We're not huge GF lovers, but I am excited to at least try the villas. We own at BW though so it might be a while before we can get in

 

[Marthasor]

We have stayed at GF 3 times with my DS who is now 5 and we really like it. GF isn't my favorite, but it really does offer more than any other resort in terms of amenities, number of restaurants and shopping options. I think with 3 girls, it's a very good choice - there are so many things for them there! The pools, the new splash pad. Afternoon tea, 1900 Park Fare (with the english literary characters at breakfast and dinner with Cinderlla). One reason I liked it when my son was very little was we could leave the parks after lunch, go back to GF and literally have enough to do there (and enough variety there), that we didn't have to go back out later in the afternoon or evening. We could eat in a different restaurant every night, rent a boat or surrey bike, watch the electric water pageant and the fireworks. It was great!

We have stayed in 3 different categories at the resort - outer building, garden view, RPC and a 1-bedroom suite in an outer building. If we ever stay there again, i would just choose outer building-garden view and ask for a room close to the main building. The other categories weren't worth the $$ IMHO. I think the villas look lovely, but they look pricey and they are a bit remote from the main building.

 

[i8carat]

I love the GF as does my son who is almost six. Two years ago I booked the AKL club level and when we arrived at the resort they had mistakenly given away our room. My son was so happy that we got to move to the GF. He thinks the GF is his personal castle hotel. He loves it there it is a great resort and not stuffy at all. I love the ambiance there and I guess my son does too lol.

 

[TwinkleKS]

I've decided I am either oblivious or a huge snob because I have never noticed anything snobby at GF. We stayed there in May with three pre-schoolers. They really enjoyed both the big zero entry pool and the Alice in Wonderland splash area. We love the convenience of being on the monorail. The trip before we stayed at CR.

 

[princessap]

I've decided I am either oblivious or a huge snob because I have never noticed anything snobby at GF. We stayed there in May with three pre-schoolers. They really enjoyed both the big zero entry pool and the Alice in Wonderland splash area. We love the convenience of being on the monorail. The trip before we stayed at CR.

you would be perfect to ask then! lol. which did u prefer??? those are the two wr are debating!!

 

[Wendy5055]

I've stayed at the Grand with my DD11 and she absolutely loved it!!! I think she was around 7 the first time. I would never hesitate to stay there and everyone was so very nice!!! I can't say enough great things about it.