Suites at Monorail Resorts

[justhat]

It turns out that next May (2 weeks before my wedding) my mother's company has a convention at the GF. We decided that since my fiancé will be busy studying for the Medical Board exams, it would be a great time to go to WDW together and bring all the female attendants in the wedding (between the ages of 2.5 and 28). They live in various states so we thought this would be a great chance to let them all meet before the wedding and have fun.

So here's where we need some help. We'll have have between 8 to 10 people (not including the 2.5 year old, possibly including 2 little boys who might just have to come) who will need beds, so what kind of room should we get? We'd really prefer to be at the GF because of the conference so my mom doesn't have to travel (she's pretty set on this, but could be persuaded if necessary). Right now we're planning on getting a suite at the GF, but will 2 bedrooms be large enough? Do they have larger ones (I heard in another thread of a 3 bedroom, but didn't see it listed on the WDW site)? Also, I noticed on the WDW site that it lists a concierge 2 bedroom suite--are the rest of the suites not concierge rooms? We never stayed in a suite in WDW, but I thought they would all be concierge since all the others we have stayed in were, but maybe they're not. The prices for the 2 bedroom suites varied considerably, so does anyone know why--what are the differences/advantages/etc.?


I also read somewhere that they will bring in a rollaway cot if you need one. Is this true? It sounds good for us since it would eliminate people who don't know each other from sharing a bed if they don't want to. Also, since the suites are designed to hold more people than regular rooms, do they still charge you an additional $25 for more than 2 adults?

My last question is where are the suites located? I read somewhere they are in Sago Cay and Conch Key, but are the 2 bedrooms in just one, or are there more buildings? Do any websites have photos of all the suites, or room layouts? It would be really helpful to compare them all. Also, the locations of each suite would be a huge help too, to see what the views are, how far we'd have to walk, etc. Any help or suggestions at all would be really great!!! Thanks!!

 

[Janet2k]

Justhat, I have stayed in two different two-bedroom suites at the GF. Both of them were located in Conch Key, with the best views of Cinderella’s Castle, in my humble opinion. When I booked a suite the second time, I needed accommodations that would sleep nine people. I don’t know what suite “code” was assigned to my reservation, but I was told by CRO that my suite would not be in the main building due to the number of people that I needed it for. CRO told me that suites were located in various buildings at the GF, and mine would be assigned closer to check-in time. I had enquired about three-bedroom suites, and was told by CRO that they didn’t exist at the GF. I do not know whether or not that was true, that was just what I was told (time and time again) by CRO. For what it’s worth, I have never read of anyone booking a three-bedroom suite at the GF, so that gives a little more credence to what they told me. My guess is that if there is such a suite, it is basically a two-bedroom suite that has a connecting room that can be added on. That would, in effect, turn it into a pseudo three-bedroom suite (that is a very likely scenario).

I don’t know if you realize it, but a two-bedroom suite is really three rooms: a master bedroom, a secondary bedroom, and a parlor room. The parlor room usually has a combined dining room and living room area.

For my second suite stay, my party of nine was as follows: four people in my family (2 adults/1 junior/1 child), three people in my sister’s family (1 adult/2 children), and my parents (2 adults). I was going to put my parents in the master bedroom, my family in the second bedroom, and my sister’s family in the parlor. Since I had stayed in a two-bedroom suite at the GF before, I knew that arrangement would work out fine. Once at WDW, if I determined that we needed a rollaway bed for one of the kids, I would have requested one. During my first two-bedroom suite stay at the GF, I had requested a rollaway bed when a girlfriend of mine joined my family for a few days. The rollaway bed worked out perfectly (plus, it was cute to see Housekeeping put it away every day, and then turn it down every night).

For both of the two-bedroom suites that I have stayed in at the GF, there were three full bathrooms. That worked out wonderfully, and that is why I knew we could squeeze three families into a two-bedroom suite there. For the two-bedroom suites that I have stayed in at the Yacht Club and Animal Kingdom Lodge, there were only two full bathrooms plus one half-bathroom. That is not too shabby and definitely do-able, but it’s always nice having another full bathroom as opposed to a half-bathroom.

I only have photos posted of one of the GF suites. The other suite was identical in layout, but it was located exactly one floor above. Click here to view my main on-line photo album. Look towards the bottom of that page for my suite photos. My photos aren’t the greatest, but they should give you an idea of what the suite looked like. It really was a lovely suite and I have such wonderful memories of that vacation. At the last minute my parents cancelled out, so there only wound up being seven people in my suite. That worked out perfectly. My sister and her kids had the second bedroom, while my husband & I had the master bedroom. Our son took the parlor room as his “own,” while our young daughter slept with her big cousin in my sister’s room (she adores her cousin).

Before I close, you asked about concierge status. That is always subject to change and I am a prime example of that. My first two-bedroom suite stay had the Grand Plan package added to it. I was told that I would NOT have access to the concierge lounge since my suite was located in a lodge building. That was almost enough to make me cancel that vacation since I had Grand Planned before with a concierge room in the main building, and I really enjoyed the concierge lounge. But Disney would not waive their rules for me even though I told them that I was on the verge of canceling my reservation and staying elsewhere. It took a lot of convincing on Disney’s part to get me to keep that reservation. I did, and I did not have concierge access during it. Fast forward a year or two. I booked a two-bedroom suite and chose NOT to add the Grand Plan to it. Again, I was told that my suite would be in a lodge building. That was perfectly fine with me. This time, however, I was told that I WOULD have concierge access. And access to BOTH concierge lounges. Go figure. I didn’t understand it, but Disney had obviously changed their rules between my two suite stays. I was very pleased to have the concierge access, even though I did not expect it. So, now you know why I state that everything is always subject to change with Disney. I have no idea if concierge access still goes hand-in-hand with a GF suite, and I won’t even bother to guess (I’d probably guess wrong). You’ll have to find that out when you book your suite.

 

[Janet2k]

The Disney website has some room layouts listed (even a suite or two): click here to view them.

 

[justhat]

Thanks Janet2K!! It sounds like you really enjoyed your stay. Were all of you comfortable in the suite? It seemed like you were, and I like the idea of all of the bathrooms too--a big plus with all women! I was looking at your photos and noticed it said Cypress Suite. Was that the actual name of your room? I'm wondering because they didn't have that name listed on the WDW website, but I'm guessing that they probably changed the name. I looked at those layouts on the WDW site, but for the GF they only have the one bedroom suites. I did check the other monorail resorts though (where we'd most likely stay if not the GF so that my mom would have easy access to the GF convention center) and the Contemporary has a layout of a 2 bedroom suite. Is this one similar to the GF 2 bedroom suites? I thought they would be similar, but then I noticed that your suite had a king sized bed in the master bedroom, but the CR suite has queen beds in both bedrooms. Does anyone know if the king or 2 queens is standard in most 2 bedroom suites? Thanks again so much for all of your help, if you or anyone else has any other information, please share!

 

[justhat]

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/resorts/rooms/roomindex?id=CONTRoomLayout6Room

That's the link to the CR 2 bedroom suite layout

 

[Janet2k]

Justhat, the GF has quite a few suites and I have only stayed in two of them. Both of the suites that I stayed in had identical bedroom configurations -- that is, the master bedroom had a king-sized bed and the second bedroom had two queen-sized beds. For the two-bedroom suites and two-bedroom villas that I have stayed in at other resorts, the master bedroom had a king-sized bed and the second bedroom had two queen-sized beds (YC, AKL, BWV, OKW). Notice a pattern here? Seriously, I bet there are two-bedroom suites at the GF that have two queen-sized beds in both of their bedrooms. I say this because one of the suites that I stayed in at the AKL (a one-bedroom suite) actually had two queen-sized beds in the master bedroom. I don't know what the second bedroom would have had because I only reserved this suite as a one-bedroom suite. When you book your suite, tell them that you need both bedrooms to have two queen-sized beds. If the GF has them, and they are available, you should be able to reserve one of them. Be warned, believe it or not, I have had a difficult time reserving suites even far in advance. You'd think the suites would be the last to book up, but they seem to be the first. That's probably because suites are limited in number when you compare their quantities with regular resort rooms (that only makes sense).

You asked if my family was comfortable during both of our GF suite stays? You bet. During suite stay # 1, there were seven of us (my family: 2 adults/1 child; my sister's family: 2 adults/1 child/1 baby). During suite stay # 2, there were seven of us (my family: 2 adults/2 children; my sister's family: 1 adult/2 children). Both of those stays were magical, as only Disney can do it. Note, I said "magical" and not "perfect." Things did go wrong, especially with stay # 2 (the concierge messed up quite a few things). But life is never perfect, so we rolled with the punches and still managed to have a magical vacation.

Why do I like suite or villa stays? Because my Disney vacations are sometimes group vacations (extended family & friends). If we're all together in a suite or villa, I personally feel that it enhances the togetherness. But that's me. Not a lot of people like togetherness. However, when my niece and nephew can barge into my bedroom at any hour of the day and scream in unison at the top of their lungs, "Aunt JANET! It's time to GET UP!" I find very little in life more precious than that.

 

[Janet2k]

Suite stay # 1 was in the Wekiwa Suite (I hope I spelt that right). Suite stay # 2 was in the Cypress Suite. Those names may not be listed on the WDW website, but those are the names of the suites that I have stayed in at the GF.

 

[Janet2k]

Justhat, I just went to the "Room Rates" section on the WDW website. Looking through it, I would say that the two suites that I stayed in were "Magic Kingdom 2 Bedroom" suites. I had requested a Magic Kingdom view, so the terminology on the website makes sense. Disney added suite information to their website late last year (it was never posted prior to that). I am so happy that they post their suite prices now (in the old days, I had to call Disney for that info). I just wish they would add the 11.5% tax rate to their posted prices. I hate having to pull out a calculator in order to figure out the actual room rate. Arg!

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I think I can answer a few questions. There are no 2BR suites that have 2 queens in both bedrooms, and Janet is correct on what her room type was. To add to the 3BR suite, it is a 2BR main building suite with a connecting room.

 

[Janet2k]

Leave it to our very own GF expert to chime in with the correct answers! Thanks, CaliforniaDreaming. I was hoping you were around and could set the record straight.