The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - APRIL 2010

[roomthreeseventeen]

I have one more question! As I posted yesterday, I am surprising my DF with a stay at the GF this weekend (he thinks we are going to POR).

We're renting a car (he is driving) and I'm going to have our GPS direct him to the "wrong" hotel. Once we pass the DTD area I think he'll start to figure things out but I want to keep him guessing until we arrive at the resort (he might think we are going to the Poly instead). I can't remember though if we'll need to pass thru the MK toll plaza and if we do will we have to tell them where we are going?

Thanks! 4 days!!

No, you will not have to go through the toll booth. The MK resort road is to the right of the toll booth.

He will definitely know you aren't going to POR, though, as there are many signs directing you to MK resorts!

Have a great time!

 

[BCV23]

You do have to go through the toll booth if you drive down World Drive. There is another route that doesn't go through a toll booth. It's the road that runs in front of FW.

 

[madcam]

Just checking in on my new favorite thread!! I am so excited....I paid off the rest of my trip last night so now I just sit and wait for SEVEN months

I was able to get the 20/30/40 PIN yesterday so I was able to apply that to our existing reservation and then upgraded us to Deluxe Dining and was still able to save some money!!

I am thinking Citrico's for DDs birthday dinner.........Now I just have to wait for the magical 180 day mark!!

Sooooo Happy I decided to book the Grand Floridian (I plan to get my Poly fix at least once because I am going to attempt to get an O'hana's ADR) Never thought we would get a chance to stay there but oh so glad we are!!!

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

You do have to go through the toll booth if you drive down World Drive. There is another route that doesn't go through a toll booth. It's the road that runs in front of FW.

I remember this one. I call it the 'out in the boonies' route. From DTD to the MK resort area, I swear, it looks like you are out in the backwoods somewhere...which is intentional since it goes past Ft. Wilderness. After you clear that I believe you come to Timberline Drive (?) which is the entrance to the Wilderness Lodge to the left, and to the right is the roadway that goes to the other MK resorts (Poly, GF).

If you go down World Drive to the toll plaza, there is a 'pass thru' lane for the MK resorts. When we stayed at the Poly and relatives drove in to meet us for dinner, this is what they did.

I'm going purely on memory from using The Force so don't quote me exactly.

 

[BamaTigger]

I have one more question! As I posted yesterday, I am surprising my DF with a stay at the GF this weekend (he thinks we are going to POR).

We're renting a car (he is driving) and I'm going to have our GPS direct him to the "wrong" hotel. Once we pass the DTD area I think he'll start to figure things out but I want to keep him guessing until we arrive at the resort (he might think we are going to the Poly instead). I can't remember though if we'll need to pass thru the MK toll plaza and if we do will we have to tell them where we are going?

Thanks! 4 days!!

There are a couple of differnt ways you can go, but we always go thru the MK gates and go to the "MK resorts".....that takes you to the TTC, The Ploy, then to the GF! You could always go thru the MK gates and just tell him, "SURPRISE HONEY....HEAD TO THE GRAND FLORIDIAN CAUSE THATS WHERE WE ARE STAYING! "..that would be totally magical to get to the MK entrance and then pop that on him!

 

[BCV23]

Just checking in on my new favorite thread!! I am so excited....I paid off the rest of my trip last night so now I just sit and wait for SEVEN months

I was able to get the 20/30/40 PIN yesterday so I was able to apply that to our existing reservation and then upgraded us to Deluxe Dining and was still able to save some money!!

I am thinking Citrico's for DDs birthday dinner.........Now I just have to wait for the magical 180 day mark!!

Sooooo Happy I decided to book the Grand Floridian (I plan to get my Poly fix at least once because I am going to attempt to get an O'hana's ADR) Never thought we would get a chance to stay there but oh so glad we are!!!

Congratulations!!!

I remember this one. I call it the 'out in the boonies' route. From DTD to the MK resort area, I swear, it looks like you are out in the backwoods somewhere...which is intentional since it goes past Ft. Wilderness. After you clear that I believe you come to Timberline Drive (?) which is the entrance to the Wilderness Lodge to the left, and to the right is the roadway that goes to the other MK resorts (Poly, GF).

If you go down World Drive to the toll plaza, there is a 'pass thru' lane for the MK resorts. When we stayed at the Poly and relatives drove in to meet us for dinner, this is what they did.

I'm going purely on memory from using The Force so don't quote me exactly.

Don't you love that road....so peaceful. It's called Vista BLVD. Approaching the MK resorts from it, you actually merge onto World Drive but past the toll booth and MK parking lots. At the light, as you said Timberline Drive is on the right and Seven Seas Drive is to the left. Take the left and then a right at the next intersection.

There isn't exactly a drive through lane at the toll booth. The far right is drive through but it is for buses only. You can go through any of the parking booth lanes but it is easier to go to one of the far right booths as that road to the MK resorts (World Drive) is straight ahead on the far right side but a single lane. Lanes for parking for the MK sweeps to the left.

We always have our reservation form ready to show the CM at the booth so that we don't have to pay MK parking. The rest of the visit we just show our parking pass.

 

[earthelves]

Tell me about Christmas @ The Grand Floridan RPC Staying there Christmas 2010 & i am so "Stoked Up" even though its 7 and a half months away Are there any "Special Activity's" Christmas Eve or New Years Eve

 

[k&a&c'smom]

PrincessJo - we always do as BCV23 has stated, and keep to the right as we head to the toll booth. We've never had to show a reservation, though, we just say "resort reservation" and they wave us through. Good tip to have it ready, I'm going to keep that in mind for the future!

Congratulations, madcam, how exciting!!

earthelves - I hope someone who has stayed at the Grand over Christmas can give details; we've been at that time, but leave by Christmas Eve to be with family. There were a few posters who've been there over NYE who posted a couple weeks ago, if you want to wade through the thread, lol.

Staying RPC at Christmas time is so magical!

 

[gilsan]

We just came back from a wonderful stay at GF. The resort was wonderful and I can't imagine staying a different resort. Our room was in Big Pine Key. I had requested an upper floor near the pools.

We were in a top floor dormer room. Here are some pictures of our view from our balcony.

The room was very nice....

and we could see the fireworks from our balcony.

The staff was excellent and very accommodating. The pools were very nice and not crowded, we were able to get a chair every time. I preferred the Beach pool to the Courtyard pool. I liked the zero entry, my daughter could play in the shallow end without us in the pool, and it was nice to be on the beach. My one complaint would be that the pool bars closed at 8pm. It would have been nice if they had been open until 10pm especially on Friday or Saturday.

We used valet parking, it was very convenient. We were on the deluxe dining plan so we valeted at the other resorts, and it was great that you could call ahead and have your car waiting for you.

We had tea in the tea room and that was nice. We also ordered room service from Narcoossee a couple nights at the end of the trip. The food was excellent. On our first day we had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and it was also good.

I had also thought that staying at a monorail wouldn't be that much more convenient than a non monorail resort, but it was great to get to MK and to dine at the Contemporary and Poly. We took the boat back from MK and over to Poly once. One morning we had a breakfast reservation at Kona so we walked over to Poly and then caught the monorail over to Epcot from the TTC. It was nice to have so many travel options.

Last year we stayed at POFQ it was nice but I doubt I would stay at a moderate resort again. Our plane arrived late in the day so we spent our first night at POP and the difference between it and POFQ were minimal. They rooms were nearly the same, the main difference was that POP was much more crowded. The difference between POFQ and GF were much more significant and I think if you are doing a vacation where you plan on spending time at the resort it is worth it to upgrade to deluxe. I am a GF convert

 

[BamaTigger]

We just came back from a wonderful stay at GF. The resort was wonderful and I can't imagine staying a different resort. Our room was in Big Pine Key. I had requested an upper floor near the pools.

We were in a top floor dormer room. Here are some pictures of our view from our balcony.

The room was very nice....

and we could see the fireworks from our balcony.

The staff was excellent and very accommodating. The pools were very nice and not crowded, we were able to get a chair every time. I preferred the Beach pool to the Courtyard pool. I liked the zero entry, my daughter could play in the shallow end without us in the pool, and it was nice to be on the beach. My one complaint would be that the pool bars closed at 8pm. It would have been nice if they had been open until 10pm especially on Friday or Saturday.

We used valet parking, it was very convenient. We were on the deluxe dining plan so we valeted at the other resorts, and it was great that you could call ahead and have your car waiting for you.

We had tea in the tea room and that was nice. We also ordered room service from Narcoossee a couple nights at the end of the trip. The food was excellent. On our first day we had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and it was also good.

I had also thought that staying at a monorail wouldn't be that much more convenient than a non monorail resort, but it was great to get to MK and to dine at the Contemporary and Poly. We took the boat back from MK and over to Poly once. One morning we had a breakfast reservation at Kona so we walked over to Poly and then caught the monorail over to Epcot from the TTC. It was nice to have so many travel options.

Last year we stayed at POFQ it was nice but I doubt I would stay at a moderate resort again. Our plane arrived late in the day so we spent our first night at POP and the difference between it and POFQ were minimal. They rooms were nearly the same, the main difference was that POP was much more crowded. The difference between POFQ and GF were much more significant and I think if you are doing a vacation where you plan on spending time at the resort it is worth it to upgrade to deluxe. I am a GF convert

Your view was GREAT! I would LOVE to have that view...and Im a MK view kinda gal! But it was BREATHTAKING! Looking at the whole GF courtyard must of been amazing!

And thats great that you ordered room service from Narcoossee's....I love that place! The filets are awesome!

One question..when you did the room service, was it fast?

 

[gilsan]

Your view was GREAT! I would LOVE to have that view...and Im a MK view kinda gal! But it was BREATHTAKING! Looking at the whole GF courtyard must of been amazing!

And thats great that you ordered room service from Narcoossee's....I love that place! The filets are awesome!

One question..when you did the room service, was it fast?

The view was amazing and it was a garden view room.

The room service took 40 minutes one night and nearly an hour the second night. I think that you could pre-order your meal for a specific delivery time if you wanted. The CM's were so great I didn't hear no or sorry we can't do that once.

 

[Jasmine12]

Thank you for the suggestion of checking out TouringPlans.com for photos of GF! AAHHH! I'm so excited! I remember working in 1900 Park Fare as a College Program'r in the 'entertainment' dept gosh that was a decade ago, and now I get to experience it with my kiddies!

 

[garada3]

We also ordered room service from Narcoossee a couple nights at the end of the trip. The food was excellent.

I didn't know this was possible! Do you call Narcoossee's directly or do you call private dining? Can anything off the menu be ordered?

This could be a great option!

 

[GFSurprise]

gilsan, your pictures are great! That view is amazing!! Now I'm starting to re-think my "I don't make requests" stance! LOL! That would be a great view!!

Princess_Jo, Good luck with your surprise!! I'm surprising my DH and DS with the GF, too. They think we are staying at CBR!! I've kept this to myself since January...I still can't believe I managed to do that!! Be careful with the GPS. That was my plan, too, until I realized that the GF is located on Grand Floridian Way!! I'm afraid my DH will see/hear the address before I'm ready to let him know, so I'm trying to figure out another way to do the big reveal!

Couple of questions from me (I can't get WDW off of my mind!!):

I noticed in gilsan's pictures that they had a ceiling fan in their dormer room. Do all rooms at the GF have ceiling fans? I don't remember having one last time we stayed at the GF, but that was 10 years ago so it doesn't mean much!

Is it possible to eat at the GF Cafe w/o an ADR? I would like to eat there at some point, but I'm not sure which day or even which meal. Do I need to plan that to make sure we can get in? We've eaten there before and enjoyed it.

 

[mommykds]

What is the difference between Sugarloaf and the CL in the main building? Thanks.

 

[garada3]

I want to have champagne and tuxedo strawberries delivered to our room one evening. Do I have to be in the room to take delivery or can I set things up in advance, so that the treats are already in the room when we arrive back from the parks?

How far in advance do I need to contact private dining?

Thanks!

 

[gilsan]

I didn't know this was possible! Do you call Narcoossee's directly or do you call private dining? Can anything off the menu be ordered?

This could be a great option!

We called private dining and asked to order off the Narcoossee menu. I suspect you could ask to order from the Citricos menu as well. You can order anything on the menu. I had an older menu when I ordered the first night and asked for a Mahi Mahi dish that they no longer serve. Private dining called back and wanted me to pick another entree and suggested the surf and turf.

 

[gilsan]

I want to have champagne and tuxedo strawberries delivered to our room one evening. Do I have to be in the room to take delivery or can I set things up in advance, so that the treats are already in the room when we arrive back from the parks?

How far in advance do I need to contact private dining?

Thanks!

It was our anniversary when we were their, and our first night we came back to the room and champagne was waiting so I imagine that they would set it up in advance if you requested it.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

What is the difference between Sugarloaf and the CL in the main building? Thanks.

Essentially, the difference is the location. Each offers the same pre-planning and onsite assistance services, each has the same food offerings throughout the day. Sugar Loaf is an outer building, with courtyard and marina views; the main building is, well, the main building! The lounge at SL is in the first floor lobby of the building, a bit smaller in area, closer to the courtyard pool for grabbing a quick snack or drink. In the main building, you have the option of booking a theme park view, and the lounge area overlooks the main lobby, where the monorail station is located and you can hear the music in the evenings.

gilsan - Wow, what a beautiful view!! I'm glad you had such a magical vacation.

garada3 - it's been a while, but when we've ordered chocolate strawberries, they are usually waiting for us when we return to the room. I think 24-hour notice is sufficient, I've even called when we got to the resort, and had them that evening, but I don't know if that's a guarantee.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Couple of questions from me (I can't get WDW off of my mind!!):

I noticed in gilsan's pictures that they had a ceiling fan in their dormer room. Do all rooms at the GF have ceiling fans? I don't remember having one last time we stayed at the GF, but that was 10 years ago so it doesn't mean much!

Is it possible to eat at the GF Cafe w/o an ADR? I would like to eat there at some point, but I'm not sure which day or even which meal. Do I need to plan that to make sure we can get in? We've eaten there before and enjoyed it.

Every room we've ever stayed in at the GF has had a ceiling fan - I think every WDW room we've been in has had one!

We've eaten breakfast and lunch without reservations many times at GF Cafe. I'm not sure how easy that would be at dinner, and if you are going at a busier time you may want to book breakfast as well. We never know when we're gonna be in the mood for a big breakfast, so we just give it a shot - we figure if we can't get in, we'll head over and try Kona! We've never been turned away yet, though we rarely try right at opening - it could be busier at that time.