The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - MAY 2009

[minniesota]

Hi GF fans! We are here as of noon today (staying RPC) and it is COLD! My teens went to MK this afternoon and hit Mickey's Philharmagic, Big Thunder, Space, Pirates, Buzz and then headed back to the GF for some warm scones! DH and I relaxed in the room, enjoyed scones and capaccinos in the lounge and got unpacked/read/slept! We've had two bottles of champagne delivered - one from IPO accompanied by a great assortment of cheeses, crackers and chocolate (and adorable Mickey champagne glasses!) and one with a rose and signed autographed card wishing us a "happy 20th!" We are having a great time!

Off to Narcoossee's for dinner at 7...ahhhhhh

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Hi GF fans! We are here as of noon today (staying RPC) and it is COLD! My teens went to MK this afternoon and hit Mickey's Philharmagic, Big Thunder, Space, Pirates, Buzz and then headed back to the GF for some warm scones! DH and I relaxed in the room, enjoyed scones and capaccinos in the lounge and got unpacked/read/slept! We've had two bottles of champagne delivered - one from IPO accompanied by a great assortment of cheeses, crackers and chocolate (and adorable Mickey champagne glasses!) and one with a rose and signed autographed card wishing us a "happy 20th!" We are having a great time!

Off to Narcoossee's for dinner at 7...ahhhhhh

That sounds like heaven! Enjoy your dinner, we love Narcoossees.

 

[Native NYer]

Hi GF fans! We are here as of noon today (staying RPC) and it is COLD! My teens went to MK this afternoon and hit Mickey's Philharmagic, Big Thunder, Space, Pirates, Buzz and then headed back to the GF for some warm scones! DH and I relaxed in the room, enjoyed scones and capaccinos in the lounge and got unpacked/read/slept! We've had two bottles of champagne delivered - one from IPO accompanied by a great assortment of cheeses, crackers and chocolate (and adorable Mickey champagne glasses!) and one with a rose and signed autographed card wishing us a "happy 20th!" We are having a great time!

Off to Narcoossee's for dinner at 7...ahhhhhh

Enjoy your stay and Happy Anniversary!

 

[BlueSkies]

minniesota HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! Cant think of anything nicer than keeping warm in the RPC lounge!!! Enjoy your dinner at Narcoosees!

Welcome Jupiter&Wolf The GF is such a nice resort to stay at...I would say that the outer lodge closest to the monorail would be Sago...it does have TPV..but it would be a bookable room category..not just by request...the other views from there would be marina or I believe garden which is the back side of that building...

Native NYer Youre welcome... Yes the balconies are full size...its just instead of sliders there is a door that opens out onto the balcony from the side...if you really want one of these rooms I would make it the first request on my ressie...

 

[MommyGina]

Happy Anniversary Minniesota! Enjoy your time at the GF and keep warm. I can almost bet that you and your family are warmer there than here - it is 8F right now!!! Keep us posted on the GF. Oh, any construction going on there now? Are the floors all done?

 

[gottagetmydisneyfix]

Hello, I'm new to the GF FAQ site and I'm thinking of changing my upcoming trip to the GF after looking at all of the gorgeous pictures of the grounds. I am currently booked at the CR with a MK view, but thinking of switching to the GF and booking a GV. I apologize if this question has been asked (I've read about 30 pages so far and haven't found the answer yet )...I'm wondering what the garden views are like? I know that some deluxes have the parking lot view, but it's my understanding that the parking lot is far away, correct? are there any bad garden views, or views you would request? Do you think staying at the GF with all it has to offer would make up for not seeing Wishes from our CR room? I'm quite honestly more drawn to the whole appeal of the GF over just seeing WIshes from our room at night, but the idea of watching Wishes from our balcony in our PJs sounds nice too...any thoughts? (I wish I could afford theme park view from the GF but it is just not an option )

 

[BlueSkies]

Welcome gottagetmyidsneyfix (great name btw!) The garden views at the GF are lovely...the rooms in that category can be of some garden areas...but more of the central courtyard area including the courtyard pool and also of the marina (that is considered GV also)..

The only gv that I think might be quetionable is the back side of Sago Cay which may have some rooms that are close to the service area...I have only read about those here though and not seen it for my self...there are no parking lot views...

The grounds at the Gf are just beautiful and all of the outer lodges are pretty close together and to the main building...


While the GF is my favorite...I am a fan of the CR also...and that MK view is terrific...better than even from the GF...

Whatever you choose I am sure you cant go wrong...both are such nice resorts...

 

[minniesota]

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Before I forget, there is no construction going on at the resort and the floors are done! They are stunning though they do seem to make the lobby a little cooler. Of course it could be that is was 29 degrees here this morning!

Our dinner at Narcoossee's was fantastic. DH and DD had the filet, DS had a chicken dish with awesome mashed potatoes and I had a chef special which was a seafood pasta dish - delish! They do dim the lights and play the Wishes soundtrack and because it was too cold to stand outside, no one blocked our view!

We had a full day at Epcot today and there sure was a lot of congestion due to the marathon. I didn't plan very well as we rode the monorail over there with all the supporters. The monorails were jammed with long waits. Someone said over 50,000 runners were registered! We had some waits trying to cross back and forth through Epcot because of the runners but by 1pm, they were pretty much finished.

Had a very good meal at Le Cellier - steak sandwiches - and we did the entire World Showcase spending a lot of time in Japan and Mexico.

It was still very cold with a nice brisk wind but the sun is shining!

The GF seems very full - maybe due to the marathon. But we got our requested connecting rooms and have a perfect view of the castle. Housekeeping has been excellent and every CM we've encountered has gone above and beyond to be friendly!

Off to the lounge for some scones or perhaps trifle! And a capp!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Sounds like a great day... can you post pictures from your balcony?

 

[gottagetmydisneyfix]

Could someone tell me what buildings the garden view rooms are located? How far is the walk to the farthest rooms? Can you cut through other buildings to get to yours if it is raining (like at the Poly)? I can't picture what the layout is like at the GF. Are there some garden view rooms that you can have a view of the marina? What building would I request?

 

[dfarner]

Could someone tell me what buildings the garden view rooms are located? How far is the walk to the farthest rooms? Can you cut through other buildings to get to yours if it is raining (like at the Poly)? I can't picture what the layout is like at the GF. Are there some garden view rooms that you can have a view of the marina? What building would I request?

I don't know about GV requests, but there are many people on the DIS that have great advice for room requests. Here is a map that shows the layout of the resort.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/grandflomap.htm

 

[Native NYer]

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Before I forget, there is no construction going on at the resort and the floors are done! They are stunning though they do seem to make the lobby a little cooler. Of course it could be that is was 29 degrees here this morning!

Our dinner at Narcoossee's was fantastic. DH and DD had the filet, DS had a chicken dish with awesome mashed potatoes and I had a chef special which was a seafood pasta dish - delish! They do dim the lights and play the Wishes soundtrack and because it was too cold to stand outside, no one blocked our view!

We had a full day at Epcot today and there sure was a lot of congestion due to the marathon. I didn't plan very well as we rode the monorail over there with all the supporters. The monorails were jammed with long waits. Someone said over 50,000 runners were registered! We had some waits trying to cross back and forth through Epcot because of the runners but by 1pm, they were pretty much finished.

Had a very good meal at Le Cellier - steak sandwiches - and we did the entire World Showcase spending a lot of time in Japan and Mexico.

It was still very cold with a nice brisk wind but the sun is shining!

The GF seems very full - maybe due to the marathon. But we got our requested connecting rooms and have a perfect view of the castle. Housekeeping has been excellent and every CM we've encountered has gone above and beyond to be friendly!

Off to the lounge for some scones or perhaps trifle! And a capp!

Sounds like a wonderful day!

 

[gottagetmydisneyfix]

I read on allears that there are robes and turndown service in ALL rooms...is this information correct? We loved turndown service at the Poly, it's such a special touch

 

[Tam1067]

I read on allears that there are robes and turndown service in ALL rooms...is this information correct? We loved turndown service at the Poly, it's such a special touch

Yes, that's correct. It's one of the perks of staying at the GF.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Before I forget, there is no construction going on at the resort and the floors are done! They are stunning though they do seem to make the lobby a little cooler. Of course it could be that is was 29 degrees here this morning!

Our dinner at Narcoossee's was fantastic. DH and DD had the filet, DS had a chicken dish with awesome mashed potatoes and I had a chef special which was a seafood pasta dish - delish! They do dim the lights and play the Wishes soundtrack and because it was too cold to stand outside, no one blocked our view!

We had a full day at Epcot today and there sure was a lot of congestion due to the marathon. I didn't plan very well as we rode the monorail over there with all the supporters. The monorails were jammed with long waits. Someone said over 50,000 runners were registered! We had some waits trying to cross back and forth through Epcot because of the runners but by 1pm, they were pretty much finished.

Had a very good meal at Le Cellier - steak sandwiches - and we did the entire World Showcase spending a lot of time in Japan and Mexico.

It was still very cold with a nice brisk wind but the sun is shining!

The GF seems very full - maybe due to the marathon. But we got our requested connecting rooms and have a perfect view of the castle. Housekeeping has been excellent and every CM we've encountered has gone above and beyond to be friendly!

Off to the lounge for some scones or perhaps trifle! And a capp!

Happy Anniversary!!!! Your trip sounds wonderful -- I'm really enjoying hearing about it as we'll be there soon too.

And thank you for the news about the floors being done so glad to hear that!

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[Native NYer]

Has anyone had diapers delivered to the GF? Are they sold in one of the shops? I'd rather have them delivered than pack them.

 

[minniesota]

Some GF (and other) ramblings...

*Almost all of the flower beds are covered with white sheeting to protect the plants from the cold...

*There were two small areas of tile being worked on today - just in places where tiles had broken and needed touch-ups. Really not much of anything but I did hear the saw from the lounge for like 5 minutes

*There is a white wood wall around the hot tub area with one of those "we're providing you with more enjoyment" signs. I'll see if I can find out what's going on there.

*Great lunch at the GF Cafe today. They took away the round vinyl seating area in that entryway and the DVC desk so it seemed more spacious. Had Robert (love him!) for our server again. Crab cakes and field green salads for me and DD.

*RPC CMs are so amazing! I'll share a story when I return...

*Saw the Teddy Bear Lady today in the lobby sitting right behind the pianist with her collection of stuffed animals.

WIERD - They are still playing Christmas music in all of the parks! I am done with Christmas - don't they know that??? Though it was cool to see the decorations throughout the parks and we got to see the castle with its gorgeous icicle lights. Saw Wishes in the park last night! Woke up to the crane behind the castle this morning. I guess the lights are comin' down today!

*Great dinner last night at Cali Grill. Off to Kona Cafe tonight. Walked to the Poly today just for the exercise - a nice walk!

*Saw a bride getting her pics taken outside and she was shivering...it was 30 this morning when we left for DHS. Rode Rockin' Rollercoaster for the first time. Perhaps my last...

*I will post pics when I return. Forgot the chip reader!

 

[panthergirl]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you are having a great trip. I have never tried the GF Cafe. Is it more casual than Narcoosee's and Citrico's? My mom and sister are pretty basic eaters so I need to find some places to take them when we are at the GF in December.

Have fun and stay warm!

 

[lissiesmum]

Are there supposed to be a lot of renovations going on at the GF? How long is it supposed to last? We'll be visiting the end of February and have never walked the grounds before.

 

[Figment1990]

Has anyone had diapers delivered to the GF? Are they sold in one of the shops? I'd rather have them delivered than pack them.

Yes and yes. Since starting to travel with a little one I always include them in my garden grocer delivery order but I have had to buy them from gift shops as well. They are pricy and limited selection there. But much better than packing a suitcase full! I still pack some. Just in case...