The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - MAY 2009

[minniesota]

I'm getting everything ready for the IPO since my ADR date is in about a month. I want to make sure to email them early.

I have a couple of questions for all of the GF experts:

1. What floors are the deluxe queen rooms located? And what views can I request? Minniesota had a beach/Poly view. Are there others?

2. Any recommendations regarding children's activities?

TIA

The deluxe queen rooms are on 3rd and 4th floors and have views of the courtyard or beach pool (the view pictured above).

 

[minniesota]

We're here now at the GF and I thought I'd post a few quick notes to some common questions. The crane is still working on cinderellas castle and probably will be for a few more days. We were in the magic kingdom yesterday and it looked like there were still quite a bit of lights that needed to come down. We arrived Friday and they've been there working since then.
The hot tub at the GF pool is closed and has been since we got here. The area behind the hot tub is surrounded by a wood wall and they've been doing some kind of work in there during the day. There is no ongoing work inside the main building from what I've seen. There have been varying small sections that change day to day where they've been doing minor work inside but nothing big.
The weather has been great and the parks haven't been too crowded.
We leave Friday to go back home and I'll post a full and detailed report with pictures after I settle back in at home.

Hope you are having a grand time! The hot tub was open last week up until Thursday but the construction behind it was going on while we were there. I heard an occasional saw and hammer - nothing disruptive. Looking forward to your report!

 

[leane]

After many many resort changes we are no longer staying at the GF....

I would like to thank everyone, especially BCV23 and Minnesota!

I took your advice BCV and kept it down to 2 resorts for this trip. Ended up with BCV and Poly.

We will eventually make it to the GF. Gotta love those AP rates

only 39 days....

 

[stingmom]

we had a marvelous view of the fireworks at both MK and EPCOT from our balcony in the main bldg last week

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

we had a marvelous view of the fireworks at both MK and EPCOT from our balcony in the main bldg last week

What room were you, if you don't mind?

 

[mike48]

Update: The hot tub reopened today. The work behind it continues but at least the hot tub is open.

We went to the Spirit of Aloha show at the Poly tonite and I must say we were disappointed. Some of the show was good but a majority of it was pretty corny and the food was only mediocre.

 

[bethclayton]

ack, mike, i'm sorry to hear the luau disappointed. my family is really looking forward to it on our upcoming trip (we've never done it), and now you have me worried!

 

[bethclayton]

Typically the IPO CMs are in a back office but I did see Marijane at the desk last week. Perhaps someone is on vacation. If you want to meet an IPO CM, just ask one of the concierge CMs and they will go get them.

that's really cool to know! i thought they were at some central office in ohio or something... lol! i'll be sure to ask for her while i'm there!



does anyone know if it's possible to have both a view of the castle AND be close to the RPC food? i am dying for a castle view (mainly for the fireworks potential), but my mom wants to be really close to the lounge. we need connecting or adjoining rooms, and since she's mostly footing the bill she wins! just wondering if the best of both worlds even exists!

 

[mmmears]

Our RPC room with the great castle view was at the end of the hallway. It was on the same floor as the food, but about as far away on that floor as you could get. All the rooms (that I know of) with the straight-on castle views are over Gasparilla's, at the end of the hallway...

 

[minniesota]

that's really cool to know! i thought they were at some central office in ohio or something... lol! i'll be sure to ask for her while i'm there!



does anyone know if it's possible to have both a view of the castle AND be close to the RPC food? i am dying for a castle view (mainly for the fireworks potential), but my mom wants to be really close to the lounge. we need connecting or adjoining rooms, and since she's mostly footing the bill she wins! just wondering if the best of both worlds even exists!

We've had connecting rooms with a castle view 3 times in RPC. The rooms that were closest to the lounge were 4408 and 4409. They are the first set of connecting rooms after the turn in the hallway. In other words, there is a hallway off the lounge with about 6 -8 rooms; then the open area where the Walt Suite is located (4411 I think); the hallway turns and castle rooms start. We were way down at the end of the hallway on 3rd floor last week (4302 and 4303) and it was a bit of a stroll but it was nice to chat with the concierge CMs on our way to the lounge!

 

[mmmears]

We've had connecting rooms with a castle view 3 times in RPC. The rooms that were closest to the lounge were 4408 and 4409. They are the first set of connecting rooms after the turn in the hallway. In other words, there is a hallway off the lounge with about 6 -8 rooms; then the open area where the Walt Suite is located (4411 I think); the hallway turns and castle rooms start. We were way down at the end of the hallway on 3rd floor last week (4302 and 4303) and it was a bit of a stroll but it was nice to chat with the concierge CMs on our way to the lounge!

We stayed in 4408 and loved it!!! But, if my DM was with us, she would have felt like it was a long walk to the lounge and probably would have preferred something closer. It all depends on your tolerance for walking, I guess.

Our BC room with a great view felt like it was miles from the lounge! Not a problem for us, but I'm sure some people would have complained.

 

[bethclayton]

Update: The hot tub reopened today. The work behind it continues but at least the hot tub is open.

We went to the Spirit of Aloha show at the Poly tonite and I must say we were disappointed. Some of the show was good but a majority of it was pretty corny and the food was only mediocre.

one more question for you (or anyone else than knows the answer)... how long is the spirit of aloha? i'm mainly interested in knowing how long after the 5:15 show is over, do the fireworks start (they are at 8). i'm trying to decide if we shold hang out at the poly beach for a more head-on view or head back to the GF.

Our RPC room with the great castle view was at the end of the hallway. It was on the same floor as the food, but about as far away on that floor as you could get. All the rooms (that I know of) with the straight-on castle views are over Gasparilla's, at the end of the hallway...

We've had connecting rooms with a castle view 3 times in RPC. The rooms that were closest to the lounge were 4408 and 4409. They are the first set of connecting rooms after the turn in the hallway. In other words, there is a hallway off the lounge with about 6 -8 rooms; then the open area where the Walt Suite is located (4411 I think); the hallway turns and castle rooms start. We were way down at the end of the hallway on 3rd floor last week (4302 and 4303) and it was a bit of a stroll but it was nice to chat with the concierge CMs on our way to the lounge!

We stayed in 4408 and loved it!!! But, if my DM was with us, she would have felt like it was a long walk to the lounge and probably would have preferred something closer. It all depends on your tolerance for walking, I guess.

Our BC room with a great view felt like it was miles from the lounge! Not a problem for us, but I'm sure some people would have complained.

thanks so much for letting me know that we can't have our proverbial cake and eat it, too. my mom will be using an ECV for everything outside the room, so there won't be any walking for her. she still wants to lounge to be close, nonetheless. i suspect the main thing she wants to avoid is dealing with an elevator and all that nonsense; she would probably be somewhat ok if she is at least on the same floor. not that we have any control over it anyway! but this helps me to avoid making two completely contradictory requests, which i would have done if you had not helped me!

ETA: does anyone have a map they can post of where the rooms are located in RPC? like, a map with each hallway and what room numbers are where? the kind a lot of hotels give at check-in?

 

[mmmears]

thanks so much for letting me know that we can't have our proverbial cake and eat it, too. my mom will be using an ECV for everything outside the room, so there won't be any walking for her. she still wants to lounge to be close, nonetheless. i suspect the main thing she wants to avoid is dealing with an elevator and all that nonsense; she would probably be somewhat ok if she is at least on the same floor. not that we have any control over it anyway! but this helps me to avoid making two completely contradictory requests, which i would have done if you had not helped me!

ETA: does anyone have a map they can post of where the rooms are located in RPC? like, a map with each hallway and what room numbers are where? the kind a lot of hotels give at check-in?

I've never seen a map with room #s for the RPC part of the GF... sorry.

It sounds like you should ask for 4th floor, then, since with an ECV any room on the 4th will be more convenient for your DM. With an ECV, I dont think the castle view rooms would be a problem, as long as you didn't have to use the elevator to go in between floors. We found that the elevators in the RPC were slow, so we used the stairs whenever we had a question for the concierge (3rd floor). The stairs are right by the food and the concierge desk, so it took no time at all. Definitely ask for 4th floor since your DM wont be able to do that.

 

[mike48]

Beth:
We were at the 5:15 show. It ended at about 7:05-7:10. You are correct about the fireworks starting at 8. We had plenty of time to walk back to our GF room from the Poly and watch the fireworks from our balcony with plenty of time to spare.
I didn't mean to discourage you from seeing the show if you've really got your heart set on it. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it to family or friends because I would feel a little guilty. We're on the dining plan and although it cost us 2 table service credits I'd be more upset if I had paid cash out of pocket for the show. The second half of the show is much better than the first half and like I said earlier, the food is mediocre. Maybe my expectations were too high since everything else this week has been fantastic.

 

[Native NYer]

The deluxe queen rooms are on 3rd and 4th floors and have views of the courtyard or beach pool (the view pictured above).

Thanks. I'm going to request a 4th floor room facing the beach. My preference is to be on the same floor as the lounge.

Mike 48: We felt the same way about the luau. It was not what we were expecting.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Mike 48: We felt the same way about the luau. It was not what we were expecting.

Same here. Though for us the first part of the luau was pretty boring. The best part was the dancing in the 2nd part, especially the Samoan Fire Dancer.

Thanks for all the posted pics for RPC. It helps with my GF dreaming!

 

[canadianmickey13]

hello, we've booked a theme park view in RPC for a week in April. They told us on the phone this guarantees a castle view. Does anyone know if all of these views are similar (ie unobstructed, etc)? If not, are there particular rooms we might request?
Thanks for your help.

 

[minniesota]

hello, we've booked a theme park view in RPC for a week in April. They told us on the phone this guarantees a castle view. Does anyone know if all of these views are similar (ie unobstructed, etc)? If not, are there particular rooms we might request?
Thanks for your help.

You will have a castle view if you booked TPV in RPC. These rooms are on the 3rd and 4th floors. If you are looking out at the castle, the rooms on the furthest left (so close to Sago) start at 4301 (3rd floor) and 4401 (4th floor) and go up to 4309 and 4409 as you go to the right towards Sugar Loaf. There are a couple of palm trees but they are lower so don't impact your view. Here are a couple of pics to help you see the difference between 3rd and 4th floor views.

I would communicate your requests though IPO once you have established contact with them!

Taken from 4303:

Taken from 4408:

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Here's a short video of the MK view from RPC 4401...

Sunrise at The Grand Floridian

It was a great room & I love being on the 4th floor, a short walk away from the RPC lounge. Even though we had a good view, I think I will request 4403-4406 next time for a dead center view.

 

[Native NYer]

Love the castle view. After our stay at the GF, we may not book anywhere else.