The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - MAY 2009

[dinatwin]

Have a wonderful trip to all who is going soon!!! I'm going in nov and I'm not going to stress about the construction. (I was stressing a bit as anxiety on the board increased it) But I have made a decision to go with the flow and just enjoy the trip. This will be my daugters first trip there and she is soooo excited to see cinderella and tinkerbell.

 

[BCV23]

As for toiletries, I know they are H20 but I believe what they provide depends on what level you are staying (ie concierge vs. nonconcierge). We have always stayed non concierge and have never gotten anything except shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and soap (no foot cream, shower caps, toothpaste etc).

ETA: I just saw my ticker... looks like we hit double digits today!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree that there are added products in club level rooms. We've only received the toothpaste and toothbrush in concierge rooms. I think the same is true of that fabulous foot rub.

In the past, all rooms did have shower caps and little packs of Qtips. When the H20 products were introduced, those two things weren't in our rooms the first couple trips. I think the floral decor on the boxes didn't match. However, they were available upon request. The last time we had a gardenview room, I thought we received both again.

Congratulations on hitting double digits.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I agree that there are added products in club level rooms. We've only received the toothpaste and toothbrush in concierge rooms. I think the same is true of that fabulous foot rub.

In the past, all rooms did have shower caps and little packs of Qtips. When the H20 products were introduced, those two things weren't in our rooms the first couple trips. I think the floral decor on the boxes didn't match. However, they were available upon request. The last time we had a gardenview room, I thought we received both again.

Congratulations on hitting double digits.

I remember going on our honeymoon many moons ago and they had the cutest round soaps in GF wrappers. Plus a little tin with a sewing kit in it. That hotel really ruined all other WDW hotels for me! Our next hotel was the BC and I was actually sad that there weren't any robes or chocolates on my pillow The robes the GF puts in the rooms now are laughable compared to what they used to have...

 

[allisonswonderland]

I will be arriving 1 week from today! We are moving my husbands office before we leave so a vacation will be needed! I just requested to be away from construction. Each time I have requested a certain building I don't get it but have always gotten a good location so I figured I would just tell them that. I really like the marina at sago because it is so convenient! Fingers crossed. Any new updates would be great as folks return.

 

[mmmears]

I remember going on our honeymoon many moons ago and they had the cutest round soaps in GF wrappers. Plus a little tin with a sewing kit in it. That hotel really ruined all other WDW hotels for me! Our next hotel was the BC and I was actually sad that there weren't any robes or chocolates on my pillow The robes the GF puts in the rooms now are laughable compared to what they used to have...

I still have one of those little sewing kit tins around here somewhere -- they were really special!

 

[BCV23]

I remember going on our honeymoon many moons ago and they had the cutest round soaps in GF wrappers. Plus a little tin with a sewing kit in it. That hotel really ruined all other WDW hotels for me! Our next hotel was the BC and I was actually sad that there weren't any robes or chocolates on my pillow The robes the GF puts in the rooms now are laughable compared to what they used to have...

I remember those soaps. They were cute. I don't know if we ever received one of those sewing kits at the GF but we used to get kits at the Polynesian. I had totally forgotten them until I came across one recently.

Turn down and chocolates (not yucky chocolate mints) used to be standard at all the deluxe resorts. Not robes in all rooms though. I liked the old fluffy ones better, too.

allisonswonderland, I like marina in Sago, too. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[Ty L.]

There is (or at least, there was) a guard outside the GF who greets you when you pull in to park and her name is either Fay or Faye. She is a magical CM and I'm planning a customized t-shirt in her honor. Last year, the day after hurricane/tropical storm Faye, she greeted us at the gate, apologized for causing so much trouble (joking-her name...Fay...the storm...Fay.....get it? ), and her parting words were, "Y'all have a GRAND day now!."
I'd like to put her final words on a t-shirt and wear it....hopefully we'll find her.
Does anyone here know her and know if it's Faye or Fay?

Hi Scott,

Yes, I do! Faye is a truly outstanding Cast Member. She takes exceptional care of our Guests every day at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Her enthuiasm for her job and exceptional service is contageous!
Thank you for recognizing her. She was thrilled to get a copy of your message.

 

[MiMi2Three]

We will be checking into the "Grand" in a few weeks for a convention, so I guess we'll have standard room. Please help me with a few questions.

#1. Will we have robes provided or are they only offered in club level rooms?

#2. Are there any standard rooms with MK (castle) views?

#3. Are the canopied loungers on the beach rentals? if so price?

Thanks

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We will be checking into the "Grand" in a few weeks for a convention, so I guess we'll have standard room. Please help me with a few questions.

#1. Will we have robes provided or are they only offered in club level rooms?

#2. Are there any standard rooms with MK (castle) views?

#3. Are the canopied loungers on the beach rentals? if so price?

Thanks

1) There should be robes in every room. Not the nice thick ones they sell in the lobby, they are the waffle knit, spa style.

2) MK rooms are a bookable category called Theme Park View Rooms. The standard rooms will overlook the garden, the pool, or the marina. Your best chance of MAYBE seeing the castle is to request a marina view room.

3) Help yourself! But swimming in the lake is prohibited.

Enjoy your stay!

 

[Disbug1]

Thinking of booking Sugarloaf for Oct,not sure though since i have stayed only in RPC,,will i notice a big difference in Sugarloaf??? What room would i have to request to be beside the Sugarloaf lounge?? Or should i just "Splurge" & do RPC again???

Thanking you all for any help

 

[vod2117]

You would probrably want to be in the 1st floor room, possibly 6113. You will notice a definite change in lounge size at the Sugar Loaf rather than Royal Palm Club. Royal Palm is definitely bigger than Sugar Loaf If you pay for outer lodge club level, then you will definitely be staying in Sugar Loaf. If you have any more questions, PM me, since I have stayed at both lounges.

 

[annakate27]

You would probrably want to be in the 1st floor room, possibly 6113. You will notice a definite change in lounge size at the Sugar Loaf rather than Royal Palm Club. Royal Palm is definitely bigger than Sugar Loaf If you pay for outer lodge club level, then you will definitely be staying in Sugar Loaf. If you have any more questions, PM me, since I have stayed at both lounges.

I take this to mean that the SL lounge in on the 1st floor? Do the 1st floor rooms that a patio? TIA

 

[mmmears]

I take this to mean that the SL lounge in on the 1st floor? Do the 1st floor rooms that a patio? TIA

The SL lounge is on the first floor in the lobby area of the SL building, so it's very conveniently located. You'll pass through it whenever you come and go to/from your room. The first floor rooms have a patio/balcony at the GF, where they have the same railings that the higher level balconies have and they are the same size.

You'll get the same food offerings as RPC, but you wont get the ambiance of being above the lobby hearing the music. We've stayed in both and like them both.

 

[Tam1067]

I'm so excited. I was able to upgrade my group rate room from GV to SL for just $67.50 per night over Xmas. So our first concierge level stay will be at the Grand for Xmas (and the rate is good too )


I'm wondering. Will the planning staff contact me about ADRs and such or do I need to contact them?

 

[billnang]

I was curious to the view at SL... we asked for Marina side.. assuming we do get that..is the views any different being highe up or is ground floor great too?

Angela

 

[mmmears]

I'm so excited. I was able to upgrade my group rate room from GV to SL for just $67.50 per night over Xmas. So our first concierge level stay will be at the Grand for Xmas (and the rate is good too )


I'm wondering. Will the planning staff contact me about ADRs and such or do I need to contact them?

Congrats! SL is really convenient, especially during the busy season since you wont have to wait in line to buy some of your drinks and snacks.

IPO os supposed to contact you automatically (computer generated), but it doesn't happen that way all the time, so I just go ahead and give them a call or email to introduce myself as soon as I make a CL reservation. They have always seemed warm and welcoming at that point and put all our information into their files to get ready for making our ADRs. So, my advice is to go ahead and get the ball rolling, so to speak.

 

[mmmears]

I was curious to the view at SL... we asked for Marina side.. assuming we do get that..is the views any different being highe up or is ground floor great too?

Angela

I think that it's really personal preference at that point. Some of the top floor rooms are dormer rooms (taller ceilings, a bit smaller, closed-in balconies), something also to consider, and also personal preference as to whether or not you like them. I guess I don't really have an opinion about 1st vs. say, 3rd floor. I thought I'd only be happy on an upper floor, then a 1st floor room in Boca Chica changed all that.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I have just got my disney holiday documents on the voucher for accomodation its got the following code
room type 1 X Garden BA anyone know what that code means?

 

[MiMi2Three]

Any reports on the construction? Is the tile work in the main building nearing completion?

 

[tbandemommy]

Hello all!
I realize that this little report on my family's experience at GF is a bit late in coming, but I have been thinking about sharing this for some time. We booked our stay at GF using the 4/7 offer. We are a family of 5 and normally would not have been able to stay at GF otherwise. We arrived at GF on 17 May and left on 24 May. We had been assigned to Big Pine Key. Our room was not ready when we arrived around 12:00pm, but we had been upgraded to a view of the lake. Yea!

We geared up at the car and headed to MK for the afternoon. We were notified about 3:45pm that our room was ready. We left MK after our ADR and headed to the room to find that there were beds for 4. So while DH arranged for our luggage to be brought up, I got on the phone with GF front desk. I was told that we had a choice of a getting a roll away bed or be moved to the same type of room with a day bed. I agreed to the move after double checking that we would have the same type of view. I was told to go wait outside the new room for the new key to be delivered. A CM arrived 20 mins. later with the new key. The new room had the right number of beds, so we moved in. After the CM left I went to look at our view from the balcony. The view existed, but you had to look between the leaves of many trees right outside of the balcony. They were so close that DH could reach them. So much for the view. All was well on our first night. The beds each had a cute towel design and everything was magical for our DS11, DS10 and DD4 (first trip.) This was the only time that we found this little piece of magic in our room.

Day #2 brought the first of daily day-long downpours for the duration of our stay. Everybody got to try out their ponchos! We returned to the room at approx. 3:00pm to find that our room had not yet been serviced by mousekeeping, which meant no dry towels. I got the children into dry clothes and we left to enjoy the rest of the evening. The next morning we were greeted with another day of torrential downpours. Everyone prepared for the day and we left at approximately 8:00am. After being soaked to the bone, we returned to our room at approx. 3:30pm to find that yet again our room had not been serviced. We obviously had no dry towels for the children. The excitement of being in WDW made a little easier to overlook this. We made the best of it and changed them into dry things. I then took them for a snack while DH tried to do laundry.

I returned with the children to find DH in the laundry room attempting to get our clothes dry for the second time in the dryer. He had talked with another guest who had also attempted to use the dryer and found out that the dryer had not been working properly for at least 2 days. I called GF front desk and reported the dryer and was told that engineering would be looking at it within a few hours. We had no choice but to hang our wet clothes for any available spot in the room in order to try to get them dry.

The next morning we awoke to another day of pouring rain. We were out of our room by 8:00 as we took DD to breakfast with Cinderella at the Castle. While we were eating the SUN came out!!YEA!!! We had gotten into MK and got to 3 attractions before the skies opened up again. We stuck to our touring schedule and got back to the room around 3:00pm to prepare for the evening ADR. Mousekeeping had literally just arrived as we exited the elevator and arrived at our room. So there we were soaked again and had to wait for 20 mins. while mousekeeping did their job. We enjoyed our evening and went to sleep praying for a sunnny and dry tomorrow.

We left our room by 7:30 and enjoyed another rain-filled day. We returned to our room at 3:15 pm to freshen up for the evening. I stopped by the laundry room and the dryer had obviously not been looked at as another guest had been there for over 2 hours experiencing the same problem. We went to our room, opened the door and found the room in the same condition as when we left. I now had to try to help 3 understandably cranky children figure out which clothes were the driest and find the least wet towel to use as we had no dry towels at all and no dryer to dry our clothes.

After we figured things out, I sent DH and the children to MK for some shopping and I went to GF front desk. I approached the desk and waited my turn in line. When I was finally able to speak with someone, I explained the situation with the dryer malfunctioning and that I had called to report the same 2 days earlier. I was looked at by the CM as if I was speaking gibberish. She stated " I am confused by what you are saying." I tried to clarify for her that the dryer was broken and that I had reported it and it appeared as though engineering had not looked at it. I also reported our experience with the lateness of mousekeeping. She just continued to stare at me and prceeded to ask me what I wanted from her. I finally asked to speak with supervisor. The front desk CM mananged to get her supervisor to come speak with me. I very calmly explained our experiences again. Of course, I received an apology about the dryer and the mousekeeping. I was told that, as a guest, I should have known that I could have requested that our room be serviced earlier in the day. I was refunded the $4.00 in quarters that we lost in the dryer and I was also told that GF itself does not oversee the functionality of the laundry facilities. The CM supervisor told me that she would arrange for mousekeeping to service our room at our convience for the remainder of our stay. At this point, we had ONE night/morning left before departure. I was also told that my call to the GF front desk to report the dryer was rerouted to a call center. None of the calls made by guests to GF front desk are handled by GF. They are all rerouted to a call center. This CM went on to advise me that I could take my laundry (for 5 people) to another building's laundry and do it there ( in the pouring rain not to mention using machines that are meant for other guests.)

I expressed to her my disappointment at the fact that at a premiere Disney property, guests were left to their own ingenuity to get wet clothes dry and that mousekeeping seems to work at a very inconvienent pace. I indicated that as magical as WDW may be they cannot control the weather, however, they can control the quality of service that is provided. I also shared with her that we have stayed at other on-property resorts and had always been treated far better by all CM's than we had been treated at GF.

Hopefully, we will be able to return to WDW again someday. We will absolutely never again consider GF among our resort options. It was not the experience that we were hoping for at a premiere Disney resort.

I would like to end this report by pointing out the one bright spot during our stay a GF. It involved DS11. He is a budding musician and really enjoyed the nightly live entertainment in the main building. He particularly liked the live piano music. One evening he and I were enjoying CM Glenn at the piano. DS11walked over to the piano to watch and CM Glenn engaged DS11 in conversation. At one point, CM Glenn invited DS11 to sit at the piano and play for the guests! If it were possible for one to burst from excitement, DS11 would have burst wide open! Mommy was just a little excited too! Thank CM Glenn for making a young man very happy!

I wanted to share our experience with others here. Perhaps we were just the exception, but our GF stay was not what we thought it would be. We had a wonderful time that was filled with pixie dust while we were in the parks and DD 4 is already planning her next visit! [/COLOR][/FONT]