The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - MAY 2009

[minniesota]

I was finally able to upgrade our ressie to a TPV room.

The questions I have now is that I requested Conch Key as our building, from the map it looks like the perfect location. After looking at the pictures though, I noticed trees in front of it. Do any of the trees have an effect on the view? Also the proximity to the boat dock. Is it a bother to hear the boat horns blowing? How loud are they, how late do they sound, and should I call back and request Sago?

Yes, there are rooms in Conch that have a "tree-block" view. Sago does not have that issue. I personally like the quiet feel of Sago - it's a little removed from the action but I prefer that! Here's our view from TPV room in Sago.

 

[2manypets]

Thanks Minniesota,

That picture is beautiful with the monorail running through. It makes me sigh and say "Now, that's the stuff!"

Do you know how much of a walk is it to go around the marina to get to the boat dock and pool? Being removed from the action would be good as I'm a very light sleeper.

 

[minniesota]

Thanks Minniesota,

That picture is beautiful with the monorail running through. It makes me sigh and say "Now, that's the stuff!"

Do you know how much of a walk is it to go around the marina to get to the boat dock and pool? Being removed from the action would be good as I'm a very light sleeper.

I'd say it's a 4 - 5 minute walk from the front of Sago to the boat dock. I'm a light sleeper too! There is a back walkway from Sago to the bus stop (it looks like you are going to a delivery area but the bus stop is just around the corner!) which makes Sago an ideal location for that mode of transportation and it's also close to Gasparilla"s. GF is really a pretty compact resort so nothing is more than a few minutes walk - except the spa which is more like 10 minutes. (AT least for me).

 

[mike48]

Hi all!
28 days til we leave for our 8 day GF stay. What are the benefits of the online check-in service and is it really necessary? If it doesn't save very much time I'd probably rather do things face to face.

 

[amy1007]

I have never stayed at the GF before. I just received a 40% off pin code and have upgraded from the port orleans to the grand floridian. I am so excited, I have just finished reading all 105 pages of this thread and now feel like an expert on the GF. Can't wait to see you there in May!

 

[LMO429]

We just got back late last night from our 8 night stay at The Grand. We had a wonderful time! Our room was 6420 in the Sugar Loaf Building. It was a bigger room with a sitting area there was no balcony in this room and the view was facing the main pool in the courtyard. We really only used the sitting area when we were packing up towards the end of the trip it was nice to have the extra space to lay our luggage out but other than that we were did not need the space. I would have rather had a balcony than the additional space but we were hardly in the room so even having a balcony would have made little difference we probably would not have used that as much either. It was just my mother and I I suppose for a family of 4 the additional seating area would come in handy. The room was located on the 4th floor. I did not enjoy the elevator it seemed old and worn and would bounce up and down and then have to settle before the doors would open it didn't seem smooth to me. in additional the bottom of the elevator door was sticking out and would scrap when the doors would open.

our views:

Our View:
looking straight out

looking to the right

We enjoyed having the concierge service and the sugar cookies they serve there are AMAZING so yummy! They serve scones/jam tarts that we had eaten at the afternoon tea in the concierge lounge they were delicious as well and a nice treat when we were coming back from a long morning in the park. All the cast members we encountered were extremely pleasant, friendly and helpful expect one morning a concierge member behind the desk at the sugar loaf seemed a little bit annoyed for whatever reason but we didn't let it bother us. I have stayed at the Beach Club concierge before and I felt that they had a better selection of food in the concierge lounge than the Sugar Loaf had.

They were still doing construction on the tile floor right by the grand floridian cafe that was the only place I saw any work being done they were still working on that area when we left. I personally think they should lay a mat down on the marble tile they have them in the main building but at this particular entrance there were no mats and it was slippery.

The monorail and buses ran smoothly we never really had much of a wait to get aboard and they seemed to come frequently. The buses are shared with the wilderness lodge and made stops there 1st and then onto the grand on our way back from HS, AK and Downtown Disney.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Have they started giving out roasted chestnuts at the entrance to the GF yet for Christmas? Had those last year and they remind me of the ones I got at the Christmas market in Nuremberg, Germany.

And on another note, does anyone know if you can use DDP snack points to get items at the gingerbread house? Just thinking ahead for Dec 2010. Thanks!

 

[BCV23]

I have never stayed at the GF before. I just received a 40% off pin code and have upgraded from the port orleans to the grand floridian. I am so excited, I have just finished reading all 105 pages of this thread and now feel like an expert on the GF. Can't wait to see you there in May!

Congratulations on the pin!

Welcome to the GF FAQ and happy planning.

Have they started giving out roasted chestnuts at the entrance to the GF yet for Christmas? Had those last year and they remind me of the ones I got at the Christmas market in Nuremberg, Germany.

And on another note, does anyone know if you can use DDP snack points to get items at the gingerbread house? Just thinking ahead for Dec 2010. Thanks!

Yes, they were giving out chestnuts last week.

Almost everything at the Gingerbread House is over the $4 snack limit. The chocolate covered Oreo lollipops may have been $4. A mother just ahead of me bought two of those for her daughters. Sorry I don't know if they could be purchased as a snack credit. Since it's a temporary location, I kind of doubt it?

mike48, online checkin saves a bit of time. Everything is ready for you. It still involves face to face interaction with a CM. I've used it at the GF and been very pleased.

LMO429, glad you had such a wonderful vacation. Aren't those scones the best?

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

Almost everything at the Gingerbread House is over the $4 snack limit. The chocolate covered Oreo lollipops may have been $4. A mother just ahead of me bought two of those for her daughters. Sorry I don't know if they could be purchased as a snack credit. Since it's a temporary location, I kind of doubt it?

I think you're right. I remember every time we bought stuff at the gingerbread house it cost a pretty penny but was so worth it! (Mmmm, peppermint bark!). I was curious if anything there could be used as one since we always have snack credits lying around at the end of a trip. Thanks!

I SOOO want some roasted chestnuts!

 

[pixie921]

I had to come in and post my excitement -- my dh just booked us at the GF in RPC for next December for 5 nights! I'm so happy that I'll finally get to stay at the GF at Christmastime.

We were actually supposed to stay there last year over Christmas, but we were doing a split stay with our first few nights at the CR's Atrium Club. Well, my dh and ds and niece and nephew loved it there so much that we ended up cancelling the GF portion of our trip and staying put at the CR. It was wonderful, but I've been regretting not trying out RPC ever since. Now Mama's finally getting her wish!

I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread to make sure I've got all my bases covered for next year. You all have so much great info!

 

[Tam1067]

Two days and we'll be there for our first ever Disney Xmas.

 

[dreamfinder222]

Two days and we'll be there for our first ever Disney Xmas.

Us, too!!! See you Saturday night

 

[mmmears]

Two days and we'll be there for our first ever Disney Xmas.

Us, too!!! See you Saturday night

Have a wonderful time! The GF is so lovely at xmas-time!

 

[aurian]

Was it worth it, before we had the garden view, but was only 200.00 to upgrade for the whole five days (passholder sale, was even better then the pin code we got) Also are there any king bed rooms that are also theme park view, would prefer a king since its just me and my wife. Thanks. Its our first visit to the GF, we went to Contemporary in October, wife loved it but we could not use the pin there.

 

[mmmears]

Was it worth it, before we had the garden view, but was only 200.00 to upgrade for the whole five days (passholder sale, was even better then the pin code we got) Also are there any king bed rooms that are also theme park view, would prefer a king since its just me and my wife. Thanks. Its our first visit to the GF, we went to Contemporary in October, wife loved it but we could not use the pin there.

For $200 for the whole trip, IMO it's worth it. It's lovely to watch the castle changing colors at night. Plus, you'll have a nice view of the lagoon as well.

I don't know about the king beds, sorry.

 

[BCV23]

Two days and we'll be there for our first ever Disney Xmas.

Us, too!!! See you Saturday night

Have Grand vacations! Please come back and let us know all about it.

Was it worth it, before we had the garden view, but was only 200.00 to upgrade for the whole five days (passholder sale, was even better then the pin code we got) Also are there any king bed rooms that are also theme park view, would prefer a king since its just me and my wife. Thanks. Its our first visit to the GF, we went to Contemporary in October, wife loved it but we could not use the pin there.

Someone posted many years ago that there were only 9 standard rooms with king beds. I don't know if that is still true (or ever was for that matter ) but it does seem that they are few and far between. Requesting it won't hurt but I would try not to expect it. Have a great time at the GF.

 

[Tuliplvr]

I just got back from my first stay at the Grand Floridian. We loved the hotel and don't know if we could ever stay anywhere else! We had a room in Boca chica with a lovely view of the castle. My only complaint was after a long day of traveling and early rising the first night we headed to bed early and at 9:15 were woken up by the loud music of the electric light parade on the lagoon. Has anyone else experienced that? We had to listen to it every night...

 

[dreamfinder222]

...woken up by the loud music of the electric light parade on the lagoon...

Am I the only one that would look forward to this ?

My DW and I are in the process of packing and will be in The World in 22 hours . Expect a trip report when we return

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

Just returned tonight from our stay. We were in Sugar Loaf 6702 or was it 6207..I don't remember lol But oh my...I loved this place! It absolutely lived up to our expectations and Dh said it exceeded his. He really didn't for whatever reason think he would love the GF but he did! We had marina view and when we got to the room and layed on the bed.....we were able to watch the monorail pass in the mirror on the wall! Just one of those little things that really made it feel special! I definately am spoiled now!

 

[mmmears]

I just got back from my first stay at the Grand Floridian. We loved the hotel and don't know if we could ever stay anywhere else! We had a room in Boca chica with a lovely view of the castle. My only complaint was after a long day of traveling and early rising the first night we headed to bed early and at 9:15 were woken up by the loud music of the electric light parade on the lagoon. Has anyone else experienced that? We had to listen to it every night...

Oh, I love hearing the music from the EWP at night! Wish I was there right now and it was floating by my room!