The All New Grand Floridian FAQ - MAY 2009

[JoeyAnyc]

WOW, not even a year later and we are at 214 pages on the GF!
Time for a 2010 update!

 

[bethclayton]

we are just beside ourselves with excitement.... we leave monday! it will be our first trip to GF, first CL stay, and my parents' first trip to WDW ever.... in fact, their first vacation besides the jersey shore in about 20 years!

we also have the grand 1 yacht booked for our 3rd night to see fireworks.

thanks to all the expert planning advice and info i have gotten on this thread over the past year (yes, we booked it a year ago!), it's going to be an amazing trip! we can't wait!!!

back to packing!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We are staying CL, too. See you there!

 

[mommyoftwinz]

I would love some advice for all the GF fans.....here is my dilemma...

I am planning a SURPRISE mother/daughter trip for October 2011 for my mom's 55th birthday and my graduating college...(online classes have taken over my life!)


Orginally I was planning on going with a Moderate just because, well the price is decent....well after talking with family members, my grandparents have decided to pay for our dining plan, and my brother and girlfriend have decided to contribute as well...I also am receiving a tax return that was way more than I expected this year....

So my thought was.....go Deluxe! This will be the last time I go to Disney for atleast 5 years (DBF wants to travel other places too!) and Mom hasn't been on a real vacation in over 8 years!....I think I can pull it off without any discounts and Disney always offers something so do you think I should go for it? Of course I have time to plan but i wanted some convincing from GF fans on what GF has to offer us and what your favorite things are about the resort!

We were just there in early February and loved it!!! I think one of the benefits of staying there is that it is on the monorail. You really don't need a car. It's one stop over to MK, you can take the monorail to TTC and then transfer to the Epcot monorail. For the other parks you have to take a bus. They also have a boat that can take you to the Poly or MK. You can watch the fireworks over the castle every night on the patio, it has some good restaurants. The grounds are beautiful, two pools, very nice gardens. The standard rooms are a good size, two queen beds and then a daybed. The bathroom has a double vanity and a good sized closet. Hope that helps and you have a great trip with your mom, that's sweet of you to do.

 

[s&k'smom]

I think it's a wonderful idea for a surprise trip, oh the GF is so amazing. What I like about it is that it's so relaxing after a day at the parks, my kids who will be 9 and 14 love the pool area and my husband and I love to sit out on the balcony and watch the world go by. Have a ball!

 

[johnsonet]

I would love some advice for all the GF fans.....here is my dilemma...

I am planning a SURPRISE mother/daughter trip for October 2011 for my mom's 55th birthday and my graduating college...(online classes have taken over my life!)


Orginally I was planning on going with a Moderate just because, well the price is decent....well after talking with family members, my grandparents have decided to pay for our dining plan, and my brother and girlfriend have decided to contribute as well...I also am receiving a tax return that was way more than I expected this year....

So my thought was.....go Deluxe! This will be the last time I go to Disney for atleast 5 years (DBF wants to travel other places too!) and Mom hasn't been on a real vacation in over 8 years!....I think I can pull it off without any discounts and Disney always offers something so do you think I should go for it? Of course I have time to plan but i wanted some convincing from GF fans on what GF has to offer us and what your favorite things are about the resort!

What a sweet idea to surprise your mom. She will LOVE it
Disney offers pretty consistent discounts on room-only reservations.

I would definitely recommend Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge, which is right off the lobby, for a Mother/Daughter trip! If you book it after 4pm, you will hear the pianist playing in the lobby and, later, the orchestra.

As a PP mentioned, all the rooms are spacious and gorgeous - you will have a wonderful time!

Monorail to MK and take the boat back. It drops off at GF and then Poly, then returns to MK. Very convenient. 2 nice pools and one hot tub.

You can take the monorail to the Contemporary for a fab dinner at California Grill, or stay at the GF and dine at one of its 4 good-to-great restaurants plus quick service. Or walk to the Polynesian for a fun dinner at 'Ohana or yummy Kona Cafe - or just a drink at the Tambu Lounge. It's fun to explore other resorts when they're so close!


Spa is next door to GF. It's pricey but would be a fun splurge. You can also work out there.

Enjoy

we are just beside ourselves with excitement.... we leave monday! it will be our first trip to GF, first CL stay, and my parents' first trip to WDW ever.... in fact, their first vacation besides the jersey shore in about 20 years!

we also have the grand 1 yacht booked for our 3rd night to see fireworks.

thanks to all the expert planning advice and info i have gotten on this thread over the past year (yes, we booked it a year ago!), it's going to be an amazing trip! we can't wait!!!

back to packing!

That's awesome! Have a great time Very sweet about it being your parents' first trip other than the beach They will be very impressed, I'm sure

 

[disneyfan67]

Well add me to the list of staying at the Grand Floridian and honestly, I never thought I would ever stay there. We had planned originally to Disneyland this May, but I wanted to hold off until more of California Adventure is rebuilt. My wife and I figured on doing the WL because we have done the Poly so many times and our last stay really disappointed us. We figured this trip could be our last for awhile so we upgraded to a standard GV room at the GF. We did the $750 gift card deal and added the dining plan so everything is paid for and set!

I got a great deal on flights and made all my ADR's. I'm looking forward to my stay at the GF and this vacation is a well earned one, trust me. This trip will complete the circle of staying at all 3 monorail resorts. Who knows what the future will hold and upgrading from a courtyard view at the WL to the GF wasn't that bad. Most likely it will be my last stay at a Disney Deluxe due to the rising cost factor, so why not go out with a bang? May can't come fast enough for me.

 

[MommyGina]

Disneyfan67 - you are going to love the GF. Hope that this trip is as magical as mine have been with my family for the past 4 summers. It is truly a place to forget all the bad and enjoy the wonderful surroundings and the magic of disney. If I had the option of 4 vacations a year or 1 trip a year to the GF, it would be the GF - hands down!

You can be as busy as you want on your Disney vacation or making a relaxing one at that. Every year, we now take our annual walk from the GF over to the Wedding pavillion, take pictures, and then head over to the Poly. My children love looking at the dates on the bricks on the walkway. We take our refillable mugs (have them filled first at GF first) and stroll along.

I hope you enjoy your vacation!

 

[KimDis]

Oh you GF fans and your great posts... after 50+ pages of reading I'm SOLD!

I've been holding out for AKL CL for the 2nd half of our trip... no rooms available with any web discount, PIN, AP rate, etc. And then I came back here...

I now think we'll just spend the last 3 or 4 nights of our trip at Sugar Loaf. Yes, I see the irony of paying as much if not more for a room at the GF than rack rate at the AKL. All I can say is it's against my religion to pay full price when other's are NOT and who knows if ANY of these discounts will be here as the economy improves.. going while I can pay without having an anxiety attack.

Anyway... on to my question.

We're going to spend our 1st five nights in a deluxe room at the BWI which is a REALLY big room. So if I don't want to feel like my other room is tiny by comparison:

1) no dormer rooms for me
2) since I'm a balcony lover I should request the turret room on the 2nd or 3rd floor (realize this may be hard to get)

Is this right? Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

we are just beside ourselves with excitement.... we leave monday! it will be our first trip to GF, first CL stay, and my parents' first trip to WDW ever.... in fact, their first vacation besides the jersey shore in about 20 years!

we also have the grand 1 yacht booked for our 3rd night to see fireworks.

thanks to all the expert planning advice and info i have gotten on this thread over the past year (yes, we booked it a year ago!), it's going to be an amazing trip! we can't wait!!!

back to packing!

I hope you have a wonderful trip! How nice for your parents, too!

Oh you GF fans and your great posts... after 50+ pages of reading I'm SOLD!

I've been holding out for AKL CL for the 2nd half of our trip... no rooms available with any web discount, PIN, AP rate, etc. And then I came back here...

I now think we'll just spend the last 3 or 4 nights of our trip at Sugar Loaf. Yes, I see the irony of paying as much if not more for a room at the GF than rack rate at the AKL. All I can say is it's against my religion to pay full price when other's are NOT and who knows if ANY of these discounts will be here as the economy improves.. going while I can pay without having an anxiety attack.

Anyway... on to my question.

We're going to spend our 1st five nights in a deluxe room at the BWI which is a REALLY big room. So if I don't want to feel like my other room is tiny by comparison:

1) no dormer rooms for me
2) since I'm a balcony lover I should request the turret room on the 2nd or 3rd floor (realize this may be hard to get)

Is this right? Thanks!

I understand -- I don't like paying full price for a CL room either. Discounts for AKL CL are the hardest to come by IMO -- sometimes the best I've been able to get is a AAA rate.

A split between an Epcot resort and a MK resort is a great way to go! Great transportation options! When we stayed in SL, I didn't want a dormer room so I made that my only request. I guess you could ask for a lodge room with a balcony, but I agree that that may be very hard to get.

 

[bethclayton]

quick question- since we are staying CL, there's really no point to checking in online, right? just wanted to double check before i opted out of it.

 

[johnsonet]

quick question- since we are staying CL, there's really no point to checking in online, right? just wanted to double check before i opted out of it.

Right

 

[ancestry]

Right

This is the first time we are staying club level so I'm confused after reading this now. I'm wondering why do we not need to do the online check-in? Don't we still need to provide a credit card for charging purposes? How is check-in different for club level? Please enlighten me.

 

[Tam1067]

This is the first time we are staying club level so I'm confused after reading this now. I'm wondering why do we not need to do the online check-in? Don't we still need to provide a credit card for charging purposes? How is check-in different for club level? Please enlighten me.

The club level CM will meet you when you arrive. You'll check in then. You'll give the CM your credit card, and he or she will give you the room keys and other documents right then. When we stayed in Sugar Loaf in December, we checked in right in our room. The whole process takes a few minutes. There's no need to do it online ahead of time.

 

[johnsonet]

This is the first time we are staying club level so I'm confused after reading this now. I'm wondering why do we not need to do the online check-in? Don't we still need to provide a credit card for charging purposes? How is check-in different for club level? Please enlighten me.

There's just no need. Last summer I stayed AKL CL and AKL IPO advised me that on-line check-in was unnecessary. When you work w/ them, they ask, or you give , your room requests, expected arrival time, etc. and then when you arrive you can give them your cc# for charging priveleges. You wouldn't be checking in in the lobby anyway (unless you arrived after about 10pm), so you wouldn't be using the "On-line Check-in" line for guests. You get a more private check-in process w/ CL in the club lounge.

Good luck

 

[Sandy]

What is available for breakfast? Food court or sit down?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

What is available for breakfast? Food court or sit down?

There is no food court at GF.

TS:

1900 Park Fare
Grand Floridian Cafe

CS:
Gasparilla

 

[kramer222]

Food Court: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=30#me
1900 Park Fare: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=28
Grand Floridian Cafe: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=31

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=30#menu

That's Gasparilla's... one restaurant does not a food court make.

 

[KimDis]

What is available for breakfast? Food court or sit down?

Hi Sandy,

It will be my 1st time at the GF this summer too. Breakfast is available at both the Counter Service or Table Service restaurants. Gasparilla's is the quick service type breakfast at the GF.

Quick note - 1900 Park Fare hosts a character breakfast (Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter) in the mornings, GF Cafe is also a seated meal but no characters for breakfast and reservations are suggested. I've heard it's really nice and doesn't feel formal for breakfast.

Hope this helps.