The *New* Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Frequently Asked Questions (FEB2004) Part 2

[PolyAddict]

How long is the gingerbread house up for? My sister is going 1/1-1/7 and was going to peek in for a look.

Thanks

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Has anyone had any experience having groceries delivered to GF? My DH is a very picky eater (autism, OCD, anxiety) so having food in our room is a must. I've been hearing good things about Garden Grocer and was hoping to give them a try.

I'm sorry you didnt get the wow factor Minniesummer, we stayed there 4 years ago and and though there were a "few" things I didn't like (I thought most of it was due to lack of staffing) overall it was fantastic. I can't beat the rate I got through DH's airline discount and they were wonderful to my son.

We used gardengrocer.com last May for a delivery to the CR. They were fantastic and will use them again in April for our trip to the Poly. They label all your bags and put the cold items in a thermal bag marked as cold and they will leave them with bell services if you are not checked in to your room at the predetermined delivery time. When you order from their website, you can also request items not listed by adding them in the comments section. They will call you a few days later to let you know if they have found all your items They are top notch!

 

[triplefigs]

Wow. sounds like y'all had GREAT Christmas trips. My DS, Rees, who is the MAJOR monorail fanantic and special needs got the MK train station and Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (yes,he says the entire phrase) for his monorail from Santa. He loves it! Now of course all he's asking is when we are going back to WDW, can we stay at the GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT AND SPA... He's such a help with my DH! Tentatively looking at Jan 2-9 of 2008. How are the crowds then and will the Gingerbread house still be up/lobby decorated? Which GV room would you suggest? Sago Cay marina view to be close to the main bldg, bus stop, and Gaspy's?

 

[BCV23]

How long is the gingerbread house up for? My sister is going 1/1-1/7 and was going to peek in for a look.

Thanks

Both years we were at the GF around Christmas/NYE the gingerbread house was dismantled erlier than the other decorations at the Grand. January 2 both times as I remember. Decoration schedules do seem to vary though.

Myra, Channing and Michelle, glad you all had such great trips.

MinnieSummer, sorry you were underwhelmed although it sounds like a good trip overall. Was it the ladies room off the GF Cafe where you had trouble? We do find it accessible but tight entering the stall.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Wow. sounds like y'all had GREAT Christmas trips. My DS, Rees, who is the MAJOR monorail fanantic and special needs got the MK train station and Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (yes,he says the entire phrase) for his monorail from Santa. He loves it! Now of course all he's asking is when we are going back to WDW, can we stay at the GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT AND SPA... He's such a help with my DH! Tentatively looking at Jan 2-9 of 2007. How are the crowds then and will the Gingerbread house still be up/lobby decorated? Which GV room would you suggest? Sago Cay marina view to be close to the main bldg, bus stop, and Gaspy's?

I'm guessing you meant 2008. I tried switching from the Poly to the GF January 4-9 and there was no room at the inn! Gingerbread house won't be up (they take it down January 1) but most of the Christmas decorations will still be up. We go down for the marathon and were disappointed we didn't get to see the gingerbread house but still loved seeing the lobby and Main St. decorations. Sago Cay is definitely my favorite gv rooms.

P.S. We have the GF and the monorail set up in our living room every year for CHristmas. Its such a great feeling to hear the "Welcome to Walt DIsney World" spiel. Have fun planning.

 

[mlill]

Hi everyone! I'm still trying to get back into the swing of normal life after two weeks in WDW - UGH! It's so gray and icky here! I miss Florida! I took a few minutes this morning to dig out some pictures from our private afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian for you.

EDIT: Grand Floridian Private Dining will not host a private tea anymore. Don't bother calling to reseve one. I guess they decided that it was too much work for them. I'm very sorry that no one else will be able to do this! It was wonderful!

It was such a beautiful day! The weather was perfect! 75 degrees with a light breeze!

Continued in next post...

 

[mlill]

This was an amazing experience for all of us! Carlos was our waiter, and he was wonderful! The food and tea was soooo good! We were all served a special reserve tea made just for the Grand Floridian. It was delicious! I felt bad that we couldn't eat more, but there was just too much food!

When we spoke to Tiffany, the manager of GF private dining, she said that this was the 1st private tea they have ever done. I told her that it was better than I had hoped for! Everything was perfect! We got everything that we would have gotten in the tea room, in a private setting, with our own butler, for only a few dollars more. You can't beat that!

Happy New Year!
-Michelle

 

[BCV23]

Wow, Michelle. That looks fabulous! I just showed my DH your pictures and he said book it! Does anyone remember the # for Private Dining?

 

[triplefigs]

Wow, Michelle. That looks fabulous! I just showed my DH your pictures and he said book it! Does anyone remember the # for Private Dining?

I agree! Can you book a meal or the tea on the 3rd floor balcony if you are NOT staying RPC? Or is that only for RPC guests?

 

[mlill]

EDIT: Grand Floridian Private Dining will not host a private tea anymore. Don't bother calling to reseve one. I guess they decided that it was too much work for them. I'm sorry that no one else will be able to do this! It was wonderful!

The phone number for GF Private Dining is 1-407-824-2578 and I think anyone can arrange a private dining event. I don't think you even have to be staying at the GF. We had our Grand 1 cruise catered by GF private dining on the 19th, and we were already staying at the Boardwalk Villas. No problems at all. When I called to set up the tea, I ordered off of the tea room menu. I got the Grand tea for me and two smaller tea services for the girls. What we ended up getting was basically everything on the tea menu!!! There was soooo much food! It was delicious! Everything came to about $100 total. It was worth twice the price! We plan on doing another GF private dining event when we return to WDW in 2 years! SOB!

Take care!
-Michelle

 

[BCV23]

Thanks so much, Michelle. I'll be calling very soon. I'm actually waiting ffrom a call back from DRC right now so need to keep the lines free. I'm so excited. It looks like so much fun!

 

[BCV23]

Booked it and I'm excited!

However I was quoted 25% of the items ordered not a flat rate of $25.

Thanks again, Michelle!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Michelle - Glad you had a great time! Thanks for posting the pics. Hope there is more to come. I am going to try and post some tonight. I haven't even looked at them yet. I have so many errands to run and things to catch up with. Makes coming home even cruddier. I know what you mean about the weather - we are in northern IL, and it is gray and brown. I miss the blue sky and palm trees & all those beautiful flowers. I ate a lot of that "tea" food in the RPC lounge. Hope your BWI stay was great, too.

Triplefigs, if I booked a GV room, I would request Sago. It seems to be the most convenient except for the pools. Happy planning!

Any GF fans have any DL info?? You can PM me if you have opinions or info on hotels or packages or anything. I am clueless. We are doing San Diego and up to DL for spring break and I am such a noob. Any San Diego hotel recommendations?? Not the Del Coronado! I am thinking Paradise Point?? Anybody?? Figured I would ask you all since we seem to like the same things, lol!!

Enjoy the holidays!

Lives4Disney

 

[magical4us4]

Lives4diseny,

I'm wondering if you found out anything about the rehab at the GF. Did you happen to hear anything?

Thanks.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Lives4diseny,

I'm wondering if you found out anything about the rehab at the GF. Did you happen to hear anything?

Thanks.

Hi, I did ask and nobody knew a whole lot about it. They thought it was more the outer buildings in the near future and first would be SL. That is just kind of hearsay, though, as that is all they have at this time.

Lives4Disney

 

[magical4us4]

Thanks, Lives4disney.

I'm glad to hear that the GF is still running top notch! Your trip sounded great.

 

[mlill]

Michelle - Glad you had a great time! Thanks for posting the pics. Hope there is more to come. I am going to try and post some tonight. I haven't even looked at them yet. I have so many errands to run and things to catch up with. Makes coming home even cruddier. I know what you mean about the weather - we are in northern IL, and it is gray and brown. I miss the blue sky and palm trees & all those beautiful flowers. I ate a lot of that "tea" food in the RPC lounge. Hope your BWI stay was great, too.

Lives4Disney

Channing-
It sounds like your family had a wonderful time in WDW, too! I'm sorry that we didn't run into each other, I would have liked to meet you! I'm looking forward to seeing your WDW pictures. Just like up in IL, we're down here in Northwest IN, about 45 min. southeast of Chicago, and the weather is just depressing! I'm glad we're staying in for New Year's Eve. We went out shopping yesterday and found a bottle of Rosa Regale (the stuff they have in the Italy pavillion in Epcot, that I fell in love with) so I'll be celebrating the New Year by opening that later today! By the way, I'm upset with you for not warning me about how nice the Grand 1 cruise would be!!! I thought we would do it once and that would be it. Now I want to do a cruise every trip! It was wonderful!!! Pictures to follow in next post!

Take care!
Happy New Year!
-Michelle

 

[mlill]

Hi again! I hope you guys aren't getting sick of me yet. We just had such a wonderful trip that I have to share! Here are a few pictures of our Grand 1 Cruise. We took her out on Dec. 19th. I chose that day because it was a MVMCP night, and the MK was showing Wishes at 6pm. Our cruise started at 5:30, which was sunset. I had a custom cake, champagne and hot chocolate for the kids catered onboard from GF Private Dining. Everything was perfect! The weather was gorgeous! It was an experience we will never forget!

 

[mlill]

I'll have more Grand 1 interior photos in my Trip Report!

Happy New Year!!!

-Michelle

 

[BCV23]

Well, bad news about the private tea. Tiffany just called and they aren't set up to do the tea. She decided to honor our reservation....thank you so much, Tiffany! At first she wasn't going to do so but we're all so excited and it was booked so she's honoring it.

So it sounds like this will be a one time treat for us but I'm so grateful that they're honoring the reservation.