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

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

I have a question for all of you who have stayed at the GF before. We are going for 2 nights in August and have booked a deluxe room RPC. Is it worth the money or should we have gone for the MK view. Is there any advantage to staying in the main building as opposed to the other buildings (other than RPC of course)? Please help! We have never stayed at GF before and are looking forward to it, but want to make the right choice since it is expensive. Thanks!

BTW - Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

 

[Lives4Disney]

I have a question for all of you who have stayed at the GF before. We are going for 2 nights in August and have booked a deluxe room RPC. Is it worth the money or should we have gone for the MK view. Is there any advantage to staying in the main building as opposed to the other buildings (other than RPC of course)? Please help! We have never stayed at GF before and are looking forward to it, but want to make the right choice since it is expensive. Thanks!

BTW - Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Hi, we have always stayed in the main building and LOVE RPC. We did try Sugar Loaf once when RPC was not available and while it's OK, RPC is much much nicer. The concierge CMs are wonderful and so helpful. The lounge ladies are great, too. Housekeeping has always been perfect for us. They leave tons of extra toiletries and 8+ towels (which I love) and turndown is so nice to have, too.

We have always had the MK view from the main building. I had considered booking a deluxe room, but the fact that those rooms don't have that beautiful fireworks view deterred me.

As for advantage of staying in the main building.....It is very nice and convenient to the monorail, restaurants, shops, but the best part is just how special you feel staying right there. Other than that, RPC staff is just great and has always made our stays over the top special.

We are planning our first GV lodge stay for Thanksgiving, so I really can't compare anything but SL and RPC. RPC is just fabulous so I don't think you can go wrong there. We have stayed many times and it feels like home to us. We have had nothing but terrific stays in the main building. It's the best - and we've stayed at almost all the other WDW deluxes over the past 16 yrs. Nothing at Disney World compares. You'll be spoiled and not want to stay anywhere else.

Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

What type of room did you book to get the MK view? I only booked deluxe because it was available and seemed like a good idea..bigger room etc. If I could get a mk view with a standard room, I would be thrilled!

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

One more question...do you have any ideas for doing something special at the GF for our anniversary. We will be married 20 years in October and I thought it would be great to celebrate it at GF...any ideas on having something special sent to our room, etc. Also, how does private dining work and would our children be included in the private dining? Thanks again.

 

[hmp2z]

One more question...do you have any ideas for doing something special at the GF for our anniversary. We will be married 20 years in October and I thought it would be great to celebrate it at GF...any ideas on having something special sent to our room, etc. Also, how does private dining work and would our children be included in the private dining? Thanks again.

For ideas and menus, you should call Private Dining directly, at the GF. Private Dining is basically like room service, so yes, if you ordered enough food for your children, they would be included You can go more elaborate, and have a server there to serve each dish to you, but that would obviously be more $$. You can do special desserts like the strawberries, small cakes, champagne/wine, or a full blown dinner.

The Private Dining people are very helpful; I would suggest calling them directly & asking them to fax you menus of possibilities.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Lives4Disney]

What type of room did you book to get the MK view? I only booked deluxe because it was available and seemed like a good idea..bigger room etc. If I could get a mk view with a standard room, I would be thrilled!

Thanks for your help!!!

I have always booked a concierge room in the main building - Royal Palm Club. I requested a MK view with the IPO team (itinerary planning office). I don't know if you know about this aspect of concierge, but these people can really help you plan (well, LOL, they are SUPPOSED to help you plan and help you secure special ADRs but many of the GF fans on this thread have had issues with their lack of help)....anyway, they are not all created equal. There are a few IPO members that are much more reliable than others, so I can PM you there names if you'd like to direct your emails or calls to them specifically. You can add the MK request to your reservation with CRO anytime, but it also pays to drop the IPO office a note about it. Let them also know it's your 20th anniversary (my 20th is Sept '08 and I would LOVE a stay at the GF for it, too!)

Here is the email address for the GF IPO (planning team) And I have to add that requesting the MK view doesn't guarantee it. I have been lucky and always had it, but I don't want you to count on it 100%.

WDWGFPlanning <WDWGFPlanning@disney.com>

You can order flowers thru WDW Florist, champagne and special treats thru private dining. IPO can help you plan a special private dinner on the terrace of the GF or any other place on the property that you choose. They can help you get a reservation for the Grand 1 yacht or a Wishes cruise, which would be a very special thing to do on your anniversary. I did the Grand 1 Wishes cruise on my 40th bday and it was a treat. We ordered champagne, lemonade and a beautiful bday cake on the yacht. IPO can MAYBE have autographed character pics in your room for your children (I say maybe because they have been fairly unreliable in the past with things unfortunately. You can ask about the pics, but don't get your hopes up)

Happy planning! Give the IPO an email and introduce yourself and let them know about your anniversary and that you are looking to do something special. Twenty years is something to celebrate!

Lives4Disney

 

[Warmwinds]

Now I'm worried - we're just staying for one night (really so we don't have to stagger anywhere else after wine pairings at V&A's) but I didn't request anything except King n/s (I did mention it was our 30th anniversary because the CM said something like "you're only going to be with us for one night?" so I told her the story).

So I guess it's Swamp View for us !

I just want to go and stay for one night to see what it's like, but I read on another thread that all the rooms are scheduled for refurb later in the year, so does that mean they are all junky now?

 

[hmp2z]

I just want to go and stay for one night to see what it's like, but I read on another thread that all the rooms are scheduled for refurb later in the year, so does that mean they are all junky now?

I definitely don't think the rooms are junky. They're getting a bit faded, and have some visible wear & tear, so it's definitely time for a refurbishment. They're not awful - our room (we always stay in the same room) was nice as usual, just a bit worn.

Does anyone know exactly when the refurbishment is scheduled to begin? We're going to be there beginning August 4, and I'm hoping that we get "our" room before they shut it down for rehab.

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[Warmwinds]

You stay in the exact same room every time? Wow it must be very special.

I read your other post about not getting the CT that one year because of the mess-up with the concierge - was that the time you took all the pictures of the food and sat under the dome? You are the inspiration for us maybe getting the CT menu in the dining room!

I'm so excited - our V&A dinner was going to be on the day AFTER our anny because I was not able to get the day before (the actual day) - I called about a week ago and our actual night had a cancellation so we switched, then this stay at the GF just evolved from that!

 

[Remember The Magic]

Now I'm worried - we're just staying for one night (really so we don't have to stagger anywhere else after wine pairings at V&A's) but I didn't request anything except King n/s (I did mention it was our 30th anniversary because the CM said something like "you're only going to be with us for one night?" so I told her the story).

So I guess it's Swamp View for us !

I just want to go and stay for one night to see what it's like, but I read on another thread that all the rooms are scheduled for refurb later in the year, so does that mean they are all junky now?

definitely not junky! and i don't think there's such a thing as a bad view from any room in the GF!

 

[ohdisco]

I first emailed the IPOs at the GF, and got a reply. The second email I sent out, I received no reply. I had to add another question to that second email, and when I went to do it, I got a email back stating that the email address did not exist. I used

wdwgfplanning@disney.com

that email address.

What am I doing wrong???

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

Thank you for all your advice. I will definitely contact IPO and put in my request for MK view and I will also contact private dining. I've heard of the wishes cruise from this board, but I am not sure exactly what it is. Can you explain?

 

[TinkerbEllnor]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked before- I wasn't able to make it through 259 pages (wow!)

Does anyone know if you can see Wishes and/or the EWP from the zero-entry pool?

For Wishes, I believe that the castle is blocked by buildings (my guess from an aerial view) but can you see the fireworks? And do they have the music piped in here?

And from the same aerial view, there appears to be a small island across from the pool. Does the EWP go in front of or behind that island on the way to the Poly?

Thanks!!

 

[BCV23]

I apologize in advance if this has been asked before- I wasn't able to make it through 259 pages (wow!)

Does anyone know if you can see Wishes and/or the EWP from the zero-entry pool?

For Wishes, I believe that the castle is blocked by buildings (my guess from an aerial view) but can you see the fireworks? And do they have the music piped in here?

And from the same aerial view, there appears to be a small island across from the pool. Does the EWP go in front of or behind that island on the way to the Poly?

Thanks!!

The zero entry pool has always been closed by that hour when we've been there but I don't think you could see Wishes from there anyway. The Electrical Water Pageant actually begins in front of the Polynesian and I would think you could see part of it when it is at the Polynesian from that pool...except it will probably be closed anyway.

 

[hmp2z]

You stay in the exact same room every time? Wow it must be very special.

I read your other post about not getting the CT that one year because of the mess-up with the concierge - was that the time you took all the pictures of the food and sat under the dome? You are the inspiration for us maybe getting the CT menu in the dining room!

So glad you were able to get the reservation for your anniversary date. I know how important it is to do something on the actual day to celebrate

Actually, the CT menu in the main dining room was for my DH's birthday. I planned a surprise, and we stayed 1 night in the Poly and had a V&A's dinner. I'd never been to the Poly before, so it was great - I was blown away by how nice & friendly all the CM's there were.

And about the room, yes, we do love it, and keep our fingers crossed hard every year that we will get it. We stayed there for our WDW wedding trip, so now don't want to stay anywhere else. Except the Victorian Suite - they upgraded us to that one year, and that was amazing! It's so easy to be spoiled by the luxury of the GF

Cheers!
Heather W

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

We are in the process of planning our trip for a stay at the Grand Floridian Dec. 05 (or 06) threw Dec. 13 08 (I know..faar away, but you can never plan too early ). We are then heading on a Disney Cruise on Dec. 13th which I'm suppose to pay a deposit on Tuesday. Our AAA agent has a hold our reservation right now . We plan on add the vacation package both of our stay at Grand Floridian when they go on sale later this year.

This is going to be the first time to Disney for both of my daughters and my husband. My mother and I have been to Disney before. However, this will be our first time for all of us at Grand Floridian. We plan on staying concierge. Can anyone recommend what we should request if we want a magic kingdrom/castle view? Where are the best views located? Also, wanting to know how the concierge services work exactly and if they will be able to get me reservations to the firework cruises plus dining reservations?
We are trying to plan a very magical trip for both of my princesses. I want them both to be on in love and cloud nine during their vacation.

 

[ead79]

I just read something about a rehab of the rooms at the GF starting this July. Does anyone have any details about this? We were planning to try the Sugarloaf concierge for the first time this December, so I'm wondering if Sugarloaf will be done by then. Does anyone know the rehab schedule? If Sugarloaf will be done by then it would be great to get a new room, but if it'll be under construction we'll have to pick another resort.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I just read something about a rehab of the rooms at the GF starting this July. Does anyone have any details about this? We were planning to try the Sugarloaf concierge for the first time this December, so I'm wondering if Sugarloaf will be done by then. Does anyone know the rehab schedule? If Sugarloaf will be done by then it would be great to get a new room, but if it'll be under construction we'll have to pick another resort.

I just saw that too on the main board about Conch Cay (?? Or was it Boca Chica??) being done in July....

ETA: I re-read the post- it is Conch and they are doing it floor by floor with the building partially open during remodeling. We arrive in August and I am not so sure I would want to be in a building that is being re-done while I am staying there... Oh well, nothing will make me give up my beloved GF at this point! If it's loud we'll request to be moved!

 

[libinatorsmom]

Well I think DH & I decided on the GF for our May 2008 Disney Vacation!!! I couldnt be more excited I think my DD will feel like a princess as well as her mom!!!!! We are very excited and I hope I can get threw all threads and posts about the GF...

 

[Remember The Magic]

Well I think DH & I decided on the GF for our May 2008 Disney Vacation!!! I couldnt be more excited I think my DD will feel like a princess as well as her mom!!!!! We are very excited and I hope I can get threw all threads and posts about the GF...

You'll have the best time! Happy planning!