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

[Lives4Disney]

Do I remember correctly that there were no AP codes for the GF last July?
Also, can you ever get AAA discount on rooms in the main bldg? It seems like every time I check the AAA rate is only available for the outer bldgs.
Thanks

Oh - also, I read on here that many of you are contacted by the concierge staff before your trip. On 4 previous trips I have never been contacted and have also never been met at the front and been taken over and checked in at SL. What am I doing wrong? Or is just that I always go at a busy time - the first or second week in July.
Thanks

First, yes - I almost always have a discount on the main building concierge. Last July I had AAA. I am not positive about the AP situation. I had an AP, but I didn't book our July stay until the middle of May, so I don't know if they were out there and already taken or if there never were AP rates for July. We checked in on July 8. I had a GREAT AP rate at the YC for 4 nts prior to that check in at the GF.

I have had about a 75% success rate with being greeted out front. Twice I told the valet that we were checking in to the concierge level and was directed to the front desk. Several times, more recently & most often now, we got out of the limo and there were concierge CMs there with clipboards that KNEW who we were. I think the limo driver tells the gate who we are and then they are prepared.

I have always emailed IPO first. Never until very recently have I received any info from them until I initiated contact. I noticed the past couple months they are now sending out a generic form a few days after I book. I haven't ever completed this. I just email directly and also very close to my check in date, I mention the approx time of my arrival. I think that helps them be on the lookout to check us in.

I also know the check in has changed. They are doing some funky type of "curbside" check in instead of how they used to walk you in and over to a concierge desk.


Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

 

[PavelB]

Thanks - I was afraid that there were never any AAA rooms in the main bldg. I called yesterday and the AAA at SL was available but none in the main bldg.
We have never stayed in the main bldg and my husband and I wanted to give it a try. One of my sons, however, is balking at the idea. He thinks that SL is just too convenient for the pool. He doesn't like the idea of always having to have a key. Oh well, if I can't get at least a AAA rate at RPC then SL it is!

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

Once you email IPO, how long does it normally take to receive an email back from them? I don't wanna seem impatient.

 

[Janet2k]

I took my daughters to the Ivy Trellis Salon… I even broke down and had my hair done, too…

Mlill, thank you for sharing your photos from the Ivy Trellis Salon. Your daughters’ hair and your hair looked lovely. I bet everyone had a ball during your styling session.

Do you happen to remember what the pricing was for a wash and style? What about a haircut? Any information that you could provide would be very much appreciated.

 

[Janet2k]

Also, for those who stay GF concierge, have you been happy with the food offerings compared to other resorts you may have stayed at? We have only experienced the Polynesian concierge and were very happy. We are considering trying GF concierge (not the main blding) since we loved staying at the hotel in the past.

Goofyandmore, I hope you caught my post from last night. In case you didn't, I'll repost my links below. Please note that the bulk of the photo albums that I am sharing are of the Main Building's Royal Palm Club. But don’t let that deter you. Even though I haven’t been a Sugar Loaf guest just yet, I have stayed in suites and such that have allowed me access to both the Main Building and Sugar Loaf concierge lounges. On several occasions I have popped into both lounges within the same general timeframe. Whenever I did that, I noticed that the munchie offerings were basically identical between the lounges. However, I must admit that there was one time when the Sugar Loaf lounge had caramel fudge while the Royal Palm Club lounge did not. To say I was jealous of the Sugar Loaf would be the understatement of the year (I am not ashamed to admit that I have a sweet tooth and love fudge).

RPC Lounge
RPC Lounge
RPC Morning Offerings
RPC Afternoon Offerings
RPC Afternoon Offerings
RPC Evening Offerings
RPC Evening Offerings
RPC Evening Offerings

And

Sugar Loaf Lounge

As to the other part of your question, I have been a concierge guest of the following resorts: Grand Floridian, Yacht Club, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian, and the Beach Club. I have also visited the Wilderness Lodge’s lounge. My family doesn’t spend much time in the resorts and therefore usually only grabs a munchie from the lounge if we happen to be walking by it on our way to or from our room (with so many wonderful restaurants to eat in at Walt Disney World, we don’t like spoiling our appetites). With that being said, I do have a favorite munchie in a few of the lounges. For example, I love the potato chips at the Grand Floridian, and I love the African smoothie drink at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. As you can tell, my tastes are simple and I’m pretty easy to please.

I hope this helped.

 

[BCV23]

Janet, I haven't seen mlill on the DIS for some time. Weren't her pictures wonderful?

At any rate, I have my hair done at the Ivy Trellis every trip. Carmen, Jackie and Viki are great! I picked up a price list on our last trip. It lists a shampoo/set or shampoo/blow dry as $50. Shampoo, cut and blow dry are $75. Happy planning.

 

[Dis Ohana]

Janet, your photo albums are fabulous! Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

read janets trip reports
now those are fabulous!!!!!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Once you email IPO, how long does it normally take to receive an email back from them? I don't wanna seem impatient.

OK, this is the GF's secret shame. The IPO is TERRIBLE at getting back to guests. The onsite staff is wonderful, though.

If you don't hear back in a couple days (which I am willing to bet you might not) call them. Keep calling til you get a person.

Happy planning & good luck!

Lives4Disney

 

[Janet2k]

I've had several people PM me about the Lodge Tower Rooms in SL... We loved this room! Here are some pictures from Dec 2005...

Triplefigs, oh, I loved the photos that you shared of your room. I hope to stay in a Tower Room one day. The extra floor space looks wonderful. Thank you for sharing your photos.

 

[Janet2k]

I was in the SL 4th floor lodge tower dormer room. I don't think I have any room, pics, though!

Glad to see you back, Janet. Can't wait to see what you have planned for your next stay!

Lives4Disney, I'm sorry to hear that you don't have any photos to share of your Sugar Loaf lodge tower dormer room. Drats! (I am such a photo junkie, I swear!)

And thanks for the welcome back. My vacation is currently on-hold, but some of my Dis buddies are putting the screws to me in an attempt to change that. When they dangle their Grand Floridian vacations in front of me, well, it makes me want to scream, "Uncle!"

 

[Lives4Disney]

Lives4Disney, I'm sorry to hear that you don't have any photos to share of your Sugar Loaf lodge tower dormer room. Drats! (I am such a photo junkie, I swear!)

And thanks for the welcome back. My vacation is currently on-hold, but some of my Dis buddies are putting the screws to me in an attempt to change that. When they dangle their Grand Floridian vacations in front of me, well, it makes me want to scream, "Uncle!"

Janet, maybe just a little getaway? You probably need your GF fix.

The tower room was great....looked just like Triplefigs' except with the high ceilings, like Kelly's pics. My husband got SO SICK- and he is the type that never ever gets sick- it scared us all & really kind of brought our joy at being at the GF in that special room to a halt. We have had kids sick on practically every vacation, but DH.....that was awful. You know, the ones that never get sick always get it the worst and don't know how to handle it.

Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

 

[Janet2k]

I haven't seen mlill on the DIS for some time. Weren't her pictures wonderful?

At any rate, I have my hair done at the Ivy Trellis every trip... I picked up a price list on our last trip. It lists a shampoo/set or shampoo/blow dry as $50. Shampoo, cut and blow dry are $75.

BCV23, yes, Mlill's photos were wonderful. Everyone's hair looked lovely.

Thank you for sharing the Ivy Trellis Salon's pricing information. Before I posted my question in the GF FAQ thread, I searched the official WDW website. I couldn’t find anything regarding the salon, which I thought was a shame.

I have only had my hair cut once during a WDW vacation. That happened during my Fairy Tale Wedding vacation. I was in WDW by myself for a week (before my family and guests arrived for my vow renewal). I found myself at the Magic Kingdom one day and walked over to the Harmony Barber Shop. I only needed a trim, but my barber threw in some sparkly stuff just because he thought I needed an extra touch of magic in honor of my vow renewal.

As I left the barber shop, the afternoon parade was passing by. The Disney characters on one of the floats pointed at my hair and gave me the thumbs up sign. I was embarrassed (it's a little un-nerving when the characters are picking on you). I didn't want to offend the barbers inside the shop, so as I traveled down Main Street, I quickly brushed the sparkly stuff from my hair. I thought I had done a pretty good job of getting rid of the evidence, that is, until I got undressed that evening. I found sparkly stuff in places that I didn't even know existed. I laughed myself to sleep that night. But I did love my hair cut and will never forget it: click here.

I think the next time I get my hair cut while on vacation, it will be at the Grand Floridian's Ivy Trellis Salon. I wonder if they use the same sparkly stuff that the Harmony Barber Shop uses?

 

[Janet2k]

Janet, maybe just a little getaway? You probably need your GF fix.

The tower room was great....looked just like Triplefigs' except with the high ceilings, like Kelly's pics. My husband got SO SICK- and he is the type that never ever gets sick- it scared us all & really kind of brought our joy at being at the GF in that special room to a halt. We have had kids sick on practically every vacation, but DH.....that was awful. You know, the ones that never get sick always get it the worst and don't know how to handle it.

Lives4Disney, I've been scanning in old Grand Floridian vacation photos (pre-digital camera days) into my computer this week. You have no idea how wistful they have been making me for a Grand Floridian vacation, ~sigh.~

I'm glad to hear that your lodge tower dormer room was great. But I’m sorry to hear that your husband was so ill. But if your husband is anything like mine, he would pick getting ill at the Grand Floridian over getting ill at home. He knows I tolerate his whining better when we’re in the most magical place on earth.

We, too, have had just about every family member get sick at one point or another during our WDW vacations. Last summer was my turn. I got very ill during my Mother-Daughter Vacation (sore throat, fever, aches & pains). I wound up losing my voice for approximately two weeks.

I came down with a sore throat on the day of the VIP Tour that I attended as the guest of a fellow Dis'er (who sometimes posts here in the GF FAQ thread -- she knows who she is!). The party that I hosted at the Grand Floridian also happened that day. Of course, my friends claim I lost my voice because I was a wild woman that night (which I will deny to the death -- and I don't care what the blackmail photos show -- click here). I woke up the next day with an even worse sore throat, a low-grade fever, and the beginnings of laryngitis. It was a little scary for me because I was traveling for such an extended period of time with my young daughter. I was concerned that if I grew too ill, I would have to ask my husband to fly out to Florida to join us. I thank my lucky stars (and a lot of Pixie Dust) that it didn’t come to that.

I hope the next time you’re in a tower room, your family is healthy and you can take some photos of it to share with us here in the GF FAQ thread. I can never get enough of everyone’s Grand Floridian photos.

 

[Janet2k]

Dis Ohana and Alicnwondrln, thanks for the kind words. Like I mentioned in my prior post, I have been scanning in photos from a couple of my old Grand Floridian vacations. Since everyone has been discussing a potential rehab for the resort, I thought it would be fun to post what the rooms looked like prior to the last rehab. However, I haven’t had much luck with finding photos of the rooms/suites that I stayed in. I haven’t given up, though, so please stay tuned.

I actually began my photo quest when a couple of Dis’ers asked me for suggestions regarding fun & unique things to do while in WDW. When I mentioned private golf and tennis lessons, their interest was piqued. I haven’t found our lesson photos just yet but did find photos of a golf outing after one of our lessons: click here.

I’m hopeful that I’ll find the lesson photos soon, especially the tennis ones since they were taken at the Grand Floridian Resort. My son had a ball with those. ”Tennis with Mike!” became his mantra whenever anyone asked him what his favorite thing to do was in Walt Disney World. His instructor had teasingly drummed that phrase into his head during his lessons.

 

[Janet2k]

...I read on here that many of you are contacted by the concierge staff before your trip. On 4 previous trips I have never been contacted and have also never been met at the front and been taken over and checked in at SL. What am I doing wrong? Or is just that I always go at a busy time - the first or second week in July.

PavelB, for the concierge vacations that I have booked in the past, I usually established contact with the Itinerary Planning Office myself. I preferred to communicate with them via e-mail since I live on the West Coast (the three-hour time change complicates phone contact). They were more than happy to work with me via e-mail once I established contact and told them of my preference.

As to being greeted curbside, that rarely happens for my family. A lot of times we are resort-hopping during our vacations (we love to sleep around), and since we never rent a car while vacationing in WDW, we transfer to the Grand Floridian either via taxicab or WDW bus. As you can understand, that kinda squashes a curbside check-in. When we arrive at the resort, we walk up to the Front Desk and check ourselves in. If the Front Desk Cast Member catches the fact that we are concierge guests, they call upstairs in order to have someone come downstairs to greet us. But we have sometimes waived that right. Since we’ve been staying at the resort for so many years now, it’s kinda like home to us and we know exactly where things are located. For us, it’s no big deal, especially since our daughter wants to be a Bell Hop when she grows up: click here.

I don't know if this was the answer that you were looking for, but my experiences seem to jibe with yours. I hope this helped.

 

[Janet2k]

Once you email IPO, how long does it normally take to receive an email back from them? I don't wanna seem impatient.

STLDisney_Freak, it depends upon what you are e-mailing them about. If you're asking them for a specific piece of information, they may have to contact someone else in order to get you an answer. That will, of course, add to the response time since they're at the mercy of someone else. However, I would think that most e-mail communications with the Itinerary Planning Office should be handled within two or three business days.

If you have something that requires an immediate response, your best bet would be to contact them via telephone. And if you get their voice-mail system, please state a reasonable timeframe in which you expect a response, along with a phone number that you know you can be reached at.

I hope this helped.

 

[BCV23]

Janet, it would be fun to see old pictures of the GF rooms. I know I saw official WDW pictures way back when but we didn't stay at the GF until 2002 so never saw the rooms ourselves.

I have a question for all of you computer experts. How do you know when it is safe to open links? TIA.

I've never had my haircut at WDW either...just shampoo and stlye. My daughter has though at both Ivy Trellis and the Main St. barbershop. I "think" I saw the stylist use glitter for a little girl at Ivy Trellis but it is not required as it seems to be at Main St. these days.

Speaking of the barbershop on Main St., way back in the 80s it was one of our traditions to get haircuts for our two young sons there every trip. Remember that it was located down the little alley or sidestreet that is no more. I miss that. In addition, way back then girls could not get their haircut there. Could you imagine that these days?

I do think email is the best way to get in touch with the IPOs. We don't worry too much how we're greeted at any resort. We know where we're going.

Janet, my guys did the private golf lessons in years gone by. I think our eldest also did tennis lessons one year at the CR....I'm going to have to ask him? Ah, memories!

Channing, now I understand why your memories of SL are not quite as rosy. We have had our share of illnesses at WDW too and it can't help but affect a trip.

 

[Janet2k]

How do you know when it is safe to open links?

The basic answer to your question is that you don’t know what is safe and what is not safe. When you click on a hypertext link, you do so at your own risk. However, if you have an up-to-date Operating System, a decent firewall, some decent virus protection software, anti-phishing software, a pop-up ad blocker, and a few other items that are presently escaping my memory, you minimize your risk.

I hope that helped. By the way, the Federal Trade Commission has some "Site Seeing On The Internet" info posted on their website: click here -- at your own risk, of course.

 

[Janet2k]

...it would be fun to see old pictures of the GF rooms. I know I saw official WDW pictures way back when but we didn't stay at the GF until 2002 so never saw the rooms ourselves.

BCV23, if I can find any photos that even hint of the old room decor, I will be sure to post them.

Speaking of the barbershop on Main St., way back in the 80s it was one of our traditions to get haircuts for our two young sons there every trip... In addition, way back then girls could not get their haircut there. Could you imagine that these days?

No, I can't imagine that. Yikes! I'm glad the rules have changed.

...my guys did the private golf lessons in years gone by. I think our eldest also did tennis lessons one year at the CR....I'm going to have to ask him? Ah, memories!

If you can find your photos, do post them. I'd especially like to see the tennis center at that resort.