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

[grannyminnie]

Grannyminnie - I shoot my mouth off all the time! Don't worry about it. I hope I didn't come across snarky.... I just thought I might have missed something. I can't keep up!

Happy planning!!!

Lives4Disney

Oh no! You didn't...I enjoy reading your posts and love learning about Disney!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

when you are angry and upset about something on your vacation you should go talk to a manager. I had an issue at the GF once and it was handled quickly they did way more than I thought they would.

I think if you were that unhappy you should have went and spoken with someone. I read your post and didnt reply at first because I also thought it was a joke/troll.

I hope you will try the GF again.

 

[phyllis1966]

My 2 cents:

We all appreciate an informative review, but when the review eventually degenerates into "the GF sucks" and "anyone who pays $500 to stay there is out of their mind," toes can and will be stepped on. I try to take it with a grain of salt, but haven't I kinda just been insulted?

It is possible to review the resort, even if it was all bad, without making broad statements that may put people on the defensive.

 

[princessesrule4]

AKL has a whole list of activities available throughout the day. FW has nightly campfire singalongs & a movie, the YC/BC are now offering a movie on the beach and a few resorts are in a trial program right now that's offering pool parties, dances, arcade games, even movies. Programming is available 7 days a week, from 1pm until the 9pm movie ends. I know there are more, I just can't think of them right now. The GF has some unique activities, but they do come at an additional charge and both their story time and arts/crafts are for a limited age group.

Thanks for the info ,Tammi. My point was that we are to busy with the parks,etc. to look for, or care about doing kids activities. We are DVC members also, so when we go to Vero or Hilton Head, we do tons of neat activities. Of course there are no parks, so the activities at those 2 resorts are must dos and highlights of the trips. I had heard that the DVC resorts or resorts with DVC attached, were doing more activities. But like I said, we are not there to do activities at the resorts when we are at Disney.
Thanks again for the update, though!

 

[Lives4Disney]

THe whole thing is stupid.....(I think ya all know what I mean, LOL )....if the AC didn't work in a hotel room in FL in August, move rooms. There...I am done. Ya, I love the Gf but I KNOW stuff happens ...I think the situation was just mishandled & I really did think the pp was out there with the OP. Maybe the right manager was just not contacted or the PP came across as bent to them as he did here to me. I have FUN on the Dis ....I am not angry - far from it - what do I care about some stranger's stay? What do I care about the GF for that matter, except I enjoy staying there!? I'd rather be here arguing on the DIS than doing housework!! anything but that!

Laundry- Jenins, wow!! good for you to not bring home dirty clothes! I always do .....I did read that every lodge building at the GF has it's own laundry room. The only time I did laundry on vacation was at the YC several years ago when we missed our flight home and there was a hurricane and we couldn't catch another for 5 more days. It took TONS of quarters to dry the clothes. Be prepared!!

Happy travels,

Lives4Disney

 

[conandrob240]

Okay, enough. Lives4Disney, you are rude. You pulled isolated comments out of my review and twisted them all around. You don't know me at all and you have no idea how I handled the situations that arose at the resort. Nothing was "mishandled"- I handled it exactly as I wanted to weighing the amount of time and energy I wanted to invest in complaining versus the severity of the problems. I was at no time "bent" or "angry" except at you for your rudeness and attacks on me for no reason.

The GF was not what we expected. We encountered many problems during our stay that I would not expect at any deluxe resort much less Disney's flagship resort. Many of them I went to a manager about, some I did not. None of them were worth switching resorts for. When I asked to switch rooms because of the ac I was told they were at capacity. They destroyed a gift basket and then accused me of not ordering it for the right day. I called housekeeping about the problems with cleaning and times. They recorded my requests for cleaning times (during the day) and they never honored them. The night turn-down person was rude and you could tell he just didn't want to be bothered. That was the attitude of many of the staff we encountered- that they didn't want to be bothered with questions or requests. To me, that kind of service is unacceptable especially at Disney. The pool was HOT- much hotter than the other pool and the pool that was cool was not always clean. I politely mentioned this to the pool person but didn't see any real improvement during the course of our stay. Was it worth going to a manager about? Not in my opinion. The towel animal thing was one EXAMPLE of why I did not feel the hotel was as kid-friendly as other resorts at WDW I have stayed in. The lack of kid's programs was another.

The resort had a conservative, quiet, stuffy feel to it IMO. It is an opinion. People were very quiet and reserved. I saw few people hanging out in the lobby, the bar (Mizner's) never had more than 2 people in it, there was no music or fun around the pools. It seemed DEAD to me. It lacked personality. I enjoyed the light atmosphere at Poly more where the lobby was crowded, the pool had lots of laughter and ruckus and there just seemed to be more "life" to it.

I hope that people other than Lives4 Disney found some usefulness in my review. It was not exaggerated or misrepresented. It was the GF as I experienced it. I do not think it is worth the $ that they charge for it. I am glad I got to try it without having to pay extra but I won't be returning.

 

[daughertyk]

We are staying at the GF for the first time for Thanksgiving, I was wondering if anyone knows of a schedule for the RPC services, like when breakfast begins, snack, and so on. I'm sure I am over planning, but I just want to know all there is to know. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[princessesrule4]

We are staying at the GF for the first time for Thanksgiving, I was wondering if anyone knows of a schedule for the RPC services, like when breakfast begins, snack, and so on. I'm sure I am over planning, but I just want to know all there is to know. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

I am sitting here looking at the lounge hours from our June trip right now! We'll be in RPC in December and I'm planning some last minute ADR's - I was trying to plan them so I don't miss out on the scones at Afternoon Tea! Seriously, I have to have at least a day or 2 open in the afternoon for scones and also veggies/breadsticks and dip during Refreshments!!

Here's the schedule:

Coffee 6:30 am - 7:00 am

Grand Beginnings 7:00 - 10:30 am

Refreshments 11:30 - 2:30 pm

Afternoon Tea 3:00 - 4:30 pm ( the scones and cream )

Twilight Refreshers 5:00 - 7:00 pm

Cordials and Desserts 8:00 - 10:00 pm

Hope you have a great trip - you will love RPC!

 

[irisbud]

OMG, those scones are sooo good! On our last trip, I pulled BF out of EPCOT early just so we could go back to the lounge and get some scones with cream. I think he thought that I was raving! Whatever you do, don't miss them!

 

[ElizabethB]

Just returned from a marvelous RPC stay. It was heavenly. Everything is beautiful at the Grand Floridian! We had our two 11-year-old boys with us and they loved breakfast in the lounge each morning. One was particularly fond of the cheese danish!

I think the RPC food service was:

6:30 a.m. coffee available
7:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. continental breakfast
snacks -- I don't remember the exact time, perhaps 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.?
2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. afternoon tea
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. canapes, wine, beer
8 p.m. to 10 p.m. desserts and cordials

Believe me -- you must get there during the posted times. They start cleaning up about 10 minutes before the time period ends.

We loved our stay . . . thought the redecorated rooms were very pretty, and the beds the most wonderful we've ever slept in. I've never taken a bed apart to find out the mattress manufacturer and model, but I did this time!

This was our first time staying RPC. CM's were terrific -- extremely nice and helpful -- all of them. Housekeeping was excellent -- lots of yummy H20 stuff, etc. No towel animals, but I think towel animals are a cruise ship thing. I don't expect them in a hotel so don't mind not getting them.

We loved the concierge guest AKL excursion we took. We loved sitting in the lounge listening to the band and pianist. We were so busy at the parks the boys didn't mind the lack of activities for kids.

A couple of thoughts:

Our room would not cool down. The maintenance person replaced the thermostat, overrode the room sensor and we never had another problem.

Although the RPC food was tasty, especially for breakfast and tea, I was surprised at what I consider some rather glaring omissions, given the price. No berries at breakfast -- ever -- unless you count the two strawberries and one blueberry on each cheese plate (becoming desperate, I actually did!). No shrimp in the evenings to speak of -- there was a shrimp in the spring roll on Asian night, though I apparently missed it. Another night there was something called a "Gazpacho Shooter with Shrimp". It tasted good, but the shrimp wasn't a shrimp but small "pieces parts" chopped up in the gazpacho. We stayed AKL concierge a few years ago and had several "luxury" items in the evenings including a shrimp dish most evenings. But, perhaps they've cut back at AKL, too.

Gasparilla's was not very good at all. Caesar salad had no taste, the cookies were stale, etc. We only ate there once and gave up.

Notwithstanding the couple of small observations, we had a glorious time and can't wait to return! We're now spoiled for life!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Gasparilla's was not very good at all. Caesar salad had no taste, the cookies were stale, etc. We only ate there once and gave up.

It's to bad you did not like Gasparilla's because that is one my favorite counter service locations in WDW and we always enjoy the food there. However it's great that WDW has a lot of other counter service locations, because there are always going to be people who are not fans of every location.

 

[Lives4Disney]

OMG, those scones are sooo good! On our last trip, I pulled BF out of EPCOT early just so we could go back to the lounge and get some scones with cream. I think he thought that I was raving! Whatever you do, don't miss them!

I love those scones, too!!! We aren't usually around for all the snacks etc during the day, but if we are at the pool I try and get in for a bit to have one. My girls like the little pretty cookies they put out during the tea time, too.

Happy planning....RPC is the best! Enjoy


Lives4Disney

 

[Dis Ohana]

Our room would not cool down. The maintenance person replaced the thermostat, overrode the room sensor and we never had another problem.

I keep reading this about the rooms at Disney -- someone up a few pages mentioned that you can override the sensor yourself, does anyone know how this is done?

Thanks for posting your review, especially the tip about the scones! I'd hate to have missed that. Did you find the lounge to be very busy at breakfast? We've only ever stayed at the Grand Californian CL and it doesn't seem like there were many concierge level guests there at the time. The lounge was always empty. It seems like the GF RPC would service a lot more people, was wondering if it gets crowded like a restaurant would.

 

[wdhinn89]

65 days to our GF vacation. Kids still do not know yet. It is a special surprise for my daughters 10th birthday.

 

[wdhinn89]

I keep reading this y -- someone up a few pages mentioned that you can override the sensor yourself, does anyone kabout the rooms at Disnenow how this is done?

Thanks for posting your review, especially the tip about the scones! I'd hate to have missed that. Did you find the lounge to be very busy at breakfast? We've only ever stayed at the Grand Californian CL and it doesn't seem like there were many concierge level guests there at the time. The lounge was always empty. It seems like the GF RPC would service a lot more people, was wondering if it gets crowded like a restaurant would.

thread 6767 explains how to override the thermostat

 

[mr.mike]

Do I set the temperature that I want before I press the buttons to display the 6P or do I set the temperature after or will it work either way?

I set the temperatrue first because i didnt want to mess anything up but I know i changed it up or down during the stay and it didn't turn off the override.

 

[kkproulx]

42 days left before we are in Disney! Our 1st ever visit and stay and it will be at the GF!!! I cannot wait! I actually am getting all of my fall/halloween decorations out today so I can enjoy them a little longer as I will be in Florida for two weeks! My husband won't be too thrilled when he gets home. What's a wife to do? Anyway! 42 more days! Woohoo!!!

 

[BrianD]

Wow, did I miss an interesting evening on this thread last night and this morning! Suddenly controversy in a normally "nice" thread. I especially like how it suddenly is back to normal. Nice recovery. To prevent stirring the pot, I will withold my opinion (and I'm having a hard time with that ).

Let's just say if things get going again, Channing, I have your back! LOL!

 

[DisneyNotes]

I set the temperatrue first because i didnt want to mess anything up but I know i changed it up or down during the stay and it didn't turn off the override.

Thanks.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Wow, did I miss an interesting evening on this thread last night and this morning! Suddenly controversy in a normally "nice" thread. I especially like how it suddenly is back to normal. Nice recovery. To prevent stirring the pot, I will withold my opinion (and I'm having a hard time with that ).

Let's just say if things get going again, Channing, I have your back! LOL!

THanks, Brian.

With everybody counting down I am getting excited, too!!! It seemed so far off, but my kids started school a couple days ago and this is my first real day with them gone....not to sound happy, lol ....the thing is, I know the time will fly now that we are so busy.

Happy planning,

Channing