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

[PPFQP]

DH is attending a convention in October, and we get to tag along! We'll be staying at the GF and I'm wondering if we should request a special location. We have a convention rate for the room, so maybe it is not even possible to make any special requests. Any advice?

 

[Lives4Disney]

Channing,

Private dining is 407-824-2578. If you can, ask for Courtney. She has been MORE than helpful!!!

Anne

Anne - Thanks so much!! Do they just take orders for within 30 days?? I can't see your counter at this point in typing.... Even though I have IPO (when I hear from them )I feel better if I just do it myself. I have not had much luck with the iPO getting back to me regarding things and even though I know I shouldn't, I feel like I am putting them out, LOL, asking them to help me with these things because I know they must be really busy or something. I appreciate you giving me the name & the cute Mickey dome idea, too. IPO doesn't like to really give suggestions or commit themselves to anything for some reason. I guess I can imagine why, but suggestions are always welcome here.

THANKS!!

Channing aka Lives4Disney

 

[Lives4Disney]

DH is attending a convention in October, and we get to tag along! We'll be staying at the GF and I'm wondering if we should request a special location. We have a convention rate for the room, so maybe it is not even possible to make any special requests. Any advice?

LUCKY you!! My DH used to go to a conference (Gartner) in Oct at the S/D, but he's probably not going this year.

What view or room category do you have booked?? If Garden view, I would want Sago Cay. It is closest to the main building and the convenience of Gasparillas (the 24 hr fast food restaurant) and right near the marina for great Wishes viewing. I know all the garden views are lovely, though. No bad parking lot views.

If it's lagoon, maybe Boca Chica or Conch key for a castle view.

Lives4Disney

 

[poohluvrs]

We're staying RPC this fall, Do we need ressies for the mouse boats, & can we buy our park hopper passes from concierge or at the resort when we get there? What do you return GF people do?!
THanks

 

[soxnation]

Just got in last night from 5 nights at the grand floridian!!
It was great a few issues but overall a nice stay unpacking and trying to put memories to paper to get a trip report ready i will be back soon to report on our GF stay but for being home booo

 

[Lives4Disney]

We're staying RPC this fall, Do we need ressies for the mouse boats, & can we buy our park hopper passes from concierge or at the resort when we get there? What do you return GF people do?!
THanks

Hi, no you don't need any ressies to rent a boat other than the Grand 1 or the pontoons for the Wishes/Illuminations Cruises. The others are just sitting in the marina during the day waiting to be rented. We have done all types and had lots of fun - my favorite (other than G 1) was a pontoon boat. It went faster than I thought it would and we had a lot of fun out on the lakes.

For passes, I am an AP holder. Before that, I would buy online to save some extra money. You can just buy them on the WDW website or see where mousesavers recommends. If you buy from Disney website, you can pick them up at a park at will call, I believe.

Happy travels!! Your trip is coming up!!

Lives4Disney

 

[Lives4Disney]

Just got in last night from 5 nights at the grand floridian!!
It was great a few issues but overall a nice stay unpacking and trying to put memories to paper to get a trip report ready i will be back soon to report on our GF stay but for being home booo

Glad you had a good trip - sorry you had issues. Hope they weren't overwhelming. Let us know some details!! That always helps me get thru when I am waiting for my own trip. I never make it over to that trip report board.... post some GF things here!!

Lives4Disney

 

[lynr]

Hi All:

We are back from our Disney/Carnival Cruise.

The GF was perfect and our room was spotless. For the most part the employees were very helpful and polite. I feel than the concierge service was well worth it. We had a few issues but all in all everything was great.

After being switched to a new room we had room 4405 and it had a direct view of the Castle. (The first room we were assigned only held 4 people and we had 5).

Bell services temporarily lost my carry-on bag with all our medicine in it. I had to go down to the luggage holding area and help them find it. I didn't want to store it there in the first place but our room wasn't ready and we wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom and Concierge assured me it would be fine, (Never again).

The only other problem we had was that the concierge staff was supposed to call my cell phone when our room was ready to let us know the room number and they never did. Finally at 6PM I called the hotel myself.


Scanne: I asked about the Caban rental and the girl told me it was temporary and as far as she knew it wasn't going to continue.

The service we received at the Caban was less than great and in my opinon the free one is just as good. We tried to use the Satellite radio and it kept turning off every 10 minutes and no one seemed to know how to operate it. The beverages in the fridge were only setup for one person eventhough our reservation was for 6 people. (I questioned that and it was corrected). We mostly went and got our own drinks from the pool bar.

We will be returning 11/30 for 10 nights and I can't wait!

Lyn

 

[Cinderella Fan]

Lyn, welcome back. Glad to hear you had a great time!! Can't wait to see pictures!!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

well i was booked today (a work thing) for 3 nights and 4 days in November
i have a lagoon room
i want an alice room
i know that the sam brown travel channel show she had a alice room with a castle view
does anyone know what building she was in ??
Thanks

 

[steffali]

We have CL room booked in the Sugar Loaf ( our first time). Can we request a view when we check in and what are our choices?

And what are the Cabanas? DO we have to reserve them????????? HELLLPPPPP

 

[BCV23]

well i was booked today ( work thing) for 3 nights and 4 days in November
i have a lagoon room
i want an alice room
i know that the sam brown travel channel show she had a alice room with a castle view
does anyone know what building she was in ??
Thanks

Alice is the blue theme, right?

We have twice had a lagoon view room in Conch Key with the blue theme.

I miss the days when the different themes showed up on the first pages of this FAQ.

 

[BCV23]

We have CL room booked in the Sugar Loaf ( our first time). Can we request a view when we check in and what are our choices?

And what are the Cabanas? DO we have to reserve them????????? HELLLPPPPP

The views in Sugar Loaf of are either the marina or the courtyard. If you have a preference, I would request it either on your reservation or in your contacts with IPO. If you wait until checkin, there may not be any chance of getting your request.

There are cabanas by the pool. Some are free but recently one or maybe two have been "enhanced" and are available for an extra charge. It was an experiment from what I've read on this thread. I'm sure one of the experts will be along to help you out with more info.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Lyn - Glad it was a good trip over all. I would have been stressed out about my missing bag, too!! We had the same sort of room ready issue when we were there in March. Took til close to 5 pm. AND we also finally phoned.

Tell us more stuff - good and bad. Hope it was mostly good, especially since we convinced you GF is better than Poly, LOL!! Hope you thought so, too.

Kelly - I saw that show today and I thought of you! I love that Alice theme. I have never seen it before. Very cute! I loved seeing the Walt Disney suite again! I taped the show so I can watch it again later tonight.

Channing aka Lives4Disney

 

[Alicnwondrln]

channing i have the dvderd i am gonna watch it tomorrow and see her room number
it seems like conch key and bocha chica are the best for lagoon views
i want a castle view more than alice room though
so how should i request that
MK view in conch key ? the 1st page says conch key is all alice themed so

 

[Lives4Disney]

OOPs double post.

 

[Lives4Disney]

channing i have the dvderd i am gonna watch it tomorrow and see her room number
it seems like conch key and bocha chica are the best for lagoon views
i want a castle view more than alice room though
so how should i request that
MK view in conch key ? the 1st page says conch key is all alice themed so

I would put it pretty much that way....#1 request is for a castle view, and if possible #2 Alice themed room, but be clear that the most important request you would like met is for an MK view.

When you see your assigned room - at the front desk they can tell you/show you on a map if it meets your requests - if it doesn't (because sometimes I don't always think they are aware of guest comments & requests) hopefully they can accomodate you. Another thing is don't have your luggage brought over until you actually see your room/view.

Oh, something else, too - a lot of people do not like those dormer type rooms. The one S B was in looked adorable, I loved it! Don't know if that would confuse/help or what, but maybe if you said a dormer Alice room w/MK view Too much maybe??

Happy travels!!!

Channing

 

[steffali]

The views in Sugar Loaf of are either the marina or the courtyard. If you have a preference, I would request it either on your reservation or in your contacts with IPO. If you wait until checkin, there may not be any chance of getting your request.

There are cabanas by the pool. Some are free but recently one or maybe two have been "enhanced" and are available for an extra charge. It was an experiment from what I've read on this thread. I'm sure one of the experts will be along to help you out with more info.

Thanks for the info. Can you see the castle from any of these views? Is there a certain floor to request that is better? Is there a balcony on the first floors or is it a patio??We need a wheelchair accessible room but I think someone said they are on every floor. I just want to make sure I request the best room location for us. Thanks for your help.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Steffaili, there are no castle views from SugarLoaf, but you may be able to see some of the fireworks from a balcony on the marina side. I'm nearly positive that we had room #6315 at one time there and were able to see them okay. The first floor rooms contain fenced in patios. If you haven't had an opportunity to check out this site, SugarLoaf, then you definitely need to take a look. It was put together by our own StephH. The home page shows the marina side of SugarLoaf and you can kind of see the patios. Our room was on the 3rd floor, in the section that sort of sticks out a bit. I think that helped with being able to see the fireworks.

Lynn, welcome home and glad to hear that your vacation was good for the most part. Is that something new to have concierge call when your room is ready? I know that we've always been given a little card with a number on it to call and check on room status. Not sure how quickly the concierge computer is updated by housekeeping or maybe you just fell victim to a changing of shift personnel. It will be interesting to see what they do with the cabana's. I wonder if they'll remove all the amenities and return it back to how they were.

 

[BCV23]

Thanks for the info. Can you see the castle from any of these views? Is there a certain floor to request that is better? Is there a balcony on the first floors or is it a patio??We need a wheelchair accessible room but I think someone said they are on every floor. I just want to make sure I request the best room location for us. Thanks for your help.

I don't think there are accessible rooms on every floor of Sugar Loaf. We had an accessible room for both of our stays in Sugar Loaf and both times had the same room which is on the 3rd floor marina side. Someone told me that there aren't that many accessible rooms at the GF. We loved the room as well as the one next to it which we needed as well.