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

[lynr]

Thanks for the information I have emailed the planning office and I am awaiting their response.

I knew I had to contact them because I booked with AAA the planning office won't know about my reservation.

We already have our ADR's which I did myself at 180 days out. But I think I would like to change a couple.

 

[lynr]

Lives4Disney: I must say your daughters are beautiful.

Was that your posting I read a month or so ago when someone got so nasty about you changing your reservation from the Polynesian to the GF? If it was I say shame on them. You have every right to spend you vacation dollars as you see fit.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Lives4Disney: I must say your daughters are beautiful.

Was that your posting I read a month or so ago when someone got so nasty about you changing your reservation from the Polynesian to the GF? If it was I say shame on them. You have every right to spend you vacation dollars as you see fit.

Yeah! (probably a Poly CM ) The Polynesian concierge staff screwed up big time for our March/April stay. They lost my CC number and didn't have any of the items that I preordered purchased, didn't get the treats for the room......even after I emailed them before I left to double check that everything was set and ready for our check in. THEN they left two kind of sassy messages on my machine about my stay - I actually didn't stay I wound up extending at the GF I loved it so much, LOL. It was a weird Poly experience - kind of an UNexperience - I am GLAD we didn't move over there. I know others love it, but we have stayed at almsot all the WDW deluxes and the GF is our favorite. The Poly concierge staff has been a bust for us several times - this last time was supposed to be our deciding visit and I think we are decided.

THANKS for the compliments about my daughters. They are beautiful. That's sweet of you.

Take care & happy planning! You will LOVE the Grand Floridian.

Lives4Disney

 

[lynr]

Does anyone know if the Planning Office is only open certain times of the day? I emailed them around 3 PM and they never responded.

If I don't hear back from them tomorrow morning I will send them another email.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Does anyone know if the Planning Office is only open certain times of the day? I emailed them around 3 PM and they never responded.

If I don't hear back from them tomorrow morning I will send them another email.

Give it time.
I e-mailed myself from my @disney.com e-mail address on Sunday, and I didn't get it until the next day. Not sure why it took so long.

Also, check your spam box if you have one. Disney e-mails are notorious for being thought of as spam.

 

[lynr]

Give it time.
I e-mailed myself from my @disney.com e-mail address on Sunday, and I didn't get it until the next day. Not sure why it took so long.

Also, check your spam box if you have one. Disney e-mails are notorious for being thought of as spam.

Tyler:

Thanks for the heads-up on the spam I never thought of that. Of course I will give them time to respond. I figure they probably closed for the day by the time my email was sent.

I wonder if I could ask them to note that I would like to upgrade to a Deluxe Room if it becomes available? Of course I would also pay the difference.

Am I right in assuming that all Concierge Rooms have fridges than can hold my husband's insulin?

I am bouncing off the walls now. My girlfriend and her family came over tonight and I sprung the news about the upgrade to the GF on them. They are traveling with us and can't really afford the GF so I paid the difference through our AAA agent and told them it was an even $ move. My friend Maryann had tears in her eyes, I never knew the GF was her dream resort.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

The IPO cannot touch room reservations. Only Central Reservations can do that. And since you booked through a Travel Agent, only they can do that for you.

Fridges are by request. Simply let them know at check-in, and it will be taken care of.

 

[Cass]

Cass,

We requested a room on the 3rd or 4th floor between the lounge and the elevator for Gasparilla's. We got what we asked for (even though the elevator was out of service for half of our stay) - 4314 and we were happy with it - it had a daybed and no turbo toilet! The rooms that end in 01 to 09 look over the marina and you can see the castle in the distance. We could not see the castle nor the fireworks, but that was OK. We had a great view of the courtyard pool and to the right we could see the lagoon and the Polynesian. The rooms that end in 22 to 29 (I think) overlook the new pool.

If you have two queen beds in the room, and a daybed is important to you, you should request it because some of the rooms with 2 queen beds do not have a daybed.

We noticed that the GF is experimenting with toiletries. We had a mixture of the old kind with the GF logo on it and the new ones from H20 -- one day we were left a bar of H20 soap that had a blue Disney resorts label on it (but not the GF label).

Have a great time!

Hi DisneyDoogie, thanks for the info. There are 4 of us going, myself and daughter and my friend and her daughter. I would like to have a daybed, as I hate sleeping with my DD (she kicks!)

I am looking forward to being their in the holiday season

 

[litlpixie]

Hi everyone!
I called yesterday and switched my ressies from Poly LV to GF RPC.....I can't believe it, I'm staying at The Grand!!!! I feel like I'm in a secret club, since this is the only thread I could find regarding the GF. The GF has always been my dream resort.....and now I will get to spend my birthday there...and with no kids this time.....WOW!!!

We had an extremely dissapointing stay at YC concierge last month, so much so the YC comped us free park passes because of their humungous screw up!! So I will admit I'm a little nervous about staying concierge again. But I can't have 2 bad experiences in a row, right????

Any tips I can get I will appreciate from you guys. I so want to make this visit as special as it can be. I have ADR's at V&A's and dinner ressies for the rest of the week. Our main goal when we're there, is R & R!!!!

 

[lynr]

The IPO cannot touch room reservations. Only Central Reservations can do that. And since you booked through a Travel Agent, only they can do that for you.

Fridges are by request. Simply let them know at check-in, and it will be taken care of.

Tyler:

Thank you for the information. You were correct I heard back from the planning office this morning and they have noted the sharps container and fridge on my reservation.

I was a little surpised that they sign their emails with Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Planning Office instead of a person's name. When we contacted the Polynesian Planning Office the response always comes from a person. I think that is more personal. Not a problem just a little different.

Guess what now I am trying to find a way to switch my 10 day stay in Nov/Dec over to RPC. I think if I told my husband that price he would probably fall over. Maybe I will spring that on him when we come back from the August trip, after he has a great experience on this trip.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Tyler:

Thank you for the information. You were correct I heard back from the planning office this morning and they have noted the sharps container and fridge on my reservation.

I was a little surpised that they sign their emails with Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Planning Office instead of a person's name. When we contacted the Polynesian Planning Office the response always comes from a person. I think that is more personal. Not a problem just a little different.

Guess what now I am trying to find a way to switch my 10 day stay in Nov/Dec over to RPC. I think if I told my husband that price he would probably fall over. Maybe I will spring that on him when we come back from the August trip, after he has a great experience on this trip.

Lyn, I thought the same thing about the IPO dept. The BWI's emails were more personal....but then I had Tyler helping me with my July stay at the GF and it was very nice! (Thanks, Tyler ) The only good thing about the Poly IPO is that they do sign with their names so I knew who messed up my preplanning, LOL.

Anyway - about the price of RPC and your husband - Mine won't stay anywhere else now. We have stayed at CR 12th and 14th floors lots of times thru the past 15 yrs, Poly Concierge several times, BWI concierge, and YC/BC a few... He LOVES the great service and friendliness of the Grand Floridian compared to the others. We tried the GF and fell in love with it. He says it's worth the cost.

Happy planning - I read about how you are treating your friends - so so nice of you. Hope it is a great trip!

Lives4Disney

 

[Alicnwondrln]

im looking for info about sugar loaf
is it better than the poly?
wif you could choose which you
thanks

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi everyone!
I called yesterday and switched my ressies from Poly LV to GF RPC.....I can't believe it, I'm staying at The Grand!!!! I feel like I'm in a secret club, since this is the only thread I could find regarding the GF. The GF has always been my dream resort.....and now I will get to spend my birthday there...and with no kids this time.....WOW!!!

We had an extremely dissapointing stay at YC concierge last month, so much so the YC comped us free park passes because of their humungous screw up!! So I will admit I'm a little nervous about staying concierge again. But I can't have 2 bad experiences in a row, right????

Any tips I can get I will appreciate from you guys. I so want to make this visit as special as it can be. I have ADR's at V&A's and dinner ressies for the rest of the week. Our main goal when we're there, is R & R!!!!

I hope you love it! I do. I booked a split stay - YC (NOT concierge as I have read several so-so to bad reviews of it and GF is THE BEST anyway) - I just wanted the YC for my girls to enjoy the fun pool for a few days before we go to RPC for my bday. (I am turning 40 and planned a great bit of fun for myself - I will have kids with me, though!!! Lucky you!!) I got lucky and got the great AP rates for YC, so I figured it's a good deal for a couple nights with convenience to Epcot and MGM before moving to the GF and spending mostly MK time. Was it the YC concierge that was a bummer or YC in general?? Just curious......

GF is wonderful. Enjoy!

Lives4Disney

 

[litlpixie]

Lives4disney, Hey!! I was hoping it was you that read my post, you seem to be the Floridian Cheerleader!!! Anyway, I would give the YC another chance because it is a beautiful place, but the lounge was sub-par, and the staff.....WHAT staff?? I wont get into detail, because some people on the board get very defensive when they hear bad things about resorts that they happen to love, but I'll give you a taste of what we experienced over the Easter Week. We checked in w/ 3 kids at 10:30 pm, tell the bellman we're on the concierge floor, and he takes our luggage away, and puts us in the elevator and sends up to the concierge floor....by ourselves, with no where to go, no key, and no explanation...I ended up having to find someone downstairs after waiting 20 mintues with my kids practically falling asleep on the concierge desk, lolol.....(I can laugh about it now) Anyway, the lounge offerings stunk, I stayed on CL at AKL, so I kind of know what to expect.....I'm telling you I saw a better spread a week later at a Hampton Inn I stayed at during a business trip. Sorry this is winded,and I didnt even tell you everything. Anyway, THAT'S why I may be a tad apprehensive, but still very excited about this trip....When is your birthday??? I'll be the "big 3-7", if there's any such thing!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Hi, Littlepixi - We have had nothing but really great stays at the GF. That's why I love it so. We have done WDW several times a year since my almost 16 yr old son was 1 yr old. The GF is the BEST.

My bday is July 8. We have never been to WDW in July - I took the kids for the past two Augusts (just me and them, my husband hates heat so he stayed home!!) I am kind of worried about the July weather. My DH takes meds that make him more sensitive to sunburn (he has mediterranean type skin, though and NEVER burns - lucky!) and sensitve to heat. Ugh. I think July is a dumb time for us to visit, but I love that place and we all enjoy it vs the beach, or something else. I know we will be hanging around the GF more instead of the parks this trip.

I am sorry to hear about your YC concierge stay ....We actually had a similar greeting a day before Thanksgiving on our first BWI concierge stay!! I also know what you mean...you can't say anything against BWI or you risk nasty replies. And God forbid the Poly!!!! I loved the BWI resort, but not the service at BWI. Thanks for letting me know about YC. I was toying with a concierge splurge, but I don't think so. We like Cape May for bfast and Beaches in Cream all the time - no need for a concierge snack thrown in there.

Happy GF planning, Happy big 3 - 7!

Lives4Disney

 

[Janet2k]

im looking for info about sugar loaf...

Alicnwondrln, StephH has the most wonderful webpage regarding Sugar Loaf: click here. She did a beautiful job with it.

 

[Janet2k]

I know this is the GF FAQ thread so I will try to keep my post topic…

For my upcoming vacation, I have booked both the Polynesian Resort and the Beach Club Resort (both will be concierge stays so I'll get to see what the lounges look like). I haven’t stayed at either of the resorts yet so this will be a first for me.

Do I expect to like those resorts more than I like the Grand Floridian? I don’t know. There is just something about the Grand Floridian that I find extremely calming (the only other resort that comes close to it is the wonderful Animal Kingdom Lodge). But I am definitely looking forward to my stays at the Polynesian and the Beach Club. They should be fun stays, especially the Polynesian since friends of mine will also be staying there. The Polynesian is old hat for them so it will be nice to have a couple of experts showing me around.

 

[Janet2k]

I don't have any pictures of the experimental toiletries!

I am unfamiliar with the H2O line. If that product line is found in my resort room on my next vacation, I'll ask my daughter to take a photo of it. I usually designate her as my “official” vacation photographer. It gives her something to do and keeps her out of trouble.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Litlpixie, don't worry, you're among friends here. I branched out and tried the YC and was underwhelmed. Sounds like in your case, the bellhop messed up badly. The concierge staff is only on duty from 7am-10pm and after that, you need to check-in at the main registration desk. We had to do this for our trip, as we arrived closer to 11pm. I did have a problem with the staff though in regards to our bedding. We were only given a room with 2 queen beds, but my oldest DD was meeting us straight from college finals the next day. I was sitting at the concierge desk at 7am asking for the daybed room. They told me that the room assignor was off for the weekend and there was no way they could put me in another room . Instead, they delivered a rollaway, which completely blocked the balcony door. I was not happy and ended up calling up the pre-planning department. They were extremely helpful with planning this surprise trip and I was hoping they could come through for me. Within 3 minutes of my phone call, Alana had us assigned to a daybed room. I had to stop by the concierge desk and pick up my new room keys and what do I hear, but another guest asking for a switch to a king bed room and the CM's on the phone trying to help her out. I don't know why I was given the bums rush, but thankfully it ended well.

Janet, as you can see, I'm not a huge fan of the YC concierge and from what I understand, the BC setup is not much different. In fact, their lounge is even smaller. If I had to guess, I'd say the YC's was only about 500 square feet, with one sofa, coffee table and maybe 10 small round tables seating 2-3. They had 2 booth tables that sat 5. What bothered me the most, is that they close the lounge so often. If they're not serving food, then the doors are shut for clean up and setup. You need to ask a CM if you want a cold drink or coffee. They close promptly in the evening at 10pm. I like having the lounge to relax in, so this was a disappointment. I understand that the BWI has a much better setup. If I can convince DH to stay anywhere other than the GF, then we'll give that resort a chance.

 

[Janet2k]

Janet, as you can see, I'm not a huge fan of the YC concierge...

TammiMcMan, I thought you had written positively of your YC stay a couple of years back (the staff had been wonderful during the planning stages). Thank you for clarifying things.

As to the Beach Club, I have stayed in the Villas side quite a bit. I have also enjoyed a Yacht Club stay once. Between the Yacht Club and the Beach Club Villas, I am somewhat familiar with the resort complex. It will be nice, though, to see the resort from a different vantage point (my Beach Club room).

On a vacation two years ago, I did get the chance to meet two concierge Cast Members at the Beach Club. I was with Nutz4dzny and she was trying to track down someone. The concierge Cast Members were most helpful in her quest. If the rest of the staff is as nice as those two Cast Members were, I’m sure I will have an enjoyable vacation.

As to my love of the Grand Floridian, all I really need at the resort is a swimming pool with a view of the white clapboard siding and red shingled roof. I could float in the pool and stare at the resort for hours on end, imagining all the wonderful vacations that must have taken place within it. I’m a simple girl with simple needs.