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

[Janet2k]

...where have you ordered them from and can you see a picture of what you will be ordering...

Jimenyfan, since you mentioned that you wanted to view some photos of potential surprises for your family, I put together a few photos for you. I hope they give you an idea of what might be possible. I should note that if you choose to order from the Disney Florist, you can order their stock items or you can ask them to custom-tailor something for you. I have a funny feeling that the following photos show such a custom-tailored gift. Read on...

Another wonderful Dis’er, Flordiafam, had the Disney Florist deliver a set of gift baskets to my family. Here are some photos of them:

Photo # 1
Photo # 2
Photo # 3
Photo # 4

Hopefully, those photos gave you a glimpse of the Disney Florist’s handiwork. The smaller gift basket was rectangular-shaped and contained various pieces of fruit (apple, pear, banana, etc.). The larger gift basket was in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. It was an adorable touch. That basket contained a vanilla-scented candle that sat inside a glass jar that was etched with Mickey heads. The glass jar had a pewter-colored covering that was topped with a Mickey head (you can see it sitting between the Mickey & Minnie plush dolls in photos 1 & 3). The gift basket also contained bottled water, a large box of Disney chocolates, Mickey pretzels, Mickey cookies, cheese, crackers, and I forget what else. It was a lovely surprise, and so kind of Floridafam to send it to my family.

In the last photo (# 4), my daughter was holding the plush dolls. She was completely over-the-moon with them. A true kid-in-a-candy store. In that photo she was also holding a Pal Mickey that another wonderful Dis’er, Nutz4dzny, had surprised my daughter with. That had happened on our prior vacation. I can’t remember how the story goes exactly, but I ~think~ it went like this: Nutz4dzny’s family was concierge guests of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and my family was concierge guests of the Grand Floridian. Nutz4dzny asked her concierge to contact my concierge in order to have a Pal Mickey delivered to my daughter. (I think that is how it went.)

When my family checked in on the 3rd floor of the Grand Floridian that day, the concierge Cast Member stated, “Please wait here…there is something that I need to retrieve for you.” He disappeared for a few moments and came back with a box containing a Pal Mickey. My daughter was fit to be tied. She had been wishing for her very own Pal Mickey, and thanks to Nutz4dzny, her wish came true.

Our next vacation was when Floridafam surprised my daughter with the plush dolls. Between Floridafam and Nutz4dzny, I had a hard time setting my daughter’s expectations properly. That is, not every Disney vacation will be filled with wonderful surprises. Of course, that theory was blown to hell on the following vacation when my husband and I celebrated 20 years of marriage with a Fairy Tale Weddings vow renewal. We received all sorts of magical surprises from Dis’ers, family members, friends, and Cast Members. I guess the moral of my story is to be careful with those surprises. They can be quite addicting.

Have a lovely vacation, and sprinkle that magic all over your family on every step of the way.

 

[jimenyfan]

Janet2k,

Thank you so much for the photos to view. We will be staying sugar loaf concierge for 6 nights before switching to yc concierge for 8. I am trying to surprise my husband and 2 sons with something special and thought I would start working on it now, since I will change my mind a million times.

Thanks Again.

 

[garada3]

I'm sorry they weren't the answers that you were looking for.

Please don't apologize Janet2k! It is I that owes you an apology!

I checked back to my thread, read the one reply it had at the time and was just hoping for more detailed information. It got buried off the first page so I assumed (and you know what that makes me )that it didn't have any other replies. I don't use the email notification because then DH knows how much time I spend on here.

I didn't bother to search for it. Lesson learned, I will from now on

If you would so kindly answer another question after my giant blunder...What time does RPC open?

Thank you!

 

[TammiMcMan]

What time does RPC open?

The desks are staffed from 7am-10pm. I believe coffee and tea are available starting at 6:30am in the lounge and then the breakfast offerings begin at 7am.

 

[Janet2k]

Please don't apologize Janet2k! It is I that owes you an apology!

Garada3, you don’t owe me an apology, have no fear. From your initial post, it was clear to me that transportation was going to be an issue for your family. I didn’t want to answer your transportation question because your post made me flashback to a vacation where transportation was definitely an issue for my family. I took the coward’s way out in your thread and simply replied: "Your best bet is to head over to the Transportation Board to ask your questions. I don't want to mislead you since it sounds like you have a busy day planned at Epcot."

Now I am feeling guilty for being such a scaredy-cat and therefore will share with you a little bit of what I went through with my own vacation. Maybe it will help you with your planning, or maybe it will simply let you know that you are not alone with your transportation concerns. Here goes… (I apologize in advance that this will be a long post.)

On one vacation, my family spent our first night at the Pop Century Resort. Due to weather-related flight delays, we arrived in Orlando late that night and actually didn’t check into the resort until almost midnight. Early the next morning, we transferred to the Grand Floridian Resort. To complicate matters, we needed to pick up our Annual Passes at the Magic Kingdom’s Guest Services window. We needed our passes so that we could enter the theme park in time to attend the Family Magic Tour with a fellow Dis’er. It was a little nerve-wracking, to say the least, and I described my anxiety over the situation in my trip report as follows:

- - - - - - -
By the time we made it back to our Pop Century room, it was well after 1:30 AM. We quickly changed into our pajamas and hit the bed. My daughter won the race to fall asleep. No sooner had her head hit the pillow than she was fast asleep. My husband came in second place but by only an eyelash. Me, on the other hand, completely lost the race. I was so tired (and my leg was bothering me) that my mind would not shut down. It was racing ahead at full speed.

There were too many things to worry about. We had a wakeup call scheduled in four hours (6 AM)... We had to shower and dress, and then bring our luggage to the front of the resort where we would hail a taxicab... That taxi would take us to the Grand Floridian Resort where we would drop off our luggage with Bell Services and then proceed to the Front Desk for check-in... Once checked in, we would take a monorail to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park where we had to show up at the Will Call window in order to pick up our Annual Passes that had been purchased via the Internet only a few days before... We had to validate our Annual Passes, then get inside the Magic Kingdom and find City Hall... Once at City Hall, we had to find the Tour Garden where we would wait for Floridafam and her children to arrive... Our families had never met before, but we had seen photos of each other on the Internet... We were sharing the Family Magic Tour together (Floridafam was graciously treating us to it), and we were really looking forward to it... After the tour, we were lunching at the Plaza Restaurant... Once lunch was over, we would go our separate ways... My family would head back to the Grand Floridian to see if our room was ready... If it was, we would have Bell Services deliver our luggage, and if time permitted, we would take a quick swim, and then head back to the room to shower and dress for our meeting with the Convention Services Cast Member... We had an appointment at the Summerhouse beach area at 4 PM... We were going to do a walk-through of the Summerhouse and the marina areas in preparation for our dinner party that was scheduled for the following evening...

I think it was at that point that my head exploded. I have no idea what time it was. When I had last checked, it was around 4 AM. I guess somewhere between 4 AM and 6 AM, I got to take a Power Nap. Whoever said vacations were for relaxing was lying. My vacation was starting out anything but relaxing. And, gee whiz, this was only its first day.
- - - - - -

I hope you now understand why I took the coward’s way out in regards to your transportation question. I honestly didn’t want to lead you astray.

 

[Janet2k]

I am trying to surprise my husband and 2 sons with something special and thought I would start working on it now, since I will change my mind a million times.

Jimenyfan, please share with us your plans regardless of whether or not you actually go through with any of them. You would be amazed at the number of folks who crave that sort of information, especially when it pertains to the planning of special surprises for family members. I want to warn you, though, that some folks (a.k.a., me!) just might "borrow" your ideas and use them for their own vacations.

 

[Janet2k]

If you would so kindly answer another question...What time does RPC open?

Garada3, the gracious TammiMcMan has already answered your question (thanks, Tammi).

I thought I would add the following information. I know that it has been stated before in this FAQ thread, but I am too lazy (!!) to search for it. I resorted to pulling out my paperwork from last summer's vacation (luckily, I knew where my paperwork was):

- - - - - - -
Greetings,

The Concierge Cast Members of the Royal Palm Club welcome you to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Concierge Cast Members are at your service daily from 7am to 10pm to arrange dining, childcare, transportation, recreation activities, account settlements, and many other services. You may contact us by touching 7-XXXX on your Guest room telephone.

The Royal Palm Club Lounge, located on the fourth floor of the main building, is for the exclusive use of our Club Guests. We invite you to sample our food and beverage offerings, take part in our available activities, or simply relax and enjoy the surroundings.

When visiting the lounge, may we suggest footwear and cover-ups for swim wear. We ask that an adult accompany Guests below the age of 10. If you plan to partake in our wine, beer or cordials, please be prepared to present appropriate photo identification.

We hope you enjoy your stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

The Royal Palm Club Concierge

Hours of Service

Royal Palm Club Desk:
7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Coffee:
6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m.

Grand Beginnings:
7:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Refreshments:
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Afternoon Tea:
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Twilight Refreshers:
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Cordials and Desserts:
8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
- - - - - - -

I hope that helped.

 

[triplefigs]

Hi, all. We ended up switching our December trip to the CR Atrium Club so my DS can be near CM and the monorail (his favorite!). I know this isn't a CR thread, but I'm hoping some of my GF friends have stayed there and can offer me some advice. I've heard from Lives4Disney and Pirateofthecarolinas about the CR Concierge. Anyone else?

BTW, the GF IPO staff also does the CR so I'm still working with the same great folks! They said that the Atrium Club will be back on the 12th floor by our trip with full service concierge and a wonderful new lounge with windows/view of the Castle and Fireworks! And it's $10 cheaper a night than SL!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

BTW, the GF IPO staff also does the CR so I'm still working with the same great folks! They said that the Atrium Club will be back on the 12th floor by our trip with full service concierge and a wonderful new lounge with windows/view of the Castle and Fireworks! And it's $10 cheaper a night than SL!

That sounds wonderful! Denise, I hope you had a delightful birthday yesterday. Save a piece of that scrumptious carrot cake for me. That is what my mother always makes for my birthday. YUMMY!

I can't wait for your trip so that you can give us a first hand opinion. Your children will love CR. Mine want to go back so badly. Ducklite (Anne) stayed CL at the CR. I don't know if she reads on the GF thread. You may want to PM her.

Lori

 

[stauncie]

now I can't make up my mind. I only have 2 weeks before the final payment is due, and I was wondering....
right now, DH and I are planning an anniversary trip to the GF - sugar loaf concierge in May, and then a family trip at Fort Wilderness Lodge Concierge in Dec.
I just re-checked in Dec. and now at the Grand - RPC is open for Dec.
My dilemma, should DH and I change our resort now.... and do the RPC in Dec with the family? (I tried since Jan, booking RPC for our May trip, but there's no availability.)
We want to try EACH resort before staying twice at the same one, so we won't do the GF both times.
Any experts have an opinion?????????
Thanks!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Any experts have an opinion?????????

This is a really tough one and I think it will come to personal choice.

GF Anniversary - romance, romance, romance.... IMO though, RPC has more ambiance than SL. I did enjoy SL greatly, it just felt more like a bed & breakfast to me.

GF December - love the decorations and the ease of getting in and out of the MK during a busy time of year.

WL Anniversary - this is not my top choice for romance, but it's definitely in the top 3. I love that you can be in Disney World, but removed from it at the same time. Feels a little more cozy and warm.

WL December - sort of a cabin in the woods feel, great roaring fireplace in the lobby. A nice refuge from the craziness of the parks.

This is just me, but I would go with the WL concierge for my anniversary and GF RPC for December.

 

[Lives4Disney]

I am getting EXCITED!!

We fly out tomorrow night! We don't check in to the GF until Sunday, but I am just so happy to be so close to vacation. The concierge called me yesterday (first time that has ever happened) and asked what my arrival time will be. Wow!! Maybe we won't get stuck/stranded in the lobby with no way to get up to RPC.

TripleFigs - You all will really enjoy the CR. No matter where we have stayed - in the world - the CR remains my 3 kids complete and absolute favorite place to be. After a stay in a crummy, rundown suite on the 14th floor, I told my kids I would only return AFTER the rennovations were complete. We are getting closer! The CMs are wonderful - they will dote on your kids and make them feel really special, the view is out of a postcard, the walk between the MK/CR is a blast (some of my funniest memories are discussions we have had when doing this walk after MK closing). I have so many many many fun fond memories of our stays at the CR. Happy planning!

On to continue my packing.....I tried to pack just a large rolling duffle for everybody (5), but now I think they are too heavy to meet the weight requirements!! Ugh. I am packing for 5 people for 12 days and it is tough. I may have to unpack a bit! I really hate to do laundry on vacation, or schedule the GF to do it. How many changes of clothes do you all bring?

Anyway.......happy travels and planning to all!!

Lives4Disney

 

[GreatBarrier86]

I noticed that a pg back, someone posted the welcome information from the RPC. Does anyone have any information for Sugarloaf that was given to them by disney?

 

[TammiMcMan]

Lives4Disney, have an awesome time!

 

[Docsknotinn]

Has anyone staying at the GF CL booked and gone on the Kilimanjaro Safari tour that goes out before the Ak opens? I see this is an option now at CL level other than just in the AKL.

 

[thedisneymom]

Hi everyone,
Where exactly is the Pine Key building? Is that the one that overlooks the pool with the slide or is that still part of the main building. I have looked at the map but can't get a mental picture from when we were there. I do remember a few buidings as you look at from the main building-1 directly in front and 1 to the upper right. Is it one of them? Is it a good location close to the main building? Thanks ahead!!!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Has anyone staying at the GF CL booked and gone on the Kilimanjaro Safari tour that goes out before the Ak opens? I see this is an option now at CL level other than just in the AKL.

The safari open to all CL guests is not the same as the sunrise safari offered exclusively at the AKL CL. The one offered to all concierge guests is the called the Wildlife Discovery Excursion. It's offered daily at 10am and 1pm and is limited to 14 guests. You'll ride through the safari in a climate controlled vehicle with an animal expert on board. They stop at different observation points for picture taking. The cost is $45 per person and there is no meal involved, just the safari ride. You can book through the GF's IPO department.

TheDisneyMom, Big Pine Key is the lodge building closest to the theme pool (one with the slide). By your description, if you are looking out from the main building, it's the one on the upper right hand side.

 

[thedisneymom]

Lives4Disney-Have a wonderful trip! Don't worry about the clothes. The wrinkles and doubling up will not be noticed. Just enjoy your life!

TammiMcMan- Thanks! I recorded our view from the main building and was told I may end up in Pine Key so I was curious which building it was. Anyone is great I guess unless you want a castle view.

 

[triplefigs]

I am getting EXCITED!!

We fly out tomorrow night! Lives4Disney

Channing,

Hope you have a fabulous trip! Enjoy it all. Can't wait to hear all the details when you get home.

Denise

 

[triplefigs]

I noticed that a pg back, someone posted the welcome information from the RPC. Does anyone have any information for Sugarloaf that was given to them by disney?

We stayed in SL in December. It was wonderful. Here's the welcome letter.