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

[TammiMcMan]

Minnie My My, not all RPC rooms have the daybed in them. The standards will hold up to a maximum of 5, so I'm guessing that one of your children is under the age of 3. Room assignments aren't usually done until 3-4 days before you arrive at the resort. To be on the safe side though, I would go ahead and request a "maximum bedding" room through your IPO contact. They'll notate it on your reservation. If you end up not needing the daybed, you can let them know that a 2 queen bed room would be fine. It's probably better to have it noted ahead of time instead of trying to get one at last minute. I think the worst case scenario is that they would put a rollaway in your room, but that takes up a lot of space.

Tammi

 

[minniesota]

NovDis - Congratulations on choosing the GF - you will love it. I have stayed LV in Big Pine and Boca Chica and GV in Sago. I was just there in May and had a Boca Chica LV and while it is a beautiful view, we had to go on the balcony and look slightly to our left to see the castle. We were in about the middle of the building on the 4th floor. Since I am returning in Oct. and have reserved a LV, I walked out toward the lagoon from the various buildings to determine the best castle view. From my vantage point, I would say either Conch or Sago have the best "dead-on" views of the castle but I would give Sago the clear advantage because there are no palms to block your view as there are in front of some of the Conch rooms. If you requested LV Sago and your parents requested GV Sago, they should acrually say "Marina" view (which is GV at this particular building) and they might get a glimpse of the castle as well. The other GV rooms at Sago have a view of the back lagoon waters, landscaping and the monorail. Sago is a slighty quieter building but nearest to Gasparilla Grill and an easy walk to the main building and bus stop. I've requested LV Sago for our Oct. trip. Good luck!

 

[Angel16]

Good Morning As I wrote in my 7-8-05 post, I have e-mailed GF IPO and requested a Turret HM room. I have not heard back yet, but I am sure I will soon.

What is concerning me right now is the confirmation I received in the mail yesterday. I did not receive an orginal confirmation when I made the reservations. When I upgraded to a HM suite, I requested they send me one. Now that I have a confirmation, I am concerned due what it states: Arrival: Correct information Departure: Correct, Nights – 6 –also correct, Guests-2 – correct, Then it has an A with a 2 under it, rooms – 1, Room View- Variable. It does not state anywhere on the confirmation that we are staying RPC, Concierge or a honeymoon suite. Do I need to worry about this?

I don’t want to sound paranoid, but the welcome letter GF e-mailed me was also addressed to a completely different last name, and did not have the correct room information.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Angel, is there any type of room code anywhere on your confirmation? I know that S2Q signifies the main building concierge, I'm not sure about the deluxe or honeymoon suites though. I'm guessing that 2Q means 2 queens, so I would expect to see something like S1K maybe??

I would probably try calling the IPO staff and speaking with someone directly. That way they can probably get on a conference call with CRO and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Tammi

 

[NovDis]

Minniesota, thank you for the reply. I am going to call and change my request. I do appreciate it.
I am so excited to try the Grand Floridian. All of you on this board have made it sound fabulous!
Thanks again,
Danielle

 

[minnie my my]

Tammi,

Thank you for your response. I will contact IPO tomorrow. They have not made contact with me yet, but, I am assuming it is just to early for them to make contacts.

Myra

 

[Janet2k]

I have nothing of value to add to this FAQ thread (sorry ), I just wanted to say that today Dreams Unlimited Travel squeezed in a two-night stay at this glorious resort for me. I am very excited about staying at the Grand Floridian Resort at the end of this month. This resort was where my family's love of vacationing in Walt Disney World began, ~sigh.~ Bring on that lagoon view: click here!

 

[triplefigs]

Janet,

Love your photos. And your DD is so cute! Have a great time. Can't wait for November 29!!!!!!

 

[triplefigs]

Great news! Sugar Loaf Concierge is no longer LIGHT! As of July 2005, Sugar Loaf Concierge is completely mirroring RPC in food and beverage service! They will be serving until 10pm now.

The IPO office sent me an email earlier today notifying me of the change. "The Sugarloaf lounge will mirror the Royal Palm lounge in food service. So yes they will serve alcohol during the day and cordials from 8-10pm!"

The email was addressed to "to those of you over 21-HaHa!" Glad to see IPO has a good sense of humor.

 

[Angel16]

IPO At GF must be very busy. As I posted back on 7-8-05 that I e-mailed IPO GF. I had not received a reply until yesterday. And that was after I e-mailed them again asking if they received my 7-8-05 e-mail. Geez that is really a long time!

But, they have answered my questions, made the one dinning request that I had and suggested that I contact them 3 days before I arrive regarding my room being a honeymoon suite. That the room would be assigned at that time. What????

That did not work for me, so I called them. They verified that I have a honeymoon suite and added my request for a MK view if possible. They also took my cc info to order the gold mouse ears with our names on them. I had also requested in my e-mail that they stock our frig with bottled water and a six pack of ginger ale. Which I am planning on paying for. The e-mail did not address if they could do this or not and I forgot to ask when on the phone yesterday.

I will be talking to them as soon as I make our flights. And will confirm everything. I am sure once we get there everything will be perfect, but I really prefer dealing with AKL IPO.

I know that GF must be wonderful. As Tammi McMann and Janet2k really love this resort. I am looking forward to adding my name to that list. All of the resorts have been going through an addition of a new system to put in requests and dinning ps's. They all have had to have special training and some have had to close down due to this. Perhaps I fell into a hole during all of this. I am keeping the faith.

 

[poohluvrs]

Hi, we're planning a trip for Oct, when are you going? The staff at GF has been great answering my emails w/in 24 hrs, w/ response to every ques & then some! WE asked to have our fridge stocked w/ bev's & they asked us exactly how much we wanted so they could arrange w/ private dining. They also got our ADR's (needed CC# for CRT) & noted our room request. It sounds as if they assign rooms a couple days prior, so asked you remind them 3 days prior of your request? They just noted ours, but we are staying regular room in RPC so may not be as big a deal! Have a great trip!

 

[garada3]

does the GF RPC have a "signature" treat that is left for guests in their rooms?

The Polynesian concierge leaves a chocolate postcard and I was wondering if the GF had a treat too.

thanks!

 

[TammiMcMan]

Angel, did you request a turret honeymoon suite or one on the 2nd floor? All the 2nd floor rooms have a guaranteed MK view. Of the 6 turret honeymoon suite, 3 of them will have a little bit of an MK view. Room assignors do take care of requests and assignments about 3 or 4 days before you arrive. I agree that the IPO staff here is not super personal, more cool but still professional. I hope they take good care of you.

Garada3, the GF does not have a signature gift that's left in the room. You can however, order some very special items like the Cinderella's chocolate slipper, Pluto's dog bones or other treats from the GF bakery.

 

[triplefigs]

WE asked to have our fridge stocked w/ bev's & they asked us exactly how much we wanted so they could arrange w/ private dining.

Anyone know if the drinks supplied through private dining for the fridge are EXPENSIVE? Would I be better off ordering from wegoshop.com to have them deliver coke, juice boxes, bottled water, milk (BTW, we go through a ton of drinks each day)? Which of these beverages are available in the lounge? Which ones will I need to ask for specifically?

 

[gonga]

From what I can recall, the water is not in individual bottles, but large glass bottles of Pellegrino and a still water. I don't recall seeing any juice boxes (but I don't have kids so I don't look for them) There is pitchers of iced tea and lemonade which you pour into a covered cup.

I am not a soda drinker, so I honestly don't recall if there are cans or bottles of soda available. Or maybe I am remembering the "hurricane" offerings last year at the RPC - LOL

I think the CL purposely does not serve individual bottles of water, soda, juice boxes to prevent people from "stock piling" club beverages by taking bottles and bottles at a time. By serving beverages in large containers, people take only what they will drink and one at a time.

At the PBH hotel at universal, there are individual bottles and cans. I have seen people try to take a days worth of water to the parks so they don't have to buy them. I think Disney tries to prevent this.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Triplefigs, feel free to ask for prices when you e-mail the IPO staff. You can compare cost and convenience before giving them the green light. I'm not a big soda person either, but I think that there was Coke and Sprite available in the cans. Those are readily available, but you will need to ask for milk and juice boxes from the staff. If private dining stocks you up prior to arrival, you'll probably only need to grab a couple of replacements each day. If you find yourselves running low, just give private dining a call back.

 

[poohluvrs]

Anyone know if the drinks supplied through private dining for the fridge are EXPENSIVE? Would I be better off ordering from wegoshop.com to have them deliver coke, juice boxes, bottled water, milk (BTW, we go through a ton of drinks each day)? Which of these beverages are available in the lounge? Which ones will I need to ask for specifically?

IF YOU FIND OUT WILL YOU POST IM PLANNING TO EMAIL TO ASK HOW MUCH COST IS TOO!!! DH wants to be able to get our kids milk/juice at RPC but worried we go through quite a bit, if kids wake up cranky & need drink at 5am....what to do, think better off stocking fridge!

TAMMMCMAN- you are the expert, have you had this done, do you recall cost? I guess I should email them anyway

 

[poohangel]

If I am not staying in concierge at Gf can I still email the resort and have the gold ears monogrammed and waiting in the room when we arrive. We are staying for our anniversary in Dec. and wanted these there for a suprise for husband.

 

[TammiMcMan]

If I am not staying in concierge at Gf can I still email the resort and have the gold ears monogrammed and waiting in the room when we arrive. We are staying for our anniversary in Dec. and wanted these there for a suprise for husband.

You can't e-mail the resort, but you can try calling and speaking with guest services or lobby concierge directly. If they're not able to do this for you, call the Disney mail order department 407-363-6200. You can order through them and they can either ship it to you or leave it at the resorts gift shop for pick up. Another option is the Disney florist at www.disneyflorist.com . You can ask about a custom basket and they will deliver to your room after you arrive.

Tammi

 

[Lives4Disney]

TripleFIGS - Maybe I am missing something here - but why don't you just take a few little cartons of milk and some cans of soda from the lounge to put into your room fridge???

They are very generous & have always offered to get us drinks to take back to our room - including bottled water. They didn't have rootbeer when my son asked if they did, so the next day one of the lounge CMs brought him his own 6 pack of Barqs and gave it directly to him.

I bet the private dining soda is $2.50/can or so and the milk ???

I am not getting why someone would pay private dining for things that are offered freely in the lounge?? That is part of your extra concierge room cost - the lounge offerings. We have had them offer - almost push -"Please take this - enjoy it later..." in GF, CR, Swan......(Poly was another story )


????

Just wanted to let you know our experience & save you some $$$.
Lives4Disney