The **NEW** Grand Floridian FAQ!(MAY 2011)

[catyanna]

nicoleakr - Welcome! Don't worry about asking questions, if you can't find it, ask away - that's why we're here.

KC Mike - nice shots of the slide, and the hammock.

catyana - How sweet about your mom, she's gonna love the GF!

The info you asked about is very old, yet still floating around the 'net. Once upon a long time ago, the offerings in SL were less than those at RPC - no wine or cordials in the evenings was one of the big differences. Now, as others have posted, both RPC and SL serve the same offerings. We stayed in RPC in May of last year, then SL in August.

If you read this on the Concierge thread - I've posted the correct info to the thread, sent a PM to the thread starter and asked the mods to correct the first page there. Nothing. I think the thread starter has moved on, and is no longer editing, but I need to try the mods again.

ETA: the ladybug release ended several years ago, I'm sorry to say.

Thanks for the info. I am going crazy w/ the wait. 16 days to go! Went shopping this past weekend w/ my mom. Bought all our Disney gear!!!

 

[catyanna]

I have a question about the last day of our reservation. We are do to check out on a Sunday. If we want to stay at the resort pool for a few hours before we go home, will there be a place for us to change out of our swimsuits & will we still be able to get in the Sugarloaf building throughout the day on the day of checkout?

 

[latinqt]

You can ask for late check out. They would also store your luggage and you can use the rest rooms to change if you don't get late check out. Have fun. It's our favorite hotel.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Adlergray - the staying full much, much longer is most of my problem in CL. I'm not generally all that good about healthy eating - we tend to avoid fried foods as much as possible, watch the junk food, but overall I could cut out calories. When we are at WDW, the food seems to fill me up much more than home, not sure why.

I have a question about the last day of our reservation. We are do to check out on a Sunday. If we want to stay at the resort pool for a few hours before we go home, will there be a place for us to change out of our swimsuits & will we still be able to get in the Sugarloaf building throughout the day on the day of checkout?

Your access to CL goes through midnight of your check out day, so you can access the lounge. You may request late check out, but it isn't always granted. If the resort is not at capacity, and they do allow late check out, the latest we've gotten is 1:00 p.m. (more often noon).

There are changing rooms in the pool buildings, and bethclayton posted there are showers with soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. and hair dryers at the mirrors in the beach pool pavilion.

latinqt -

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Your access to CL goes through midnight of your check out day, so you can access the lounge. You may request late check out, but it isn't always granted. If the resort is not at capacity, and they do allow late check out, the latest we've gotten is 1:00 p.m. (more often noon).

Even though your resort perks and etc expire at 12:00 AM on the day you check out and etc, for Club Level guests it's really un-officially at 10:00 PM. That's when the lounges stop serving food for the evening and the Club Level Cast Members go home.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Even though your resort perks and etc expire at 12:00 AM on the day you check out and etc, for Club Level guests it's really un-officially at 10:00 PM. That's when the lounges stop serving food for the evening and the Club Level Cast Members go home.

You are so right, sorry. We've been told in the past that the key will work until midnight, but since there are no CMs or food offerings past 10:00 p.m., it isn't much use! Good point.

 

[catyanna]

Adlergray - the staying full much, much longer is most of my problem in CL. I'm not generally all that good about healthy eating - we tend to avoid fried foods as much as possible, watch the junk food, but overall I could cut out calories. When we are at WDW, the food seems to fill me up much more than home, not sure why.



Your access to CL goes through midnight of your check out day, so you can access the lounge. You may request late check out, but it isn't always granted. If the resort is not at capacity, and they do allow late check out, the latest we've gotten is 1:00 p.m. (more often noon).

There are changing rooms in the pool buildings, and bethclayton posted there are showers with soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. and hair dryers at the mirrors in the beach pool pavilion.

latinqt -

Thanks. This is good to know. I don't think we'll need late check out. We have 1900PF ressies at 11AM. But we want to enjoy as much of the resort as possible before we actually go home. Showers will make that so much easier.

 

[KCmike]

Sorry had an error.

 

[micknme]

ITA!!!!! we always do the signature meals and even the ROOM SERVICE! Remember, you never know when you'll want that breakfast delivered! And the GF has the best in-room dining service on property!
PLUS, dinner from Narcoosee's or Citrico's can be delivered to your room. yes!, for two credits per person, gratuity included, you can have lobster and filet, the almond-crusted cheesecake brought to your room.
Simply get the menu from the concierge desk or go to the restaurants and request a copy of their menus.
Easy peasy. Love it. You'll spend every meal credit, guaranteed, especially with the Grand's 24 hour dining service.

Oh my gosh...I never even considered this as a way to enjoy a signature meal while on my balcony!!!:

Thanks for the great idea

 

[catyanna]

We are planning on June 2012. I laughed when I saw your Mom had figured out the surprise. There's no fooling a teacher. LOL!
I hope she has the time of her life and you too. Make MAGICAL memories!

I have to admit that I had to "help" her figure it out. I told her exactly what to google so that she could get the answer. Part of what makes the wait tolerable is talking about the upcoming trip. We couldn't really do that since she had no idea what I had planned. Now she calls me everyday to see if the real surprise is that I was just kidding about staying at GF.

We are planning my daughter's sweet 16's at GF for sometime next summer. We may see you there!!!

 

[focusondisney]

Have any of you done both the DxDP AND CL? Would love to read about your experience!

My DH & I have. Yep, a lot of food. But for right now, it fits our vacation style. We actually book club level for the service & secure location as much as the food offerings. And since we travel in the peak of hurricaine season, I look at it as an extra advantage in case of really bad weather.

We aren't big breakfast eaters so we do a quick bagel in the lounge & head out to rope drop. Around 12- 1 we'll have a light table service meal. DH might order a salad & burger & I'll have soup & a salad entree. Then we go back to the hotel for swimming & naps. We grab lots of lemonaide & cokes from the lounge. We do a signature dinner around 7:30 or so. I'll usually check out the 5 PM lounge offerings, but don't always get anything. We are almost never at the hotel from 8 -10 PM, so we never get the desserts.

The deluxe plan is good for us because we like the signature restaurants & we prefer appitizers like salads & soups. My DH is a meat & potatoes type guy & doesn't always care for the lounge offerings. We do eat desserts with our meals depending on what's offered. I am not a member of the clean plate club tho. I have no problem leaving a little of my entree or leaving half my dessert.

Our biggest challenge is the snack credits. DH drinks a lot of Coke, so we do get those in the park. Last year I actually got a few popcorn snacks on our last morning & brought them home in ziplock bags. We love popcorn & it stayed pretty fresh. The mugs are just "included" souveniers. We have "wasted" a few snack credits, but have still come out ahead money wise anyway.

We also usually arrive very early (10:30 AM) & leave after lunch on our last day. So we also are able to "stretch" our credits a little, too. Even tho DH might get a burger, we find table service places more relaxing than counter service & don't think it takes that much longer. And the variety of foods is better for me.

All that said, we are booked for 2 nights at GF in Sept. Our first stay there & it's Royal Palm Club. I am planning on checking out all the lounge offerings there with only lunch ADRs. We can always have counter service if we need to. But we'll probably still be full from 5 days of deluxe dining at YC!

 

[WDWKOOK]

We always do Dlx DDP because we like going to the dinner shows as well as the signature restaurants. We always plan our ADR's so we will only have two meals a day. This way we don't come home 10 pounds heavier than when we left!!! Also, I find we eat healthier meals when we have TS over CS because I am really trying to stay away from fried foods (put me at a CS and I have to have chicken fingers, fries etc...no will power whatsoever!!!).

Those are great reasons to do the DxDP.

Micknme: I do the same thing, if we do counter service I eat junk and then more junk 2 hrs later when I'm hungry again If I sit down and eat I make much better choices and stay full much much longer. I'm still trying to lose the baby weight too so gaining weight at disney this trip will not make for a happy home coming

Awww, but you're on vacation

ITA!!!!! we always do the signature meals and even the ROOM SERVICE! Remember, you never know when you'll want that breakfast delivered! And the GF has the best in-room dining service on property!
PLUS, dinner from Narcoosee's or Citrico's can be delivered to your room. yes!, for two credits per person, gratuity included, you can have lobster and filet, the almond-crusted cheesecake brought to your room.
Simply get the menu from the concierge desk or go to the restaurants and request a copy of their menus.
Easy peasy. Love it. You'll spend every meal credit, guaranteed, especially with the Grand's 24 hour dining service.

How decadent! I bet you even eat in the white robe WITHOUT the lobster bib. Your vacations sound like lots of fun, Lulu'sMom

My DH & I have. Yep, a lot of food. But for right now, it fits our vacation style. We actually book club level for the service & secure location as much as the food offerings. And since we travel in the peak of hurricaine season, I look at it as an extra advantage in case of really bad weather.

We aren't big breakfast eaters so we do a quick bagel in the lounge & head out to rope drop. Around 12- 1 we'll have a light table service meal. DH might order a salad & burger & I'll have soup & a salad entree. Then we go back to the hotel for swimming & naps. We grab lots of lemonaide & cokes from the lounge. We do a signature dinner around 7:30 or so. I'll usually check out the 5 PM lounge offerings, but don't always get anything. We are almost never at the hotel from 8 -10 PM, so we never get the desserts.

The deluxe plan is good for us because we like the signature restaurants & we prefer appitizers like salads & soups. My DH is a meat & potatoes type guy & doesn't always care for the lounge offerings. We do eat desserts with our meals depending on what's offered. I am not a member of the clean plate club tho. I have no problem leaving a little of my entree or leaving half my dessert.

Our biggest challenge is the snack credits. DH drinks a lot of Coke, so we do get those in the park. Last year I actually got a few popcorn snacks on our last morning & brought them home in ziplock bags. We love popcorn & it stayed pretty fresh. The mugs are just "included" souveniers. We have "wasted" a few snack credits, but have still come out ahead money wise anyway.

We also usually arrive very early (10:30 AM) & leave after lunch on our last day. So we also are able to "stretch" our credits a little, too. Even tho DH might get a burger, we find table service places more relaxing than counter service & don't think it takes that much longer. And the variety of foods is better for me.

All that said, we are booked for 2 nights at GF in Sept. Our first stay there & it's Royal Palm Club. I am planning on checking out all the lounge offerings there with only lunch ADRs. We can always have counter service if we need to. But we'll probably still be full from 5 days of deluxe dining at YC!

This makes a lot of sense to me and completely doable. This is pretty much how we eat w/o the DDP, except that DD and DH love a hot breakfast so every other morning we go to a TS.

I actually added up what we would eat at the TSs we have ADRs for and I kept coming out below what the DxDP costs (we have TIW so we get 20% off). But after our APs expire next month, I will seriously run the numbers again to see if the DxDP would be a better deal. I was considering the Premium Plan for our 25th anniversary next August and with that the DxDP is included, so maybe that would be something to think about.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

For those who are interested on the Transportation board there is a thread which says that when the Epcot - TTC Monorail is closed during PM Extra Magic Hours, the Polynesian & Grand Floridian are sharing a bus together when leaving Epcot. It also says the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary is stopping at the TTC. Anyway here is a link to that thread which says the exact location of where the bus stops are going to be located.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2757259

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks CRRF4L.

And here's another link which explains the process/reasons for the PM EMH monorail shut-down:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-...world-monorail-hours-20110711,0,1288947.story

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks CRRF4L.

And here's another link which explains the process/reasons for the PM EMH monorail shut-down:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-d...,1288947.story

Prior to this news my Dad had suggested maybe when we visit the Polynesian we should then take the Resort Monorail over to the Grand Floridian if we feel like going there right after that and because the self parking lot for the Grand Floridian is a lot farther away. Another reason is since we didn't use the Resort Monorail during our last trip in December 2010. Well of course I mentioned we would then need use the walkway back to the Polynesian so we could get to our car over there, because taking the Resort Monorail means stopping at the Magic Kingdom, Contemporary and TTC. I also said knowing our luck the Monorail might break down or something, so I guess we might as well drive to the Grand Floridian or plan to go there another night when we don't visit the Polynesian.

Now while it's very easy driving to those resorts I still say the one advantage we loved about the Contemporary was taking the Resort Monorail when visiting the other Monorail Resorts, because then we could visit them both back to back.

 

[smithgrandchild]

For those who are interested on the Transportation board there is a thread which says that when the Epcot - TTC Monorail is closed during PM Extra Magic Hours, the Polynesian & Grand Floridian are sharing a bus together when leaving Epcot. It also says the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary is stopping at the TTC. Anyway here is a link to that thread which says the exact location of where the bus stops are going to be located.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2757259

Thanks for the news. I sure hope they will have buses from the MK, too. I can't imagine using the small boats solely to transport guests during EMH nights.

 

[micknme]

For those who are interested on the Transportation board there is a thread which says that when the Epcot - TTC Monorail is closed during PM Extra Magic Hours, the Polynesian & Grand Floridian are sharing a bus together when leaving Epcot. It also says the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary is stopping at the TTC. Anyway here is a link to that thread which says the exact location of where the bus stops are going to be located.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2757259

We have some ADR's at HDDR, CG, and AP that will be affected by this early shutting down of the monorail. It's going to take some getting used to not hopping on the monorail at the CR and arriving back at our resort minutes later. Thankfully the other ADR's during our time at the GF are at the Poly and will be within walking distance and now I am soooo glad we are also booked at Narcoossees and Citricos.

Hope everyone else makes out ok as well!

 

[KCmike]

Temporarily exceeded my bandwith on photobucket. All is good again.

 

[katieandrob]

So you can walk from Poly to GF? We have late reservations at Ohana one night after the monorail shuts down. How long of walk is it? Could we also take the boat?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

So you can walk from Poly to GF? We have late reservations at Ohana one night after the monorail shuts down. How long of walk is it? Could we also take the boat?

The walk takes about 10 minutes. Now you could also take the boat however here is how the order of stops goes. Grand Floridian - Polynesian - Magic Kingdom. Basically it doesn't make sense using the boat from the Polynesian because it will first stop at the Magic Kingdom.