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

[pas130]

Catching up with the new pics Got my mickey mail Friday, AND email from GF IPO to see if there was any more requests now that we are less than a month away

 

[marcus.ka]

We just try to decide if we should request a dormer room or a non dormer room. Could anyone of you show me a picture (or a link) of a dormer and a non dormer room? Thank you so much.

 

[psac]

The dormer rooms are a little smaller, an we thought a little warm. Even with he ceiling fans, the high ceilings and high floor traps the heat in. It could have just been our particular room though.

 

[crostorfer]

After about 10,000 resort changes (no really, I'm not kidding, LOL) and a lot of back and forth between my husband and I, I have been given carte blanche to make all our plans solo. I finally decided, and am sticking with, the Grand Floridian in Sept. Thanks for all the info on this thread, we are normally Polynesian people and have only been to the GF once to eat at 1900 Park Fare, so all this info has been really helpful.

No more changes. None. I'm doing changing. This is going to be a fantastic trip!!!

 

[catyanna]

To all who have asked about the monorail service at the GRAND, we were just there this past weekend & we had absolutely NO PROBLEM!!! we never waited more than 2 minutes one to show up. It was great!!!

 

[catyanna]

We (me, DH, DS3, DD, DM) were at GF this past weekend for 3 nights. We were scheduled to arrive by 11am as we were driving a short 3 hrs. Well, that's when the "bad" started. On Thursday morning at about 2am, my DS3 wakes me up to let me know he was sick. Ok, so he gets sick, we clean up & back to bed we go... not exactly. This went on til about 5am which was the time I had set my alarm clock for. So I let him sleep til he awoke on his own, which was about 7:30 when he cheerfully announce that he was all better & that he wanted to go see Mickey Mouse. Now I know this was just a 24 hr bug that is going around our area. So we proceeded to get him dressed & pack the car. We picked up grandma & grandpa & on our way we went!!!

As we always do when we take a trip up the interstate, we stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. YUMMMMY! All was great there as usual. DS was perfect, although he did not eat so we had no more sickness!

We arrive at the GRAND 4 hours after schedule & like I had read in all the posts, they brought us up to our room & check-in was a breeze.

The club at Sugar Loaf was AMAZING!!! And boy am I glad we chose to stay club level.(More on that in a bit) We were treated fabulously & all the amenities & offering were great.

We spent the day on a boat that we rented & enjoying the beach pool. (Great slide) In the evening we went to dinner at Chef Mickey's. Food was not the best but DS loved the characters & really that's why we went there.

Friday morning we got an early start & had breakfast in the club lounge & off to EPCOT we went. We were there for about 5 hrs. it was very hot & we didn't want DS to get over heated after his awful night of being sick.
So we went back to our room & took a nap for a few hours before getting a bite to eat in the lounge & heading out to MK. We are all pretty good eaters so we were very surprised that we really didn't feel like eating too much.

At about midnight DH says he wants to go back to the room because his stomach was feeling weird. And here's where the "OH NO" starts

In a matter of a few hours ALL the adults were sick Not a good thing when you only have one bathroom. I am so thankful that my DS is a good boy. As you can imagine how hard it must be for a 3 year old to stay in a hotel room ALL day with a bunch of sick people. Especially knowing what is right outside his door. My DF, bless his heart was the designated sitter for the day as he was feeling better than the rest. He took DS to get juice & cookies & to borrow movies to watch. They walked around the resort & saw some neat things.

Now for the "GOOD" or should I say "GREAT" EVERYBODY on the Sugar Loaf staff was wonderful to us. From recommending pharmacies to suggesting activities for DS to do at the resort. They brought us up some chicken broth & cool fruit to eat. But by far the best thing that they did was giving us a 1pm checkout. That saved us as we were able to sleep longer & get our things in order.

We were a little bummed as this was our first stay at the GRAND but we will definitely be back. I guess if you have to be sick while at WDW the best place to be is at the GRAND!

 

[pas130]

We (me, DH, DS3, DD, DM) were at GF this past weekend for 3 nights. We were scheduled to arrive by 11am as we were driving a short 3 hrs. Well, that's when the "bad" started. On Thursday morning at about 2am, my DS3 wakes me up to let me know he was sick. Ok, so he gets sick, we clean up & back to bed we go... not exactly. This went on til about 5am which was the time I had set my alarm clock for. So I let him sleep til he awoke on his own, which was about 7:30 when he cheerfully announce that he was all better & that he wanted to go see Mickey Mouse. Now I know this was just a 24 hr bug that is going around our area. So we proceeded to get him dressed & pack the car. We picked up grandma & grandpa & on our way we went!!!

As we always do when we take a trip up the interstate, we stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. YUMMMMY! All was great there as usual. DS was perfect, although he did not eat so we had no more sickness!

We arrive at the GRAND 4 hours after schedule & like I had read in all the posts, they brought us up to our room & check-in was a breeze.

The club at Sugar Loaf was AMAZING!!! And boy am I glad we chose to stay club level.(More on that in a bit) We were treated fabulously & all the amenities & offering were great.

We spent the day on a boat that we rented & enjoying the beach pool. (Great slide) In the evening we went to dinner at Chef Mickey's. Food was not the best but DS loved the characters & really that's why we went there.

Friday morning we got an early start & had breakfast in the club lounge & off to EPCOT we went. We were there for about 5 hrs. it was very hot & we didn't want DS to get over heated after his awful night of being sick.
So we went back to our room & took a nap for a few hours before getting a bite to eat in the lounge & heading out to MK. We are all pretty good eaters so we were very surprised that we really didn't feel like eating too much.

At about midnight DH says he wants to go back to the room because his stomach was feeling weird. And here's where the "OH NO" starts

In a matter of a few hours ALL the adults were sick Not a good thing when you only have one bathroom. I am so thankful that my DS is a good boy. As you can imagine how hard it must be for a 3 year old to stay in a hotel room ALL day with a bunch of sick people. Especially knowing what is right outside his door. My DF, bless his heart was the designated sitter for the day as he was feeling better than the rest. He took DS to get juice & cookies & to borrow movies to watch. They walked around the resort & saw some neat things.

Now for the "GOOD" or should I say "GREAT" EVERYBODY on the Sugar Loaf staff was wonderful to us. From recommending pharmacies to suggesting activities for DS to do at the resort. They brought us up some chicken broth & cool fruit to eat. But by far the best thing that they did was giving us a 1pm checkout. That saved us as we were able to sleep longer & get our things in order.

We were a little bummed as this was our first stay at the GRAND but we will definitely be back. I guess if you have to be sick while at WDW the best place to be is at the GRAND!

So sorry you were all sick. Sounds like you still managed to make the best of it! What a good excuse to book another trip!

 

[MommyGina]

Hi catyanna - welcome home. I was sick for the first three days at the GF. Was fine when I got there. I'm wondering if it was the water. Who knows. DH got sick on Saturday and I thought that it was from the heat. It was only 103 with the heat index.

I can't wait to hear how your Mom liked the GF. I only have 350 more days until we are back to the GF.

 

[catyanna]

Hi catyanna - welcome home. I was sick for the first three days at the GF. Was fine when I got there. I'm wondering if it was the water. Who knows. DH got sick on Saturday and I thought that it was from the heat. It was only 103 with the heat index.

I can't wait to hear how your Mom liked the GF. I only have 350 more days until we are back to the GF.

My son was sick before we left so i am sure it was not from The GRAND. But The bug is going around so maybe you got it from someone there. My mom loved it there. She was in HEAVEN!!! I am already planning our next trip. I think my husband finally gets the "better resort, better service" concept. he says as long as we don't go too often we can definitely stay deluxe club level from now on. So off to planning I go!!!!

BTW, how is your FIL doing?

 

[catyanna]

pas130: I have already started planning for Fall 2012! but I wonder if the GRAND will have us back, as I looked like a crazy drunk walking thru the lobby to get to the valet trying to not pass out or get sick on anyone. Funny now, but boy was it awful while it was happening.

 

[marcus.ka]

The dormer rooms are a little smaller, an we thought a little warm. Even with he ceiling fans, the high ceilings and high floor traps the heat in. It could have just been our particular room though.

I hope this is not a stupid question, but I thought all the rooms would have Air Condition? So how can these rooms be "warm"?

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

pas130: I have already started planning for Fall 2012! but I wonder if the GRAND will have us back, as I looked like a crazy drunk walking thru the lobby to get to the valet trying to not pass out or get sick on anyone. Funny now, but boy was it awful while it was happening.

So sorry to hear that you were sick on your vacation. Back in 2006 we were at the GF and my DH was sick as a dog for a good 3 days. I have to say that RPC CMs were absolutely fantastic. I wanted to stay with him but he told us to go out so we did and the CM's checked on him periodically and even brought him drinks. Food was nothing he wanted to discuss at that time. It's never too early to start planning a return trip to WDW.

I hope this is not a stupid question, but I thought all the rooms would have Air Condition? So how can these rooms be "warm"?

In 2008 we were in a dormer room in the SL. Our room temp was just right. We liked the room but didn't like the balcony as it was much smaller and closed in. But hey, just as long as I was at the GF I got over it real fast.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

We truly had a excellent time at the Grand! Unfortunately, at the time, my DD19 was not with us,but YC seems to be a fun place to try something new.

Thanks for your comments, makes me feel better about it.

My Pleasure. When mom and I went, we only booked a standard view but when we arrived at the YC they upgraded us to a water view room #3163. I was so excited but my DM was like ok until we both walked in the room. It was huge for two people. It was a corner room with the sliding glass door and windows on the side. We had so much light it was great. Our room was facing the boat dock with the BW. Just wonderful.

 

[MommyGina]

catyanna - My FIL looks great. I saw him yesterday for the first time in two weeks. He is still in rehab, but walking on his own, talking normal and concerned over issues in Washington! He will be home in 2 weeks.

I'm so glad that your mother loved the GRAND!!!! I will always have fond memories of my mother being there the first time and subsequent trips after.

I learned this past vacation that my mother told one of the door greaters, Oliverio, the last time that she saw him that she would never be back again. Somehow she just knew that was her last trip. So when Oliverio asked how my mother was and I told him she passed, he told me the last conversation that she had with him.

 

[KCmike]

 

[coopersmom]

Anyone know how many club level deluxe rooms the Grand has? I saw photos of one in the beginning of the this thread and it looks amazing. (And perfect for our five-person--two-mommies, three kids--party.)

Are there several, or just the one? We are going during a "slow" time by Disney standards and there are deluxe club level rooms available at other resorts (e.g. Beach Club, Boardwalk) but I don't see any availability (even rack rate) for our nights at the Grand. I was wondering about booking a standard club room and then asking at check-in to see if a deluxe opens up (intending to pay for the upgrade, of course). I know chances are slim but wanted to know if they were simply super slim or win-the-lottery slim.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[mickeynut1]

Anyone know how many club level deluxe rooms the Grand has? I saw photos of one in the beginning of the this thread and it looks amazing. (And perfect for our five-person--two-mommies, three kids--party.)

Are there several, or just the one? We are going during a "slow" time by Disney standards and there are deluxe club level rooms available at other resorts (e.g. Beach Club, Boardwalk) but I don't see any availability (even rack rate) for our nights at the Grand. I was wondering about booking a standard club room and then asking at check-in to see if a deluxe opens up (intending to pay for the upgrade, of course). I know chances are slim but wanted to know if they were simply super slim or win-the-lottery slim.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

I'm not sure how many there are, but I believe they only accommodate up to 4 people, so that may be why you aren't finding availability for a party of 5.

 

[coopersmom]

I'm not sure how many there are, but I believe they only accommodate up to 4 people, so that may be why you aren't finding availability for a party of 5.

The deluxe room picture I saw has two queen beds and a sofa bed, so they accommodate at least five, like a standard room does. Right? Confused as to why a larger room would accommodate fewer people.

 

[Cotillard]

deluxe queen has 2 queens and a love seat. No daybed. Sleeps 4. Maybe you could get a rollaway, though?

 

[Mrs K]

A standard room with a daybed would work fine. We just made sure to request a daybed to be sure.