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

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi all,

Trying to decide btwn CR and GF. A few things to know about us: 2 1/2 yo (thus the monorail is a must) and a 13 yo (ages at the time we'll travel) who has been many times before and is most focused on wanting to watch her little sis have a blast. Here's where I am. Money, not a deciding factor. Pool, important, theme park view, important.

GF plusses: prefer the theme, zero entry pool, princess feel
CR plusses: seems much better theme park view, Chef Mickey's, first monorail stop on the way home when the 2 1/2 yo is BEAT.

Here's what I need to know - Will I be able to get a great theme park view for watching the fireworks from our room at night when the 2 1/2 yo is too beat to be at the park?

THANKS!

Another plus for the Contemporary is that when coming back on the Disney Transport Buses from Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach and Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon, the Contemporary is always the first stop. Now their buses always share with the Polynesian which means they are the second stop, however sometimes the Grand Floridian is added on and they are the third stop.

Here is something else to consider. If you have a car the self parking at the Contemporary lot is within walking distance of the lobby entrance. At the Grand Floridian their self parking lot is located across the street and you need to cross at a light.

Finally if you are staying in the Contemporary Tower you will have a general idea of where your room will be located. At the Grand Floridian if you are not staying Club Level then you won't know what specifc building they will assign you until you check-in.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Oh, one other thing I'd like to know. Does the Victorian theme translate into a princessy feel for my little 2 1/2 yo princess?

Oh my goodness yes! Every afternoon into the evening there is much in the GF, a swing type band and piano player trade off. There are almost always little girls dressed up as princesses dancing and twirling to the music! There is also a late morning princess tea at least a few days a week!

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Sorry, didn't finish or proof the previous post. I meant music, not "much".

Big news from SL, tonight the chefs came out to chat during Twilight Refreshers. They said they are changing the nighttime offerings starting this Sunday. They said there will be an assortment of 16 new appetizers replacing the ones they have been serving. (still 2 hot and 2 cold nightly). They also said they are going to start changing them seasonally! We will be gone on Sunday but it will be fun to hear from others what the offerings are!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

midge3426 - I agree about the drawer space, after the 2007 renovations the rooms lost storage. I call for extra hangers as soon as we get to the room and hang up as much as we can - shirts, pants, skirts, dresses - and leave the drawers for underclothes and smaller items. It's not perfect, but seems to work for us.

It can be annoying to have a large group taking up lounge space, but there's not much the resort can do if they've booked and paid for that room category.

I'll be looking forward to your photos, when you get caught up.

CR Fan - thanks for adding those great points!

Jungle Cruiser - Thanks for the update, how nice that the offerings will change seasonally. It will give repeat guests a change of pace. That is a shame that you'll leave just before the new menu is implemented, phooey.

 

[Infamousmare]

Hi! I have been wading through this thread for awhile now and am still left with a couple of questions - amazing, I know.

We are staying at the GF 11/26/11 - 12/1/11 (54 days to go!) and this is our first time there. (We were at the WL last year and loved it!). I'm traveling with my MIL and my 3 kids (ages 3 mos, 4 and 7). I had originally booked a regular room; however, because the baby is on a wee bit different sleep schedule, I called back today and asked about getting a larger room or suite in order to have a separate space for her so that the kids don't have to tiptoe around the hotel room if she's sleeping. Wait, my kids don't know HOW to tiptoe, but I digress...

The WDW travel agent I spoke to offered me a deluxe room and said that this offers a separate seating area off of the bedroom which would afford a little privacy for the baby (I am totally cool with sleeping on the couch with the crib next to me). However, when I looked at all the pictures posted on this thread (thanks!), it appears as though the deluxe room offers a sitting area that's actually part of the room itself - it's not sequestered at all.

Can anyone help me clear this up? Is a "deluxe room" (NOT a suite on club level) just a bigger hotel room?

Do I need to go to a suite on club level in order to get a room that offers some space that's separate from the main room? If so, is the cost to upgrade to club level worth it (considering we have the DxDP and several food allergies, including Celiac)?

 

[coopersmom]

Hi! I have been wading through this thread for awhile now and am still left with a couple of questions - amazing, I know.

We are staying at the GF 11/26/11 - 12/1/11 (54 days to go!) and this is our first time there. (We were at the WL last year and loved it!). I'm traveling with my MIL and my 3 kids (ages 3 mos, 4 and 7). I had originally booked a regular room; however, because the baby is on a wee bit different sleep schedule, I called back today and asked about getting a larger room or suite in order to have a separate space for her so that the kids don't have to tiptoe around the hotel room if she's sleeping. Wait, my kids don't know HOW to tiptoe, but I digress...

The WDW travel agent I spoke to offered me a deluxe room and said that this offers a separate seating area off of the bedroom which would afford a little privacy for the baby (I am totally cool with sleeping on the couch with the crib next to me). However, when I looked at all the pictures posted on this thread (thanks!), it appears as though the deluxe room offers a sitting area that's actually part of the room itself - it's not sequestered at all.

Can anyone help me clear this up? Is a "deluxe room" (NOT a suite on club level) just a bigger hotel room?

Do I need to go to a suite on club level in order to get a room that offers some space that's separate from the main room? If so, is the cost to upgrade to club level worth it (considering we have the DxDP and several food allergies, including Celiac)?

We just stayed in a main building deluxe last month and I can tell you that, a deluxe room is just a larger hotel room with a separate (but in the same room) seating area. While it will give you more space--and various deluxe rooms at the Grand Floridian are, per my understanding, configured differently from one another and actually vary in total square footage--will not offer you the privacy or separateness you are looking for. The sofas in the deluxe rooms are also really love seats (i.e. short and small) and do not fold out. When you go to a suite you will be paying rack rate, which means upwards of $1,100 per night MINIMUM, and suites don't do discounts. And one-bedroom suites (or so I've been told), even at that price, have only king beds in the bedroom, so sleeping for 5 becomes an issue. (I'm not exactly sure what the occupancy numbers are.)

A better, and less expensive, bet would be adjoining rooms. That would get you the extra sleeping space and closed door you want, as well as an additional bathroom. (One-bed suites have only one.)

Or, for a better value you could look at one of Disney's villas, where most of the one-bedrooms have two bathrooms and pull out sofas and sleeping chairs, as well as kitchens, etc.

As for club level snacks ... I THINK, but do not know because I don't have food allergies myself, that they will provide some alternate items for you if you have a food allergy. But I'm not 100 percent positive. For us, the main benefit of club level with small children is 1) having extra space outside the room to "hang out" with little ones and 2) not having to do a sit-down breakfast, etc. and being able to eat in shifts, if need be (e.g. one adult takes kids to breakfast while other adult showers and gets ready to go).

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Infamousmare - Wading through the whole thread can be a big task, kudos!

Your questions were thoroughly answered by coopersmom, and she suggested just what I would - two rooms. Much cheaper than booking a suite. You'll need to request connecting rooms, and there is some controversy here on the boards as to whether you will be guaranteed to get that request, due to having two adults on the reservaton. But we get a connecting door at the GF all the time (probably 85%), and we usually ask NOT to have one, so they must be plentiful. I suppose the only problem would come in if there weren't two rooms next to each other open on the same day.

As has been posted, there are various deluxe rooms at the GF, all are one room with extra space. Here is a link to page 2 of the previous FAQ, where LittleLulu posted some photos of an outer building deluxe room, scroll down to post #25: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2427062&page=2 This one is in SL, but I think all the outer deluxe rooms are essentially the same. It is with the old room decor, so don't pay any attention to soft goods, lol. I have been informed by IPO that the sofa no longer folds out to a bed, btw. ETA: coopersmom, I see you mentioned this in your post - I missed it, sorry!

If you would like to read descriptions of the various suites, look at post #2 on the first page of this thread - Cali-D contributed a great section! You may already know this, as you've read the thread, but could have forgotten after so many pages.

 

[KCmike]

Beautiful!!

Why Thank you very much.

 

[Mrs K]

Infamousmare-- in our experience, CL at the Grand wasn't good with food allergies. The chef did bring my DD some plain veggies one day, but other than that there was very little she could safely eat. Morning offerings were ok, but wouldn't be with Celiac. A regular room with two queens and a daybed would be ok for space, quiet might be another story.

 

[stitchlet]

We've always rented a car (at MCO), but are now thinking of using car service . . . would really appreciate any recommendations (both for which services to use and any to avoid) . . .

I've already asked this question on the Transportation board, but would love to hear how my fellow GF'ers feel!

Thank you!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

We've used a car service many, many times (more often than any other form of transportation), until we started renting a car or using ME. The service we've used most often is blocked by the filter - not sure if it is the car service, or another company with a similar name that is blocked.

I think the DIS has a town car service that sponsors the site.

 

[stitchlet]

Thank you, k&a&c'smom!

 

[psac]

We've always rented a car (at MCO), but are now thinking of using car service . . . would really appreciate any recommendations (both for which services to use and any to avoid) . . .

I've already asked this question on the Transportation board, but would love to hear how my fellow GF'ers feel!

Thank you!

We used Tiffany town car the last trip, and they were great. Our midnight arrival became a 2am arrival, and they were there without a hitch. No problems on the return pickup either.

 

[stitchlet]

Thank you, psac!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

We used Tiffany town car the last trip, and they were great. Our midnight arrival became a 2am arrival, and they were there without a hitch. No problems on the return pickup either.

We've used Tiffany several times as well, and had a similar experience.

 

[stitchlet]

Thank you again, k&a&c'smom!

 

[midge3426]

Just a few pics from our trip in Septemer. I will post more later.


ROOM NUMBER 6314 AT THE GRAND FLORIDIAN by midge3426, on Flickr

Our room. You cannot see it in this picture, but on the upper right above the room number there are Mickey ears in the wallpaper design.


GRAND FLORIDIAN SUGAR LOAF ROOM by midge3426, on Flickr


CHILDREN'S LOUNGE GRAND FLORIDAN by midge3426, on Flickr
I thought that this was so cute. This is the Children's area in the Sugar Loaf building. There is a flat screen TV opposite showing Children's shows.


THE SMOKING AREA by midge3426, on Flickr
This is one of the smoking areas and in the distance is The Grand Floridan Cafe. We had the most incredible onion Soup and steak there.

 

[Trinityloo]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary next year and we are considering on splurging for a stay at GF. I was very excited about this until I read about the construction going on. I had stayed at AKL during the pool renovation and didn't mind that. I didn't hear any noise whatsoever. BUT, construction of a brand new building is a huge project and I am thinking that surely there will be a lot of noise? I know construction has just begun, but has anyone heard about how long it might take? We would be going at the end of February, so I would imagine there would still be construction. Is anyone else hesitating about staying at GF or is it just me?

 

[KCmike]

 

[Trinityloo]

I had read earlier on in this thread about someone ordering from the Narcoosee's menu from Private Dining. Is this the same as regular room service or is it something different? Would I be able to use 2 dining credits per meal just like room service? Sounds like too good to be true since gratuities is usually included with room service at Disney. Also, can you order from Citricos? Thanks!