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

[Jungle Cruiser]

there was a thread here a few weeks back absolutely murdering the sugar loaf club about h ow people would just walk in and out even if they werent club, outer building being not so good etc.

Honestly I don't think that many non Sugar Loaf people come in the building. Most of the people you see in the lobby/food area you see frequently during your stay. Additionally, two concierge cast members are sitting at desks from 7 AM to 10 PM with a full view of the lobby area. We have found them to be friendly and seem to get to know the Sugar Loaf guests fairly quickly and would be aware of people coming in who aren't staying there. I can't say it doesn't happen but it is certainly not common.

I am not sure what was said about the outer buildings and am not sure what defines an outer building at the GF. However, the criticisms from most people of the GF seem to be more about the ambience not being to their taste rather than room criticisms.

 

[dsiind]

11 more days!

Us too! Arriving on the 21st!

Maybe we will see you there!

 

[disneydreamin247]

Us too! Arriving on the 21st!

Maybe we will see you there!

We check into the Poly on the 20th and the Grand on the 24th. We'll be in SL

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

We check into the Poly on the 20th and the Grand on the 24th. We'll be in SL

How long will you be at SL? We check in to SL on the 26th!

 

[KCmike]

 

[disneydreamin247]

How long will you be at SL? We check in to SL on the 26th!

5 nights. We check out the 29th. Maybe I'll see you in the lounge!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Hey Everyone, After much discussion about the construction that's going on at the GF and missing the GF so much, we have decided to switch back and stay the GF for the whole time for our June 2012 trip. So no split stay for us next year, but in a way I am glad about it. We are very excited to be coming home again and can't wait. Just 289 more days. Off to re-do our meal plan and change my tickers.

 

[s&k'smom]

49 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just had to say it, the kids are again watching our dvd's from the last trip wondering why I can't make time move faster.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Love the picture KCmike. Dusk is one of my favorite times at the GF. I love to sit on the beach and watch the shadows as the sun goes down. The clock is in the picture, I think it says 7:40.

 

[micknme]

Hi everyone,

Please hurry November...I've got 57 days until my first trip to the Grand Floridian and we can't wait. I don't think I've ever been more excited about a trip to the world!

Our son and his lovely new bride are going the following month (first week of December) and have booked a lagoon view, requesting Big Pine Key so as to have a view of the Poly. My concern is that as they sit out on their balcony they will be overlooking and hearing construction and since I want this trip to be perfect for them, should I suggest to them that they might want to switch their request to another building? They also picked this location to be close to the main building due to our son having some recent mobility problems (he was severely attacked by an incredibly vicious dog and required multiple stitching plus surgery)

Can anyone relieve me of my fears for Big Pine Key's view or should they switch to maybe Boca Chica or Conch Key. If it was up to me I would just have them switch to garden view at BPK but they love all water sports and are looking forward to spending their resort time relaxing while gazing out over the water. Since I have never stayed there before, I'm not sure how far the outer buildings are from the main building, their room views over looking the water, etc, so I am no help to them at all

I'm sorry I'm being so long winded here. I love this thread and start and finish each day catching up with it (also frequently while at work too...shhhh)

Thanks so much.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

pas130 - congrats on your GF suite booking! Very exciting!

Jungle Cruiser - what great news about your health, I'm so glad you are doing better. Onward to the GF!

coopersmom - Safe travels, I'm sure you are on your way by now, but wanted to wish you a Grand vacation.

KB24 - I would take any one negative thread with a grain of salt. Any guest can have a bad trip, at any resort. I'm sorry for anyone whose WDW vacation is not what they hoped, but keep in mind, there are many of us who have stayed in SL and found it to be just what we imagined and more!

We have stayed in the main building and Sugar Loaf, and love them both. No problem whatsoever in recommending SL to others.

tangiers - there was an update on the construction from momater a page or so back in this thread! Sounds like it isn't too intrusive at this point.

dsiind and disneydreamin247, the wait is nearly over!

CoachBagFanatic - so glad you were able to convince your DH to switch your trip back to the GF.

s&k'smom - Just 48 days to go, yay!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hi everyone,

Please hurry November...I've got 57 days until my first trip to the Grand Floridian and we can't wait. I don't think I've ever been more excited about a trip to the world!

Our son and his lovely new bride are going the following month (first week of December) and have booked a lagoon view, requesting Big Pine Key so as to have a view of the Poly. My concern is that as they sit out on their balcony they will be overlooking and hearing construction and since I want this trip to be perfect for them, should I suggest to them that they might want to switch their request to another building? They also picked this location to be close to the main building due to our son having some recent mobility problems (he was severely attacked by an incredibly vicious dog and required multiple stitching plus surgery)

Can anyone relieve me of my fears for Big Pine Key's view or should they switch to maybe Boca Chica or Conch Key. If it was up to me I would just have them switch to garden view at BPK but they love all water sports and are looking forward to spending their resort time relaxing while gazing out over the water. Since I have never stayed there before, I'm not sure how far the outer buildings are from the main building, their room views over looking the water, etc, so I am no help to them at all

I'm sorry I'm being so long winded here. I love this thread and start and finish each day catching up with it (also frequently while at work too...shhhh)

Thanks so much.

Congrats on your upcoming trip to the Grand, I'm sure you will love the resort. And congrats to your son and his bride!

I would suggest they make another request, as the lagoon views in BPK will look right at the construction. To be honest, I'd suggest booking garden view and requesting a marina view; you get the cheaper rate, and will likely be looking at water, anyway (though not the expanse of the lagoon).

In either case, my first choice would be Conch Key - it is right by the courtyard pool, Narcoossee's and the boat dock, has a back door next to the marina and a short walk to Gasparilla's. If they keep the lagoon view booking, you might suggest Boca Chica, as it will have a lovely view and is close to the courtyard pool and boat dock.

None of the buildings are much of a walk to the main building, and most are near other points of interest, so it's a wash as to which is the most convenient for mobility issues (imo, and I have a pinned ankle that swells).

Here are a couple photos of the lagoon view from BPK, so you can see what I mean - the construction is all around the Wedding Pavilion area.

And a few photos of the marina view in Conch:

 

[micknme]

Thank you so much k&a&c'smom for such a detailed answer. I emailed this page to my son so he could see exactly what I was trying to explain to him regarding what you wrote. The pictures were perfect and he has now followed your advice and changed to a garden view room, requesting Conch Key, marina view.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer so completely with advice and pictures!!!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

CoachBagFanatic - so glad you were able to convince your DH to switch your trip back to the GF.

Oh me too. When I called yesterday to change for the 11th time, I booked a GV with DxDp. Now this morning, DH comes to me and says, oh maybe we should switch to the SL with Regular Dining. So can you guess where we are now? What's funny about this whole switching thing, is we are back where we originally started.

I do have a question, since the SL doesn't have washers and dryers, which building am I able to access to wash some of our clothes? TIA

 

[momatater]

Hi Everyone!!

Just wanted to check in and say we're having a GRAND time! The resort is so quiet this year and as I said before, the parks are empty!! We went to EP last night at around 6:00 and strolled over to Soarin' and got fastpasses for 6:35! It's great. I really needed a relaxing vacay and boy am I getting it!

No issues with housekeeping or any CMs. Actually, ALL the CMs we have encountered have been super! Talk to my boys, and ask if we need help, ect. It really has been perfect (well, except that I got sick, yeah, like had to get whatever I ate out of my stomach sick), but as soon as I did, I was a happy camper again. Have no idea what it was, but the only thing I had eaten was CP breakfast. Not blaming it on them, maybe there was something I just didn't agree with as no one else in my family, or my brother-in-laws family got sick.

Well, off to take a shower. Just got back from Blizzard Beach and thought I'd take a minute and give an update.

Still looking for Coopersmom...I'm sure I will find her sometime this week!

Stephanie

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thank you so much k&a&c'smom for such a detailed answer. I emailed this page to my son so he could see exactly what I was trying to explain to him regarding what you wrote. The pictures were perfect and he has now followed your advice and changed to a garden view room, requesting Conch Key, marina view.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer so completely with advice and pictures!!!

You are welcome! I hope they get exactly what they hope for, but I must caution that the request for both building and marina view is just a request - not a guarantee. I should have said so in the previous post, although I'm sure you've read here enough to know that! Most people who request marina view seem to get it, as more often guests want the pool view, but I hate to encourage a change, and then someone feels let down! If they get to their room, and it isn't the view they hoped for, they can always call the front desk and ask to be moved.

Just in case, here are some photos you may want to share with your son. The first set is from this past March; we had a marina view room in Sago Cay, which is on the opposite side of the marina from Conch. If you look at the map on the first page, you'll see that Sago is further from the main area - courtyard pool, boat dock, etc. But it is very close to the bus stop and Gasparilla's, so it's a trade off.
Room 5225 (I think), looking right:

Center:

Looking left (you can see Conch Key through the tree limbs):

And here are some pool view photos, I thought they might like to see what the pool view looks like in case they end up with one. Very pretty, I wouldn't be at all let down with this view! Can't remember the room number for sure, but I think this was 9424 - it was BPK, and 4th floor, near the elevator.
Night shots:

Day shots, same room:

Overlooking the dreaded pool house, but as you can see, at this height it isn't much of a detraction:

Looking right, toward lagoon, that's Boca Chica in the center of the shot:

What I am trying to say - in a very long winded fashion, lol - is that there are so few bad views at the GF, I think they will love whatever room they end up in.

HTH!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

CoachBagFanatic - You can use any of the other laundry rooms - we use the one in Conch Key, it is the closest. Pretty easy to duck out the back door of SL, and into the back door of Conch. If you are entering from the marina side of Conch, the laundry room is left, just off the lobby.

If those machines happen to be in use, you can move on over to Boca, or Sago would be closer than BPK (maybe even closer than Boca!).

LOL about being back where you started - I can certainly relate!

Stephanie, glad to hear from you, how awesome that the parks are so quiet! We went right around this time when my kids were little, and had the same experience.

Sorry to hear about your stomach upset, I hope that is a one time event, and the rest of your trip is magical and illness-free!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

CoachBagFanatic - You can use any of the other laundry rooms - we use the one in Conch Key, it is the closest. Pretty easy to duck out the back door of SL, and into the back door of Conch. If you are entering from the marina side of Conch, the laundry room is left, just off the lobby.

If those machines happen to be in use, you can move on over to Boca, or Sago would be closer than BPK (maybe even closer than Boca!).

LOL about being back where you started - I can certainly relate!:laughing

Oh Thanks so much. We are the change twice a day people, sometimes three and being there for 8 nights, definitely have to do some laundry.

Almost 2 hours later and we finally revised our dining plan. One would think that I would have held onto all the previous ones, but no, we said that we weren't going to change again.

momatater Hope you all are having a fabulous time.

 

[micknme]

Wow, k&a&c'smom..you are sooooooo helpful. I sent off your second post with all the extra advice and helpful pictures to my son, and he has already emailed me back asking me to thank you on behalf of them. I'm also thanking you again for helping out my son! (it's a 'mom' thing...I love it when others are so nice to my son!!!)

 

[latinqt]

Is there any chance that there will be any noise or unsightfull views from SL during the construction of the DVC at Poly??? I'll need to chance my resv. if that is a possibility. Please help, one and all