Just back from nine nights at the Grand Floridian RPC, our first stay at this resort and second on Disney property.
I found a lot to like about the Grand--the resort and service were about 100 times better than our previous Disney club level experience at the Polynesian (December 2010)--but can't say I we really fell in love with the place.
We had a deluxe room on the fourth floor overlooking the beach area and pool, and, therefore, the construction. For the most part, at this point, it was a non-issue, but a couple days there was a quite a bit of noise (though you couldn't really see much) when we tried to sit out on the balcony. Though there was a distant view of Spaceship Earth (a.k.a. Epcot) over the tree line, you couldn't see any fireworks from this room, unless you count the reflections off of Bay Lake Tower.
The Bad ...
-Like an earlier poster we saw a LOT of fruit flies in the lounge area after the first few days of our stay. And, yeah, it's gross and made me very hesitant/leery to eat anything. I even (very quietly) mentioned it to a cast member and was told they "sprayed every night." Guess it never occurred to anyone to remove the rotting fruit in the fruit bowl that, even covered in Saran Wrap, was still clearly attracting the little bugs. (And, yes, I actually specifically mentioned the rotting fruit, but no one attended to it.) As far as I could tell, the rotten fruit was never replaced. In general, before the fruit fly invasion, every time I tried to get my son an apple from the fruit bowl, it was a mealy, mushy, bruised and basically inedible mess. Just yuck.
-If you wanted something that was special request (chocolate milk, yogurt, to-go cup, etc.) it was sometimes hard to find a staff member to get it for you. It seemed like there were either four people or no one in the lounge. Very little in between.
-While the room was by no means bad, it was more beat up than I'd expect at this price point for sure, even taking into account the high occupancy rates Disney hotels work with. When you pay upwards of $600/night you expect better than stained carpet and chipped furniture, a wonky (shot everywhere) shower head, broken lamp, non-working light fixtures and non-draining bathtubs. At least I do.
The broken glass lamp was removed (though it took three calls to make that happen) but not replaced; the tub and fridge were also both fixed during our stay. The rest mentioned. but not addressed. The couch in particular was very beat up. A half dozen very large, very visible stains and the coffee table too had writing on it and what looked like red juice drink rings (not made by us) that wouldn't come off, even when I tried to clean it myself. Just not what I think of when I think of "luxury" accommodations, though I definitely paid a luxury price.
-As I stated while there, there was a pretty serious billing issue. We were double billed at first after switching rooms; charged us for both instead of difference in cost and then told us we'd have to wait "2-3 billing cycles" for credit. Umm, no. This was eventually resolved by the hotel "expediting" the credit, but it took quite a bit of legwork on my part and constant (daily) follow-up to get that to happen and then, I believe strongly, ONLY because I put my foot down and refused to give them an alternate credit card for billing. (I was happy to show them we had alternate means of paying and even allowed them to charge incidentals like valet, etc. to another card--after which they became more helpful--but I had specifically wanted to use a particular card for the vacation expenses and didn't want to transfer the bulk of the cost, i.e. the room charge, to any of our other cards.) This matter was eventually taken care of but it took until the final 24 hours of my stay so I could never use my Key to the World card for charges.
-Lots of little issues that required more follow-up (time at desk) than I would have liked ... Missing housekeeping supplies: didn't leave soap or shower gel a few times, no slippers or robes in room initially, failure to changes sheets at all, as far as I could tell, despite a nine day stay, change in occupants AND a personal request. All of these problems were resolved after I called and asked, though sometimes not on the first try (i.e. I had to call more than once). ... Also, cancelled several reservations via the club level desk (e.g. a scheduled cabana rental) only to have them "reappear" as not ever cancelled with a charge. Luckily, when I went back down to ask, the same person was on duty and remembered me asking to do that, so she voided the charge, but still doesn't explain why it wasn't done in first place. ... "Lost" our pre-paid Halloween ticket reservations, made with IPO before departing, and it took until just a few hours before party, when I remembered I had PDF of original email from IPO confirming them on my phone, that they could "find" them for me.
-Another little oddity (gripe) is that housekeeping NEVER picked up used glasses, plates, etc. from room. They had to be taken back to lounge to get picked up. I experienced the same thing last year at Polynesian and it's unique to any hotel I've ever been at. Even a Hampton Inn will take away and replace in-room glasses after use, why not Disney's flagship resort? At the Grand our housekeeper would leave new glasses, but never took old ones, even if left in kitchenette sink area.
-Small thing, but I think it's ridiculous they charge you $30 each to "borrow" a movie from the club level desk. A charge never once mentioned, by the way, until we saw it on the bill. The charge is credited when you return the movie but, again, in my case they were charging my room charges every 2-3 days, including movie costs, and then I'm having to wait a LONG time for the credit to be processed. Used DVDs don't cost $30 each in any universe to replace (especially when most are Disney, and we're at Disney) and assuming your customers who pay the rates at the Grand are in it to steal your precious used DVDs just struck me as petty. Not to mention that two of the maybe six DVDs we tried to borrow over a 10-day period didn't work at all.
-Transportation. For the first four days of our stay the monorail was down, unplanned, every single day for at least one hour, sometimes more. When the monorail works, going from the main building room to the second floor and just one stop to the Magic Kingdom is heaven. When it doesn't? What. A. Pain. And the early scheduled shutdown was an issue for us too. Waited an hour total one night for boat ride back to G.F. and on three other occasions spent almost an hour getting home from either Epcot or M.K. after monorail shutdown via bus, boat or a combo of the above. When you pay these room rates, in large part due to resort proximity and transportation options, that just plain stinks.
The Good ...
-Room, after we moved, was large with a beautiful double balcony and incredibly relaxing view. Enjoyed just sitting on balcony and relaxing with book or glass of wine. And plenty of place for my son to play on the floor, unlike a standard room.
-Everyone we dealt with was friendly and kind and while they didn't always help as quickly or throughly as I'd like, I have zero complaints about attitude.
-Food choices, while identical just about every day, which gets really, really boring, were frequently replenished, and lounge area kept quite clean (expect for those icky fruit flies). Tables were always promptly cleared and wiped. Beer was put out in fridge and available for self-selection (unlike the Polynesian) and drink (soda) fridges were always--expect for one night--filled before leaving and available 24-hours. Very nice when you were returning late from the park and wanted to grab a soda before heading back to the room (at least for a diet Coke addict like myself). And my son loved the kids' area with the Disney cartoons and the games tables on the 3rd floor. We played many games of checkers there. (Is it totally dumb that it took us until the final day to notice that the very edge of the lounge table area had a castle view? Didn't even see it until check out day. Doh!)
-Weather was beautiful--only really rained one day--and parks not too crowded at all. The longest ride line we waited in was 45-minutes for Toy Story Mania on Hollywood Studios EMH morning ... And then the ride closed down while we were next (literally) in line to get on. Except for that little or no waits, if you arrived at opening, anywhere at any park. We even had a couple of the less popular rides (Nemo and Imagination at Epcot) totally to ourselves on occasion. It allowed us to ride things twice in a row pretty quickly and easily, a big bonus for my four-year-old, whose favorite Disney phrase seems to be "let's ride it again!"
-My son loved the water slide at the pool. And I was happy with the patient lifeguards. My son can swim (we have a pool) but after getting kicked (accidentally) in (or more accurately very close to) the face by some other kids playing and having the lifeguard jump in to help him when he started yelling, "Mommy, help me!" He then decided he needed to be "rescued" two more times. Very embarrassing for me, but apparently a lot of fun for him.
-We had two absolutely impeccable dinners at Victoria and Albert's, one at the Chef's Table Monday night ... Being able to just walk down two floors to dine at that level was very, very nice.
All in all, we had a pretty good trip, hotel room concerns aside. I will say that it was probably a mite long. At about 7 days I was feeling great and like we had plenty of time to explore and relax, by 10 I just wanted to get home. Now. So, a bit too much Disney for me, I think. I also don't know if I'd stay on property again or not. I'm really, REALLY drawn to the Waldorf-Astoria Orlando, which seems far more a true "luxury" hotel. (We ate at Bull & Bear restaurant there and peaked at suite. Based on quick inspection it was 100x nicer and far larger than Grand, for same or or lower cost, and the location really isn't that much farther away. Closer, actually, to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.) Though both my husband and I agreed that if we ever stayed on property again, the Grand is the only resort we'd even consider.
I will probably end up in 2 CL rooms both resorts. Right now I booked SL 2 BR suite, and BC 2 BR suite. I LOVED GF!!! DD said BC looks bright and has flowers in the lobby like GF 
I am sure the trip will be awesome. It's end of Sept 2012 (DD 8th Bday and DS 4th Bday)
We were at the BCV when we only had 4 kids, and DH wasn't very happy with the decor and the resort 
But I think the kiddos will have fun at SAB. Our youngest last time we went was an infant, and the next one up was 2. So the kids are a little older now....I just don't see how ANY CL can be as great as Sugarloaf 
SAB seemed confusing our first stay, but I am one of those OCD moms 
I keep counting the kids so I know I have everyone. They are bigger now (still young though) We stayed at AKL and the kids liked that pool too. It's been awhile since we've been on the Epcot side. Thanks for the well wishes....Only a year to wait 
I just chuckle and walk away.
He wants to get a job when he turns 16 which is in January and I am all for that. He already has his working papers.
Congratulations on your engagement. You guys are going to love the GF. It's just simply so beautiful and a magical resort. Great place for your honeymoon. Happy planning.
Even when it gets resolved, it really does put a damper on things...and trying to straighten everything out can nearly ruin your day IMHO. 
and they share that wonderful pool with Hilton too. But I do hope you return to the GF in the future, after construction maybe....thank you for your review, and again sorry for all the issues. Although separate they may seem minor, altogether it's kinda a big deal. Again JMHO.
