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

[garada3]

Here is a vintage Christmas tree photo from today's Disney Parks Blog:

Thank you for posting this picture from the Disney Parks blog!

This is how the lobby looked during our honeymoon and what a wonderful sight when I check this thread today.

We will be married 20 years next week

No trip this anniversary, but maybe one in the future.

What was I thinking picking a wedding date during the most expensive time of the year

 

[BCV23]

k&a&c'smom, if I don't say it enough, thank you so much for all you do on this thread.

+2

KCMike and WDWKook, thanks for all the wonderful photos, too. Love them all. Mike, your youngest looks like she is having a ball.

Lulu'sMom, I hope things are going well.

TonyTigger, I'm not a runner but do walk in the am. I see runners on the path to the Polynesian and on to the TTC...and then back. Last I knew, the front desks of both hotels had maps available on request with paths and mileage marked. My older son used one years ago.

I'm another huge fan of Basin White's bath bombs. It is my custom to use a small one each night we're in a WDW villa. Just the right size for those jetted tubs IMO. Then I ship home a box of the medium or large ones for rationing until our next WDW trip. Don't forget to show your AP and or DVC card for a discount if you have either.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thank you, everyone, for your sweet words. I'm always learning from all of you, we have so many knowledgeable and helpful posters.

Jungle Cruiser - Isn't it great to have a post-holiday trip to plan?! Makes everything even more exciting! I'll be looking forward to your new photos.

KCmike - Cute photo of your daughter, she looks to be thoroughly enjoying the slide!

garada3 - Congrats on your upcoming anniversary, sorry you won't be celebrating in the World. LOL about choosing the most expensive time of year!

BCV23 - Great to see you, my friend!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hello fellow GF Lovers! I will be there for the first time in 2 weeks!
I'm sorry if this has been asked a thousand times but after seeing mariamouse's bad view, I need some help in requesting a GV room.
How does this sound, upper floor,pool view room request?
Any GV room info would be greatly appreciated!

Your first visit will be here in no time, so exciting! Don't worry about asking a question that has been asked before. We don't mind answering again, it's tough to find just what you're looking for in a long thread.

Your room request sounds great; with an upper floor, you can still be placed in the area of the dreaded pool house and have a beautiful view (I'll post a photo of a similar view below). Keep in mind, many of the upper floor rooms are dormers, which means you'll have an enclosed balcony and slightly smaller room. Many people love the dormers, though, as they have a vaulted ceiling, which gives the illusion of more space. Check out the photos posted by gilsan on page 45 of the previous FAQ; scroll down to post #669: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2427062&page=45

Fourth floor, Big Pine Key

 

[kha100399]

Hello all- I've read somewhere that you can order room service from a signature restaurant on the dining plan and still pay 2 TS per person, I can't find any recent threads on this, is this still the case? thank you so much!

We are staying at the GF for the first time in 6 days!! Only for 2 nights before a DVC stay, but I am VERY excited!

thank you!

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

KCMike, great picture of your daughter. Seeing a smile like that on her face is what WDW is all about, isn't it?!!!

 

[phyllis1966]

Well, I know we've been back for 2 weeks already, but with Thanksgiving and my back-from-vacation blues, this is the first chance I've had to sit and sort through some photos. The bad news is, DH was so enamored of his new iPhone that he took too many pics with the phone and not enough with the digital camera...now he has to sync and send the pics to me so I can get a good look at them. I hope they're as good as he thinks they are...

Here are a couple so far - they're not great, but it's the best I have for now...


Here's the treat I ordered to surprise DD (sorry, I forgot the pic until she and DH had already dug in)...it was 6 strawberries and 15 truffles

Here's a guest who showed up on day 2

Here's a dark but favorite nighttime view of the marina from our balcony

Here's the daytime view from the balcony

Here are 2 views from the 4th floor lounge

I sure do miss my happy place...

 

[bethclayton]

I have recently started following this thread again. Our second RPC stay is in April, and I absolutely cannot wait! I have a question. I feel really silly not already knowing the answer to this. Where exactly would you be in the lounge to have that castke view that pictures were posted of, by two different people? As I recall, my only castle view from the lounge was literally with my face pressed to the glass and even then I could barely see just the right side of it. Clearly, I was in the wrong place! I am a little obsessed with watching the fireworks from the lounge after our last CL stay at the Poly. Can you describe for me where you get that great view of the castle from the lounge? I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[pas130]

K&a&c'smom, when we were at the GF last Christmas we heard the handbells also. We just stumbled across them, I believe we had just come off the monorail and heard the bells. It was magical!

Okay, I am trying to keep up with the changing plans of pas130 and WDWKOOK. Am I correct you are both doing split stays this spring but both of your vacations will include partial stays at the GF?!

KOOK will be my guest at RPC in April...and even I can barely keep up with my changes Love the picture BTW

Looks like we're splitting our stay between GF RPC and the BC CL due to the 20% discount on the GF room. Hopefully that will change when the AP rates come out. Oh please! I hate moving! Especially after looking at the pool pics!

We are doing the same thing...just starting at BC then moving to GF

Jungle Cruiser, you are so brave to even attempt to ask about pas' plans (yes, she is doing a GF split in April). I'm a little easier to keep up with

~Spring Break is only WL/CL. (Unless, of course my scheme to drive straight down 14-hours and stay that first night in WDW comes to fruition).

~July/August is our tri-rific split of AKL/CL (it replaced WL/CL when I booked our SB trip) then BWI/CL, followed by RPC/Deluxe Room.

That tree is AMAZING!!! And yes, I agree your plans are USUALLY easier to keep up with Now I know, I even forgot your triple stay for July

Well, I know we've been back for 2 weeks already, but with Thanksgiving and my back-from-vacation blues, this is the first chance I've had to sit and sort through some photos. The bad news is, DH was so enamored of his new iPhone that he took too many pics with the phone and not enough with the digital camera...now he has to sync and send the pics to me so I can get a good look at them. I hope they're as good as he thinks they are...

Here are a couple so far - they're not great, but it's the best I have for now...

They are ALL great! Thank you!

KCMikeYour DD looks so happy! My DS loved the beach pool and CY pool too. He surprised me when he said he wanted to go back to GF, I thought for sure the girls were more in love with the GF than the boys All good!!!

And a huge hello to all my other friends here I missed! Happy Monday!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

phyllis1966 - thank you for the photos!

bethclayton - on the previous page, I posted some photos of the seating area around the atrium - this is where we took the castle photo. I posted that we may have taken it a floor above, but it would have been in the same area - and when compared with the other photos, I believe it is on the 4th, after all. HTH!

Hello all- I've read somewhere that you can order room service from a signature restaurant on the dining plan and still pay 2 TS per person, I can't find any recent threads on this, is this still the case? thank you so much!

We are staying at the GF for the first time in 6 days!! Only for 2 nights before a DVC stay, but I am VERY excited!

thank you!

Hello! Your trip is soon, how exciting!

There was some discussion a few months ago on this topic, and it seems this is still available. I have never used the DP, so I don't have personal experience. If no one pops in who HAS done this, I will try to find the page with the info. If I recall, the consensus was you can order from any of the GF restaurants except V&A, but can't mix and match (appetizer from one, entree and dessert from another, for instance).

 

[KCmike]

Nice shots phyllis1966! Thanks everybody. Nobody tell my daughter she's on the web!

 

[KCmike]

 

[bethclayton]

Thank you, k&a&c's mom!

 

[Ali]

I'm too tired to post everything about our stay at the GF RPC but I wanted to share a few pictures.

our view was awesome in every sense of the word.

the smell was intoxicating when you walk in the door

they really do restock all of these at turndown time



I took pics of the food offerings in the lounge throughout the day as well and will post more tomorrow! Loved our stay in concierge, but someone could have warned me that you don't pronounce the "G" at the end of the word.. concier is how they all said it.

 

[mommy22pumpkins]

We stayed in RPC for 6 nights and had an amazing view of the Poly, beach, lagoon, wedding chapel. They had a nice selection of breakfast foods- nothing outstanding but you're standard continental breakfast. Fresh fruit was available every morning and delicious= cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and pineapple.

We asked for a birthday button on check-in as we were celebrating my son's 10TH birthday. And came home that night to find a birthday card and box of truffles waiting for him. So very special and unexpected. My son was so surprised and happy

My husband was sick with a stomach virus one day and we let the concierge desk know before heading to AK- so he would not be disturbed. He felt well enough to go to dinner that night and we came back to a sparkling clean room complete with fresh sheets on all the beds.

We only received one towel animal on check in and were missing turn down service on at least two nights. No big deal for us! We can pull down our own blankets but my daughter did miss the chocolates on her pillow on the nights they missed us


One major disappointment for me was the rock hard beds. I woke up with a new pain in my back each morning. This alone would be a reason for me not to stay here again.

And a tip which we wish we had discovered before out last day heading home. A nice place to watch wishes is the fifth floor hallway. There is a specacular view up there- much nicer than the one on the fourth floor- with glimpses of the Epcot ball and the castle. Would have been a much nicer viewing spot for Wishes than where we watched on the 4TH floor.

Oh and in case you're wondering- the pool is nicely heated to a balmy 82 degrees. My kids went swimming one day when it was 62 degrees outside! And I never thought that would be possible in Nov/Dec but they had a blast They actually used the pool more this trip than they have when we've been during warmer months and seemed to enjoy it much more. Just an FYI if you have polar bear children like I do

The champagne available in lounge every night was amazing also! We were out for dinner most nights during the nightly appetizers so can't give any info on those unfortunately. the band playing every night was truly magical and everywhere you go you are surrounded by Christmas music- I really enjoyed that and have not felt like dancing that much in years

Hope this helps someone and feel free to ask if you have any questions.

 

[pas130]

So I had to change my dates...
Thanks to needing to change my dates....I saved money off my trip. The room rate with the 30% off my BC CL rooms were hundreds off per night...but my outer lodge suite wasn't available.

I told the wonderful CM, it's OK we didn't book the suite with a discount anyway, and if it wasn't available it's OK, but my heart is kinda set on staying at the Grand....can you check what is available...with and without the discount.

After saying, let me see what suites at GF are available with the discount (huh...suite with a discount, really???)

She says....well there IS a suite to fit you all and it's less than what you originally booked BUT it's in the Main building, is that OK *she giggled a little*
OMG...now picture me jumping and crying in my kitchen

Wait....please check, can we really fit, are you sure this is right...again I explain what happened last month to DH and I...I was SURE this was an error. Please check again, this can't be right....

SO thanks to some magical pixie dust, it was correct. I didn't ask, I don't care. I don't even know the rack rate, because I can't find a description on the website of this suite. ...sleeps all of us...PERFECT. She said the view was the Poly and part of the Lagoon I can't even tell you how happy I am right now!

I'm too tired to post everything about our stay at the GF RPC but I wanted to share a few pictures.

Beautiful pictures! Thank you

Nice And don't worry...we will never tell DD she is a Grand STAR

We stayed in RPC for 6 nights and had an amazing view of the Poly, beach, lagoon, wedding chapel.

Hope this helps someone and feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Thank you for your review AND your tips. Sorry your DH was sick, hope he is feeling better!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thanks for the lovely photo, KCmike! I always enjoy the shots from the water.

Ali - welcome back, and thanks for the photos! Can't wait to see more.

Don't worry, you weren't wrong. I, too, have heard many Disney cast members pronounce concierge in that way - but the universally accepted pronunciation, in English and French, is with the "g" at the end. (Kon-see-air-zh) Here is a link to the common pronunciation, if my attempt at phonetics doesn't help, lol. http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?concie01.wav=concierge

mommy22pumpkins - Welcome back! Thanks for the review, I'm glad you had a magical vacation, but sorry to hear your DH was sick.

Isn't the view from the 5th floor magical? The 3rd and 4th are pretty good, too, but the 5th makes the castle look like you are right there.

I laughed at your description of the 82-degree pool as "balmy" - we are wimps when it comes to pool temp. With the ambient temperature in the 50s or 60s, we need bath water.

pas130 - Congrats on your score! So exciting! I saw on the website the new spring discount included suites, and thought of you. I should have passed the info along, but misunderstood your earlier post - I thought you knew. Anyway, glad you snagged a main bldg. suite, woohoo!

 

[pas130]

pas130 - Congrats on your score! So exciting! I saw on the website the new spring discount included suites, and thought of you. I should have passed the info along, but misunderstood your earlier post - I thought you knew. Anyway, glad you snagged a main bldg. suite, woohoo!

It's all good! I had NO idea! And I don't think my original booking was with a discount. SOOOOOOOO excited.....still extra nervous we are gonna get walked again, especially now that we are in the Main building

 

[bowbat]

I laughed at your description of the 82-degree pool as "balmy" - we are wimps when it comes to pool temp. With the ambient temperature in the 50s or 60s, we need bath water.

Ditto this! I live in Florida, and let me tell you I won't put a toe in my pool until it's 84 degrees...though my preference is 86 and up. My kid, however, says, "It's never too cold for me!" Crazy kids.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

pas130 - Try not to worry, it's unusual to get walked. I've never been walked from the GF, and only had it happen once - at WL - and we were allowed to return after the first two nights. I'd say the likelihood of it happening to you again is small.

bowbat - Hear, hear! DD and I were at AKL May 2010, and she wanted to get in the pool at 10:00 p.m. I grumbled it was too cold out (I think it was in the 70s) but she insisted. After only 15 minutes in the water, we were ready to head to the room!

We've always felt the courtyard pool at the GF to be warmer than the beach pool, for what it's worth.