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

[k&a&c'smom]

Thank you!!! These are perfect!!!

I have a couple more of the bathroom, and the balcony, although it may not look the same as the one in Sago. If you would like me to post, say the word.

pas130 - Good luck, I know how hard it is to resist switching to the Grand.

sydneysmom - I like the way your DH thinks!

threebeesatdisney and baler31 - I'm with you, valet is a life saver, especially at the GF. A couple trips back, we decided to self-park, thinking we didn't use the car that often and valet was a waste. After two trips to the parking lot, I threw in the towel.

garada3 - It is nice to check in here and see photos of the Grand, hear about everyone's trip, isn't it?!

I think the difference between the rooms you describe and Jungle Cruiser's room is the 2nd floor rooms are "king deluxe" (more sq. feet, Jacuzzi tub) while the 3rd and 4th floor kings are standard rooms. I am with you, though, I wasn't sure there were king standard rooms in the main bldg. Good to know!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Do they pipe the music in at Narcosees deck, Gasparilla Grill deck and/or the dock?

Can you go to Narcossees deck if you aren't eating there?

do you mind if I spell Narrcosses differen't every time I type it?

 

[Lulu'sMom]

Thanks Jungle Cruiser .

I did not realize that there were king theme park view rooms on the third or fourth floor! Keeping the request in mind for a future adults only trip

I thought that type of room was only on the second floor, accessible via two elevator rides from the main lobby or the 'pool' elevator over by Gasparilla's.

Love this thread! We are not at the GF that often but this thread is my daily visit to my happy place~ thanks to all!

Me too

I have a couple more of the bathroom, and the balcony, although it may not look the same as the one in Sago. If you would like me to post, say the word.

pas130 - Good luck, I know how hard it is to resist switching to the Grand.

sydneysmom - I like the way your DH thinks!

threebeesatdisney and baler31 - I'm with you, valet is a life saver, especially at the GF. A couple trips back, we decided to self-park, thinking we didn't use the car that often and valet was a waste. After two trips to the parking lot, I threw in the towel.

garada3 - It is nice to check in here and see photos of the Grand, hear about everyone's trip, isn't it?!

I think the difference between the rooms you describe and Jungle Cruiser's room is the 2nd floor rooms are "king deluxe" (more sq. feet, Jacuzzi tub) while the 3rd and 4th floor kings are standard rooms. I am with you, though, I wasn't sure there were king standard rooms in the main bldg. Good to know!

garada3~hi! As JungleCruiser and kacsmom have posted about the "king deluxe" rooms, they are in the main building, located on the 2nd floor, as TPV, or on the 3rd/4th floors as turret. CL CMs call them all "honeymoon suites" but they are Main building-King deluxe room.

OK, there IS some of the STANDARD main building RPC rooms that are king, two that are in the old "deluxe queen" layout and they took out the queens and put a king into them. These are on floors 3/4 and by the king turrets by the monorail. You can request these as a KING BED when booking a standard room MAIN building.
The TPV standards have the kings on the second floor, and I was told by one CM that they have about 4 kings total on floors 3/4 TPV. And that was 1 1/2 years ago. YMMV.

Valet parking, love it, worth every penney, but may I add that it is also customary to add a $2 tip every time the keys change hands.
JMHO.

Do they pipe the music in at Narcosees deck, Gasparilla Grill deck and/or the dock?

Can you go to Narcossees deck if you aren't eating there?

do you mind if I spell Narrcosses differen't every time I type it?

No music piped that I can recall.
I don't know but there are other places you can view the FWs that wouldn't impose on paying customers.
No, lol, I don't mind.

Everyone........

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

k&A&c'smom, I think you are correct about the king rooms in the RPC. We were definitely on the third floor, since we were on the floor with the food. We had a standard GF bathroom, and honestly if there had been 2 queen beds the room wouldn't have seemed so large. It's a great option to look into for couple that are happy with a king bed, but don't want to pay extra for the deluxe!

MikeandReneePlus5, they do pipe in the WISHES music at the marina by Gasparillas, the dock by the launch and at Narcoossees. It hasn't happened to us, but people have said that at times the speakers are broken and you don't hear the music. The deck at Narcoossess is for diners at the restaurant. Generally people waiting for their table, or watching WISHES if you don't have a window seat. I don't believe you can get on the deck without going thru the restaurant, someone else may know the answer.

How about a picture of the deck at Narcoossees?!
The french doors all the way to the right in the pictures are the doors from the restaurant to the deck.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

No music piped that I can recall.
I don't know but there are other places you can view the FWs that wouldn't impose on paying customers.
No, lol, I don't mind.

Everyone........

I just realized I didn't say for Wishes! But I see you knew what I meant. I guess that was part of my question and it seems you answered....that it may be faux pas-ish to go to Narcoosees deck...and I understand that.

So it's not like the Poly huh? Where you can hear the Wishes music on the beach? At the GF you can just see them but not hear?

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

they do pipe in the WISHES music at the marina by Gasparillas, the dock by the launch and at Narcoossees. It hasn't happened to us, but people have said that at times the speakers are broken and you don't hear the music. The deck at Narcoossess is for diners at the restaurant. Generally people waiting for their table, or watching WISHES if you don't have a window seat. I don't believe you can get on the deck without going thru the restaurant, someone else may know the answer.

*hat tip*

 

[KerryCM]

Getting so excited for our trip. I was able to reserve a cabana for our last full day there. I know the view might not be great, but I know Jim will love it. I also upgraded us from a garden view to a theme park view. Still hoping to upgrade to the Main building.

Thank you for all the helpful information I have read from all of you!!

 

[goherdibg]

A little over a month ago we stayed at the Grand Floridian during an 8 night/9 day trip to the World from December 9 - 17, 2011 and wanted to provide our impression of the Grand and it's amenities. It was our (me, wife, and 2 girls) 4th trip in the last 5 years. Our previous 3 trips were February 2007 (Wilderness Lodge), December 2007 (WL Again), and August 2009 (Poly).

During our previous December trip in 2007 we had visited the GF and decided to try it this trip even though we knew it was expensive - even with A 40% off PIN. We booked a Theme Park view and requested Sago Cay with an upper floor room - thanks to this thread for the advice. We ended up getting Sago on the 3rd floor and the view was amazing. I could literally feel the booms from the fireworks at night.

Everything at the Grand was extremely well done and very clean. Some of the wood trim did look a little old - with multiple layers of high gloss paint covering it. For some reason I pay attention to those details and it detracted from some of the magic of the Grand. The room was very clean....but smaller than I expected with very little clothes storage. We only had 4 small drawers in the TV cabinet. My wife and I ended up living out of our suitcases. Not what I expected for the price. I will say this...the hot water from the bathroom faucet is EXTREMELY HOT!!! It felt like 211 degrees F.

I chose Sago Cay for multiple reasons - one of them being close access to Gasparillas, the 24 hour QS restaurant. Gasparillas is definitely not the best QS restaurant but was adequate. The main problem I had with Gasparillas was they shut down the grill at 10pm and only served a very limited menu once the grill was off.

I know this may sound a little hypocritical since we "visited" the Grand ourselves during our 2007 trip, but all of the people (assuming most were visitors by their actions) in the lobby constantly milling around became a little wearing after a week long stay. At times, it was difficult to even get pictures of our kids in front of the Gingerbread House (which is magnificent) and the Christmas tree without others in the frame. I felt like yelling out "this is my hotel, get out" . Me = hypocrite!

We ate at Narcoossees one evening. It had a great atmosphere. We had a window seat so we could see the castle from our seats. I had the lobster tail and filet and it was cooked to perfection. I believe my wife had the grilled salmon and it was also tasty. The waiter was a little dry and always gave us the impression he was in a hurry to go somewhere else. The only other negative was the amount of mosquitoes/bugs in the waiting area. It is on the lake so it's not unexpected.

The monorail was down (only) twice while we were there - that I know of. I say only because I expected it to be down more from the trip reports I had read leading up to our vacation. Of course, having the monorail down while staying at a monorail resort did make me somewhat upset but surprisingly not as much as I thought I would be. Of the 2 times it was down, we were only directly impacted once and had to take the boat to MK. Not a huge issue.

I am not sure we will make it back to the GF. We really love the Wilderness Lodge. I would also like to try one of the Epcot deluxes during a future trip.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Lulu'sMom, I think we were posting at just about the same time. You are definitely our resident expert on rooms in the Main Building. I think based on what you are describing we had one of the standard rooms with a king bed that would have normally had two queen beds.

You must be getting excited about your trip to our beloved GF! No one deserves the vacation more than you do! Plus I know that you will give us an update on the construction...

goherdibg, I know how you feel about the lobby during the Christmas holidays. As much as I love the GF, the Christmas season is my least favorite time of the year there. The lobby is soooo crowded with people visiting the tree and gingerbread house. It's hard when you are paying to stay there not get annoyed by the crowds. I am not a confrontational person, but a couple of years ago in December, I was grabbing a quick lunch at Gasparillas and a lady was complaining about how it was so crowded, there were no tables and so on. She was standing right by where I was sitting, holding her tray waiting for a table and I asked her if she was staying at the hotel, she said no. I told her when she was paying to stay at the GF she could complain about the crowds. She was so mad, but I felt so good I said something. Her loud complaining was ruining everyone's lunch. The point is, the decorations at the GF make it so special at the holidays, yet at the same time it makes is crazy crowded.

 

[WDWKOOK]

A little over a month ago we stayed at the Grand Floridian during an 8 night/9 day trip to the World from December 9 - 17, 2011 and wanted to provide our impression of the Grand and it's amenities. It was our (me, wife, and 2 girls) 4th trip in the last 5 years. Our previous 3 trips were February 2007 (Wilderness Lodge), December 2007 (WL Again), and August 2009 (Poly).

During our previous December trip in 2007 we had visited the GF and decided to try it this trip even though we knew it was expensive - even with A 40% off PIN. We booked a Theme Park view and requested Sago Cay with an upper floor room - thanks to this thread for the advice. We ended up getting Sago on the 3rd floor and the view was amazing. I could literally feel the booms from the fireworks at night.

Everything at the Grand was extremely well done and very clean. Some of the wood trim did look a little old - with multiple layers of high gloss paint covering it. For some reason I pay attention to those details and it detracted from some of the magic of the Grand. The room was very clean....but smaller than I expected with very little clothes storage. We only had 4 small drawers in the TV cabinet. My wife and I ended up living out of our suitcases. Not what I expected for the price. I will say this...the hot water from the bathroom faucet is EXTREMELY HOT!!! It felt like 211 degrees F.

I chose Sago Cay for multiple reasons - one of them being close access to Gasparillas, the 24 hour QS restaurant. Gasparillas is definitely not the best QS restaurant but was adequate. The main problem I had with Gasparillas was they shut down the grill at 10pm and only served a very limited menu once the grill was off.

I know this may sound a little hypocritical since we "visited" the Grand ourselves during our 2007 trip, but all of the people (assuming most were visitors by their actions) in the lobby constantly milling around became a little wearing after a week long stay. At times, it was difficult to even get pictures of our kids in front of the Gingerbread House (which is magnificent) and the Christmas tree without others in the frame. I felt like yelling out "this is my hotel, get out" . Me = hypocrite!

We ate at Narcoossees one evening. It had a great atmosphere. We had a window seat so we could see the castle from our seats. I had the lobster tail and filet and it was cooked to perfection. I believe my wife had the grilled salmon and it was also tasty. The waiter was a little dry and always gave us the impression he was in a hurry to go somewhere else. The only other negative was the amount of mosquitoes/bugs in the waiting area. It is on the lake so it's not unexpected.

The monorail was down (only) twice while we were there - that I know of. I say only because I expected it to be down more from the trip reports I had read leading up to our vacation. Of course, having the monorail down while staying at a monorail resort did make me somewhat upset but surprisingly not as much as I thought I would be. Of the 2 times it was down, we were only directly impacted once and had to take the boat to MK. Not a huge issue.

I am not sure we will make it back to the GF. We really love the Wilderness Lodge. I would also like to try one of the Epcot deluxes during a future trip.

to the DIS and the GF thread. Thank you for your thorough and honest review, goherdibg. I found it very useful and appreciate you taking the time to post it here.





Also wanted to welcome back Lulu'sMom

 

[bowbat]

A little over a month ago we stayed at the Grand Floridian during an 8 night/9 day trip to the World from December 9 - 17, 2011 and wanted to provide our impression of the Grand and it's amenities. It was our (me, wife, and 2 girls) 4th trip in the last 5 years. Our previous 3 trips were February 2007 (Wilderness Lodge), December 2007 (WL Again), and August 2009 (Poly).

During our previous December trip in 2007 we had visited the GF and decided to try it this trip even though we knew it was expensive - even with A 40% off PIN. We booked a Theme Park view and requested Sago Cay with an upper floor room - thanks to this thread for the advice. We ended up getting Sago on the 3rd floor and the view was amazing. I could literally feel the booms from the fireworks at night.

Everything at the Grand was extremely well done and very clean. Some of the wood trim did look a little old - with multiple layers of high gloss paint covering it. For some reason I pay attention to those details and it detracted from some of the magic of the Grand. The room was very clean....but smaller than I expected with very little clothes storage. We only had 4 small drawers in the TV cabinet. My wife and I ended up living out of our suitcases. Not what I expected for the price. I will say this...the hot water from the bathroom faucet is EXTREMELY HOT!!! It felt like 211 degrees F.

I chose Sago Cay for multiple reasons - one of them being close access to Gasparillas, the 24 hour QS restaurant. Gasparillas is definitely not the best QS restaurant but was adequate. The main problem I had with Gasparillas was they shut down the grill at 10pm and only served a very limited menu once the grill was off.

I know this may sound a little hypocritical since we "visited" the Grand ourselves during our 2007 trip, but all of the people (assuming most were visitors by their actions) in the lobby constantly milling around became a little wearing after a week long stay. At times, it was difficult to even get pictures of our kids in front of the Gingerbread House (which is magnificent) and the Christmas tree without others in the frame. I felt like yelling out "this is my hotel, get out" . Me = hypocrite!

We ate at Narcoossees one evening. It had a great atmosphere. We had a window seat so we could see the castle from our seats. I had the lobster tail and filet and it was cooked to perfection. I believe my wife had the grilled salmon and it was also tasty. The waiter was a little dry and always gave us the impression he was in a hurry to go somewhere else. The only other negative was the amount of mosquitoes/bugs in the waiting area. It is on the lake so it's not unexpected.

The monorail was down (only) twice while we were there - that I know of. I say only because I expected it to be down more from the trip reports I had read leading up to our vacation. Of course, having the monorail down while staying at a monorail resort did make me somewhat upset but surprisingly not as much as I thought I would be. Of the 2 times it was down, we were only directly impacted once and had to take the boat to MK. Not a huge issue.

I am not sure we will make it back to the GF. We really love the Wilderness Lodge. I would also like to try one of the Epcot deluxes during a future trip.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I felt the same way you did re: crowds in the lobby during our stay at BWI. It's definitely a bummer to be staying at a hotel & the lobby is so mobbed with visitors you can't even sit down & enjoy it. BUT, at the same time, I totally understand it.

The monorail issues are, IMO, unacceptable. Sounds like you had a good attitude about it & weren't terribly affected, but still a hefty part of the premium one pays to stay at GF, Poly and CR is the "convenience" of the monorail, KWIM?

 

[hcollins]

I am a new poster but I am planning to stay at the Grand Floridian Resort during my next Disney World vacation March 25-18 2012. I will be going with my husband and my parents. Most people think it is odd to be going without any children, but my husband and I are like children ourselves.

We booked a theme park view in the outer building. I notice most people like the view from Sago Cay. Is that in the Main building or the Outer building?

If its in the main building are there any good spots in the outer building?

I'm very excited about this trip, and have dreamed about staying here since the full house episode.

We are only staying for 4 days and 3 nights. I really want to try to plan some time to just spend around at the hotel because it is so beautiful. My parents have never went to Disney World and this is why we went all out and booked Grand Floridian. However I spend so much time trying to pack in everything Disney I am afraid I will miss out on experience the beautiful hotel.

Is there any tips anyone has for me to help get the most out of my stay there?

Glad to be a part of this great forum!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Do they pipe the music in at Narcosees deck, Gasparilla Grill deck and/or the dock?

Can you go to Narcossees deck if you aren't eating there?

do you mind if I spell Narrcosses differen't every time I type it?

As others have posted, the deck area at Narcoosee's is technically for those guests eating at the restaurant. You can, however, hear the music if you stand on or near the walkway outside the restaurant. Many DISers have posted they can hear the music on the dock. I'll post a photo to illustrate.
Narcoossee's is on my right as I took this photo; in fact, you can see the menu board (white square)

Lulu'sMom - thanks for the info regarding the standard king rooms, very helpful!

goherdibg - Welcome, and thanks for your review. I'm sure it will be helpful for newbie GF guests as they plan for their upcoming trips.

I laughed at your disgust over the crowded lobby, it can get frustrating during the Christmas season. We love it, but it is a challenge. Monorail issues, too, are so annoying, I can understand your thoughts there as well.

Thanks for the humorous take on everything, I enjoyed reading your post.

KerryCM - Way to go for the TPV room! I'll keep my fingers crossed for the main bldg. - check every day, especially as your trip approaches, we often snag it last minute.

hcollins - Welcome, and congrats on booking your first GF stay!

Sago Cay is, indeed, one of the outer buildings. Most guests love the views of the castle from this building, and from Conch Key. If you haven't done so already, take a look at the map on the first page of this thread to help you get a feel for the layout of the resort.

There are theme park view rooms in the main building, but all main bldg. rooms are club level. You have to book a "main bldg. - theme park view - club level" room to be in this building.

Hope that helps, and if not, don't hesitate to ask more questions.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

goherdibg, I know how you feel about the lobby during the Christmas holidays. As much as I love the GF, the Christmas season is my least favorite time of the year there. The lobby is soooo crowded with people visiting the tree and gingerbread house. It's hard when you are paying to stay there not get annoyed by the crowds. I am not a confrontational person, but a couple of years ago in December, I was grabbing a quick lunch at Gasparillas and a lady was complaining about how it was so crowded, there were no tables and so on. She was standing right by where I was sitting, holding her tray waiting for a table and I asked her if she was staying at the hotel, she said no. I told her when she was paying to stay at the GF she could complain about the crowds. She was so mad, but I felt so good I said something. Her loud complaining was ruining everyone's lunch. The point is, the decorations at the GF make it so special at the holidays, yet at the same time it makes is crazy crowded.

This made me laugh, especially when I read that it made you feel good to say something. I would be the same way, as I hate confrontation, too.

 

[Cibahwewah]

Doing the happy dance today!
We leave in the morning. 3 nights at SL CL with my dearest.
Will check in during trip if possible. Now, I need to get off the freakin' computer and get packing!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Doing the happy dance today!
We leave in the morning. 3 nights at SL CL with my dearest.
Will check in during trip if possible. Now, I need to get off the freakin' computer and get packing!

One more sleep, woohoo! Enjoy your packing, have a safe trip and Happy 10th Anniversary!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hello, fellow GF lovers!

It has been quiet in here, everyone must be at the Grand.

Here is a photo, to remind the rest of us of our happy place!

 

[Lulu'sMom]

Hello, fellow GF lovers!

It has been quiet in here, everyone must be at the Grand.

Here is a photo, to remind the rest of us of our happy place!

(sigh!) wishing I was at the Grand........


Thanks for all you do here, kacsmom.

And another hug for Junglecruiser.

 

[pas130]

*sigh* Hug for my girls. Lovely to see you Lulu'sMom BTW

a wonderful gift from a very special RC friend...I love this group hug

 

[KCmike]

Hello, fellow GF lovers!

It has been quiet in here, everyone must be at the Grand.

Here is a photo, to remind the rest of us of our happy place!

Can't say that I ever walked in this location while we got to stay there last summer. Still beautiful though!