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

[Ikesmom]

So I will definitely be requesting Boca Chica, but will I be in view of the fireworks each night or do you need a "theme park view" for a guaranteed vantage point?

I also forgot to take into consideration of my Aunt and the handicapped room I requested for her. That was the reason I had to upgrade to a lagoon view. They had no garden view rooms left. Gf only has a limited number of those rooms available so I may be stuck and just have to go with the flow on which building they choose for us.

Maybe I can talk my way into a few free scones and admission to the infamous afternoon tea. I will definitely need to pack my bowler hat now!

We stayed in an accessible room in Boca Chica last month, and it was a TPV. Great room, it had the roll in shower my mom needed, however the room was small. I don't know where we would have parked a scooter. The wheelchair at least could fold up when we were in the room and she used her walker. It was by far the smallest accessible room I have ever been in. I did love the view, and it was quiet and I enjoyed the walk around the pool to get there.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Lulu'smom, welcome home! So good to hear from you my friend. I thought about you a lot last week, I hope you had a wonderful trip! I haven't been to Citricos in years, maybe I should look at the menu and go this trip?! AHHH, the potential noise of the construction. That's the big problem. With the views you can fairly easily guess what a view will be like at this point, but once they really get going there is NO WAY it isn't going to be noisy Did you get a new Dooney Bag my friend? I know you have a very impressive collection! AND I just saw your new ticker. What are your dates for the YC...I think we may be at the BC at the same time!!! (9/17 to 9/28).

pas130, sorry to hear about your switch from the RPC. Those rooms are so amazing but as k&a&c'smom said, really expensive. Part of the reason we can swing SL for our trips is our kids are grown and educated. Needless to say we were GV, and only every other year when the kids were growing up.

How wonderful would a tea and scone, girls only party be! I am in

As for handicapped accessible rooms, we were once given one on the first floor of SL. We had no reason for the room, and actually didn't want it so we switched. The room was the exact same size as all the other rooms, the change was the sinks, shower and toilet were all in one large bathroom. First off we didn't want to take the room since someone else might have needed it, additionally I like having the sinks and shower separate, especially when I am there with a daughter. Everyone likes their privacy!

BVC23, so happy to know the hammock is back! It wasn't there at the beginning of January. I love relaxing in that hammock!

 

[Lulu'sMom]

Lulu'smom, welcome home! So good to hear from you my friend. I thought about you a lot last week, I hope you had a wonderful trip! I haven't been to Citricos in years, maybe I should look at the menu and go this trip?! AHHH, the potential noise of the construction. That's the big problem. With the views you can fairly easily guess what a view will be like at this point, but once they really get going there is NO WAY it isn't going to be noisy Did you get a new Dooney Bag my friend? I know you have a very impressive collection! AND I just saw your new ticker. What are your dates for the YC...I think we may be at the BC at the same time!!! (9/17 to 9/28).

pas130, sorry to hear about your switch from the RPC. Those rooms are so amazing but as k&a&c'smom said, really expensive. Part of the reason we can swing SL for our trips is our kids are grown and educated. Needless to say we were GV, and only every other year when the kids were growing up.

How wonderful would a tea and scone, girls only party be! I am in

As for handicapped accessible rooms, we were once given one on the first floor of SL. We had no reason for the room, and actually didn't want it so we switched. The room was the exact same size as all the other rooms, the change was the sinks, shower and toilet were all in one large bathroom. First off we didn't want to take the room since someone else might have needed it, additionally I like having the sinks and shower separate, especially when I am there with a daughter. Everyone likes their privacy!

BVC23, so happy to know the hammock is back! It wasn't there at the beginning of January. I love relaxing in that hammock!

My precious JC!
I cannot believe this! We will be at WDW at the same time, and at the same sister resorts!!!!! YEA!!!!!
Tenative dates are 9/18-9/25, so we have to plan some playdates together~

I had to take this trip pretty slow and steady and received some news during the last two days that I had to have surgery on the 5th this next month. Not the news we wanted to hear, thus I went into a purse buying frenzy, but at least I had Disney and Dooney therapy to help me deal with the news.
And, I have a wonderful DH that immediately booked another trip for our Sept anniversary and told me that we would be there and I would be well and all over the place!

Thought of all of you, my wonderful and special friends. You know who you all are !
(psst! KCMike, you're one of the group!Like, you better know that!)

 

[KCmike]

(psst! KCMike, you're one of the group!Like, you better know that!)

Thanks so much. You like me you really like me.

Here's another photo for today.

 

[pas130]

Thanks. What a great way to celebrate your DD's birthday. The cabanas at the Polynesian look awesome.

DH and I are excited...I haven't told the kiddos...and our special order GF cake CAN be delivered to the cabana

pas130, sorry to hear about your switch from the RPC. Those rooms are so amazing but as k&a&c'smom said, really expensive. Part of the reason we can swing SL for our trips is our kids are grown and educated. Needless to say we were GV, and only every other year when the kids were growing up.

How wonderful would a tea and scone, girls only party be! I am in

HRH must come to our party....she is a true little lady hmmmm 9/17-9/28 huh? that is HRHs birthday.....just saying.....35% is the BB (the wheels are turning ) HRH would love to have tea wit Mommy's GF loving friends....

I had to take this trip pretty slow and steady and received some news during the last two days that I had to have surgery on the 5th this next month. Not the news we wanted to hear, thus I went into a purse buying frenzy, but at least I had Disney and Dooney therapy to help me deal with the news.
And, I have a wonderful DH that immediately booked another trip for our Sept anniversary and told me that we would be there and I would be well and all over the place!

You will be there, and you will be well....Extra extra prayers....I will dream of being able to get to WDW to see my girls in September....even if it's just a weekend...I'll take what I can get... and if not...virtual tea I think your Disney/Dooney therapy is exactly what the Dr. ordered. Yay for your DH!!!!!

Thanks so much. You like me you really like me.

We really really do!!!

Thank you for the warm welcome So glad I found you all.... it's helping raise my excitement level for our first GF stay !!

This thread, and everyone on it are wonderful!!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

BCV23 - good to see you, my friend, so glad you popped in. Thanks for all the insight, very good info.

Your trip sounds wonderful, hard to beat a stay at BC AND AKL!

Lulu'sMom - welcome back! We have been wondering how your trip was going, glad you had a good time in the World. So very sorry you got bad news before the trip, but it's good you had something to distract you. I'll be thinking of you next week.

pas130 - your girls trip sounds fab, tea and scones and girl talk! Of course, HRH must be there.

Are you sure the cake can be delivered to the Poly? In the past, we've been told GF bakery cakes will only be delivered to GF locations (rooms, restaurants, etc.)? Hope they've changed it, I know it will make so many DISers happy!

Jungle Cruiser - Another trip in the fall, how wonderful! I'm with you, glad to hear the hammock is back in its rightful place.

Is a RPC Deluxe King Room larger than a Outer Bldg Garden View Room ?

Yes, some of them. There are two types of main bldg. deluxe king, the rectangular rooms on the second floor with a MK view and jacuzzi tub; and the turret king deluxe rooms, which are larger, but do not have a balcony. There is a description of the two rooms on page 1:

There are two room types within the “Main Building/Deluxe/King” category. These include the 6 turret rooms located in the towers of the main building, and the second floor honeymoon rooms. The second floor honeymoon rooms are approximately the same size as the standard rooms, have a Jacuzzi tub and a balcony, but no wet bar or walk-in closet. Turret rooms are larger than the Jacuzzi rooms, but do not have the Jacuzzi tub or private balcony. Instead, you'll find a spectacular view with windows all the way around the suite, and a garden tub.

TIP: You don't have to be on your honeymoon to enjoy a honeymoon suite, it's perfect for anniversary or second honeymoon trips too. Note that these rooms only accommodate 2 guests.


I believe the second floor rooms, described as about the same size as standard, may be a little larger. Or, it may just seem that way due to the king bed and sitting area.

Thanks so much. You like me you really like me.

KCmike, you crack me up. But we do, we really do.

 

[pas130]

pas130 - your girls trip sounds fab, tea and scones and girl talk! Of course, HRH must be there.

Are you sure the cake can be delivered to the Poly? In the past, we've been told GF bakery cakes will only be delivered to GF locations (rooms, restaurants, etc.)? Hope they've changed it, I know it will make so many DISers happy!

If I went by cake hotline...the answer is no...however, my anniversary cake was ordered by Poly IPO from the GF bakery, and it was custom ordered...so I knew it could be done...it DID take 3 phone calls to get the details straight. (In the end it had to be delivered to YC ) It will be delivered to the cabana by Private dining.....fingers crossed...I'm nervous though....esp. with so many mixed answers. It's the same thing with cak ordering with the IPOs....some give you the cake hotline...some offer to do the ordering...I was referred a specific person by GF IPO. She is who I a dealing with (although I know some DISers find her to be hit or miss) If it doesn't work out.....dole whips for the crew All good

HRH will be the star of the tea party

 

[k&a&c'smom]

pas130 - I know what you mean regarding the IPO cake dilemma. I have so often been referred to the hotline, I've given up asking!

Hopefully, it will all go according to plan, and you will have a beautiful and delicious cake. I like your Dole Whip back up plan!

Lulu'sMom - I forgot to comment on forgetting your camera! We have done that more than once, I remember when the whole family was in the World the first time, we had just bought our first video camera. Got all the way to the MK from POR, only to realize as we exited the bus that our camcorder was in the room. For whatever reason, we thought it necessary for the whole fam to traipse back to the resort - what can I say, we were newbies.

Ikesmom - I missed your post the first time around! Thanks for the info on the accessible room in Boca Chica, good to know. The walk around the pool - or through it! - is lovely, isn't it? It's the thing we always miss when staying in the main bldg.

 

[lulu0506]

I see some reference to pool cabanas.... hmmm
I was thinking about renting one for 1/2 day as a surprise. We are arriving early on check in day and have no plans to do the park that day. Figure a cabana would be perfect!! would you all suggest the morning or afternoon rental??
I'm hoping this trip arrives soon. The more time I have to think and plan, the more add-on's I make (ie the more money I spend )
Thanks as always!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I see some reference to pool cabanas.... hmmm
I was thinking about renting one for 1/2 day as a surprise. We are arriving early on check in day and have no plans to do the park that day. Figure a cabana would be perfect!! would you all suggest the morning or afternoon rental??
I'm hoping this trip arrives soon. The more time I have to think and plan, the more add-on's I make (ie the more money I spend )
Thanks as always!!

Oh, so true!

There is info on the cabana rental in the pool section of the first page, post #5 (about the middle of the post). Some great photos of the cabanas at the end of post #11, contributed by Lulu'sMom.

I'm afraid I can't help with the question of best time of day, as we haven't booked a cabana. We are in the pool most days, but tend to be spontaneous as to when. We have a number of cabana lovers here, though, so I'm sure someone will be able to help.

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Lulu'smom Hopefully it will work out and we will be at the BC/YC at the same time in the fall. Perhaps a trip to the GF for afternoon tea. How does that sound? Any else is free to join us...especially you KCMike, since "we like you, we really like you"!!!

We, like k&a&c'smom's family go to the pool most days, but have never rented a cabana. lulu0506, just a bit of information, not to be the bearer of bad news, but the cabana's view of the lagoon are blocked by a construction wall, unless something has changed recently. It may make no difference to your family, but thought you might want to know.

 

[BC1836]

Manner-less alert!

Beware of the Main Building Club Level right now: many manner-less parents (barefoot epidemic) and their offspring running wild.

All the best.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

BC1836 - Glad you have arrived safe and sound; other than the bare feet, how is your vacation going? Grand, I hope.

Jungle Cruiser - Very good point about the construction fencing, I keep forgetting that wall! I know a few guests have questioned whether the cabanas are worth the cost right now, given the restricted view.

 

[BC1836]

BC1836 - Glad you have arrived safe and sound; other than the bare feet, how is your vacation going? Grand, I hope.

"Grand" did you say? Grand indeed!

All the best.

 

[coopersmom]

Manner-less alert!

Beware of the Main Building Club Level right now: many manner-less parents (barefoot epidemic) and their offspring running wild.

All the best.

You know, I'm not picking on the OP, but I see this complaint on the Dis regarding club level all the time and I just don't fully get it. While walking barefoot in a public space isn't something I'd do if I could avoid it (heck, I'm someone who avoids being barefoot on any hotel carpet, including in-room), I also rarely do footwear and clothing inspections of those around me, so couldn't even tell you if so-and-so was at the such-and-such wearing their swimsuit/tank top/mini skirt or sitting in a dining area with bare feet.

I'm frankly just baffled as to why what someone else wears, or doesn't, bothers so many, so much. Sure, if someone came to breakfast topless that might be hard to overlook but, heck, I've been on European beaches where topless is the norm and even teenage American boys quickly learn it's rarely titillating. Far more National Geographic bodies on display than Playboy. To me it's just another in a long list of things I wouldn't do/wear/say myself, but find it, frankly, pointless to get overly bothered about someone else doing. (The old, you can't control someone else's actions, only your reaction adage.)

For those that say sanitation is their concern, you do realize that people are 10,000 times more likely to contaminate a food space with unwashed hands--something you can't know by looking--than bare feet, right? And that while I absolutely agree that wearing shoes in public is commensurate with manners to most Americans, soles of shoes, which are rarely washed, are FAR MORE likely to be "dirty" than someone's bare feet, which are cleaned each time they bathe. (You can actually eliminate a huge percentage of household dirt and germs, something like 80%, by simply not wearing shoes indoors ... Which I keep telling my husband, but he never listens to.)

It's also worth realizing that wearing shoes in a personal space is what would define you as uncouth, not the opposite, in many cultures. Do you think the Tokyo Disney hotel message boards are full of people outraged that "manner-less" Americans are wearing their dirty shoes in the semi-private club level eating space?

It's considered normal in many European and Asian cultures to treat a hotel, your defacto temporary residence, as you would your home. Go to Germany, any of the Scandinavian nations or Japan and you'll see plenty of people eating breakfast, in the hotel's public spaces, in robes and slippers, even when those same people wouldn't dream of leaving the hotel in their jammies.

Basically, what you have is a cultural perspective, not a health hazard.

 

[jenneth79]

You know, I'm not picking on the OP, but I see this complaint on the Dis regarding club level all the time and I just don't fully get it. While walking barefoot in a public space isn't something I'd do if I could avoid it (heck, I'm someone who avoids being barefoot on any hotel carpet, including in-room), I also rarely do footwear and clothing inspections of those around me, so couldn't even tell you if so-and-so was at the such-and-such wearing their swimsuit/tank top/mini skirt or sitting in a dining area with bare feet.

I'm frankly just baffled as to why what someone else wears, or doesn't, bothers so many, so much. Sure, if someone came to breakfast topless that might be hard to overlook but, heck, I've been on European beaches where topless is the norm and even teenage American boys quickly learn it's rarely titillating. Far more National Geographic bodies on display than Playboy. To me it's just another in a long list of things I wouldn't do/wear/say myself, but find it, frankly, pointless to get overly bothered about someone else doing. (The old, you can't control someone else's actions, only your reaction adage.)

For those that say sanitation is their concern, you do realize that people are 10,000 times more likely to contaminate a food space with unwashed hands--something you can't know by looking--than bare feet, right? And that while I absolutely agree that wearing shoes in public is commensurate with manners to most Americans, soles of shoes, which are rarely washed, are FAR MORE likely to be "dirty" than someone's bare feet, which are cleaned each time they bathe. (You can actually eliminate a huge percentage of household dirt and germs, something like 80%, by simply not wearing shoes indoors ... Which I keep telling my husband, but he never listens to.)

It's also worth realizing that wearing shoes in a personal space is what would define you as uncouth, not the opposite, in many cultures. Do you think the Tokyo Disney hotel message boards are full of people outraged that "manner-less" Americans are wearing their dirty shoes in the semi-private club level eating space?

It's considered normal in many European and Asian cultures to treat a hotel, your defacto temporary residence, as you would your home. Go to Germany, any of the Scandinavian nations or Japan and you'll see plenty of people eating breakfast, in the hotel's public spaces, in robes and slippers, even when those same people wouldn't dream of leaving the hotel in their jammies.

Basically, what you have is a cultural perspective, not a health hazard.

While I agree generally with what you've said, I think the poster (minus the barefoot comment) probably referred to what I have seen quite a few times in the CL lounges: Children running amok, sticking their hands in all the food offerings (picking up, putting down, taking a bite from a cookie then putting it back) screaming,etc.... while the parents sit idly by and let them become the problem of someone else (mainly the CMs who have to try and clean up after them).

To me, the "barefoot" issue is more about the kids coming in dripping with water, wet bathing suits and towels, etc. Somehow the chairs in the lounges end up wet after that happens.... strange....

Barefoot or not, that would have me turning around and calling room service instead.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

BC1836 -

coopersmom - You bring up a good point about other cultures. There are differences for what is acceptable in public; for instance we've seen a few small girls without a swimsuit top, obviously from foreign countries. I can remember when I was a child, this was acceptable here as well - times change, I guess.

For me, I don't care about the bare feet, I know how easy it is to be in the room and pop down to the lounge for a drink without thinking. I've had to catch myself at the room door, turn around and grab some flip flops! Your point about the hands is so true, which is why I cringe a bit when I see small kids helping themselves at the buffets/lounges - but, I don't even let that bother me too much. I've spent a lifetime around children, and I'm still here, lol.

I don't care about people in their swim gear or PJs, as long as everything is properly covered.

Many people find all of these things in poor taste, and I certainly understand, we all have a different set of criteria for what makes up an egregious infraction of manners. Unless I see something completely inappropriate (which rarely happens) I don't worry about it, we are all there to have fun!

ETA: Well, I missed another post while I was slowly composing, lol. Jenneth79, I get your point about the children touching all the food, as I posted above - I have rarely seen it as bad as you describe, but if I do, I discreetly mention to the CMs that the offerings/utensils may have been contaminated. They usually come out and tidy up, putting out new items. Other than calling it to their attention, I don't let it affect me much.

 

[pas130]

pas130 - I know what you mean regarding the IPO cake dilemma. I have so often been referred to the hotline, I've given up asking!

Hopefully, it will all go according to plan, and you will have a beautiful and delicious cake. I like your Dole Whip back up plan!

I called GF again yest. on my way to work to double check... All good, she said no problem, and confirmed the time of delivery to the cabana

The more time I have to think and plan, the more add-on's I make (ie the more money I spend )
Thanks as always!!

I know someone like that

 

[Nicole786]

Today is my 3 week mark!!! I can't wait any longer!!

So far, i've kept the secret about staying at the GF It kills me, I just want my mom to share in the excitement, but I know it will be so worth it when we just drive up, neither of us in a million years thought we would get to stay here! Thats when I turn to her and my grandma and go "HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! AAAAAAHH!!"

 

[jenneth79]

Today is my 3 week mark!!! I can't wait any longer!!

So far, i've kept the secret about staying at the GF It kills me, I just want my mom to share in the excitement, but I know it will be so worth it when we just drive up, neither of us in a million years thought we would get to stay here! Thats when I turn to her and my grandma and go "HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! AAAAAAHH!!"

That is going to be such a surprise!!!!

And you've made me cry on a Wednesday. Thanks.