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

[k&a&c'smom]

peppermintpea - Fingers crossed!

Jungle Cruiser - your spa day sounds wonderful, I'm glad to hear they have good transportation for anyone who wants a spa treatment. Makes the closure of the GF spa a little easier to take!

Sorry the pool activities are making the courtyard noisier.

Enjoy your dinner - or, I should say, I hope you enjoyed your dinner!

WDWKOOK - Any onsite report from the Grand is on topic, right?!

Toystoryfan32 - Reading about those who are at the GF now is fun, isn't it? I do not have a trip planned, and I get excited, I can imagine how it is for those of you on your way soon.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Hi all!!! We made it here - flight was even early and our room was ready when we got here at 11 We are in Boca Chica overlooking the pool. Just came back from the park and it looks like the movie is set up below our room (I think they used to be on the beach). I'll report back on how that goes noise wise. Dd is still going strong even being up since 3:45 a.m. I on the otherhand am ready to collapse lol. I'm taking lots of pics to post when we get back!

 

[Nicole786]

So excited for those who have already arrived!! Only 1 more sleep after tonight! EEEE CANT WAIT OVER HERE!!

 

[peppermintpea]

Hi all!!! We made it here - flight was even early and our room was ready when we got here at 11 We are in Boca Chica overlooking the pool. Just came back from the park and it looks like the movie is set up below our room (I think they used to be on the beach). I'll report back on how that goes noise wise. Dd is still going strong even being up since 3:45 a.m. I on the otherhand am ready to collapse lol. I'm taking lots of pics to post when we get back!

Another ugh!!! Movie right in the courtyard! We are staying cl and have requested a pool view ...... Rethinking this one

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

LittleStinkerbelle - Great news about the check in, safe travels! Too cute about your DD, she has the right idea!

I live with a whole family of anxious people, so I can definitely relate. Telling anyone with that tendency not to worry is pointless, but I hope you are able to relax through your vacation and everything goes perfect the rest of the trip.

Jungle Cruiser - what a lovely view! I might even enjoy a dormer balcony for that view. Hope you are having a magical stay.

pas130 - HAHA regarding the DS! HRH would obviously like some alone time with Mommy, so sweet.

You are so right about this! Dh tells me not to worry and I wish it was as simple as just turning it off! Thanks for the well wishes. Having a great time do far! Dd finally konked out.

 

[bethclayton]

we're here! We arrived around 2 and our rooms were ready around 3. Our rooms are... Wait for it.... Directly overlooking the construction. Swear to God. I could not make this up.

We have decided to just not care about it. And I will leave it at that for now because I just want to enjoy my trip. I will try to post pics of the construction while I am here, but if not, certainly after I return home.

I must say that RPC is even better the second time around. . We can't get enough of it. The food is to die for. And my husband is gluten intolerant and I cannot even tell you how above and beyond the chef has gone for him. She even delivered a platter to the room while we were at the MK, of things he could snack on (fruit, cheese, gluten free "crostini" and a few other random things).

So a recap of the day... Arrived, checked in in the lounge, had a few light snacks (crudite, dips, crackers) in the lounge while waiting for our room, then my beloved scones were brought out, so we had some scones . Took the kids to the pool for a while. Weather was gorgeous but I have to say the courtyard pool is pretty obnoxious right now with the music and games and it was crowded. Dh stayed with the kids and I went back to the room to unpack. By the time they got back and showered, we did a quick stop at basin white and M. Mouse Mercantile and as luck would have it, it was time for twilight refreshers! They has chicken Wellington, some wonton fried up with Asian slaw in it, a spring roll type thing, a tart with artichoke and cherry tomato, veggies, cheeses.... I'm sure I am forgetting some or maybe even mislabeling some. But holy cow, everything was delicious. After that, we headed over to MK. Today was supposedly a crowded day there but the crowds must have thinned because we had zero wait whatsoever for Haunted Mansion or Splash Mountain. We also caught Mickey's Philharmagic and It's a Small World befor heading back by boat to the GF for a bite to eat at Gasparila's while we watched the fireworks. We are all exhausted and in bed now. AK tomorrow!

And LitleStinkerbelle, I am so relieved to hear that your flight went well! I was thinking of you this morning. Me, I flew first class for the first time in my life and ended up seated next to the World's Most Obnixious Weirdo who would. Not. Stop. Talking. And belching. And laughing. And sharing inappropriate posts from his facebook news feed. And telling me about his bathroom habits. Lucky me, he happened to have been upgraded for free to first class and I had him all to myself for 2.5 hours! It was not quite the experience I had envisioned!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Hi all!!! We made it here - flight was even early and our room was ready when we got here at 11 We are in Boca Chica overlooking the pool. Just came back from the park and it looks like the movie is set up below our room (I think they used to be on the beach). I'll report back on how that goes noise wise. Dd is still going strong even being up since 3:45 a.m. I on the otherhand am ready to collapse lol. I'm taking lots of pics to post when we get back!

I bet you all slept well last night. Time to get your first full-day started!

So excited for those who have already arrived!! Only 1 more sleep after tonight! EEEE CANT WAIT OVER HERE!!

You're almost there - I hope you have a great vacation!

we're here! We arrived around 2 and our rooms were ready around 3. Our rooms are... Wait for it.... Directly overlooking the construction. Swear to God. I could not make this up.

We have decided to just not care about it. And I will leave it at that for now because I just want to enjoy my trip. I will try to post pics of the construction while I am here, but if not, certainly after I return home.

I must say that RPC is even better the second time around. . We can't get enough of it. The food is to die for. And my husband is gluten intolerant and I cannot even tell you how above and beyond the chef has gone for him. She even delivered a platter to the room while we were at the MK, of things he could snack on (fruit, cheese, gluten free "crostini" and a few other random things).

So a recap of the day... Arrived, checked in in the lounge, had a few light snacks (crudite, dips, crackers) in the lounge while waiting for our room, then my beloved scones were brought out, so we had some scones . Took the kids to the pool for a while. Weather was gorgeous but I have to say the courtyard pool is pretty obnoxious right now with the music and games and it was crowded. Dh stayed with the kids and I went back to the room to unpack. By the time they got back and showered, we did a quick stop at basin white and M. Mouse Mercantile and as luck would have it, it was time for twilight refreshers! They has chicken Wellington, some wonton fried up with Asian slaw in it, a spring roll type thing, a tart with artichoke and cherry tomato, veggies, cheeses.... I'm sure I am forgetting some or maybe even mislabeling some. But holy cow, everything was delicious. After that, we headed over to MK. Today was supposedly a crowded day there but the crowds must have thinned because we had zero wait whatsoever for Haunted Mansion or Splash Mountain. We also caught Mickey's Philharmagic and It's a Small World befor heading back by boat to the GF for a bite to eat at Gasparila's while we watched the fireworks. We are all exhausted and in bed now. AK tomorrow!

And LitleStinkerbelle, I am so relieved to hear that your flight went well! I was thinking of you this morning. Me, I flew first class for the first time in my life and ended up seated next to the World's Most Obnixious Weirdo who would. Not. Stop. Talking. And belching. And laughing. And sharing inappropriate posts from his facebook news feed. And telling me about his bathroom habits. Lucky me, he happened to have been upgraded for free to first class and I had him all to myself for 2.5 hours! It was not quite the experience I had envisioned!

Thanks for the great laugh I just had (at your expense). Will you be flying FC again? I hope that when you checked-in and went to the MK, you had already forgotten about the WMOW!

I love reading about when guests just walk right onto rides. We were able to do this over spring break on a non-EMH night when the MK was open until 0100. I hope you have a great day

Can't wait to hear more about how you feel about your view. Is it more like at the CR's Tower where if you look down you see the parking lot from a MKV, but when you look out straight ahead you only see the lagoon and Poly and it's not that bad? Is there any noise yet? How is the condition of the room? Thanks!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Hi bethclayton-glad you're here!! Sorry about your view and flight neighbor yikes! Slept great last night until about 4:30 when I woke up to a loud noise through my earplugs (I always wear them on vaca). Turns out the fridge was freaking out lol!!! Dh unplugged it and all was good again.

Had a snack at gasparilla's last night and got our ddp mugs, which we've never had before. Heading to DHS today. Wish us luck with the TSMM FP pileup, haha!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I almost forgot-they left us a beautiful box of truffles last night with a birthday card. I don't think I noted our bdays on the resort res. but one time when I called in the cm asked if we were celebrating and I said dd's bday was a couple of days ago and my 40th is soon so maybe they noted that. Dd asked which of us the truffles were for and I said me hahahahaha! She gets all the turndown chocolate though!!!!! I'm bad

 

[pas130]

k&a&c'smom HRH and I at the RPC....perfect

littlestinkerbelleThought of you yesterday. Glad you arrived safely....I would've done the same with the chocolates

bethclayton Sorry about the construction view, but glad to hear RPC is wonderful... sorry no rest at that glorious CY pool....enjoy the Grand

Safe travels Nicole!!!

 

[baler31]

If any of the construction info below is a repeat I apologize.

After worrying about the construction impact on our June trip I mentioned my concerns to IPO. One of my main concerns was our location as we are in a Deluxe Queen in the main building. IPO told me they had fielded many calls from concerned guests about the construction and forwarded me to management.

I spoke with very nice gentleman who laid out what he has been told about the construction and how it would affect the resort.

-Monorail closures will continue as they have for the last few months(seems to be the most complaints are about this)

-The pool/lagoon area will most likely remain as is with no further changes until August when a new round of construction is to begin. I was also told that the work around the pool was to add new amenities BUT that this pool may be shared with the new DVC. I did ask if it would be possible to add cabanas at the Courtyard pool as the activities have moved over there. I am sure that won't happen but he was very nice about my suggestion

-With regard to the main building and specifically rooms directly overlooking the construction, he indicated that worse case they would remove those rooms from inventory if the construction became too intrusive or loud and would contact those with effected reservations. This was the worst case or last result but I know he wanted to be thorough and I appreciated his honesty.

This may have no new information but I did want to post that they were very responsive to my concerns and I believe up front about what was going on (or at least what he has been told) about construction.

We are keeping our reservation as my kids love this resort and as they are getting older I know there are few opportunities to preserve some of their childhood wonder. My DH wants the extra space of the deluxe and is unconcerned about view.

I appreciate everyone with a recent trip that has reported on the construction, it has been invaluable while planning this trip and I thank you for taking the time to do so.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Nicole786 - today is the day! Safe travels, have a Grand vacation.

baler31 - thanks for all the great info, very helpful!! I understand your reasoning for keeping your upcoming reservation.

bethclayton - As WDWKOOK posted, I got a big laugh out of your description of your flight mate. Sorry for your experience, not what you hoped for indeed!

I'm sorry, too, your room looks directly onto the construction. I hope it doesn't affect your stay too much. Love your description of the food offerings, everything sounds delicious, as usual.

Enjoy your stay.

LittleStinkerbelle - glad you arrived safe and sound and had a great first day! You are right, the movies have been moved from the beach to the courtyard pool a few months ago, I hope it wasn't too noisy. Is your view pretty, at least? Hope so.

LOL about the truffles, I don't blame you. The turn down chocolates are a favorite with my middle DS, who rarely joins us now that he is out of college and on his own. I used to gather most of them to bring home to him.

 

[BCV23]

It's so much fun reading all the live reports. Enjoy all of you there right now and those going so soon.

Beth, great attitude about your view. Wish i was enjoying the scones today.

JungleCruiser, sorry to read that the hammocks are gone again. I was hoping they would be back up for your trip.

baler31, great info. Thanks.

 

[Letterhead]

Does anybody know how long there will be monorail closures for?

I know construction is to go on until Fall 2013, but will the monorail be disrupted up until then? Or is it expected by this stage that they will have moved onto interior and decorative work, and therefore no cranes and large machinery?

 

[Jungle Cruiser]

Just got back to the room after a busy morning. Short wait for the bus and got to HS right as it opened. We walked over to Toy Story and the wait was 25 min, we decided to go ahead and wait. In reality the wait was more like 10 minutes! We were off the ride before 9:30! We did a few more rides then walked to EPCOT and walked around the countries.

It is cloudy, now but the sun is supposed to come back out, so we are going out to the pool in a bit.

Bethclayton, good attitude about the construction. it is what it is, and you are in the RPC! We have the same offerings at SL, only an hour to scones! Hope we can cross paths...we may have already.

LittleStinkerbelle, so exciting about the truffles! You can never have too much chocolate!

I have to say, other than the noise from the pool in the afternoon, we are in an amazingly quiet room. The picture below is the outside of SL from the pool. Our room is the dormer room on the left on the top floor next to the huge balcony for a suite. So on one side there is nothing and another a suite which we haven't heard a sound from, but we know is occupied.

Also, in terms of pool noise in the afternoons we hear in more in the room than actually by the pool. I guess it's just the way the sound travels. We don't think the music and the kid's games are that intrusive by the pool. The kid's game area is over by the baby pool.

 

[pas130]

It's so much fun reading all the live reports. Enjoy all of you there right now and those going so soon.

So true, I'm enjoying every pic, I can imagine how wonderful it i

Just got back to the room after a busy morning. Short wait for the bus and got to HS right as it opened. We walked over to Toy Story and the wait was 25 min, we decided to go ahead and wait. In reality the wait was more like 10 minutes! We were off the ride before 9:30! We did a few more rides then walked to EPCOT and walked around the countries.

It is cloudy, now but the sun is supposed to come back out, so we are going out to the pool in a bit.

That's great!!!! Your day sounds wonderful

 

[k&a&c'smom]

BCV23 - great to see you, my friend! It is fun reading along with those at the Grand now, wish we were all there!

Jungle Cruiser - thanks for the photo! Your day sounds fun!

Glad to hear the pool activities aren't making too much noise at pool level.

Scones...drool.

Does anybody know how long there will be monorail closures for?

I know construction is to go on until Fall 2013, but will the monorail be disrupted up until then? Or is it expected by this stage that they will have moved onto interior and decorative work, and therefore no cranes and large machinery?

The only monorail info I've seen lately is what baler31 posted above, which she got from a GF manager:

-Monorail closures will continue as they have for the last few months(seems to be the most complaints are about this)

It doesn't specifically answer your question, but indicates they expect things to remain the same for the foreseeable future.

 

[nonzerosum]

Well I'm finally getting around to posting my thoughts/review/observations of our first GF stay. We visited for 12 during Spring Break and departed just prior to Good Friday.

Overall, we were very pleased with our stay and will definitely stay at the GF again. In fact, I booked a Future Stay Offer for the GF while there, so obviously we liked it, but as with all WDW properties, I do have some issues. My primary criticism of all Deluxe resorts, GF included, is that the standard rooms are not worthy of the price. We have stayed at many 5 star hotels and resorts and always find that the value of WDW resorts, as it pertains to the room itself, falls short. $550/night gets you something very different at a non-Disney property and I always feel this sting a bit at WDW resorts. However, we always have, and will continue to, stay at Deluxes for the obvious other great features. As an FYI, we have never stayed CL.

And now onto our room....we stayed second floor Boca Chica and our room was directly over the entrance way into the building. Terrible location for many reasons and I asked to switch but couldn't be accommodated due to Spring Break full capacity. Our balcony railing was solid, even though we were second floor, and we looked directly onto the roof of the entrance to Boca Chica. Needless to say, I only sat out there once as there was nothing to see except the top of the railing. Construction was in full swing which meant that the courtyard pool was very noisy at naptime with pool music and activities, and at bedtime with the pool movie (the screen was in front of us on the pool deck). I could think of worse sounds, and we lived with it, but it certainly wasn't peaceful. A further annoyance when it came to sound was that our room was next to what we think was a housekeeping corridor and/or service elevator. Bell services carts and housekeeping carts were frequently parked out in front of a door beside us marked "Cast Members Only". At night there were alot of mechanical sounds coming from the other side of that wall, almost like an elevator shaft in motion every minute or so. I didn't sleep well for the first 5 nights and next time I'll bring earplugs. Again, not a HUGE issue, but also not something I've ever experienced at the Four Seasons.

We all loved the Main Building! From the music, to the smells, to the Easter Eggs and beyond. It was a wonderful place to roam and take it all in. My kids LOVED the Main Building and we had constant requests to visit it. My son thought M. Mercantile was THE BEST and my daughter loved Basin White. It was so refreshing to walk through every night.

The Courtyard Pool was never packed, but certainly was bustling. As the Beach Pool construction got worse over our stay, you could see the impact on the Courtyard Pool and it was hard to get a lounge chair. 90% of lounge chairs were occupied with towels only, which always annoys me when I actually want to sit down. The CP was really fun for our kids and not overly chaotic.

Of course the location of the GF can't be topped IMHO. We used all forms of transportation while there and found them all to be relatively speedy. The layout of the resort is great and of course, very beautiful. It was much smaller then I anticipated which made me very happy. Even though I looked at the map several times before departing, I envisioned something much larger, I'm not sure why.

We frequently grabbed snacks and quick service from Gasperilla's which my kids thought was great and DH and I were pleased with.

One thing that I was quite surprised about was the extreme queue jumping with the busses first thing in the morning, not something that I would associate with the GF. Lineups were always very long for the busses, and a few times not all passengers were able to board. Despite this, each time we waited in line for a bus several people simply ignored that fact that many others were already there first. Perhaps it's a cultural thing, but where I come from, it's considered very bad form to do this when queueing for public transportation.

I can't sign off without mentioning this one last thing. One afternoon my daughter and I were returning from the pool and as we walked into Boca Chica my 8 year old daughter spotted a men's wallet on the floor. It was full of cash and credit cards, and was a designer wallet. I suggested that we take a walk to the front desk and turn it in there, just to make sure it got into the owner's hands. As we walked she said, "please let me do the talking" and seemed quite excited to do so. When we got to the front desk she "did the talking" and explained the situation very maturely and confidently. The CM merely said thank you and hardly even smiled. I wasn't expecting a parade or confetti, but clearly this was a very good deed and an important event for a young child. He seemed quite dismissive of her, so I stepped in and basically repeated what she said and highlighted the fact that we would feel better if the owner was contacted right away given the amount of cash in the wallet and the fact that this person is obviously on vacation and likely panicking. He merely said okay. I thought it was a bit strange that in a place like WDW where a Mickey sticker is given for everything, the CM only said thank-you and okay. I was a bit suspicious of what was going to happen with the wallet (no other CMs were around), but I chose to have faith in humanity instead.

So that is my review. We will stay at the GF again and would love to try CL next time. Happy travels to all those lucky enough to experience the GF!!

 

[Letterhead]

The only monorail info I've seen lately is what baler31 posted above, which she got from a GF manager:

-Monorail closures will continue as they have for the last few months(seems to be the most complaints are about this)

It doesn't specifically answer your question, but indicates they expect things to remain the same for the foreseeable future.

Sorry for the repeated questions, but are the Monorail closures hourly/daily/weekly closures, or it closed permanently until the work is complete?

 

[coopersmom]

...Overall, we were very pleased with our stay and will definitely stay at the GF again. In fact, I booked a Future Stay Offer for the GF while there, so obviously we liked it, but as with all WDW properties, I do have some issues. My primary criticism of all Deluxe resorts, GF included, is that the standard rooms are not worthy of the price. We have stayed at many 5 star hotels and resorts and always find that the value of WDW resorts, as it pertains to the room itself, falls short. $550/night gets you something very different at a non-Disney property and I always feel this sting a bit at WDW resorts. However, we always have, and will continue to, stay at Deluxes for the obvious other great features. As an FYI, we have never stayed CL.

... A further annoyance when it came to sound was that our room was next to what we think was a housekeeping corridor and/or service elevator. Bell services carts and housekeeping carts were frequently parked out in front of a door beside us marked "Cast Members Only". At night there were alot of mechanical sounds coming from the other side of that wall, almost like an elevator shaft in motion every minute or so. I didn't sleep well for the first 5 nights and next time I'll bring earplugs. Again, not a HUGE issue, but also not something I've ever experienced at the Four Seasons.

Thanks for the information and I have to agree with you on all of the above ... And we only ever stayed club level at Disney, including the main building at the Grand. We liked it, overall, and might go back because of the exterior amenities and proximity, but the quality-to-price ratio for the rooms is just so far below ANYTHING outside of Disney World, even other high-tourist, location-centric places like Paris, it's hard to swallow. (Next time we will definitely stay off site, likely at the Waldorf, so that we can more accurately compare.)

Granted, I've only had two Disney World on-site trips but both times, paying upwards of $500 night, and getting well-worn, extremely basic Hampton Inn-type rooms was hard to swallow. Even with the club lounge and lovely public areas just weren't enough to let me forget stained furniture, torn wallpaper, broken fixtures and lackluster housekeeping I experienced both times. That shouldn't really happen at any hotel price point, but most definitely not in a world-class resort's highest-price rooms. (And by "resort" I mean Disney World as a whole, not the Grand itself.)

Oh and, had to comment on that second part too because we experienced the same when we stayed at the Grand in September. It was like an elevator or rolling cart right above/behind us at all hours of the night. Woke me up nightly, multiple times, throughout the whole trip. Never heard it during the day, which could be because it wasn't happening, or might also be because it wasn't so quiet overall so the lower level noise was masked. Never did figure out what it was, but am sure wasn't my imagination as my best friend (who shared the room for part of the trip) also heard it, as did my husband, who joined me after she left, even before I ever said anything to him.

I tried to ask about it, more because the "what the heck is that?" aspect was driving me almost as crazy as the noise itself. It was like there was a ride back there or something. But the Cast Member I spoke with had no clue what it could be and, frankly, I don't think even really believed me that it existed. I got a definite just-smile-and-wave-and-back-away-from-the-crazy-lady vibe.