The *NEW* Grand Floridian Resort and Spa FAQ thread (Nov 2007)

[Alicnwondrln]

We are staying at the GF (and our first Disney trip for that matter!) next week This may sound kind of trivial, but my DD6 is kind of excited about turn down service. At first I thought this was done in all of the rooms, but I thought I better double check. We are in a garden room. Is this standard or can we request it if not? Also, are the robes in the GV rooms or do I need to pack mine? I just thought if they are already there, no use to take up extra room in the suitcase! Thanks for the help!

I think and someone will correct if I am wrong that all the rooms there have turndown. If not you can hit the housekeeping button on your phone and set that up. Also have it added to your ressie.

There are usually 2 robes.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I usually buy 3 and for 25 bucks each.

 

[DLo]

We just stayed GV in Sago and had turn down service every night. We didn't have to request it - it just magically happened while we were out. There were 2 robes in our room.

I downloaded my pics to photobucket. Can anyone tell me how to post them here? On their site, I only saw how to load them on Myspace etc.

Cmbar - Yes, we enjoyed the party. It was our 1st MVMCP after 4 MNSSHP. I think my boys liked MNSSHP better but only because of the candy. They did enjoy the sugar cookies. We walked on to almost every ride and if we didn't walk on it was less than 10 minutes. I was kind of glad it was cool that night. It made it seem more like Christmas than the 80 degree days we had before.

 

[heatherlynn444]

hey! its NYmichelle!

your trip is SO CLOSE girl! you will LOVE RPC. it will SPOIL you to pieces! but you and JJ so deserve it! take lots of pics and we will see you at Boma on teh 21st!

-gift cards are good, or maybe soemthing funt hats unique to where you live you cant find in WDW, etc?
usually you have ine person that chcks you in but they may or may not be there the whole time. the ladies that put out teh food in teh lounge are also friendly if you get to talking to them.

 

[wdhinn89]

We are staying at the GF (and our first Disney trip for that matter!) next week This may sound kind of trivial, but my DD6 is kind of excited about turn down service. At first I thought this was done in all of the rooms, but I thought I better double check. We are in a garden room. Is this standard or can we request it if not? Also, are the robes in the GV rooms or do I need to pack mine? I just thought if they are already there, no use to take up extra room in the suitcase! Thanks for the help!

We did not get the turn down service the first night, but we did check in at 7:00pm nor did we get it night 2. On night 3 & 4 we did, but I could tell the mousekeeper was different than the first two nights . On night 5, we did not get turn down and I could tell we were back to the original mousekeeper.

 

[Lives4Disney]

I know it sounds like madness. I was there over the 4th this year and it sounds worse.

Ya, it's worse. It is a mess. The rude park guests are a buzz kill, too. I am sad to say I am Disneyed out. There is NO time during the day without hideous crowds. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many nasty pushy people.

Well, the cool thing is we went downstairs to catch a bus to the AK and all of a sudden overnight they put up all the Xmas decorations including the huge 3 story tree. They planted poinsettias everywhere outside and added the deer and wreaths and garlands. VERY COOL to see the sudden change. It's beautiful.....for you photopass GF photo session people....I would never wear white to a photo session. I think deep tones or jewel tones are pretty - white washes skin tones out and just seems bland. Just my 2 cents and probably not worth much, lol. The decorations are gold, pinks, and lots of reds and greens FYI.

Princesses I asked about the cream....they haven't had it in a while. The nice lounge CMs are going to look into it to their manager. Maybe they'll have it for you. That's one thing I accomplished and mailed something to somebody else today.....sorry I still need to find out about Sago if I can....and the new manager's name.

I am so happy to have the NICE friendly GF to come back to after a brutal day at the parks.

Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Channing,
I am glad you are having fun despite the crowds (and WTG on the upgrade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) When are you coming back??? We were thinking of pushing up next year's trip to arrive the day after Thanksgiving but if the crowds are too horrible we may just keep it as is and deal with the Pop Warner crowds instead...
Thanks for the live updates!
Have fun!
Kristin

 

[Cmbar]

Ya, it's worse. It is a mess. The rude park guests are a buzz kill, too. I am sad to say I am Disneyed out. There is NO time during the day without hideous crowds. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many nasty pushy people.

Well, the cool thing is we went downstairs to catch a bus to the AK and all of a sudden overnight they put up all the Xmas decorations including the huge 3 story tree. They planted poinsettias everywhere outside and added the deer and wreaths and garlands. VERY COOL to see the sudden change. It's beautiful.....for you photopass GF photo session people....I would never wear white to a photo session. I think deep tones or jewel tones are pretty - white washes skin tones out and just seems bland. Just my 2 cents and probably not worth much, lol. The decorations are gold, pinks, and lots of reds and greens FYI.

Princesses I asked about the cream....they haven't had it in a while. The nice lounge CMs are going to look into it to their manager. Maybe they'll have it for you. That's one thing I accomplished and mailed something to somebody else today.....sorry I still need to find out about Sago if I can....and the new manager's name.

I am so happy to have the NICE friendly GF to come back to after a brutal day at the parks.

Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

Channing! Sorry to hear you are having a bust about the Parks right now. It is funny because on our checkin day it was Sunday of Veterans weekend and we had checked in the exact same day last year and there were no crowds (it wasn't Vetrans Day last year that was the Friday before). But Sunday and Monday of this year was really crowded. Combine that with the crappy room issue on those two days and my Dh and I both said "we are Disneyed out". It was such a let down. But then the crowds were gone for Tue, Wed and Thurs and the MVMCP was not crowded at all, so we felt better by the end of the trip. Enough that the DH said "when we come back" YEAH! So I understand how the crowds can really put a damper on the whole trip. Lucky for you though you get to go back to RPC and pig out on goodies. Think of all those poor people who have to ride a bus back to their resort and not have concierge waiting for them. Just kidding, I know you aren't snooty. I just love to use the snooty guy once in a while!

Hope the rest of your trip goes well. Thanks for trying to get the Manager's name at the resort.

CMBAR

 

[Tink rules]

I think you may have been there for the tail end of Jersey week... & Super Soap weekend was also happening...

 

[Lives4Disney]

Just got back from renting a pontoon boat.

I have pics of the NEW Grand 1 inside and out to share when we get back!!! It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It holds 18 and it costs $450/hr. I want to take it for a spin but DH doesn't. Bummer.

Channing

 

[katiemouse]

We were at the GF 11/13 to 11/16. We were put in Sago in room 5432. It was fine with us. Had a feeling we would end up there. We did get turndown service all three nights. We also had 2 robes in the closet, however, they were thinner than what I remembered. Housekeeping was great. CM's are so friendly. Gingerbread house looks awesome. We arrived back at GF from MVMCP around 12:30 a.m. and their was one lady taking a picture. It was a great stay!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

cant wait to see to them Channing

 

[Cmbar]

I think you may have been there for the tail end of Jersey week... & Super Soap weekend was also happening...

You are right. When we checked in the CM stated that the parks were very crowded and SSW was going on. And Jersey week did end up being extended because some of the Jersey schools had off for the Veterans holiday on Monday. We heard a LOT of people saying on Sunday they were heading home tomorrow (Monday). But last year the crowds left on Sunday since Veterans day was the prior Friday -since actual Veterans day was Saturday. Next year it will be perfect since Thanksgiving will be late and the week before won't have Veteran Day anywhere near it! I only wish I could go that week again next year. But we are headed on the Cruise the week before during election week!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We were at the GF 11/13 to 11/16. We were put in Sago in room 5432. It was fine with us. Had a feeling we would end up there. We did get turndown service all three nights. We also had 2 robes in the closet, however, they were thinner than what I remembered. Housekeeping was great. CM's are so friendly. Gingerbread house looks awesome. We arrived back at GF from MVMCP around 12:30 a.m. and their was one lady taking a picture. It was a great stay!

That was my feeling on the robes too, but this was our first stay in 10 years...

 

[grannyminnie]

Boy, it sure does sound like the crowds are awful!!!
Five more days for me, and I hope they're mostly GONE!!
I forgot, does SL check at the desk in the main building, or do we go to SL to check in? Do I just tell the person at the "guard gate" that we're club level and he relays it to someone?

 

[2excited4words]

Thanks for the replies on turndown!

 

[princessesrule4]

Ya, it's worse. It is a mess. The rude park guests are a buzz kill, too. I am sad to say I am Disneyed out. There is NO time during the day without hideous crowds. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many nasty pushy people.

Well, the cool thing is we went downstairs to catch a bus to the AK and all of a sudden overnight they put up all the Xmas decorations including the huge 3 story tree. They planted poinsettias everywhere outside and added the deer and wreaths and garlands. VERY COOL to see the sudden change. It's beautiful.....for you photopass GF photo session people....I would never wear white to a photo session. I think deep tones or jewel tones are pretty - white washes skin tones out and just seems bland. Just my 2 cents and probably not worth much, lol. The decorations are gold, pinks, and lots of reds and greens FYI.

Princesses I asked about the cream....they haven't had it in a while. The nice lounge CMs are going to look into it to their manager. Maybe they'll have it for you. That's one thing I accomplished and mailed something to somebody else today.....sorry I still need to find out about Sago if I can....and the new manager's name.

I am so happy to have the NICE friendly GF to come back to after a brutal day at the parks.

Happy planning,

Lives4Disney

I wonder what the deal is with the cream? Thanks for checking! The scones are still delicious without the cream and I'll save some major calories!(Trying to convince myself I won't miss the cream )

Sorry about the crowds and rude people! It was like that as it got closer to Christmas 2 years ago, around December 22nd. That's why the GF is so wondeful. We don't do commando park and we spend tons of time at the resort so the GF is a nice little haven ! Until you try to go to get some goodies at the Gingerbread House.....

 

[lvloopingbag]

Does anyone know how many rooms/suites are located in the main building? We are staying there next December. Thanks!

 

[NeverSayNever]

Hard to keep up with all that is happening on this thread!

I know a previous poster wondered about turn down and during our 5night stay in Sept. we did have turndown all but 1 night. So that was good, housekeeping for us was not good, but it worked out in the end. No towels animals but it really didn't matter.

Another perspective on building distance; I have a bad back and soemtimes have problems walking alot. I did not think any of the building were an excessive/long distance from the main building. We stayed in Conch and I enjoyed leisurely walking to the building and just takng in all the lovely grounds. It was longer to the pool with the slide from Conch but not extreme... and mind you I often use handicapp spaces at stores so this is how limited my walking can be. Hope this helps.


Sorry to hear that Channing is Disneyed out.. Is that possible for her? Do appreciate the info on the photo shoots and the color schemes though. Based on our shoot in Sept I have to agree that White, even though they reccomend it is too washed out looking.

Hmmm... Do you think DP and DS with white (or slight pinstripe on white) shirt with a tie would work and not be washed out? Easy for DD and I not to do white but not sure about the "guys" shirt. We are going for a somewhat formal look. ANyone have any thoughts?


Ok... haring about the recent crowds has me nervous... Can anyone tell me what I should be expecting mid December 12/13 -12/16 (really the 14th & 15th) to be exact?

Oh... and can someone tell me are the Castle icicle (SP?) lights only on for the Xmas show.. or every night? Can you see them from Gaspies?

Thanks.

Enjoy!

 

[tete01830]

Boy, it sure does sound like the crowds are awful!!!
Five more days for me, and I hope they're mostly GONE!!
I forgot, does SL check at the desk in the main building, or do we go to SL to check in? Do I just tell the person at the "guard gate" that we're club level and he relays it to someone?

When we arrived, Frank met us at our car. I am sure they get a call from the guard when you stop there. I didnt tell him I was club level because I wasnt suppose to be! He met us there and took us inside. I also noticed a club check in desk on the left hand side before going inside.