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

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Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

Courtyard Pool/Spa/Kiddie Pool: 01/14/08 - 02/15/08
For Guest enjoyment, the Beach feature pool and slide as well as the Polynesian Pool will continue to be operating during this timeframe.

Thanks for posting this...everywhere else I read it just said "closed until mid-February". Since we are arriving on the 16th, it's nice to see that the quiet pool should be open. I doubt we'll swim much, but I would imagine that the ambience will be much nicer with a filled, operational pool.
 
Well we've just got back from 10 night at the Grand. :sad:

Had a great stay in Sugar Loaf & we were given Lodge Tower room 6220. It was lovely to have the extra space. I will post photos as soon as I have worked out how to

The lounge was good although very busy in the mornings. Staff were excellent and managed to get us some ADR's that I had been trying for a while to get.

Housekeeping were OK - nothing specfic but nothing to rave about either.

If anybody has any questions I be happy to try and answer.
 
My husband fell in love with the pillows on the beds at the GF -- does anyone know where they can be purchased???

And since I forgot to post on my return ---
Thanks to all of your help -- our visit there was fabulous (thanks especially to all the help from our resident TA) we're still looking through the over 3000 photos--- if anything is new and different we'll post it. My oldest son had a laugh dancing with one of the step sisters at 1900 --- I think she was taken aback that he actually could dance. Howver she lost interest in him once she discovered he was only 13 and not rich :rotfl:

Happy New Year everyone!
 

We're back! I had the BEST time ever on this trip. We were met at the airport by the limo from SE, thanks Channing for the referral, we were pleased with the ride over. Our first sight of the hotel and lobby was amazing. None of the many pictures I've seen prepared me for how beautiful it all would be, the lobby was all dressed for the holidays, the music was playing, it was all just perfect.
We were there for just 3 nights. I had a deluxe room in the RPC booked, but when we were walked in we were taken to a 2 bedroom suite! The room number was 4002. It was a room with 3 separate balconies, all had this little pitched roof over it. There was a fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room, it was just perfect!
DH took the kids to the parks every day that we were there, but I mostly hung out at the hotel. I didn't want to leave! I was able to do a few spa treatments while there, just heavenly. I had a massage, a facial and a pedi/mani. We had dinner at Narcoosee's, that was wonderful. We had a table with a perfect view of the castle, the food and service was great.

Here are a few of the pictures I took:

There were 3 doors to our room from the hallway: the first door led to a bedroom, on the right as you walked in was a full bathroom, on the left was a closet.
As you entered the room there was two queen beds:

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Across the beds were a desk; TV unit with a flat screen TV and a blue chair,
behind the curtain was one of 3 balconies:
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The second entry was two big double doors that led to the living room, as you walk in there was a closet on the right and a half bath on the left:
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There was a fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room and behind the curtain was the second balcony. There was an ipod dock and another flat screen TV and a small table with chairs

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There was a mini bar with sink, microwave and fridge behind folding doors.

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There was a door that led to the master bedroom; this room also had its own entry from the hallway.
The master bedroom had a king size bed; full bathroom; another flat screen TV; a desk with chair and a third balcony.

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Our room was under the three pitched roofs next to the big dome:

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We had a wonderful view from all three balconies. We could see the Poly to the right, Contemporary and pool from the center and a great view of the Castle to the left. We watched the fireworks and electric parade from our balcony.

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The main lobby was beautifully dressed for the holidays; I loved the smell of gingerbread and the huge Christmas tree. It was always full of people at night, I enjoyed sitting at the balcony in the calm of the lounge to people watch from above. We loved listening to the orchestra in the evening.

Thanks to everyone that contributes to this thread; you really helped with my planning what turned out to be a perfect vacation!
 
Dis Ohana!! OMG!! What a fabulous upgrade!!!!:wizard: That is incredible. Was the suite named?? Just curious which suite it was. It looks gorgeous. We have not ever ventured up to the 5th floor. Thanks for the beautiful pictures. You moved to BWI after?? HOw was that?? I don't think I would have wanted to leave that GF room!!!!:goodvibes

Glad you enjoyed your stay & I am glad SE worked out for you.


Tidbligrrer
(sorry - I bet i didn't spell that right, lol) I am glad you had a nice stay too!! Isn't 1900 kind of fun now? Those step sisters are a riot.:goodvibes
I hope you wind up posting pics. I have no clue about the pillows. They are comfy!

Lives4Disney :)
 
Channing: We couldn't believe it when we were shown to our room. I asked the CM checking us in if we had the right room, I was hoping it wasn't some kind of mistake since he didn't even seem to know we hadn't originally booked the suite. He seemed a little confused about it so I decided right then to shut up and just take it! There was no name on the suite, just the room number, 4002. I just realized when looking at our pictures that the domed balcony next to us is probably a suite too, do you know what that is? No one seemed to be staying there while we were. It was a little odd that our master bedroom balcony and their balcony sort of faced each other. We'd be looking at our neighbors if we were ever out there together!

The SE limo and driver were great. We chatted a bit while waiting for the luggage, he seemed really nice. An odd thing happened though, probably just a misunderstanding but as a warning to anyone else booking a limo you probably want to double check that billing is correct. Before leaving the contact person sent me an email asking if I wanted to include gratuity to my bill, I emailed back and said yes, please add it and asked for a confirmation of my quote. I never got anything back but this was a day or so before the trip so I figured I'd just settle it when we got there. I asked the driver if the grat was included and explained that I didn't get a confirmation to my email. He got on his cell and called the office, he told me that I was to tip him directly and it would be left off the bill. Well...I checked my account and I was billed for the tip, ok so no problem, I emailed and asked them to remove it. Here's what I think was kind of odd, I was sent an email back apologizing for the charge, and was told that the driver was told that grat was included. He said that the driver was probably trying to "pull a fast one" and make a double tip.

We started at the BWI, and amazingly enough we were also upgraded to the Sonora suite there! We had a fabulous stay, we loved the Innkeeper's staff, they were just great.
We moved to the AKL after GF, and boy was that a let down! We were so spoiled by that time that the room seemed like a closet. The concierge staff there also left a lot to be desired, nothing like the GF and BWI. The hotel is so amazing that it more than made up for any other shortcomings.

After experiencing all three hotels, I have to say my favorite was the GF. The kids liked BWI more, I think just because they got to know the CM's there and liked being on the Boardwalk.

I have to start unpacking and get organized. Happy New Year everyone!
 
Dis Ohana: Wow! Congratulations on your fabulous upgrades! We are anticipating our first stay at the GF RPC in about a month.

I am getting myself prepared, full of the wonderful tips and knowledge I have gained here. Currently, I am making my packing list and planning my DD4's outfits. I am going to make her a hairbow for each day to match her costumes/outfits. I am relishing her age, knowing that sooner than I would like, she won't want to wear the bows anymore ...:sad2:

One question, I know not all the RPC rooms have castle views. If I don't get one, what do non-castle view RPC rooms overlook? Also, what floor do I request to be close to the lounge? Channing, I believe you gave me specific room numbers for castle view/close to the lounge before, but in my piles of notes/tips (I have an entire notebook dedicated to this trip!), I seem to have misplaced the room numbers.

Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone!
- Andrea
 
Congrats on both of your fabulous upgrades!` Thanks for posting the pictures of the suite. It is gorgeous! Glad you had a wonderful time - I think we checked out on the day you checked in! We had a great time too!:cloud9: I agree - it was great to enjoy the lobby ambience from the lounge!:)
 
Hello. We (my DH & 4 and 6 yr old boys) have been back from our GF stay for about 1 month & I have already started getting the big itch to plan our next trip. I was hoping to get some great advice...we have taken 2 trips booked directly through Disney Travel and this last trip I booked through AAA Travel. My DH isn't embracing the idea of another Disney trip...so I have to do some major homework on how to get the best deal on the trip we want to plan. We love the GF, like the dining plan, usually stay about 1 week.

My question is how do you find a great deal for the GF? Should I do the annual pass? can I still do the dining plan as an annual pass holder? Do other travel agencies offer "specials" simliar to the AAA rate?

I have read a lot about Channing's travel agent...may I be so bold as to ask for a reference? I have a lot of questions...& I did find AAA to be a bit cumbersome communication wise. I'm a bargain hunter with "GF taste":)
As always I appreciate any help/advice...thank you in advance and Happy New Year to all!- Donna
 
Hey everyone I have added the page number and room # of dis ohanas pics back at the beginning. Thanks so much for adding them I am so glad you had a good time.
 
Disohana, congrats on that fabulous upgrade, or upgrades! Glad you had a great trip, and thanks for the pictures!

Happy New Year everyone!
 
Happy New Year GF fans!:goodvibes

Dis Ohana, WOW!! Two upgrades!! What a trip!!! That is neat. :goodvibes My kids love the GF for that same reason of how they got to know the CMs there and how well they are treated and how comfortable they feel. Once your kids get to know them/talk to them they will LOVE the GF best. :goodvibes We stayed BWI in a deluxe concierge room once and the room view was nice, but the whole rest of the stay was a disappointment & we have NO desire to stay there again.....except little DD wants to try that clown slide, haha. I have heard AKL rooms are small and dark so I bet you felt like you were tight. Where were you at Christmas Eve/Day?? Just curious where you spent that and if there was anything special for Xmas?? That is obnoxious about the limo driver and the tip. :rolleyes1 I always include the tip in my CC payment, too. I have not ever had a problem with it - that whole situation would have left me with a foul taste. With the old SE this never would have happened. They were super honest & customer oriented and professional IMO. Maybe just a misunderstanding betwn driver/office....hoping....

Donna - I sent you a PM.


Andrea
- The castle views are rooms....4401 -4409 and 4301 to 4309 on the 3rd and 4th floors of RPC. These are the rooms over Gasparilla's Grill and overlooking the marina. There are also honeymoon rooms on the 2nd floor....maybe 4201 - 4209?? Not sure as I have never been on that wing.

Hope everybody has a fabulous 2008. :cool1: :woohoo:

Lives4Disney :)
 
Happy New Years to All!

We're off in 10 days to the GF to watch DH run the marathon and to celebrate dd's and dh's birthdays. Hoping for good luck with our room in GF - I always liked the marina views for a gv room.

Can't wait to go back to the GF!!!
 
Hey everyone I have added the page number and room # of dis ohanas pics back at the beginning. Thanks so much for adding them I am so glad you had a good time.

Thanks for doing this Alicnwondrln - this thread is so full of valuable information, especially for us first-timers!
 
We were scheduled to stay in a deluxe room at RPC arriving on January 12th and leaving on the 19th. We have been informed that the floors in the main lobby are being replaced or repaired the first 3 nights of our stay, so they will be moving us to the Sugar Loaf building. Can anyone tell me if I should request a certain floor? Any tips about this building are greatly appreciated. They will move us back to the main building on January 15th. Thanks!
 
We were scheduled to stay in a deluxe room at RPC arriving on January 12th and leaving on the 19th. We have been informed that the floors in the main lobby are being replaced or repaired the first 3 nights of our stay, so they will be moving us to the Sugar Loaf building. Can anyone tell me if I should request a certain floor? Any tips about this building are greatly appreciated. They will move us back to the main building on January 15th. Thanks!

Oooh.... bummer.:mad:

In Sugar Loaf, I would request a LODGE TOWER ROOM. There are some pics on this thread. The room is a bit larger, has two queen beds and an extra little sofa seating area w/a second TV in the turret section. These rooms are courtyard pool views. The only bummer is the top room does not have a balcony - it has the vaulted ceilings. We stayed in Feb and it was cold in the evening anyway, so no biggie, but usually I like a balcony. Other than that....the SL rooms are the same as all the other standard concierge rooms. Your deluxe concierge room will be great in RPC and nice and large. :goodvibes

Lives4Disney :)
 

Andrea
- The castle views are rooms....4401 -4409 and 4301 to 4309 on the 3rd and 4th floors of RPC. These are the rooms over Gasparilla's Grill and overlooking the marina. There are also honeymoon rooms on the 2nd floor....maybe 4201 - 4209?? Not sure as I have never been on that wing.

So that means there are 18 standard RPC rooms that have castle views, right? Anyone know how many RPC rooms there are total? I'm just wondering if castle view rooms make up a large percent of the rooms or just a very small portion ...
 
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