The *New* Grand Floridian Resort and Spa FAQ thread (NOV 2008)

[mickeynut1]

Hey everyone...we're back
We had a great stay at the GF and I'll post my review either later today or tomorrow along with my pictures.
Nobody got sick, we had 2 great weather days and the rest was cool but it beats the blizzard weather that hit us in Northwest Indiana/chicago.
I'm beat...it was so fun but exhausting. Can't wait to share my thoughts and pictures!

Glad you had a great stay . You picked a good week to be gone as we did get hit with some brutal cold weather . I can't wait to hear about your stay and see your pics . We are headed to the GF in June and we can't wait as it will be our first stay at the Grand . Where in Indiana are you??? I'm in NW Indiana too .

 

[mom2princessj]

Glad you had a great stay . You picked a good week to be gone as we did get hit with some brutal cold weather . I can't wait to hear about your stay and see your pics . We are headed to the GF in June and we can't wait as it will be our first stay at the Grand . Where in Indiana are you??? I'm in NW Indiana too .

Thanks...it was a good week. Crowd levels were pretty low except for Thursday and then yesterday (friday) was the busiest we encountered in the park and at GF. The cheerleader/dance competition was this coming weekend so they came into town Thursday and Friday.
We live in Dyer and we heard it was brutal so I'm glad we were down there. The first few days weather was AWESOME...we wore shorts But by the end of the week we had our winter coats on at night...it was in the 30s when we watched wishes on Thursday night...brrrrrr. I've got TONS of pictures I'll post a few here and then talk about my trip.
Dh says he won't stay there again but its not really because of the resort or service. He likes WL (we visited) and the epcot area. But the GF for the location really can't be beat. It was so nice with the kids being on the monorail.

 

[mom2princessj]

Pictures from our room:
We were located in Big Pine Key...not what I requested or wanted but the view wasn't bad from the end of our balcony and I LOVED the location in relation to the main building. Super close walk!

We were celebrating our anniversary and this is what was delivered to us on our first night:

Room number in Big Pine Key:

More view:

Poly:

Zoom view:

So overall you can see the view wasn't terrible. Best views by far are in sago as even in conch there are trees that could obstruct if you get one of those rooms. The room next to us must have been mad...that tree obstructed their WHOLE view and that would have led me to the front desk. We saw the parade fine every night and overall except for the last two nights our room location was super quiet. The last few nights we had parents with LOUD kids that kept us up late and woke us up EARLY. It was not enjoyable.
Resort itself:

So my impressions of the resort are very favorable. To those that think the GF is stuffy I have NO IDEA where they get that impression from. All we saw was families and casual people. We NEVER once felt uncomfortable or out of place. We wore jeans, shorts, sweatshirts as did 99% of the guests/visitors there. The lobby was awesome. We loved the piano. One night we came back and a bunch of families with kids were around the piano and the pianist was playing all disney songs. The kids had a ball dancing around with all the other kids while the songs were playing.

The CMs were FANTASTIC. I think the least friendly CM we encountered was at check in and even then he wasn't rude just not as chatty as most. EVERYONE went out of their way to be friendly and overall the service was great. We called and they responded simple as that.

We came home with bottles and bottles of H2O...my dh LOVES the soap. They gave us tons. Mousekeeping was great. Our rooms were very clean and turn down came every night. My ds loved the chocolates.

Our tv reception was bad. My dh was rather ticked about that. We got all the disney/abc channels just fine but cnn or weather...the reception was awful. Our refrigerator never got above cooling either. We called and stop at the desk. The first guy came and told us its a cooler not a fridge we laughed about that. Then the front desk said we'd get a new one but if we did it didn't work either So that bothered my dh a bit.

He never could complain about the service. We both thought everyone was fantastic. He just didn't think the resort was worth the $$. I feel like TPV isn't worth the cost. There are so many obstructed views vs the great views from RPC or Sago that your chances of getting one of those are slim and the other views (garden) are beautiful.

If we got a deal I think we'd stay again. He liked the Poly and CR too. But I think we'll aim at YC/BC or WL next time (although we took a tour of a room at WL and it was musty smelling and turned me off).

We did park fare the first night and we had a late ressie. I went to see about getting in earlier and as soon as I mentioned we were staying at GF they put us on the list immediately.
Gaspies was GREAT for breakfast. We had yummy croissant egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches...very hot and fresh but not so good for any other time. We had roast beef sandwiches that were really bad. If you need a snack or want breakfast...fine but don't use CS for lunch or dinner...not a good choice IMO.

I'm glad we took the opportunity to stay. It's a fabulous resort and very convenient to MK with monorail. I would recommend that anyone wanting to try it definitely do it. It's not stuffy and is very family friendly. The service IMO can't be beat!

 

[Joe Cool]

I love your pictures. Please don't hesitate to post...every so often when I get in that Grand Floridian mood, I wish I had taken advantage of my camera and taken more videos. Here's a low-res YouTube post from my cell phone of the GF orchestra:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBkQriENENQ

I requested my late Grandfather's favorite song one night. I didn't know they would play it right away! Must have been the indiv. wrapped Toblerones I gave them...I tipped the whole trip with swiss chocolate (and occasionally $20 bills...that's what delivering Greek food for a year does to ya). The CMs loved the chocolate when I couldn't afford anything else. You'd be surprised how far the "college kid" image gets you...

Enjoy the video...and post more pics!

ciaociao

 

[Lives4Disney]

Mom2PrincesseJ..I am glad you ahd a nice time! YES>..I would book GV or RPC...nothing in between. That's JMO....but i don't think the tpv is worth it or the lagoon for that matter. MOST GVs are beautiful.

We love the Gf...the best CMs and wonderful service keep us coming back. I have tried all the other deluxes...some how being from northern IL..the WL holds little appeal..so we have not stayed there.... Seems more like home than FL. Nothing has come close to the GF for what we love about it.

Thanks for the review and for sharing your pics.



Channing

 

[BCV23]

mom2princessj, thanks for posting your pictures and review. I'm glad you had a good stay for the most part.

Hopefully that room next to you was not classified TPV.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

mom2princessj - So glad to hear you had a good trip, and enjoyed the GF! Loved your photos, we once had a room on the third floor of Big Pine Key with that view, though it seemed further away - were all your photos of the castle zoomed? I posted a while back that we only have stayed TPV in Boca Chica, but your report reminded me that we got a castle view our first trip to the GF, before it was a bookable category.

We were in WDW from Jan. 2-9, and the weather was in the 70s and 80s the whole week. My DD and her friend spent a lot of time at the pool. Sounds like we left before the dip into chillier weather!

Joe Cool - Congrats on the upgrade, very cool! Thanks for the photos, and the review, it is nice to see you posting on the DIS again.

 

[mickeynut1]

mom2princessj........Thanks for posting the pics and your review . We booked a GV for our June stay.....we don't spend the extra money for views as we just wouldn't sit out on a balcony or patio for any amount of time to make it worth while . I have heard that just about anywhere at the GF is GREAT . (aside from a few tree obstructed views ). I'm sorry about the few things that went wrong....but glad you had a wonderful stay overall and that those little mishaps didn't ruin your trip . We've stayed at the WL twice and we LOVE it there!!!! We tried the Poly in '07 and had a fantastic stay there as well . I have a feeling once we try the GF we won't want to stay anywhere else . BTW......we're in Hebron.......small world that you're right there in Dyer . I grew up in Munster and my DH grew up in Highland........and somehow we ended up out in the country ......although it's getting so built up out here that the country feel is fading away .


Joe Cool......LOVED your pics......thanks for posting them . And thanks for your great review . I'm glad the trip was fabulous for all of you......and congrats on the awesome upgrade .

 

[BlueSkies]

mom2princessj Glad that you had a good trip...thanks for your report and for the terrific pics...I have to say that if not CL I always book GV also...I think its beautiful... Mostly there is just nothing like a disney vacation....

 

[Kanga1]

MomofPrincessJ: Great pics! Thanks for your report! We're staying there for the first time this summer and can't wait! Was your view of the castle straight on or was it off to the side? If it was off to the side, did you have to "lean over" to get those shots?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We're booked at GF gv for our February trip. I tried to get TPV of SL but none was available for that time frame of the 7/4 package. We've stayed lots of times GF gv though and I don't think we ever had a bad view. We've stayed several times at Sago Cay and once at Conch Key gv. We had TPV in Big Pine Key and Sago Cay and I think Sago Cay is absolutely the best TPV at the GF.

I'm counting the days! This will my in in-laws first stay at the GF, I'm so excited for them. I was in the hospital for a few days this week, with a big scare - but nothing serious in the end. The thought of getting to the GF really kept me going.

I agree with Channing - for some reason WL holds no appeal for me, although I know lots of people that just love it. We go back and forth between GF and Poly (for MK time) and BC and YC (for EPCOT time).

23 days to go!!!!!!

 

[mom2princessj]

mom2princessj - So glad to hear you had a good trip, and enjoyed the GF! Loved your photos, we once had a room on the third floor of Big Pine Key with that view, though it seemed further away - were all your photos of the castle zoomed? I posted a while back that we only have stayed TPV in Boca Chica, but your report reminded me that we got a castle view our first trip to the GF, before it was a bookable category.

We were in WDW from Jan. 2-9, and the weather was in the 70s and 80s the whole week. My DD and her friend spent a lot of time at the pool. Sounds like we left before the dip into chillier weather!

My pictures were zoomed on two different cameras. The second camera has a better zoom thus the close up picture.

MomofPrincessJ: Great pics! Thanks for your report! We're staying there for the first time this summer and can't wait! Was your view of the castle straight on or was it off to the side? If it was off to the side, did you have to "lean over" to get those shots?

I wouldn't say I had to lean over just go to the end of the balcony. We didn't have a straight on view. Those views would come from RPC, Sago, or possibly Conch. Our straight on view was of the CR and it was nice. I got a view of it all basically. The most obstruction I had was of the Poly. I had a big tree going the other way so it was hard to get a full view of Poly from our balcony. I thought about asking to switch but we had a lot of luggage and had had such a long day that I decided the view was good enough (not fully obstructed) that it wasn't worth it to complain or move rooms. We had good mousekeeping too (they came up immediately with bed rails, extra towels, and more h2o products) so I didn't want to chance moving and being disappointed with another view, having very loud neighbors (as we did at the end of our trip), or poor housekeeping service. Overall I'd stay in that building again but just in GV.

I LOVED the pillows and the bed was comfy too. I know awhile back someone posted they ordered the pillows...I need to get that info. I slept much better with those there than with mine at home last night.
I have so many more pictures I can post. I'll have to do that sporadically through the next week.

As far as trying other resorts...it will be more to appease my dh. I don't know if we'll book WL. I'll be handling the booking and although I liked the lobby and we LOVED eating at roaring fork I was really, really turned off by the smell coming from the room. I thought the room was tight compared to our room at GF as well. I enjoy space with two small kids. I also like the convenience of the monorail. Dh loved the boat (we took it twice) however on the cold nights he was thankful that we had other transportation aside from being out in the cold on the boat. It will just depend on when we go back and what deals they have going. We really liked Beach Club so I can see us trying to book over there next or possibly the CR. I'm so glad we got to stay at the GF though because I definitely loved the resort and the fantastic service we got. I do think the service and location definitely make it worth trying

 

[k&a&c'smom]

mom2princessj - thanks for the photo info. I thought I might not remember the view from our Big Pine Key balcony, since it is nearly 7 years ago!

We've stayed at the WL, and it is a nice resort, lots of activities. You're right, though, the rooms are smaller than the GF rooms.

 

[Kanga1]

One more question: Can you see the boat dock from TPV Sago Cay?

 

[BCV23]

One more question: Can you see the boat dock from TPV Sago Cay?

Interesting question. I think Conch Key would block the view of the boat dock for most TPV rooms in Sago Cay.

At any rate, if you mean to time it to walk over to catch the launch, that would be tough. You have to walk all the way around the marina. Very easy to do from Conch Key TPV rooms however as the dock is right outside the building.

Someone said they thought Conch Key TPV rooms might face the MK. They most certainly do and those rooms are the closest to the MK.

 

[heatherlynn444]

I just booked RPC for july. i cant believe I just did it again haha. only 3 nights with my mom, aunts and a friend, but still, wanted to share!

 

[BCV23]

I just booked RPC for july. i cant believe I just did it again haha. only 3 nights with my mom, aunts and a friend, but still, wanted to share!

How exciting. Enjoy the anticipation!

 

[BlueSkies]

I just booked RPC for july. i cant believe I just did it again haha. only 3 nights with my mom, aunts and a friend, but still, wanted to share!

Congratulations Healtherlynn!

 

[heatherlynn444]

well we are going as a family in may but my moms siters have never been able to do soemthing fun and exciting and grand was well, the grand, so we want to take them

 

[Lives4Disney]

well we are going as a family in may but my moms siters have never been able to do soemthing fun and exciting and grand was well, the grand, so we want to take them

That's awesome, Heatherlynn!! You all will have a GRAND TIME! Good news to share!

Robyn...I hope you're still doing OK and feeling better. That was crazy scary. *hugs*

Channing