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

[BlueSkies]

Channing Thanks for the info...Also...just let me know when you and Mandy move in and I'll be sure to visit!!!

 

[denisekayt]

Glad that you enjoyed your trip...

Thanks BlueSkies!

 

[Maroon]

Thanks for sharing the pics Jason and Candi.

 

[BCV23]

Denise, thanks for posting your great review. We love Sugar Loaf too.

A friend recently told me about that stuffed croissant at the GF Cafe. I need to try that! Isn't Citricos great? We didn't have dinner there last month but it's on the schedule for next month! Can't wait! What were the two types of pork?

Sorry it was so cold but I'm glad your son was able to enjoy the beach.

 

[praline3001]

I never tried the stuffed croissant at the GF cafe but I will tell you MY favorite thing in the entire world is their french onion soup
I will even order it room service style for a late night snack while the rest of my crew are eating junk food

I LOVE THE FRENCH onion soup YUM YUM
Last week I had a nasty head cold and Dave asked if he could do anything to make me feel better. I told him "Yup, drive to the GF and pick me up a bowl of french onion soup. That would be perfect for my head cold"

He rolled his eyes and thought I was joking

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Just thought I would check back in after our stay last week We had a GREAT time and loved the Grand Floridian. We stayed in Sugar Loaf and enjoyed their concierge service. We had requested a top floor dormer room, pool view and received it

General thoughts:

Room - Clean and exactly what we requested. We had good mousekeeping throughout our stay, on all but one day of our vacation our room was cleaned before noon. We enjoyed turndown service a few nights, but often we're back resting in the room before leaving for the evening during the times they come around to do that so we usually miss it.

Sugar Loaf Concierge Food - We ate there almost every morning for breakfast (one of the main reasons we do concierge, easy breakfasts!!). LOVED the pecan rolls! We also grabbed snacks such as cookies, sodas, etc. often when we passed through on our way "home" from a park. We didn't catch the evening appetizers much, but when we did we always found something we liked.

Sugar Loaf Concierge Service - Wonderful, helpful cast members working the concierge desk. We made a few on the fly ADRs during our stay, checked out a couple of movies from them, and also had a question regarding how to exchange a sweatshirt that ended up being too big. They were always willing to help and were able to fulfill all our requests.

Gaspirilla's - Good counter service location. Love the fact that they are open 24 hours. We ate here a few times during our stay and were quite satisfied.

Grand Floridian Cafe - We ate here twice for breakfast when we wanted something a bit more substantial than the concierge food. I had the stuffed croissant both times...it is WONDERFUL!! I'm going to have to come back to the Cafe on future trips just for the croissant, YUMMY! Both of these breakfasts were on the fly reservations I made the morning of within half an hour of when we decided we wanted to go there. Concierge staff had no trouble getting us in.

Citricos - This was our unplanned "gourmet" meal of the trip, and it was perfect. We decided late afternoon we wanted to stay onsite for dinner so I asked concierge whether there were any openings at either Narcosses or Citricos and they were able to get us in at the time we wanted at Citricos. We were seated at a window table, and without even realizing it we had timed things perfectly for the fireworks. We had front row seats My husband and I both had the Pork Two Ways and it was probably the best meal of our trip. Excellent service and excellent food. We will definitely be coming back to Citricos someday.

Transportation - We had a rental car, but used the monorail/boats for MK and Epcot. The monorail could sometimes be slow, I think I should have opted to drive to Epcot a little more often due to how long it took to get to the TTC and then switch and get to Epcot, but overall no real problems. We had great boat service coming back from the MK to GF.

Basin White - I had to check out Basin White while there, and I'm now officially a Pink Sugar girl...goodness that scent is smells good! I bought shower gel as well as body butter in the Pink Sugar and also brought home some Pink Sugar stuff for my Mom who was house/dog sitting for us while we were gone. I can see that I may be ordering online when I run out.

Pool/Beach - My DS loves to build sand castles on the beach and he wasn't disappointed with GF's beach area. They do have a set of sand toys in the little gift shop on the main floor which we purchased and then passed along to another family before we left so we wouldn't have to cart them home on the plane. Unfortunately, he only hit the pool once since we were there during the cold spell, but the one afternoon he went he enjoyed the slide and waterfall area.

Ok, I'll stop chattering now We had a wonderful vacation and I have nothing but good things to say about the GF. I'm happy to answer any questions if I missed anything (probably not!) in the above!

thanks so much for your review! Sounds like you had a great stay.

 

[BlueSkies]

Inquiring minds....

What is in the stuffed croissant???

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Inquiring minds....

What is in the stuffed croissant???

I don't know, but I am adding this to my list of things to try in December!!

 

[BCV23]

Inquiring minds....

What is in the stuffed croissant???

Mascarpone cheese, chocolate chips, toasted walnuts with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

I'm hoping my DH will agree to split that and the eggs Benedict with lobster.

Here's the breakfast menu, BlueSkies:http://allears.net/menu/men_gfcb.htm

He really liked the crabcakes at the Cafe on a recent lunch there...says they were the best he's had outside Maryland in a long time. We also enjoy the Grand sandwich, every soup we've had, the Cobb sandwich and DS2 always orders the cheeseburger. We do miss the cheeseburger with jerk sauce and the Cuban sandwich. Oh, and our DIL loves a shrimp and pasta dish...not sure if it's still on the menu though.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Denise, glad you had a nice stay!!! Thanks for the review.

We were there at the same time I bet. I just love that place....it is the best...and so NON stuffy and NOT uppity...that is the most crazy misconception about the GF. The GF has the nicest CMs.

We all flew in Wednesday night...got picked up by the wonderful Southern Elegance Limousines...and taken to the Swan to spend that first night....I do this each trip as we fly in late...and then have our luggage moved to the GF and we are off the next morning until check in...the Swan was awesome..and upgraded us to a 2 bedroom grand suite and gave us complimentary, of course, room service because they messed up a few check in things...(as they usually do ) THurs morning we shopped a bit at the S/D...walked past YC/BC to Epcot. It was a beautiful morning..clear but cool...but the sun was shining and we were all together having fun. We took care of passes etc at International Gateway...and were into Epcot having fun in minutes. We went to TTC from there...and the monorail was BROKEN....so we took the icey ferry over to MK...I have some gorgeous pics I took while my hands froze holding the camera...but I won't post them here on the FAq....Spent some time in MK....and had lunch at LTT...which was delicious. And they brought out treats for our bday gals. We shopped and rode some rides and headed over to the GF by boat again!

Here's where it gets good!!!

We had a FanTABULOUS time in Royal Palm Club...we checked in on Thursday afternoon to find we had been upgraded to two connecting deluxe concierge rooms right near the desk staff...so they could take good care of us. They are AWESOME!!! Especially Vonnie and Hanna - who checked us in and worked so hard to get us connecting and upgraded rooms. *THANK YOU BOTH*

The room was decorated Mardi Gras and some WONDERFUL guests that Vonnie had a while back had sent a delicious KING CAKE for her to give to us!!!! These guests own Haydel's Bakery and they were so generous to send this cake!!! AND...it was the most DELICIOUS CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! EVAH!!!!! Evah...it was sooo sooo sooo good....I think I need to order one from them from their website for my kids...they would LOVE IT!!!!

We had ordered a case of wine and that was promptly delivered....I think they charged us a little bit for receiving the box...not sure or maybe they love us enough they didn't... ....but they do charge now for packages...and to ship out you have to have them come to your room and package everything for a fee.

We had some wine and champagne and visited with our GF friends and enjoyed the afternoon chatting. After, we got ready to head back to the MK....the monorail was BROKEN and we didn't know it....so we waited with the crowd until the CM whispered to us...that it was broken and to head for the boat...so we RAN....we were trying to see Spectro...we were first in line for the boat...but we MISSED THE BOAT and Spectro.....But we did wind up at the MK in time for Wishes....so we saw Wishes and did a few rides and headed back to the GF....we had been up since 4 am the night before....laughing and talking and laughing....we laughed til it hurt..literally. We hung out with the GF pals again...and had some desserts from the lounge....which I do have to say...having stayed at the GF many times in the past...they are noticeably cutting back. The food offerings...the flower arrangements...the toiletries...although if you ask they do bring a hUGE bag full of toiletries...but the little things were noticable if you've been before.

The next morning....I was woken up to a PINK day....I can do PINK..I can't do DARK...so PINK day got us to ...hm.....DHS! Yes...DHS...we were there for the opening!!!! I have never been...I managed to see three park openings this trip. DHS, Epcot, and MK! LOVE MK!!! DHS was cute too....we rode TSM twice..it was great. The FP were going so fast. We dinked around...had some coffee and bfast at Starring Rolls Cafe....laughed til it hurt AGAIN...and we were all in pain...and then we took the boat to BW and had a FUN LOUD lunch at ESPN. We had a super great waitress...and I don't remember her name because the Pom Pom Margaritas were so delish....We took a cab back to the GF...and that itself was cause for MANY MANY more laughs....

We hung out at the GF...took some pics...talked to more GREAT CMs...visited with Chris at the cabanas...took cabana pics..got the cabana info...they also do campfire and movies on the beach now nightly...like they do at YC/BC. It was great fun to just hang out and it felt like home away from home with all the nice CMs we know there. We stopped into some shops to take pics...and visit with some merchandising CMs we know, too. I just can't say enough how much the terrific CMs at the GF add to our stays.

We then got cleaned up and headed over to the California Grille for dinner!!! We watched Wishes from there and it was beautiful. I have lots of pics. Dinner was absolutely fantastico!!! We had a huge round table...laughed til it hurt...and enjoyed the filet, the pork, and many different salads...YUMMO. THEN...a magical CM had a lovely LOVELY bday cake made for our bday gals....I will post pics...it was such a surprise and the look on their faces when that amazing cake came out was worth the price of the dinner! I had never dined at CG before!! I loved it!! Another great experience with my gf gals!!!

Then we went back to the GF for a rousing HOURS LONG game of cards and laughs and drinks...and FUN...I was afraid security would be called.....but we lucked out. They love us. The rooms were so huge we all...8 of us were able to hang out in one room and party all together comfortably. We had a blast that night until the weeeee hours of the morning.

TBC...Grand 1...and MORE! And...if I forgot anything...one of you GF Gals jump in please!!! My fingers are sore from typing!!!

Chan
GF Gal Numero Uno

 

[tete01830]

Just thought I would check back in after our stay last week We had a GREAT time and loved the Grand Floridian. We stayed in Sugar Loaf and enjoyed their concierge service. We had requested a top floor dormer room, pool view and received it

General thoughts:

Room - Clean and exactly what we requested. We had good mousekeeping throughout our stay, on all but one day of our vacation our room was cleaned before noon. We enjoyed turndown service a few nights, but often we're back resting in the room before leaving for the evening during the times they come around to do that so we usually miss it.

Sugar Loaf Concierge Food - We ate there almost every morning for breakfast (one of the main reasons we do concierge, easy breakfasts!!). LOVED the pecan rolls! We also grabbed snacks such as cookies, sodas, etc. often when we passed through on our way "home" from a park. We didn't catch the evening appetizers much, but when we did we always found something we liked.

Sugar Loaf Concierge Service - Wonderful, helpful cast members working the concierge desk. We made a few on the fly ADRs during our stay, checked out a couple of movies from them, and also had a question regarding how to exchange a sweatshirt that ended up being too big. They were always willing to help and were able to fulfill all our requests.

Gaspirilla's - Good counter service location. Love the fact that they are open 24 hours. We ate here a few times during our stay and were quite satisfied.

Grand Floridian Cafe - We ate here twice for breakfast when we wanted something a bit more substantial than the concierge food. I had the stuffed croissant both times...it is WONDERFUL!! I'm going to have to come back to the Cafe on future trips just for the croissant, YUMMY! Both of these breakfasts were on the fly reservations I made the morning of within half an hour of when we decided we wanted to go there. Concierge staff had no trouble getting us in.

Citricos - This was our unplanned "gourmet" meal of the trip, and it was perfect. We decided late afternoon we wanted to stay onsite for dinner so I asked concierge whether there were any openings at either Narcosses or Citricos and they were able to get us in at the time we wanted at Citricos. We were seated at a window table, and without even realizing it we had timed things perfectly for the fireworks. We had front row seats My husband and I both had the Pork Two Ways and it was probably the best meal of our trip. Excellent service and excellent food. We will definitely be coming back to Citricos someday.

Transportation - We had a rental car, but used the monorail/boats for MK and Epcot. The monorail could sometimes be slow, I think I should have opted to drive to Epcot a little more often due to how long it took to get to the TTC and then switch and get to Epcot, but overall no real problems. We had great boat service coming back from the MK to GF.

Basin White - I had to check out Basin White while there, and I'm now officially a Pink Sugar girl...goodness that scent is smells good! I bought shower gel as well as body butter in the Pink Sugar and also brought home some Pink Sugar stuff for my Mom who was house/dog sitting for us while we were gone. I can see that I may be ordering online when I run out.

Pool/Beach - My DS loves to build sand castles on the beach and he wasn't disappointed with GF's beach area. They do have a set of sand toys in the little gift shop on the main floor which we purchased and then passed along to another family before we left so we wouldn't have to cart them home on the plane. Unfortunately, he only hit the pool once since we were there during the cold spell, but the one afternoon he went he enjoyed the slide and waterfall area.

Ok, I'll stop chattering now We had a wonderful vacation and I have nothing but good things to say about the GF. I'm happy to answer any questions if I missed anything (probably not!) in the above!

Hey Denise! Nice report! I was just wondering if you have a son named Shelby because a CM in Gaspy's was telling me there was a teenager in talking about us and said he was on the Dis! He said they were in SL??? Is that you guys???

 

[denisekayt]

Hey Denise! Nice report! I was just wondering if you have a son named Shelby because a CM in Gaspy's was telling me there was a teenager in talking about us and said he was on the Dis! He said they were in SL??? Is that you guys???

Nope, that wasn't us...I have a "not quite teenager", my DS Cole turned 11 during our trip. But look how famous you guys are!!

 

[denisekayt]

DeniseWhat were the two types of pork?

Here is a description of the Pork Two Ways...ALL of it was wonderful. Not a speck was left on my plate!

"Rotisserie Pork Tenderloin and Braised Berkshire Pork Belly with Creamy Polenta, Swiss Chard, and Heirloom Apples"

I also had the warm chocolate banana tart for dessert. It was good, but a little too rich and dense for me. I'm more of a fruit/creme brulee person and I would probably pick something else next time.

 

[denisekayt]

What is in the stuffed croissant? Mascarpone cheese, chocolate chips, toasted walnuts with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

BCV has the description exactly right. In addition to the above list, on the mornings I had the croissant, they put fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries on the plate. These totally made the dish.

 

[goofygal531]

Chan: Can't wait to see all your photos!

My DS5 will be so excited if they keep the Movies on the Beach thru the summer. He loved watching them over at the YC/BC this past Nov. We only saw it one night since it got really cold that week. But June is perfect weather for movies on the beach!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

there is nothing wrong with getting up when its pink out

wous!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I dont think anyone wants my take on the grand one.

 

[Lives4Disney]

there is nothing wrong with getting up when its pink out

wous!

Well...I have to say it's better when it's pink than when it's yellow......

I dont think anyone wants my take on the grand one.

NO...they don't. Shhhhhushshshshshshs

I loved it and had a lot of fun...and I am going to say so in a bit.

Chan
GF Amish Shusher Gal

 

[3for Me]

Channing,

There is some serious serendipity going on here!

Don't know if you remember me, but we were planning Disneyland trips at the same time a couple of years (OMG I can't believe it's been that long) ago!

I just returned to this thread as I have booked a summer stay at the GF (my first in over a year - that's why I stayed away - too depressed).

Anyhow, I am from New Orleans and send Haydel's King Cakes to my out of town friends all the time! They are delish, and some of the packages you can order have beads, etc.

If you want some really cute girlie MG Beads for your daughters - PM me and I'll be happy to oblige! I seem to remember your girls are around the same ages as mine, so there's plenty here to go around.

Glad you guys had a good girls trip - I am so jealous!!

Please post more!! And pictures!!! And thanks for the info about the movies on the beach. We stayed at the YC last summer instead of the GF and did the movies and marshmallow roasting several times. Glad they've brought it over.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Channing,

There is some serious serendipity going on here!

Don't know if you remember me, but we were planning Disneyland trips at the same time a couple of years (OMG I can't believe it's been that long) ago!

I just returned to this thread as I have booked a summer stay at the GF (my first in over a year - that's why I stayed away - too depressed).

Anyhow, I am from New Orleans and send Haydel's King Cakes to my out of town friends all the time! They are delish, and some of the packages you can order have beads, etc.

If you want some really cute girlie MG Beads for your daughters - PM me and I'll be happy to oblige! I seem to remember your girls are around the same ages as mine, so there's plenty here to go around.

Glad you guys had a good girls trip - I am so jealous!!

Please post more!! And pictures!!! And thanks for the info about the movies on the beach. We stayed at the YC last summer instead of the GF and did the movies and marshmallow roasting several times. Glad they've brought it over.

Hi!! Of course I remember YOU!!

That is neat you know about Haydel's Bakery and the King Cakes!!!! That was very generous of Haydel's Bakery...they would not accept payment. I am going to go online and order a cake from them for Mardi Gras...I better do it asap. And the cake was FABULOUSLY YUMMY!!! My girls would LOVE girlie MG beads!! That is so sweet!!! I am working on getting pics on my facebook...and this post popped up in an email!! I will be back in a bit to add to the trip and post some pics...it is really time consuming...all the pics.

I will be back!!!

Channing
GF lovin" Gal!