We're Baaaack...the GF was wonderful!

[phyllis1966]

Well, we just got back from a wonderful vacation at WDW and the GF. We were there from Saturday 11/10 to Saturday 11/17. The GF was as awesome as always. We requested connecting GV rooms in Conch Key, but that building and Boca Chica were all booked up for a convention, we were told. I don't know, you wouldn't have known it - it didn't seem any more crowded than usual. We were given connecting rooms on the first (yuck - no privacy on the balcony) floor of Big Pine Key, but when we asked, they found us connecting rooms on the 4th floor, which were terrific. The crowds were low and the weather was the coolest we've ever had for the second week of November - about 78 almost every day, with 2 days hitting 80 and Friday only reaching 67! Beautiful! No sweating! Hot enough in the sun to swim! Everyone was happy.

This perfect vacation afforded me only 2 very minor complaints: most deluxe resort Christmas trees were not yet up (first time ever they are waiting until Thanksgiving week to put most of them up, we were told), and the renovated rooms at the GF are a bit beige and bland, but pleasant nevertheless. The gingerbread house was finished when we arrived, and opened for business on Monday the 12th.

MVMCP was fun, as it was last year. This was our first time seeing the Osbourne lights, and they were simply amazing! Don't know when we'll return...DD(8 1/2) says maybe we should skip a year and try something new next year - is this my kid?!? We've gone every year (and then some) since 2002 - 7 times in all - what will I do if I'm not planning a WDW trip for next year?

Any questions, ask away!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great review! I have always wanted to go see the Osborne lights and MVMCP too. Did you get a refurbished room at GF?

 

[princessesrule4]

Glad you had such a great time! We''ll be there in 3 weeks and can't wait! Sounds like you just missed the Thanksgiving crowds and picked a great week to go!

 

[Brizite76]

I am so glad you had a good time. DD and I are going 16-20 Dec. It will be our first time at the Grand! We are so excited!

 

[Cmbar]

Well, we just got back from a wonderful vacation at WDW and the GF. We were there from Saturday 11/10 to Saturday 11/17. The GF was as awesome as always. We requested connecting GV rooms in Conch Key, but that building and Boca Chica were all booked up for a convention, we were told. I don't know, you wouldn't have known it - it didn't seem any more crowded than usual. We were given connecting rooms on the first (yuck - no privacy on the balcony) floor of Big Pine Key, but when we asked, they found us connecting rooms on the 4th floor, which were terrific. The crowds were low and the weather was the coolest we've ever had for the second week of November - about 78 almost every day, with 2 days hitting 80 and Friday only reaching 67! Beautiful! No sweating! Hot enough in the sun to swim! Everyone was happy.

This perfect vacation afforded me only 2 very minor complaints: most deluxe resort Christmas trees were not yet up (first time ever they are waiting until Thanksgiving week to put most of them up, we were told), and the renovated rooms at the GF are a bit beige and bland, but pleasant nevertheless. The gingerbread house was finished when we arrived, and opened for business on Monday the 12th.

MVMCP was fun, as it was last year. This was our first time seeing the Osbourne lights, and they were simply amazing! Don't know when we'll return...DD(8 1/2) says maybe we should skip a year and try something new next year - is this my kid?!? We've gone every year (and then some) since 2002 - 7 times in all - what will I do if I'm not planning a WDW trip for next year?

Any questions, ask away!

PHyliss1966! I am so JEALOUS! You were one of the lucky ones that went that week and didn't get put in Sago Cay. We went same days, requested nicely at Check in for a refurbished room in any building and they said NO at checkin and then when our room location was really unacceptable they agree to move us again but still in Sago. It was Disney Management that was having the convention so they felt that those people needed to have the refurbished rooms! I will say that the decor in Sago was nice, but I was miffed I didnt' have a refridgerator! And that TV is just silly, luckily we didn't watch much tv! Wasnt the weather great! Glad you had some magic! Were you at the party on the 15th? Wasn't it great!

 

[Lilolvr]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[phyllis1966]

Whew - now that Thanksgiving is over, I can get back to talking about WDW (one of my favorite things to do).

kaysmommie, we got refurbished rooms in Big Pine Key, and I really felt that they were lacking in interest. The beige walls were kinda dull - my in-laws had the beige-on-beige wallpaper throughout the entire room. We had it in the entry, but the rest of the room was painted a matching beige color - I really missed the old blue and yellow Alice decor. I loved the new bowed shower curtain rods, though - there seemed to be twice as much room in the tub! The easy chair was very comfy, as were the beds.

princessesrule4, yes, it was a grerat week to go - it was the best weather we've ever had. The low crowds (we saw many folks leaving on Sunday) were awesome and held until Friday afternoon. We loved going in December last year - have a great time!

Brizite76, I hope you enjoy your stay at the GF - what's not to love? At least you'll see the tree - we were sad they decided to wait until Thanksgiving week to put it up...

Cmbar, what day did you check in? We checked in on the 10th at about 10 am...At first we were sad about not being in Conch Key - it's a sentimental favorite since it's where we were the first time we took DD to WDW and our first stay at the GF. We've been in Big Pine Key 3 times in a row now, and we miss the GV at Conch...whether you're on the pool side or the marina side it's such a pretty view. Our view at Big Pine turned out to be just as nice, though - the pool and the main building. The new TV is great, but it's ridiculously hard to change the channels with the old remotes - both the in-laws and I had trouble with that. And yes, we were at the 11/15 MVMCP - it was a great night, but it seemed to go by so quickly!

I really miss being there, and not just the parks. We really enjoy walking around the GF grounds, smelling the flowers, riding the monorail, visiting other resorts, swimming in the pools, and just smelling that Florida air...no worries. I honestly can't imagine waiting 2 years to go back - I think I enjoy it more than my 8-year-old does!

 

[Brizite76]

Do you have any pics to share? I've poured over the ones on the GF thread, but I never get tired of seeing them

 

[phyllis1966]

I have lots - I'll get to them as soon as I can!

 

[tinklvr64]

anytime GF is in the heading I am a-looking! Glad you had a great time! We were there at the end of Sept and soooo missing my GF. Friends of ours checked into GF yesterday for 10 grand days! Jealous!

Could someone xmas mickey bouncey head pm me??????
Thanks!

 

[Cmbar]

Cmbar, what day did you check in? We checked in on the 10th at about 10 am...At first we were sad about not being in Conch Key - it's a sentimental favorite since it's where we were the first time we took DD to WDW and our first stay at the GF. We've been in Big Pine Key 3 times in a row now, and we miss the GV at Conch...whether you're on the pool side or the marina side it's such a pretty view. Our view at Big Pine turned out to be just as nice, though - the pool and the main building. The new TV is great, but it's ridiculously hard to change the channels with the old remotes - both the in-laws and I had trouble with that. And yes, we were at the 11/15 MVMCP - it was a great night, but it seemed to go by so quickly!

I really miss being there, and not just the parks. We really enjoy walking around the GF grounds, smelling the flowers, riding the monorail, visiting other resorts, swimming in the pools, and just smelling that Florida air...no worries. I honestly can't imagine waiting 2 years to go back - I think I enjoy it more than my 8-year-old does! quote]

Phyliss, we checked in on the 11th at around 12:45pm. The more I hear about the "beige rooms" the more I feel better that we got stuck in Sago. We really did like the decor in those rooms. It felt "disneyish". Again the only thing I really missed was the new daybed because at least in the pictures it looks nicer than the bench my son had to sleep on. And having a refridge too!

You summed up our feelings exactly. Sounds like we had the same kinda vacation! Just relaxing and doing the parks some, but visiting other resorts and that weather made it picture perfect! If we weren't going on the Disney Cruise next November, we would definitely be going back that week next year. In 2008 the week will be perfect because Veterans day isn't in the "week before Thanksgiving" because Thanksgiving is late next year. It will be a dream next year, should be very little crowds depending on when Super Soap Weekend is! Come on, don't wait two years!!

I always feel like I like Disney more than my kids, but my kids and DH(My big kid) said they love it everyyear too. Already talking when we can go back again!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Well, we just got back from a wonderful vacation at WDW and the GF. We were there from Saturday 11/10 to Saturday 11/17. The GF was as awesome as always. We requested connecting GV rooms in Conch Key, but that building and Boca Chica were all booked up for a convention, we were told. I don't know, you wouldn't have known it - it didn't seem any more crowded than usual. We were given connecting rooms on the first (yuck - no privacy on the balcony) floor of Big Pine Key, but when we asked, they found us connecting rooms on the 4th floor, which were terrific. The crowds were low and the weather was the coolest we've ever had for the second week of November - about 78 almost every day, with 2 days hitting 80 and Friday only reaching 67! Beautiful! No sweating! Hot enough in the sun to swim! Everyone was happy.

This perfect vacation afforded me only 2 very minor complaints: most deluxe resort Christmas trees were not yet up (first time ever they are waiting until Thanksgiving week to put most of them up, we were told), and the renovated rooms at the GF are a bit beige and bland, but pleasant nevertheless. The gingerbread house was finished when we arrived, and opened for business on Monday the 12th.

MVMCP was fun, as it was last year. This was our first time seeing the Osbourne lights, and they were simply amazing! Don't know when we'll return...DD(8 1/2) says maybe we should skip a year and try something new next year - is this my kid?!? We've gone every year (and then some) since 2002 - 7 times in all - what will I do if I'm not planning a WDW trip for next year?

Any questions, ask away!

Glad to hear that your vacation was a magical one. We love the GF. Stay there all the time. We loved MVMCP as well. The first time we saw the Osbourne lights we were able to walk all through MGM as they had all the buildings and houses decorated and in each car port there were characters signing autographs. The houses are no longer there as the stunt show took over. December of 2006 we saw the new version. It was very crowded and you could not move in the center of the square. It was still amazing to see but we like the old version better. Can't wait to see some pics. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you had such a great time! We''ll be there in 3 weeks and can't wait! Sounds like you just missed the Thanksgiving crowds and picked a great week to go!

Have a wonderful vacation.

 

[phyllis1966]

I'd love to post some pics, but I used to use Sony Imagestation and they no longer host photos. I tried Photobucket once and the pics were huge (I'm not really good at the resizing thing). Any suggestions?

 

[Brizite76]

I'd love to post some pics, but I used to use Sony Imagestation and they no longer host photos. I tried Photobucket once and the pics were huge (I'm not really good at the resizing thing). Any suggestions?

Hm, you can try contacting Alicnwondrlnd - she's the one that created the new GF thread and she has posted a lot of pics on there. Or maybe try the tech board on the Dis.

 

[Sammie]

Except for last year, I never remember the trees going up before Thanksgiving.

 

[phyllis1966]

As far as I can remember with the GF Christmas tree, when we stayed at the GF 11/10 - 11/17 in 2003, they put it up the second or third night we were there. On our 11/14 - 11/21 stay at the GF, it was already up when we checked in on the morning of 11/14. I guess some time in the 3 years since we've visited in November, they've pushed back the tree set-up...we were disappointed not to get to see it, but it was nice to see the gingerbread house at least.

Man, am I missing the GF right now as I sit and look out my window at the chilly, rainy weather outside...

 

[phyllis1966]

Well, I just uploaded my photos to Photobucket, so let's see how they look here...

The castle with new lights was absolutely stunning - I just couldn't get enough of it...we had no tripod, so this isn't the clearest shot, but it's not too bad...

My in-laws and we were given connecting rooms on the 1st floor of Big Pine Key - I really don't like being on the 1st floor (not enough privacy plus I like a higher floor for a nicer view). After the very nice CM went to check on availability in the back, he came back and said they'd worked a little magic and got us connecting rooms on the 4th floor - now you're talkin'! My room # was 9422 and here are some pics from the balcony - looking at main building:

Looking over the pool snack bar at Sugar Loaf:

DD is 8 and was wondering if/when she might get a towel animal - she remembers getting one on most trips...on day 6, she finally received what she was hoping for:

We had never before seen the Osborne lights - again, with no tripod, these are pretty blurry, but I think this one is the best shot I got:

I have to crop out these folks in the forefront, but this one's not too bad:

Here's the mama duck and her 5 ducklings that were at the pool each day and night:

These are just a couple of pics I took of the main building while we were sitting by the main (slide) pool:

Well, I guess that's all for now - I should get ready for work...thanks for letting me share my happy memories with you all!

 

[Brizite76]

Beautiful pics - thanks for sharing them

 

[Misti]

Thanks for posting the pix! They are beautiful!