My three kids aged 16, 12 and 6 loved the RPC lounge. They have a cute set up for the younger kids. Smaller sized table and chairs along with a tv and Disney movies for them to watch. The lounge has beautiful windows that overlook the lagoon and GF grounds. The only disappointing part is that they don't really cater the food to childrens tastes. The breakfast has plenty to offer everyone and dinner usually included mini hot dogs for the kids. The night time pastries were heavenly also. They do keep out coffee, hot water, pink lemonade, lemonade, water and iced tea throughout the day. If you want milk or soda, just ask a staff member in the lounge, they were always very helpful. I've heard talk about the coffee machine and smoothies at AKL, unfortunately the RPC doesn't have anything like that. We rarely were in the room during our stay, we spent a lot of time just relaxing in the lounge.
Disney Florist is available if you'd like to set something up for your daughters birthday. That is something that I would definitely work with the concierge staff on. I'm sure they can do something very special for her.
You will have access to the lounge the minute you check in, even if your room is not ready yet. RPC has personalized check in, so you should be met by a concierge staff member when you arrive at the front desk and they'll bring you right upstairs to do the check in. Your luggage will be stored until your room is ready, but they will give you your keys to access the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors. If you have length of stay passes, your key will also get you into the park from the minute they're issued until midnight of your check out day.
The GF has the 2 pools now also. The larger one is called the "quiet pool". A small toddler pool and hot tub are located there. This is where they have afternoon activities each day for the kids. The other one is the "theme pool" which includes a water slide and you can enter the pool right from the beach. They also have a couple of cabana's available on a first come first serve basis. There's no extra charge and it was a great spot to relax in. They have pool bars set up at each location for a sandwich or drink.
Gasparilla's grille is the fast food spot. It has a small arcade inside also. Surprisingly enough, both the food and the prices were pretty good. Its open 24 hours. Inside the hotel is the Cafe which is open for breakfast and lunch. Both of which offer excellent food and again the pricing is not bad. Narcoosees is right on the water near the boatdock and Citrico's is inside on the 2nd floor. Both are open for dinner only and they are a bit more upscale. 1900 Park Fare offers a character brunch and dinner with Mary Poppins, Alice, Pooh and some of his friends. If you decide to eat at any of these restaurants, just stop by the concierge desk and they will take care of the reservations for you.
A good tip is to ask for a refrigerator upon check in. There was no charge and we took a quick trip over to Goodings Market and stocked up on bottled water to take into the parks. You can buy a six pack of water for the same price as one bottle inside the park.
We had wonderful service with both the mousekeeping and turn down staff. To make things easier on me, my youngest and I decorated envelopes for each day and night of our stay. Before we left, I put the tip money inside the envelopes and sealed them up. I just stuck them in the safe when we arrived and put them out each day. It was so much nicer than trying to find $1's as we were running out the door each day and kept my DD occupied those last few days before our trip.
If you get a chance, check out the spa also. It's a great spot to work out, use the whirpool or steamroom in the men's or women's lounge or take in a relaxing treatment. I think the charge was $12 per person to use the facilities for the whole week. The treatments started at about $45 and went up from there. Again, the concierge staff can help you out if you wanted to make an appointment.
I think that covers everything, at least what I can remember. There is so much to do right at the hotel, that I'm sure your kids will have a wonderful time.
Tammi
