(2014-2020) Disney's GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA + VILLAS Information & Questions

[smellyia]

I wanted to post a quick update in return for all the great advice we got on here....just got back from an 11 day (4nts Royal Pacific Club level, 6nts Grand Floridian) trip and our GF portion exceeded expectation.

Our room was in Big Pine Key - 9510 - 5th floor dormer. The refurbished textiles are very elegant and the room sizes felt larger than my previous at BC. I didn't put in any special requests since it was our first stay and all I cared about was getting our room early since I was transferring over from USO at an early time with 2 young kids and DH. We faced the courtyard pool and had a tremendous view of the high fireworks for Wishes & HalloWishes. What I constantly noticed was how quiet it was despite being completely booked. After our times at BC, this was a huge improvement.

Weather was perfect and we enjoyed the pools tremendously. We had afternoon tea and I can honestly say I will never go to WDW without this indulgence again. Our server was delightful and my daughter felt so grown up. The service is hearty enough for a lunch. 1900 PF dinner had great character interaction and better than average buffet food, but timing was awful. Our ADR was at 7pm and we didn't see characters until 9pm-9:20pm! My DH had to bring DS back to the room because it was so late. Our waitress was very nice though and told me that in the future if I am staying at GF and can't get a certain time to stop by the desk as they do "everything possible to accommodate our Grand Floridian guests." We had an ADR at GF Café but cancelled them in the interest of time Gasparillas is by far the best resort QS we have encountered over our 5 trips. The 24hr operation and cast members were excellent. The Stromboli and GF burger are both guilty guilty guilty pleasures. I was very surprised and satisfied by their salad bar.

DH and my friend's DH had a 4hr fishing excursion one morning while us ladies went shopping. This is advertised as a tour with an "experienced" guide which turned out to be no more than a college kid who had knowledge deficits when it came to fishing location and operating the boat. DH and guest are both experienced fishermen and the latter being almost professional so that didn't go over well. I discussed the dissatisfaction with guest services given the cost was $455 and immediately they refunded the whole cost which was beyond what I expected...honestly I was hoping for a food voucher or something. In this respect, I was impressed with Disney's guest relations.

Overall, GF has bumped BC to second place and we are hooked. We are returning in Jan for DD & DH's bdays. I'm thinking of club level and wondering if Sugar Loaf vs Main Building is preferable.....also, does anyone have a recent menu or know what the appetizer service consists of? TIA!

 

[cattywampus]

Thanks for posting Smellyia!! We just turned over to 21 days left and our magic bands arrived today. Your report made me even more excited!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hello, all my Grand friends! You have been very busy, I see a lot of trips are already started. Safe travels to everyone headed to the World this weekend, and have a magical vacation.

There are some new king deluxe room photos in the "Deluxe Room Photos" post, for anyone interested.

Being so far behind (as usual lately, lol), I kind of skimmed. There were far too many questions for me to do a big quote, but I have a few thoughts...here goes.

A few years ago, the GF room assignor told me the queen deluxe rooms do not come up on the website due to the accessible rooms attached, the only accessible rooms in the Main Bldg. There are only 6 queen deluxe rooms, and I think two are accessible with two more connecting - they kind of keep these rooms out of inventory in case a guest needs the extra rooms for family helpers, etc. It's possible to snag these rooms, but there are so few and they are often needed by those who can't use a regular room.

Unless things have changed, you can request a crib from housekeeping, on a first come, first served basis.

The Keurig machines are in the suites, the Cuisinart machines are in the regular rooms. The deluxe rooms in the Main Bldg. are the exception, from what I can tell - they seem to have the Keurigs, too, maybe due to the former "honeymoon suite" designation.

Dormer room and its enclosed balcony can be seen in this link, posted in an earlier thread by gilsan. HTH!

Thanks for the review, smellyia! Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all, glad they made up for the fishing excursion. As for your question - we enjoy both CLs, each has its advantages. If you plan to be out of the resort, park touring or whatever, then SL may be the way to go. Save a little cash but still get the benefit of breakfast, snacks and IPO, assistance while at the resort, etc. If you are going to spend a lot of time at the resort, RPC's lounge is larger and more comfortable, and it's hard to beat the location.

 

[mickeynut1]

I wanted to post a quick update in return for all the great advice we got on here....just got back from an 11 day (4nts Royal Pacific Club level, 6nts Grand Floridian) trip and our GF portion exceeded expectation.

Our room was in Big Pine Key - 9510 - 5th floor dormer. The refurbished textiles are very elegant and the room sizes felt larger than my previous at BC. I didn't put in any special requests since it was our first stay and all I cared about was getting our room early since I was transferring over from USO at an early time with 2 young kids and DH. We faced the courtyard pool and had a tremendous view of the high fireworks for Wishes & HalloWishes. What I constantly noticed was how quiet it was despite being completely booked. After our times at BC, this was a huge improvement.

Weather was perfect and we enjoyed the pools tremendously. We had afternoon tea and I can honestly say I will never go to WDW without this indulgence again. Our server was delightful and my daughter felt so grown up. The service is hearty enough for a lunch. 1900 PF dinner had great character interaction and better than average buffet food, but timing was awful. Our ADR was at 7pm and we didn't see characters until 9pm-9:20pm! My DH had to bring DS back to the room because it was so late. Our waitress was very nice though and told me that in the future if I am staying at GF and can't get a certain time to stop by the desk as they do "everything possible to accommodate our Grand Floridian guests." We had an ADR at GF Café but cancelled them in the interest of time Gasparillas is by far the best resort QS we have encountered over our 5 trips. The 24hr operation and cast members were excellent. The Stromboli and GF burger are both guilty guilty guilty pleasures. I was very surprised and satisfied by their salad bar.

DH and my friend's DH had a 4hr fishing excursion one morning while us ladies went shopping. This is advertised as a tour with an "experienced" guide which turned out to be no more than a college kid who had knowledge deficits when it came to fishing location and operating the boat. DH and guest are both experienced fishermen and the latter being almost professional so that didn't go over well. I discussed the dissatisfaction with guest services given the cost was $455 and immediately they refunded the whole cost which was beyond what I expected...honestly I was hoping for a food voucher or something. In this respect, I was impressed with Disney's guest relations.

Overall, GF has bumped BC to second place and we are hooked. We are returning in Jan for DD & DH's bdays. I'm thinking of club level and wondering if Sugar Loaf vs Main Building is preferable.....also, does anyone have a recent menu or know what the appetizer service consists of? TIA!

Thanks for your review, glad you had a great stay . I agree about the GF topping the BC. We enjoyed our BC stay, but our favorite place to stay is in the MK area, so the Poly and GF are at the top of our list of resorts .

As far as RPC vs SL, it's really a personal decision as they are totally different experiences, IMO. Having stayed both, I'm glad I tried SL, but I wasn't wow'd by it. If the extra cost is doable, I'd choose RPC without hesitation; however, I'd choose an outer building GV over SL (but that's just my opinion).

We just turned over to 21 days left and our magic bands arrived today.

Yay for MBs arriving ...the next 21 days will go fast .

Hello, all my Grand friends! You have been very busy, I see a lot of trips are already started. Safe travels to everyone headed to the World this weekend, and have a magical vacation.

Hi there . Glad you could pop in, it's good to "see" you back. Hope things are going well with you .

 

[k&a&c'smom]

....



Hi there . Glad you could pop in, it's good to "see" you back .

Good to see you, too.

 

[mickeynut1]

Good to see you, too.

 

[Raya]

I've never felt so lucky before! We just checked in and got a massive amount of pixie dust! We've been upgraded!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We just returned from our very first stay at the GF. The resort is very lovely. We had a lagoon room booked and requested Boca Chica, upper floor/no dormer. We got Big Pine Key, 4th floor. We usually stay at the Poly and it was interesting to compare the resorts. I will say the dining options and amenities are better at the GF.

Some things we really liked:
* That both pools had a bar and you could order food that was delivered to you poolside
* The nightly turndown service
* DH got a martini and a cigar from Mizner's and we enjoyed sitting outside on the (designated smoking) balcony
* Listening to the band in the lobby at night
* Grand Floridian Cafe - the mushroom soup was SO good

Some things we didn't like:
* The bathroom setup. It was nice that the toilet & shower were in a separate room from the mirror & sinks. However, the area with the sinks didn't have a door. You couldn't turn on the light or use the hairdryer without disturbing everyone else in the room.
* The room wasn't very quiet. We don't expect to be isolated in a bubble and not hear anything but we heard a lot. We could hear the guests in the room next to us talking and their child had this terrible croup-like cough that we heard for most of the night (luckily they checked out a couple of nights after we arrived). Also, you could hear when someone was using the toilet in the room above us and then hear the toilet flushing. We also heard kids running and screaming down the hall a lot. A few times I was walking behind the families and the parents never said anything to their kids.

All in all it was a great stay and I'm glad we got to try out the GF.

Debbie

 

[ksks11]

Did I read correctly? Do each of the outer buildings have washers and dryers? Wasn't really planning on doing laundry while I was there- however, this makes it quite easy if I would need to.

So confused about the weather... when I look at the extended forecast for the 1st week in November- it changes every day. One day it says it will be sunny and beautiful and then the NEXT day forecast says rainy and cloudy all week... My DH says just stop looking- but I can't... Do you think they forecast the weather accurately a week in advance?

We sent a box down of all our heavy stuff- body washes, shampoos/ conditioners, etc. With new checked luggage/ carry on rules... we want to bring as little as possible with us.
Doing all my last minute packing- so excited!
5 more days to go!!! We fly out Halloween night- can't wait!

 

[wajones2]

I wanted to post a quick update in return for all the great advice we got on here....just got back from an 11 day (4nts Royal Pacific Club level, 6nts Grand Floridian) trip and our GF portion exceeded expectation. Our room was in Big Pine Key - 9510 - 5th floor dormer. The refurbished textiles are very elegant and the room sizes felt larger than my previous at BC. I didn't put in any special requests since it was our first stay and all I cared about was getting our room early since I was transferring over from USO at an early time with 2 young kids and DH. We faced the courtyard pool and had a tremendous view of the high fireworks for Wishes & HalloWishes. What I constantly noticed was how quiet it was despite being completely booked. After our times at BC, this was a huge improvement. Weather was perfect and we enjoyed the pools tremendously. We had afternoon tea and I can honestly say I will never go to WDW without this indulgence again. Our server was delightful and my daughter felt so grown up. The service is hearty enough for a lunch. 1900 PF dinner had great character interaction and better than average buffet food, but timing was awful. Our ADR was at 7pm and we didn't see characters until 9pm-9:20pm! My DH had to bring DS back to the room because it was so late. Our waitress was very nice though and told me that in the future if I am staying at GF and can't get a certain time to stop by the desk as they do "everything possible to accommodate our Grand Floridian guests." We had an ADR at GF Café but cancelled them in the interest of time Gasparillas is by far the best resort QS we have encountered over our 5 trips. The 24hr operation and cast members were excellent. The Stromboli and GF burger are both guilty guilty guilty pleasures. I was very surprised and satisfied by their salad bar. DH and my friend's DH had a 4hr fishing excursion one morning while us ladies went shopping. This is advertised as a tour with an "experienced" guide which turned out to be no more than a college kid who had knowledge deficits when it came to fishing location and operating the boat. DH and guest are both experienced fishermen and the latter being almost professional so that didn't go over well. I discussed the dissatisfaction with guest services given the cost was $455 and immediately they refunded the whole cost which was beyond what I expected...honestly I was hoping for a food voucher or something. In this respect, I was impressed with Disney's guest relations. Overall, GF has bumped BC to second place and we are hooked. We are returning in Jan for DD & DH's bdays. I'm thinking of club level and wondering if Sugar Loaf vs Main Building is preferable.....also, does anyone have a recent menu or know what the appetizer service consists of? TIA!

Did they make a recommendation for 1900 PF ADR time? We have 6:40pm and want to make 9pm fireworks at MK.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I've never felt so lucky before! We just checked in and got a massive amount of pixie dust! We've been upgraded!

How magical!! Which category did you have booked, what were your requests, and what was your upgrade?! As BlueSkies says, inquiring minds want to know.

Have a Grand vacation!

We just returned from our very first stay at the GF. The resort is very lovely. We had a lagoon room booked and requested Boca Chica, upper floor/no dormer. We got Big Pine Key, 4th floor. We usually stay at the Poly and it was interesting to compare the resorts. I will say the dining options and amenities are better at the GF.

Some things we really liked:
* That both pools had a bar and you could order food that was delivered to you poolside
* The nightly turndown service
* DH got a martini and a cigar from Mizner's and we enjoyed sitting outside on the (designated smoking) balcony
* Listening to the band in the lobby at night
* Grand Floridian Cafe - the mushroom soup was SO good

Some things we didn't like:
* The bathroom setup. It was nice that the toilet & shower were in a separate room from the mirror & sinks. However, the area with the sinks didn't have a door. You couldn't turn on the light or use the hairdryer without disturbing everyone else in the room.
* The room wasn't very quiet. We don't expect to be isolated in a bubble and not hear anything but we heard a lot. We could hear the guests in the room next to us talking and their child had this terrible croup-like cough that we heard for most of the night (luckily they checked out a couple of nights after we arrived). Also, you could hear when someone was using the toilet in the room above us and then hear the toilet flushing. We also heard kids running and screaming down the hall a lot. A few times I was walking behind the families and the parents never said anything to their kids.

All in all it was a great stay and I'm glad we got to try out the GF.

Debbie

Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the resort overall. Do you think you will return?

I agree about the connecting rooms, we usually ask to NOT have a connecting door but nearly always do. A friend suggested we open the connector and lay a towel between the two doors - since she gave me that tip, we haven't had any loud neighbors, but I'm gonna try it next time we can't sleep.

Did I read correctly? Do each of the outer buildings have washers and dryers? Wasn't really planning on doing laundry while I was there- however, this makes it quite easy if I would need to.

So confused about the weather... when I look at the extended forecast for the 1st week in November- it changes every day. One day it says it will be sunny and beautiful and then the NEXT day forecast says rainy and cloudy all week... My DH says just stop looking- but I can't... Do you think they forecast the weather accurately a week in advance?

We sent a box down of all our heavy stuff- body washes, shampoos/ conditioners, etc. With new checked luggage/ carry on rules... we want to bring as little as possible with us.
Doing all my last minute packing- so excited!
5 more days to go!!! We fly out Halloween night- can't wait!

YAY! Nearly there.

Yes, each building has its own laundry room, except SL. There are only 2 in most, so you may have to check back to catch one open - but we have rarely had a problem, and if you have a designated time (while swimming, etc.) and your building seems busy, check the next. Cost is $2 per load, washer and dryer, and last I checked, laundry soap/softener was $1 per box.

The last few times we've been to WDW, I had the same experience with checking the weather. Kind of hard to plan, isn't it?! To be fair, our local weather has had similar predictions - one day, they say we'll have rain all week, then 24 hours later it is supposed to be sunny.

Keep in mind, when they say there is a 30% or less chance of rain in Orlando, you may not get ANY rain in WDW. Or, there may be a short burst in, say, MK - but you happen to be in Epcot at the time. Our trip last month was forecast for rain nearly every day, I think we only saw rain once and that was for less than 30 minutes. We had just exited the bus at MK and waited it out under the portico, then went about our day.

Good luck, we'll keep our fingers crossed you have beautiful weather.

 

[ksks11]

How magical!! Which category did you have booked, what were your requests, and what was your upgrade?! As BlueSkies says, inquiring minds want to know.

Have a Grand vacation!



Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed the resort overall. Do you think you will return?

I agree about the connecting rooms, we usually ask to NOT have a connecting door but nearly always do. A friend suggested we open the connector and lay a towel between the two doors - since she gave me that tip, we haven't had any loud neighbors, but I'm gonna try it next time we can't sleep.



YAY! Nearly there.

Yes, each building has its own laundry room, except SL. There are only 2 in most, so you may have to check back to catch one open - but we have rarely had a problem, and if you have a designated time (while swimming, etc.) and your building seems busy, check the next. Cost is $2 per load, washer and dryer, and last I checked, laundry soap/softener was $1 per box.

The last few times we've been to WDW, I had the same experience with checking the weather. Kind of hard to plan, isn't it?! To be fair, our local weather has had similar predictions - one day, they say we'll have rain all week, then 24 hours later it is supposed to be sunny.

Keep in mind, when they say there is a 30% or less chance of rain in Orlando, you may not get ANY rain in WDW. Or, there may be a short burst in, say, MK - but you happen to be in Epcot at the time. Our trip last month was forecast for rain nearly every day, I think we only saw rain once and that was for less than 30 minutes. We had just exited the bus at MK and waited it out under the portico, then went about our day.

Good luck, we'll keep our fingers crossed you have beautiful weather.

I appreciate you answering all of my questions.
And thank you for the well-wishes!!! We're hoping for wonderful weather, as well. DH says we will have fun no matter what [I know he's right, but I would still like sunny skies over rainy cloudy days]
My kids (5 and 3 1/2) think this is going to be a rinky-dink amusement park. They have no idea!!!! I was only ever at Disney for a couple of hours about 7 years ago... So this is a new, exciting experience for all of us. And the GF looks like such a beautiful resort... can't wait to be a part of all the Disney magic!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Aww, so cute about the kids. You are going to have a wonderful time.

When I read my previous response, I realized it may sound like the laundry is $2 for both washing and drying. It is $2 per load for each - so, if you can dry in one round, $4 per load to get them washed and dried. Sorry for the confusion, for anyone reading along.

 

[tommylicious]

Have any of the non-villas rooms at the Grand Flo been updated, or are they still stuck in that 1989 interpretation of victorian decor (with the original carpet from 1989)?

 

[mickeynut1]

I've never felt so lucky before! We just checked in and got a massive amount of pixie dust! We've been upgraded!

Congrats on the upgrade. Hope you're having a great time and enjoying the GF .

We just returned from our very first stay at the GF. The resort is very lovely. We had a lagoon room booked and requested Boca Chica, upper floor/no dormer. We got Big Pine Key, 4th floor. We usually stay at the Poly and it was interesting to compare the resorts. I will say the dining options and amenities are better at the GF.

Some things we really liked:
* That both pools had a bar and you could order food that was delivered to you poolside
* The nightly turndown service
* DH got a martini and a cigar from Mizner's and we enjoyed sitting outside on the (designated smoking) balcony
* Listening to the band in the lobby at night
* Grand Floridian Cafe - the mushroom soup was SO good

Some things we didn't like:
* The bathroom setup. It was nice that the toilet & shower were in a separate room from the mirror & sinks. However, the area with the sinks didn't have a door. You couldn't turn on the light or use the hairdryer without disturbing everyone else in the room.
* The room wasn't very quiet. We don't expect to be isolated in a bubble and not hear anything but we heard a lot. We could hear the guests in the room next to us talking and their child had this terrible croup-like cough that we heard for most of the night (luckily they checked out a couple of nights after we arrived). Also, you could hear when someone was using the toilet in the room above us and then hear the toilet flushing. We also heard kids running and screaming down the hall a lot. A few times I was walking behind the families and the parents never said anything to their kids.

All in all it was a great stay and I'm glad we got to try out the GF.

Debbie

Thanks for your review . I'm sorry about the noisy neighbors, but glad they checked out soon after you arrived.

Doing all my last minute packing- so excited!
5 more days to go!!! We fly out Halloween night- can't wait!

Have a great trip .

A friend suggested we open the connector and lay a towel between the two doors - since she gave me that tip, we haven't had any loud neighbors, but I'm gonna try it next time we can't sleep.

This is a good idea .

My kids (5 and 3 1/2) think this is going to be a rinky-dink amusement park. They have no idea!!!! I was only ever at Disney for a couple of hours about 7 years ago... So this is a new, exciting experience for all of us. And the GF looks like such a beautiful resort... can't wait to be a part of all the Disney magic!

All of you are going to have a great time!!! How exciting for your kids . The GF is a beautiful resort, you are going to love it. Have a great trip .

Have any of the non-villas rooms at the Grand Flo been updated, or are they still stuck in that 1989 interpretation of victorian decor (with the original carpet from 1989)?

All of the buildings/rooms have been redone. The first page of this thread has links to pics of the refurbed rooms.

 

[stubbsie]

Hi All

We will be making our first WDW trip at the end of Nov staying at the GF.

I've been reading so much useful info on here!

We have booked outer building lagoon view rooms and have requested connecting rooms as our kids are 3.5 and 1.5.

We tried to change to a 2 bed suite but nothing available at the moment.

I'm hoping someone with knowledge and experience on here can tell me how likely we are to get the connecting rooms? Also is there anything else we should request?

Many Thanks!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi All

We will be making our first WDW trip at the end of Nov staying at the GF.

I've been reading so much useful info on here!

We have booked outer building lagoon view rooms and have requested connecting rooms as our kids are 3.5 and 1.5.

We tried to change to a 2 bed suite but nothing available at the moment.

I'm hoping someone with knowledge and experience on here can tell me how likely we are to get the connecting rooms? Also is there anything else we should request?

Many Thanks!

Welcome to the GF FAQ .

We've never had a need for connecting rooms, but your chances are probably pretty good to get them (although they are not guaranteed). With that said, since requests can be overlooked, if you happen to not get them, you can always ask if they are available. Whether or not the CM will be able to change your room(s) will depend on how busy the resort is, but he/she will do everything possible to accommodate you. Also, I'd keep checking for a 2 bedroom suite as sometimes availability does change and one might become available prior to your stay .

Hope you have a great first trip and enjoy the GF .

 

[grannyminnie]

Hi, GF "buds"....I'm back, and had such a good time at the Grand! She continues to be the queen of them all, in my opinion. Relaxing, beautiful, quiet (even tho at full capacity, I was told) and easy to get around, what more could you want??

We stayed a couple of nights at Downtown Disney before going on the property and were pleasantly surprised at how nice the new B Resort was. It used to be the Royal Plaza, for anyone familiar with the hotels over there. We use them "pre-Grand" almost every trip.

I thought MK was very !! Thank goodness we had fastpasses for the mine train or we would never have ridden! At least a 75 min. wait every time we tried to do standby. Obviously the new has not worn off yet.

The GF orchestra sounded wonderful as usual. We consider an evening well spent if we are in the lobby enjoying them! Chris is back at the piano, but not as often as he has been in the past, and he does not look good at all, I'm sad to say.

We had a great corner room in Boca! I would ask for it in the future if we were not in club level.

The weather was nice, by the way....cool evenings and mornings.......... with just one really warm afternoon.

Will add any tidbits later as I think of them....

 

[followthatmouse]

Hi, GF "buds"....I'm back, and had such a good time at the Grand! She continues to be the queen of them all, in my opinion. Relaxing, beautiful, quiet (even tho at full capacity, I was told) and easy to get around, what more could you want??

Chris is back at the piano, but not as often as he has been in the past, and he does not look good at all, I'm sad to say.

We had a great corner room in Boca! I would ask for it in the future if we were not in club level.

Welcome back, grannyminnie! I'm so glad you had a Grand time!

Chris was playing once or twice a week during our May stay. As you say, he is not looking at all well. I hope he is not overdoing things. Actually, it is remarkable he feels up to playing at all.

 

[grannyminnie]

Welcome back, grannyminnie! I'm so glad you had a Grand time!

Chris was playing once or twice a week during our May stay. As you say, he is not looking at all well. I hope he is not overdoing things. Actually, it is remarkable he feels up to playing at all.

We chatted with him, and learned that he goes and lies down between sets. I believe he plays maybe twice a week but not sure.