Grand Floridian

[KAT1811]

Okay I know I have asked this before but I am getting very excited about our upcoming trip and would love to hear everyones thoughts and opinions on the Grand Floridian. I know that some do not car for the GF and some love it . I would love to hear some experiences and suggestions. Thanks again!!!

[SBETigg]

I love it! The room decor is not necessarily my favorite, but it fits with the feel and the theme, and it just works. The lobby/main building is amazing. I love just sitting and looking up at the ceiling. And shopping. Buy some bath bombs at Basin and have a soak to recover from the park- mommy time! Or try the hot tub, where I started most mornings and had it all to myself.

The pools are great, too. My kids loved swimming in the courtyard pool late in the evening and loved that they could see some of the fireworks there. Don't forget to catch the Electric Water Pageant from the grassy area near the dock. Gasparilla Grill is nice- get some wine or snacks inside, then get a table right along the marina to watch fireworks. Lovely. It's such a wonderful resort that you may find yourself almost forgetting about the parks. But with the MK so close, you don't forget. It's just amazing there- enjoy it!

[TammiMcMan]

What's not to love :D, especially for those of us who consider it our favorite resort.

Not sure if you have a pool day set aside, but if you haven't done so already, you can check the availability of the cabana's by the theme pool.

If you're stuck for dining options, call room service and they can set up something up right in the main building if you want. Not exactly private, but it's a great backdrop for dining and you can listen to the orchestra playing on the balcony above you.

Staying on the private dining subject, they'll deliver your food to the pools, or even to the beach if you're laying on one of the cabana loungers. With 24 hours notice, you can also make arrangements for other locations that will offer privacy and something a bit more special.

Try to take the resort boat launch at least once. It's a quicker trip back from the MK and truly a beautiful way to see the whole resort from the water.

If you have small children, you might want to avoid the rooms on the top floor, aka "dormer rooms". While they have nice cathederal ceilings, the balconies are much smaller and have a solid railing.

To try and get some extra space and maybe an alternate view, ask about the availability of a larger corner room when you check in. They're a few feet bigger and have 2 balconies. Not all corner rooms are set up this way, so be sure to ask about the double balcony room.

If you're in Sago Cay, there is a great grassy area where you can sit and watch Wishes. Also, there's a little pathway beside the building which brings you right out to the bus stop (saves lots of extra steps).

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Buy some bath bombs at Basin and have a soak to recover from the park-
Ooooh--I like this idea. We're staying there for the first time in December, and this sounds yummy.

[thumperbug]

My 3 stays at GF were wonderful. It felt like the Deluxe Resort it is. Only once did our room have a horrible view of the trash removal section of the resort but...we didn't spend much time there. The other 2 times, the rooms were very large. We had additional seating/curved window space thanks to having a corner room.

[KAT1811]

Buy some bath bombs at Basin and have a soak to recover from the park- mommy time! Or try the hot tub, where I started most mornings and had it all to myself.


The bath bombs sound like a great idea. I'll be 5 months pregnant so the hot tub is out but a nice soak in the tub while the kids are sleeping and DH is lounging on the balcony sounds like heaven. :cloud9:


If you're stuck for dining options, call room service and they can set up something up right in the main building if you want. Not exactly private, but it's a great backdrop for dining and you can listen to the orchestra playing on the balcony above you.

Staying on the private dining subject, they'll deliver your food to the pools, or even to the beach if you're laying on one of the cabana loungers. With 24 hours notice, you can also make arrangements for other locations that will offer privacy and something a bit more special.

Love this idea. I never though of alternate dining locations but DH and the kids would love it. Especially the private locations. DH loves to be pampered. LOL.



If you have small children, you might want to avoid the rooms on the top floor, aka "dormer rooms". While they have nice cathederal ceilings, the balconies are much smaller and have a solid railing.

To try and get some extra space and maybe an alternate view, ask about the availability of a larger corner room when you check in. They're a few feet bigger and have 2 balconies. Not all corner rooms are set up this way, so be sure to ask about the double balcony room.


I'm not sure that we fit in the dormer rooms with there being 5 of us. DH, DD 11, DD 4, DD 2, & myself. If we do I will be certain to request we not be placed there. A double balcony sounds lovely. Hopefully they'll already have a fabulous room picked out for us. We'll be celebrating DD#2's 4th birthday and DD#3's 2nd birthday while we are there.

Thank you so much for the suggestions I love the GF. I never would have thought of the private dining but my family would love it. Especially on the beach. I'll have to set something up when we arrive.

Now I'm even more excited!!!

[BeccaO]

We have stayed at the GF many times in the past few years, as you can see by my signature. We started staying in the Main Building in a deluxe concierge room because it always provided us with a nice large room and we absolutely loved it!!! We love the main building and there was a really nice CM that worked the lounge named Patty, what a sweet heart! On our last trip this past January, we could not get a room in the main building due to construction in the lobby, they were not opening any rooms during our stay in that building due to the noise. I tried for months to get a room and I could not, they never told me it was because of construction. So, I settled for a theme park view room, hoping it would make up for not being in the main building. It was a great room (a little small compared to what we had stayed in before in the main lodge), the view was fantastic!! However, as the week went on, our feelings of the GF slowly began to change. We saw a rat right outside the front door of the lobby, there were weeds growing out of the rain gutter righ outside our balcony on the 4th floor!! Not just small weeds, 18 inch weeds! The CM's were less than friendly, nothing like our previous trips. The GF is a lovely resort and it's depressing to me that Disney has not managed to keep it an upscale resort like it once was. I hate to say it, but it used to be that not too many people stayed there, now you see all kinds of riff raff there. At one time I would have compared it to The Greenbrier Resort, but now it is no where near comparison. I absolutely love everything about the GF, I just wish it still remained the GF I remember as a child. All of this adds to the reason of why we are going to try the Wilderness Lodge in January. I am crossing my fingers that we love it, but it will be hard to not compare it to the GF the entire time. I believe the problems are a reflection of management and what is going on with them.

Yes, the bath bombs are the BOMB!!!!!!!!! They are awesome!! I bought a bunch to bring home and they are so nice!! My DD7 even made her own lip gloss in there and she loved it!! They have some really neat soaps too that I let her pick out. That store is definately an asset to the GF.

You will enjoy your trip no matter what!!! We loved our trip this past Jan. just as much as we loved every trip before that, even if we were a little dissapointed with the Grand! I

[jonahbear2006]

I love love love the Grand Floridian. It was something we wanted to do this time, however, we chose BC bc of the pool. I really wanted monorail service. The Grand Floridian has the nicest lobby I think, and most comfortable. I love the elevator, the staff is uber friendly and takes time to get to know you. This is all very important to me. They also have some of our favorite places to eat. Gasparilla grill was our favorite counter service and they offer breakfast which is kind of few and far between for counter services in "the world." 1900 park fare is one of our favorite buffets, and has great characters. The cafe is nice as well, where as the Beach club, well we have beaches and cream but there isn't anywhere else there that I ever care to eat. Enjoy the Grand Floridian. Next time I think we are going to stay there instead. :mickey:

[KAT1811]

My DD7 even made her own lip gloss in there and she loved it!!

DD 11 1/2 will LOVE the lip gloss!!! Great idea.

[MichaelMouse]

We stayed at the GF last month for 7 nights and this was our 4th time staying there. We LOVE the feel the GF gives us. As for Disney resorts, its where we want to be, Next door to the MK. However, we are yearly travelers to WDW and even though I have no reservation to stop staying at either the GF or Poly, I did note that the Service at the GF was not up to par as it was in the past. Concierge seemed like one big waste. Not accomadating in the least form of the word. You think, I'm at the GF..they'll help out. Not for me they didn't. I got into Chef Mickeys on my own by walking up with no effort from the concierge at the GF. It just seemed as if you were bothering them if you requested something. That goes fo the bell man too. I tried to call down a golf cart to pick me up to take me to my building during a rain storm....They left me there to soak. There explanation: We have no one. GF: smarten up and act like the luxury hotel your suppose to be....your not a flagship hotel for nothing. However, I LOVE the GF regardless, just pay attention to what is important...your guests.:mickey::(

[Aunt Kitty's friend]

Love, love, love the GF!!!:number1: We have stayed there for our last 8 trips. The last 2 we splurged on Club Level which was wonderful.

One of the CM's on the Club Level was nice enough to open the Walt Disney Suite and the Roy Disney Suite for us to take a peek. It's great just to see the memorabilia in there.

GF is a wonderful place to have afternoon tea. If you are there late enough in the afternoon, you will be treated to beautiful music from the pianist in the lobby.

Unfortunately we are not going to be staying at the GF this year. My trip $$$ that I save for all year long is not going to stretch very far due to higher gas prices and a struggling economy. Hopefully we will be back next year.:mickey:

[eandrsmom]

We stayed there last Feb. for the first time and loved it! We will be staying there again in December. We found the service to be the best that we've found at Disney. The food at the cafe is really good, and Cinderella's step-sisters at 1900 Park Fare were a hoot. The kids really enjoyed the pool and waterslide. We also liked the option of taking the boat back from MK. We found it quicker than the monorail.