Grand Floridian: The Good, the bad, and the ugly

[KAT1811]

Okay, now that DH and I have decided on the Grand Floridian for our next vacation I am interested in hearing the good, the bad, and the ugly about the resort.

Is there anything that we should make sure we indulge in or anything that we should try to avoid?

Anywhere inparticular we should ask for when booking?

Any input on the resort would be appreciated.

Thank you again!!!

[tnpoohbear]

We stayed there last March - there is no ugly there that is for sure!

DD wanted to stay there for her 16th birthday and she has planned that several years ago for when she turned 16 so I agreed. With an annual pass discount the cost was still pretty steep - atleast I thought it was! So that would be the only thing I consider bad!

It is a lovely resort and we absolutely loved it. I would stay there again if money was not an issue!

We did miss not having more of a food court there because they do not and everything in the food line seemed to be more expensive there than AKL (which is I love and we have stayed there 3 times).

Definitely watch the fireworks from the beach - does not cost anything, watch the boat parade, again free. The gift shop is very unique and just the lobby of that resort is spectacular.

I am glad we got to stay there atleast one time. If DD has here way we would stay there everytime!

[g0189a]

The good:

• The most beautiful resort at Disney (IMHO)

• The lobby with the flowers and music

• Always the first stop on the bus

• Monorail service & boat launch from the resort is real nice and really easy to hop over to MK

• The pool with the beach. My kids had the absolute best time on the beach playing. Bets Christmas card with the Poly in the background

• Concierge floor service is wonderful (have stayed both on concierge and not)

• Victoria & Alberts and Narcoosee's are some of our favorite restaurants

• It's really spectacular

The bad/ugly:

• Prices are seem a bit higher here for comparable things

• The pool area can be noisy even later in the evening when you want your kids to be asleep so a room facing this pool may be a disadvantage.

• not much else

If you can, you may want to ask for a lagoon view (may cost higher) or concierge floor (will cost higher)

Make your ADR's at the earliest opportunity.

[RaRaRoundTheWorld]

- If you book an MK view, you can watch the water pagent, and fireworks from your balcony (while the children sleep, with a digestif & dessert - just an idea we enjoyed). Of course, you could also watch all of these from the waterfront.
- My DD and I had a mani/pedi at the spa (they start at 4).
- You might rent a private cabana - which includes TV, etc.
- We booked a lot of our evening ADRs at the resort in case the kids were cranky.

[RaRaRoundTheWorld]

I just have to note about the bus comment in the previous response - in our last 2 trips we were not at all the first stop on the bus.

If you are going to use to the small ferry boat to the MK - you must fold up your stroller. Make sure you bring a bag large enough to empty your belongings. Also make sure the stroller is not cumbersome - there isn't much room to hold it.

[mouseketeer mom]

I don't know if you pay that much attention to your hair on vacation, some of us girls do, some of us girls don't..but I treated myself to a blowout at the Ivy Trellis Salon at the GF, just for fun. (my hair is usually totally wonky in Florida, frizzy, big, you name it) Clarabel was the name of the stylist there. She gave me an awesome shampoo, talked me into a trim and gave my a blowout that lasted for days. In Florida. I loved her. I would go back there again, just to treat myself, just for fun. Not as elaborate as a spa treatment, but simple and easy to squeeze into your day.

[KAT1811]

If you are going to use to the small ferry boat to the MK - you must fold up your stroller. Make sure you bring a bag large enough to empty your belongings. Also make sure the stroller is not cumbersome - there isn't much room to hold it.

We will most certainly be using the monerail to the MK for the stroller issue. We have a side by side Combi double stroller for the girls. It is a tri fold but still a bit cumbersome. We have to wait until the monerail has a handicap car avaliable because the stroller does not fit in the regular compartments, open.

The cababna is something I think we may do providing the weather cooperates.

[KAT1811]

I don't know if you pay that much attention to your hair on vacation, some of us girls do, some of us girls don't

I have a short and choppy inverted bob that has to be precisely blown out daily. I am a bit vain so my hair is indeed perfect, even on vacation.

We all have our vices, mine just happen to be hair and clothing. Even the children have their hair fixed on a daily basis and every outfit has it's own hair accessory. If I can get us all to coordinate at least on a color basis I do.

[TammiMcMan]

Is there anything that we should make sure we indulge in or anything that we should try to avoid?

I'm sure that you'll still be experiencing warm enough weather for swimming. The central courtyard pool is open 24 hours. It has a hot tub tucked away and there's also a wading pool for the little ones. The theme pool has a zero entrance from the beach, a slide and "jumping" water fountain.

There are lounge chairs for 2 setup on the beach by the water. The kids can't swim, but you may want to bring along some beach toys.

If you don't mind walking, there's a very nice path that leads from the GF, by the spa and through the Poly. If the kids are all packed up in the stroller, you can walk all the way to the TTC for the Epcot monorail.

The resort boat is a nice quick way back to the GF from the MK, but you may want to avoid that with a stroller.

Anywhere inparticular we should ask for when booking?

It really depends on what view you book. If you're looking at garden view, then I'd highly suggest asking for Sago Cay or Conch Key. Sago Cay can either overlook the marina or the monorail and has a little path beside it that comes right out at the bus stop. Conch Key is a quiet building, but probably the furthest from the main building, theme pool and beach. When I say furthest though, I really mean somewhere around a 6 or 7 minute walk at a very leisurely pace.

For lagoon view, some rooms in Boca Chica can offer an obstructed view of the fireworks through the trees. Big Pine Key is closest to the pools, beach and main building.

For theme park view, you can request the castle, but there's no guarantee. I would definitely ask for Sago Cay or Conch Key. Both have wings that are one the edge of the water, with wonderful castle views. You can literally lie in bed and watch it change colors. Because of the tree line, the higher your floor, the more you'll be able to see.

Any input on the resort would be appreciated.

Gasparillas is their 24 hour counter service. You can get very casual food here at pretty good prices. The GF Cafe is a step above. I love their breakfast menu. Narcooossee's is more upscale, but you'll find plenty of families here. It tends to be on the noisy side and the wall of windows offers a beautiful view of the castle, fireworks and the EWP. Citrico's is similar to Narcoossee's, but on the quieter side. You also have 1900 Park Fair, which offers a breakfast and dinner character buffet. Finally, there's the lounge in the main building which has afternoon tea service. It could be a fun mother/daughters break.

Inside the main building, they have a pianist that plays in the afternoon and a full orchestra that plays Disney music in the evenings. You can sit at the couches, order some cookies and milk through room service and do a little dancing.

When you arrive, they'll give you a newsletter at check-in which outlines all the activities for the week. I believe they still do story telling, arts & crafts and pool games.

[wvgoofyfan]

I'd like to hear from more of you that has stayed GF, please.........

[SBETigg]

The GF was my honeymoon resort and it has been my favorite ever since. Don't miss spending some time around the resort. It's very pleasant to sit in the lobby, especially when the piano or band are playing. Set aside some time for shopping. Buy yourself a bath bomb and shampoo bar at Basic and have some "mommy time" in the bath back at your room. They also have some fun kid soaps and products.

If you and the DH can break away from the kids (if they're old enough or supervised) have a drink at Mizner's, or one at Narcoossee's. The restaurants are all very good. Even Gasparilla Grill is fun. You can get some snacks and watch fireworks from an outside table. The best place to watch the Electrical Water Pageant is at the end of the boat launch dock (9:15 nightly).

We've stayed in Boca Chica and Conch Key and have been very happy in both. Our Boca Chica room (theme park view) had the most amazing unobstructed views of the lagoon, the park, and the castle. It was a real treat, but the views anywhere are lovely at the GF. If you want a day bed, be sure to specify. It really helps to have one if traveling with multiple kids and the dormer rooms don't have them.

Take the monorail to the MK and the boat launch back (unless you have strollers and it's inconvenient).

[TammiMcMan]

I'd like to hear from more of you that has stayed GF, please.........

There's been some great and pretty complete information posted so far. Is there something in particular that you wanted to hear more details about?

[tinklvr]

We have stayed 3 times at GF~2 in Boca Chica and last Sept in SL (club level) and we are going back over Thanksgiving week (I cant wait to see the gingerbread house!)...Me and my husband will stay no where else and we have tried almost every resort at WDW! Cast members are awesome The atmosphere is soo soothing to come back to after a long day at the park! One of my favs is Basin up on the monorail level...love love love their bath and body!
All of the rooms were just renovated...Mousekeeping is great too...
Let me know if you have specifics to answer and I would be happy to indulge

[mickeefan]

All this has been very informative. I know nothing about the GF and been going to ask.
We usually stay at the Polynesian, but last week before we checked out of Boardwalk we took advantage of the bounceback offer and are staying at the GF in December at a 30% discount.
I am really looking forward to it.

[emmatink]

Okay, I may be the first to say that we had a bad experience at GF. Now don't get me wrong the resort is beautiful we just had a couple unfortunate events that I feel should have been addressed better than they were considering the amount of money we had spent to stay in this resort.

One day we came back to our room to put our 2 year old down for a nap and found window washers outside on our deck pressure washing our deck and cleaning our windows. They had left wet towels on the carpet in our room. They made a quick exit as we entered our room but I found it a little bit unprofessional that they were doing this in an occupied room. It seems to me that these sort of things should be done when guests are not occuping a room.

The second thing that happened is what really upset me. We had attended the MNSSHP and about half way through we came back to the room to put our 2 year old to bed. We had adjoining rooms with our parents and they were going to stay with her while my husband and I went back to the party to enjoy the rides that we could not take her on. Well to our surprise when we got back to our room our toilet was flooding the room! It was just water not sewer thank goodness but the entire bathroom area was soaked and the hallway leading into our room. Apparently the turn-down service flushes the toilet before leaving (not really sure why since it was already flushed!) as a last minute clean-up. Well something broke in the toilet and the water just kept running. We called down to the front desk and told them what had happened and they said they would send somebody up. We waited and waited and nobody came. So we called again. About 30 minutes later somebody came up, not the person that could fix a toilet though! He was very pleasant but couldn't really help the situation. About 45 minutes to and hour later somebody finally came up that had the knowledge to fix it but no parts to fix it! Meanwhile my 2 year old it still up and getting cranky. Nobody really knew what to tell us. Apparently they were in the middle of doing refurbs and our room had one of the older toilets that they were slowly getting rid of and replacing. So they did not have the parts to fix it and could not replace it that night either. Finally they decided to move us to another room, but we couldn't just go to the other room and sleep. We had to pack up all of our things first! By the time we got settled into our new room it was about 12:30. We had missed the rest of the party and my 2 year old was still awake! We were told during the whole ordeal that a manager would be up to speak to us but we never heard from a soul. I was just upset by the way the whole thing was handled. I know that it was an unfortunate event but it seems like we would have been offered something for our inconvience. At least the manager should have come up to check on us and apologize.

I know that these are just freak things but I thought I should share. Just don't expect over and above treatment for the dollar you spend. I guess I just had higher expectations considering the amount of money we had spent to stay there.

[TammiMcMan]

I know that these are just freak things but I thought I should share. Just don't expect over and above treatment for the dollar you spend. I guess I just had higher expectations considering the amount of money we had spent to stay there.

Emma, I'd be surprised if a resort didn't have some bad stories attached to it as well. I think that anyone should expect good customer service, regardless of how much money they are spending. Many times, it's not about the problems, but how they're corrected. Sorry that your situation was not handled in the best manner. Thank you for sharing your experience and hopefully it was a very isolated incident.

[KAT1811]

Emmatink, I know exactly how you feel. I suppose Tammi is right, every resort has their day. DH and I went on a cruise out of San Juan and decided to spend a few extra days in Sau Juan getting rid of our sea legs. Well, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton, expecting the exceptional service they are renowned for. Well to say the very least our stay was atrocious, to the point we will never return. Everything was horrible. To top it off one of the staff members stole our corprate card (we had it on file) and continued to charge on it after we left, to the tune of a couple thousand dollars. It took awhile for the problem to show up on our end but when it did they gave me a hard time reversing the charges, saying we should have noticed sooner and must have made the charges (even though we had checked out and flown home)! Eventually they reversed the charges and offered us a weekend in San Juan on them but even that would not make DH and I return.

[tinklvr]

All this has been very informative. I know nothing about the GF and been going to ask.
We usually stay at the Polynesian, but last week before we checked out of Boardwalk we took advantage of the bounceback offer and are staying at the GF in December at a 30% discount.
I am really looking forward to it.

Enjoy

[tinklvr]

Okay, I may be the first to say that we had a bad experience at GF. Now don't get me wrong the resort is beautiful we just had a couple unfortunate events that I feel should have been addressed better than they were considering the amount of money we had spent to stay in this resort.

One day we came back to our room to put our 2 year old down for a nap and found window washers outside on our deck pressure washing our deck and cleaning our windows. They had left wet towels on the carpet in our room. They made a quick exit as we entered our room but I found it a little bit unprofessional that they were doing this in an occupied room. It seems to me that these sort of things should be done when guests are not occuping a room.

The second thing that happened is what really upset me. We had attended the MNSSHP and about half way through we came back to the room to put our 2 year old to bed. We had adjoining rooms with our parents and they were going to stay with her while my husband and I went back to the party to enjoy the rides that we could not take her on. Well to our surprise when we got back to our room our toilet was flooding the room! It was just water not sewer thank goodness but the entire bathroom area was soaked and the hallway leading into our room. Apparently the turn-down service flushes the toilet before leaving (not really sure why since it was already flushed!) as a last minute clean-up. Well something broke in the toilet and the water just kept running. We called down to the front desk and told them what had happened and they said they would send somebody up. We waited and waited and nobody came. So we called again. About 30 minutes later somebody came up, not the person that could fix a toilet though! He was very pleasant but couldn't really help the situation. About 45 minutes to and hour later somebody finally came up that had the knowledge to fix it but no parts to fix it! Meanwhile my 2 year old it still up and getting cranky. Nobody really knew what to tell us. Apparently they were in the middle of doing refurbs and our room had one of the older toilets that they were slowly getting rid of and replacing. So they did not have the parts to fix it and could not replace it that night either. Finally they decided to move us to another room, but we couldn't just go to the other room and sleep. We had to pack up all of our things first! By the time we got settled into our new room it was about 12:30. We had missed the rest of the party and my 2 year old was still awake! We were told during the whole ordeal that a manager would be up to speak to us but we never heard from a soul. I was just upset by the way the whole thing was handled. I know that it was an unfortunate event but it seems like we would have been offered something for our inconvience. At least the manager should have come up to check on us and apologize.

I know that these are just freak things but I thought I should share. Just don't expect over and above treatment for the dollar you spend. I guess I just had higher expectations considering the amount of money we had spent to stay there.

I Definitely would make sure I spoke to a manager about the trouble and inconvience. Sorry it wasn't so magical, give it another try

[KAT1811]

We usually stay at the Polynesian, but last week before we checked out of Boardwalk we took advantage of the bounceback offer and are staying at the GF in December at a 30% discount.
I am really looking forward to it.

I hope they offer us a bounce back offer for 30% off. Better yet they could be ever so gracious and offer it to us now! LOL!