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

[vettegirl]

Does anyone know if requesting a fan for the room is something they will do. I saw at the YC that someone requested a portable fan and it was put in their room.

 

[NikkiDP]

Apologies if this was discussed already, but it's news to me. I received a letter from Disney today informing me that there will be refurbishment going on at the main GF pool during our stay. I am a bit disappointed. I don't recall being alerted about this when booking, so I assume it wasn't announced?

"Beach Pool and Beaches Pool Bar & Grill are scheduled to be closed for refurbishment, but we are happy to share that the Beach Pool Water Play Area will remain available for little ones."

And

"It is possible you may see or hear construction, but noise should not be heard from your guest room between dusk and 9am. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding."

We have a reservation for Dec. 14-25. I don't even know if we will have "pool weather," but if we do, my daughter will be disappointed to miss out on this pool and its slide. And we always try to avoid staying somewhere where construction is happening... had an annoying experience with it at Boardwalk on our honeymoon.

Anyway, just sharing...

Hi there! Sorry if this was already asked but does the letter say when the refurbishment starts? Thanks!

 

[Rachel GB]

Hi there! Sorry if this was already asked but does the letter say when the refurbishment starts? Thanks!

I think it said November 20.

 

[NikkiDP]

I think it said November 20.

Thank you! We have a split stay and the GF portion is only 3 days so was curious if it would coincide at all but it doesn't seem like it will.

 

[Ashley Marie]

Hi there! Sorry if this was already asked but does the letter say when the refurbishment starts? Thanks!

My letter didn't have a date, but guest services said November - February.

 

[Ashley Marie]

If you are staying at the Villas, you will probably hear noise. If you are staying at the hotel, request Sago, Conch Key, or Boca Chica.

Thanks - I did put in a request for Sago or Conch Key.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Some quick thoughts.

Wow what a truly relaxing resort. It seems with each stay I appreciate the Grand more and more. The cms everywhere all are so nice. I love all the warm greetings,
I did my 'time the boat back' from MK to Ewp 1 night and fireworks the next. That is as fun as any ride IMO.

Finally tried Narcoossee's. The bartender while we waited treated us like we were the most special people he has ever waited on. So sweet and memorable

Gaspies for a quick night snack, coffee and desserts during our stay all went well. Nice little spot!

The deep end of the courtyard pool after walking F&W for lunch was just ahhhhhhhh! Love the music and the palm trees and the gf view!

Finally did a picture with Richard who said I turned 92 in June.

Traveling with dh who goes to WDW far less that I , made me realize how much I do know lol. I had to keep directing him, explaining things, etc. at home I work for him. This was a nice treat for him because I would just say "do you want to a,b, or c?" And then get it. Half the time he didn't even know the options were available

Lastly for Epcot the mono to mono transfer in 90 heat was annoying, the air on them was not good. We ended up leaving by walking to bc and bus to MK then boat from MK to gf and reverse. Seemed faster that way too.

Last I face timed mom and pointed to the main building " that's where we are staying in December mom!", she actually squealed. She will love rpc !

Yep, I was ok with non cl this trip. Sandwiched in between a sl and rpc trips it was a nice change. The biggest advantage is flexibility. You may save a little $ too although now in the app you can see your running total and we were close to what I would have normally paid for the upgrade. so basically with cl I pay for lunches whereas this trip same price for cl only with lunch included.

I missed grabbing coffee in am and drinks during the day. I didn't really miss evening stuff.
So Labor Day special was a hit and I think next year may be in the cards for us again

100% agree!!!

I absolutely love, love, love the GF. We didn't stay CL there, but I plan to in the future. There is simply nothing negative I can say about the resort.

I wondered if the Poly would unseat the GF as my favorite, but it did not. We did love our stay at the Poly, but I most certainly kept looking across the lagoon at my dear GF. I will be back someday!!

 

[trishadono]

100% agree!!!

I absolutely love, love, love the GF. We didn't stay CL there, but I plan to in the future. There is simply nothing negative I can say about the resort.

I wondered if the Poly would unseat the GF as my favorite, but it did not. We did love our stay at the Poly, but I most certainly kept looking across the lagoon at my dear GF. I will be back someday!!

Now that the girls are getting older , what do they like? Seemed my kids preferences changed as they grew. DD loves any mono with WL as a option if desperate. DS now at 20 says BLT , CR or Poly please. Again WL as a last resort. Spoiled kids! I remember when POP was the #1 lol!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Now that the girls are getting older , what do they like? Seemed my kids preferences changed as they grew. DD loves any mono with WL as a option if desperate. DS now at 20 says BLT , CR or Poly please. Again WL as a last resort. Spoiled kids! I remember when POP was the #1 lol!

Honestly, every time we start planning a new trip and I ask them where they want to stay, they almost always say Beach or Yacht Club!! The girls were really young when we stayed at POP and CBR, so they don't really remember those. Talk about spoiled, they only know the deluxe resorts, LOL

And then DS has only stayed at CR, GF, AOA and Poly, LOL.

 

[Mousemommy1]

The funny thing is that going into the GF trip, I was 100% certain that I would hate it. My fierce love for that resort really came as a surprise!!!

 

[dansdad]

The funny thing is that going into the GF trip, I was 100% certain that I would hate it. My fierce love for that resort really came as a surprise!!!

This was us exactly!

 

[NikkiDP]

40 days until our first stay at GF!! I'm bouncing off the walls

 

[sndral]

The funny thing is that going into the GF trip, I was 100% certain that I would hate it. My fierce love for that resort really came as a surprise!!!

When I first stayed at the GF I figured it would be a one and done, get it out of my system kind of thing (which, no offense, the Poly was for me.) Yeah, no, so I limited the damages to my pocket book by buying VGF points

 

[Mousemommy1]

40 days until our first stay at GF!! I'm bouncing off the walls

How exciting!!!

 

[DrunkJam]

91 days til we check in. Still worried it might be too stuffy for us, and MORE worried since the kids can't use the pool and the pool and slide was something they were super excited for. A bit cross we couldn't know in advance. We would definitely have made a different choice.

 

[MisplacedUnderwear]

Still worried it might be too stuffy for us...

Please don't worry about that! Nearly everyone there is just like you and me -- hoping for a relaxing vacation and saved up for a while to "feel rich" while we do that vacation! I was there last week and got a kick out of people wearing suits catering to my every whim while I'm wearing Perry the Platypus swim trunks and a Mike Wazowski t-shirt. Honestly, they're really used to dealing with kids and dressed-down adults and it's only the standard of care that's different (read: better) from anywhere else on property. In that regard, I promise you won't regret your decision. (If I'm wrong, I'll give you back every cent you paid me for this post of encouragment!)

Unfortunately, I can't help with the pool and slide. The courtyard pool is still very nice, but the main pool and slide really were highlights of the vacation for my better half and myself. Maybe there's a chance of pool-hopping somewhere nearby like Poly given the circumstances? (I feel like I've heard of that when pools are closed at certain resorts, but I don't think I have heard of it if the resort has a second pool like GF does...anyway, couldn't hurt to ask when you're down there because the worst they'll say is "no.")

 

[DrunkJam]

Please don't worry about that! Nearly everyone there is just like you and me -- hoping for a relaxing vacation and saved up for a while to "feel rich" while we do that vacation! I was there last week and got a kick out of people wearing suits catering to my every whim while I'm wearing Perry the Platypus swim trunks and a Mike Wazowski t-shirt. Honestly, they're really used to dealing with kids and dressed-down adults and it's only the standard of care that's different (read: better) from anywhere else on property. In that regard, I promise you won't regret your decision. (If I'm wrong, I'll give you back every cent you paid me for this post of encouragment!)

Unfortunately, I can't help with the pool and slide. The courtyard pool is still very nice, but the main pool and slide really were highlights of the vacation for my better half and myself. Maybe there's a chance of pool-hopping somewhere nearby like Poly given the circumstances? (I feel like I've heard of that when pools are closed at certain resorts, but I don't think I have heard of it if the resort has a second pool like GF does...anyway, couldn't hurt to ask when you're down there because the worst they'll say is "no.")

Thank you so much for this. I hope that this is what we will feel. We are all very excited to try it out, and, my daughter is even more excited because this is where Cinderella is too! We have emailed to see if we can pool hop or something. I know it seems like a small thing, but, this is a very special holiday so I hope it is a thing they can work with us to improve.

 

[trishadono]

Thank you so much for this. I hope that this is what we will feel. We are all very excited to try it out, and, my daughter is even more excited because this is where Cinderella is too! We have emailed to see if we can pool hop or something. I know it seems like a small thing, but, this is a very special holiday so I hope it is a thing they can work with us to improve.

Oh on my going home day at 3pm I think Cinderella and Prince Charming did a stroll on 2nd floor then down to lobby with kids in a parade then they danced with kids too. It was so cute!

I'm not sure if that's daily? Maybe someone here knows.....

( I jumped out of my seat in Mizners to watch, Cinderella!)

 

[MisplacedUnderwear]

I'm not sure if that's daily? Maybe someone here knows.....

Truth! It's daily and there are small stand-up A-frame style signs in the lobby indicating the times. To the best of my knowledge, they do something special for the little boys separately from the girls, and then lead them on some kind of dance pararade thing through the lobby. My better half and I were terribly confused at first when we had to get through a large gaggle of young gentlemen on our way to do some shopping on the second floor!

Also keep your eyes peeled for the non-publicly-scheduled but oh-so-frequent visits by newlywed couples in pumpkin carriages! So cute to see and they always look like they're having so much fun! After seeing that, I had to show my better half the short walk from GF DVC building to the wedding pavillion. When it's not in use they usually leave part of the path open so you can actually even visit the little island! We had a great view of the wedding pavillion from our DVC lake view room, and I'm lucky that didn't inspire any terribly expensive ideas from my better half!

 

[DrunkJam]

Truth! It's daily and there are small stand-up A-frame style signs in the lobby indicating the times. To the best of my knowledge, they do something special for the little boys separately from the girls, and then lead them on some kind of dance pararade thing through the lobby. My better half and I were terribly confused at first when we had to get through a large gaggle of young gentlemen on our way to do some shopping on the second floor!

Also keep your eyes peeled for the non-publicly-scheduled but oh-so-frequent visits by newlywed couples in pumpkin carriages! So cute to see and they always look like they're having so much fun! After seeing that, I had to show my better half the short walk from GF DVC building to the wedding pavillion. When it's not in use they usually leave part of the path open so you can actually even visit the little island! We had a great view of the wedding pavillion from our DVC lake view room, and I'm lucky that didn't inspire any terribly expensive ideas from my better half!

Ah we got married at the Yacht Club Gazebo, on 10/10/10 (there was a ballot for time slots for all the wedding locations for that day, it was very popular!) Hopefully, though we can check out the cinderella parade (DD has her dress ready and everything!) and look around the pavilion and all sorts.