Chalked up another stay at Gran Destino tower (6 nights) Water View and a regular Standard View room in Ranchos (1 night).
Both rooms were great. The regular rooms after the remodel are great, but to be honest, after staying in the tower for 6 nights and moving over to the regular rooms, it feels like a little bit of a downgrade. The tower rooms are just that nice.
The lobby was decorated for Christmas. The glowing wall panels were all red and green and there were several Christmas trees spread around. Check-in was quick (4:40pm arrival), but always and odd experience. Every time we stay I do the Online Check-In, but we never receive a text/email that our room is ready. However, whenever I go up to the front desk to check-in, our room is always ready.
Per a previous discussion on this thread, on this trip they did charge my credit card early in the morning on the arrival morning for the remaining balance of the reservation. So there has not been consistency with this. I have been charged before my arrival and have not been charged until my arrival. Same credit card payment method on all reservations.
We opted out of mousekeeping and received our $50 electronic gift card via email the morning of our arrival date (before we even left for the airport). I was able to opt out of mousekeeping during the online check-in on the app. It worked great.
Our room was on the 12th floor, but were thrown off because our room number was 92XX. I just looked at the room number and took the elevator to the 9th floor. When I didn't see our room number listed I looked at the app again and it does list what floor you are on. Keep that in mind when finding your room.
This time I had a couple new experiences at Gran Destino.
Amazon Prime Now Grocery Delivery
This was our second time ordering from Prime Now to a Disney resort, but this was the first at CSR. The delivery was flawless. We ordered several drinks and some snacks, but no alcohol which I have heard you have to be on location at the time the delivery driver is there to show your ID. After I received the delivery confirmation from Amazon, I called down to Bell Services and asked that they deliver to the room. No issues, but just a heads up to everyone that there is a $6 fee for them to bring it to the room and that does not include a tip. The fee is nothing new, I believe that they started charging this earlier this year. I did have the groceries delivered to:
1000 W Buena Vista Dr
Orlando, FL 32830
Amazon Delivery
I bought a new phone the night before we left for our trip and did not buy a case/screen protector for it. Since Disney is mostly concrete I really wanted to get something on it in case I dropped it. I had ordered a pack of screen protectors and a couple of other items and had it shipped to the resort. I received a delivery notification from Amazon around 2:30pm and I went down to the Bell Services desk to pick it up around 4:30pm. They asked my name and what service was delivering the package (UPS, USPS, FedEx) and left to make a call. When they came back, they told me that that I would receive an email in a few minutes with a code on it and I would have to go to the Express Business Center to pick it up. Luckily we were in the tower because I had left my phone in the room. I trekked down to the Business Center (in the convention area) and told them I was there to pick up my package. When I showed them the email I received, they told me I was in the wrong place and I had to go the EXPRESS Business Center. The EXPRESS Business Center is located in the convention area just after you walk into it from the Rix/El Mercado area between the restrooms to the left just after you walk into the convention side.
Dining
Right after check-in, we dropped our carry-on bags in the room and we headed down to 3 Bridges. My wife and I both got the burger and my son got the tacos. Everyone enjoyed their meal. In fact, with exception of D-Luxe Burger, I thought the burger there was the best I have had on property. I highly recommend getting their fries with the dipping sauce... very tasty.
My wife did get a sangria flight that they had that night. I'm not sure if it is offered daily or not. It was a pretty fair deal as you received 4 glasses of different sangria for $21. She liked 3 of the 4, but was glad she got it.
Speaking of sangria. There is a sangria class that is now offered at 3 Bridges on Saturdays mid-day. Our server said she teaches the class and you will get to sample different types of sangria and there are some light snacks as well. At the end, she said you get to make your own personal sangria. I believe the price was $45/person, but don't hold me to that price. We did not participate as we arrived after the class ended.
Good News! In case you haven't seen yet, Tables in Wonderland is now accepted at Barcelona Lounge, Dahlia Lounge, 3 Bridges and Toledo! Although not listed, Rix Lounge also accepts TiW.
Other than the new experiences, everything else was pretty on par with other trips we have had. It was Thanksgiving week, so it is busier than other times, but that is what goes with going to WDW that time of year.
Fun Fact: A cast member told us upon arrival that there were 120 hidden mickeys on the Lobby Level and 20 hidden mickeys on the Lower Level.
(not without complaining, though!)
