We planned a super amazing, no holds barred, dream Disney trip for our 20th Anniversary, including a club level stay at the Grand Floridian. The trip itself was amazing, and we truly enjoyed our time together. We went all out and tried lots of great dinners, tours, cabana, and the room. Some things were totally worth it, some were not. The Grand, sadly, was not.
It’s important to mention that we did use a TA to book, so I can not be certain exactly how the room was booked, but I am certain that every single place that could have our anniversary noted, it was noted. We were also clearly 2 in the room. We also spoke to multiple cast members during the check in process and all were aware of the anniversary. So, that’s the background.
We arrived at the GF really early on our check in day. We absolutely knew the room would not be ready and we were completely and totally fine with that. No intention of even stopping by the room. Just dropping bags and off to EPCOT. We gave our name at the gate and drove up to the hotel. It’s certainly so gorgeous. Really well maintained and tons of helpful CMs. As we pulled up and unloaded bags onto a baggage cart, a cast member came out specifically to greet us. My husband went to park the car and I snuck the CM our wedding cake topper to bring to the bakery for me, as I had called ahead and ordered a replica of our wedding cake top layer to be made and the topper placed on top. She was happy to help and excited to be in on the surprise.
We waited for husband and she brought us right over to SLC and introduced us to the concierge. We had a whole conversation about it being our 20th Anniversary and she even gave us some buttons to wear around. Super cute. They welcomed us to have some breakfast and Mickey waffles before we headed out, explaining that our room would not be ready. We said fine and mentioned we did not really care about anything about the room except King size bed. We headed out to the parks for the day and got a text around 2:30 that our room was ready.
We hopped back on the monorail and got back to the resort around 4:30pm. Stopped in the lounge to eat our 11th snack of the day, and went up to the room. It was 2 Queens. I called the operator right away and told her we’d requested a King and that even if we could not stay in a club level room, we wanted to change rooms.
She was incredibly snotty. She said, “Well, did you book a King” in the rudest tone. I said that we had been very clear with our TA that we needed a King but that I could not be certain what was booked. She said, “Well, let me look at the reservation because you probably did not book a King” I was sort of stunned silent. She kept me on hold a bit and came back and said, “Well, you just booked a standard room and put in a REQUEST for a King, but not a guarantee”.
Ok. So, here is where I am going to admit that I was SUPER annoyed. First of all, a standard room would be either a King or a 2 Queen. We were here very early in the AM. We clearly have the request in and spoke to everyone and their brother about Celebrating a special occasion.
I simply responded, “I see. Well, a King size bed is more important to us than club level, this hotel, or anything else. Please see what you can do about finding us a King size bed anywhere on property. We will pay the difference between the rates or not ask for a refund if the other room is less expensive. We really want a King for the duration of our stay”
Still in a nasty tone, she said, “So, you do not want to stay on Club Level?”
I said, “I would prefer it, but I care more about the bed than anything”. She said she would work on it and call me back. 30 minutes passed and I had not heard anything, so I went down to the concierge in the SLC lobby and explained the situation. He called the girl and I could tell by his tone, she was still not magical. He put her on hold and asked me, “Are you OK with a first floor room” Something about the way he asked it struck me funny so I said, “I am but should I not be?” He said that some people just prefer higher. I really should have pushed further and said, “Look, I really don’t care, I just want a QUIET room with a King bed for our stay” but I was already so super uncomfortable with requesting a change I might not have been entitled to, that I said fine. And the room they gave us was directly the first one in the hallway from the lounge, adjacent to the catering kitchen. It was a terrible room. So noisy both from guests AND from the kitchen. Banging starting at 6:30am until after 11pm at night. They should absolutely never ever assign this room to anyone. And they know it. And it was a sore spot on the trip. And we were not comfortable moving again because there had already been such a kerfluffle and we agreed to a 1st floor room.
The room itself was fine. Storage is very very limited. About 8 small drawers, a small closet, and 2 regular size drawers. The bathroom is nice. Lots of toiletries and towels. We used the couch as a catch all for our bags and various doo-dads, so I can’t comment on it. Bed was comfortable. There is no “wow” factor to the room. It’s a standard room. It’s not worth whatever insane price per night we paid for it.
There is viewing of the fireworks from the marina at night, which is so super nice. We really loved that. They even pipe in the music.
The CL offerings were fine, if a bit repetitious. Some mornings we had Mickey Waffles. Always a soup in the afternoon. Various evening appetizers. Plenty to drink and decent wines and beers. Breakfast was the weak spot, but certainly enough to fill your belly.
We rented a cabana at the pool for the 1/2 day and it was absolutely heavenly. What a great treat. Loved that so much. They brought us lunch from the pool bar which was fine, and also drinks which were amazingly good.
We only ate at the little marina restaurant for a little pizza during the fireworks and Victoria and Albert’s (which deserves its own review). Other than that we did dining elsewhere or in the CL for nibbles (so very many uncrustables and rice krispy treats).
Transportation was weird. No delay to get on the monorail through security, but the monorail itself is slow and got stuck a few times. The boat ride from MK was actually phenomenally quick and easy.
The grounds are well-maintained and the main building is lovely. We sat and listened to the band a few nights and they were really good.
Overall, we definitely would not opt for CL again at any property - it was repetitive, we don’t really drink much, and we found ourselves forgoing fun park snacks for so-so CL snacks. We also would not opt for GF again. The level of service was not better than any other resort on property and maybe worse. And the room was just Ok.
So, there you have it!
It’s important to mention that we did use a TA to book, so I can not be certain exactly how the room was booked, but I am certain that every single place that could have our anniversary noted, it was noted. We were also clearly 2 in the room. We also spoke to multiple cast members during the check in process and all were aware of the anniversary. So, that’s the background.
We arrived at the GF really early on our check in day. We absolutely knew the room would not be ready and we were completely and totally fine with that. No intention of even stopping by the room. Just dropping bags and off to EPCOT. We gave our name at the gate and drove up to the hotel. It’s certainly so gorgeous. Really well maintained and tons of helpful CMs. As we pulled up and unloaded bags onto a baggage cart, a cast member came out specifically to greet us. My husband went to park the car and I snuck the CM our wedding cake topper to bring to the bakery for me, as I had called ahead and ordered a replica of our wedding cake top layer to be made and the topper placed on top. She was happy to help and excited to be in on the surprise.
We waited for husband and she brought us right over to SLC and introduced us to the concierge. We had a whole conversation about it being our 20th Anniversary and she even gave us some buttons to wear around. Super cute. They welcomed us to have some breakfast and Mickey waffles before we headed out, explaining that our room would not be ready. We said fine and mentioned we did not really care about anything about the room except King size bed. We headed out to the parks for the day and got a text around 2:30 that our room was ready.
We hopped back on the monorail and got back to the resort around 4:30pm. Stopped in the lounge to eat our 11th snack of the day, and went up to the room. It was 2 Queens. I called the operator right away and told her we’d requested a King and that even if we could not stay in a club level room, we wanted to change rooms.
She was incredibly snotty. She said, “Well, did you book a King” in the rudest tone. I said that we had been very clear with our TA that we needed a King but that I could not be certain what was booked. She said, “Well, let me look at the reservation because you probably did not book a King” I was sort of stunned silent. She kept me on hold a bit and came back and said, “Well, you just booked a standard room and put in a REQUEST for a King, but not a guarantee”.
Ok. So, here is where I am going to admit that I was SUPER annoyed. First of all, a standard room would be either a King or a 2 Queen. We were here very early in the AM. We clearly have the request in and spoke to everyone and their brother about Celebrating a special occasion.
I simply responded, “I see. Well, a King size bed is more important to us than club level, this hotel, or anything else. Please see what you can do about finding us a King size bed anywhere on property. We will pay the difference between the rates or not ask for a refund if the other room is less expensive. We really want a King for the duration of our stay”
Still in a nasty tone, she said, “So, you do not want to stay on Club Level?”
I said, “I would prefer it, but I care more about the bed than anything”. She said she would work on it and call me back. 30 minutes passed and I had not heard anything, so I went down to the concierge in the SLC lobby and explained the situation. He called the girl and I could tell by his tone, she was still not magical. He put her on hold and asked me, “Are you OK with a first floor room” Something about the way he asked it struck me funny so I said, “I am but should I not be?” He said that some people just prefer higher. I really should have pushed further and said, “Look, I really don’t care, I just want a QUIET room with a King bed for our stay” but I was already so super uncomfortable with requesting a change I might not have been entitled to, that I said fine. And the room they gave us was directly the first one in the hallway from the lounge, adjacent to the catering kitchen. It was a terrible room. So noisy both from guests AND from the kitchen. Banging starting at 6:30am until after 11pm at night. They should absolutely never ever assign this room to anyone. And they know it. And it was a sore spot on the trip. And we were not comfortable moving again because there had already been such a kerfluffle and we agreed to a 1st floor room.
The room itself was fine. Storage is very very limited. About 8 small drawers, a small closet, and 2 regular size drawers. The bathroom is nice. Lots of toiletries and towels. We used the couch as a catch all for our bags and various doo-dads, so I can’t comment on it. Bed was comfortable. There is no “wow” factor to the room. It’s a standard room. It’s not worth whatever insane price per night we paid for it.
There is viewing of the fireworks from the marina at night, which is so super nice. We really loved that. They even pipe in the music.
The CL offerings were fine, if a bit repetitious. Some mornings we had Mickey Waffles. Always a soup in the afternoon. Various evening appetizers. Plenty to drink and decent wines and beers. Breakfast was the weak spot, but certainly enough to fill your belly.
We rented a cabana at the pool for the 1/2 day and it was absolutely heavenly. What a great treat. Loved that so much. They brought us lunch from the pool bar which was fine, and also drinks which were amazingly good.
We only ate at the little marina restaurant for a little pizza during the fireworks and Victoria and Albert’s (which deserves its own review). Other than that we did dining elsewhere or in the CL for nibbles (so very many uncrustables and rice krispy treats).
Transportation was weird. No delay to get on the monorail through security, but the monorail itself is slow and got stuck a few times. The boat ride from MK was actually phenomenally quick and easy.
The grounds are well-maintained and the main building is lovely. We sat and listened to the band a few nights and they were really good.
Overall, we definitely would not opt for CL again at any property - it was repetitive, we don’t really drink much, and we found ourselves forgoing fun park snacks for so-so CL snacks. We also would not opt for GF again. The level of service was not better than any other resort on property and maybe worse. And the room was just Ok.
So, there you have it!