The New Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa FAQ (March 09)

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The Contemporary cabanas just don't have the same SOMETHING. They appear to be out there on pavement -kind of blowing in the wind. It looks so stark out there.

To be fair the Contemporary pool area is still getting renovated, so once it's completed I am sure the area where the cabanas will look a lot better.

 

[praline3001]

Has anyone heard any rumors about the GF booking being down? I know the economy is not so good BUT I just checked and for my dates (july 18-26) and can still book any room I want at the GF with the 4/3 deal!!

You usually have to book REALLY far in advance to even get in RPC~ I think I have had my ressies for almost a year now... but its still offered with the code and we are getting close to the 90 day point.

Has anyone else seen RPC available at 90 days out? I am sure they have a handful of cancels but to still have the code and online? its crazy!!!
Heck I might be the only one up in RPC that week

Just thought I would ask to see what the word was and if it was way down on bookings.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Oh is it? I don't really keep up with the Contemporary. I do like the resort, but their pool area was not ever a highlight for me. I am curious what the plans are. If they are making it over to be fabulous that would really change my whole opinion of the Contemporary. I like the rooms and resort but never cared for the outdoor areas over there.

They are planning to make the pool area more tropical by adding a lot of trees and plants. Besides that they are also building a new splash area for kids.

 

[mmmears]

Has anyone heard any rumors about the GF booking being down? I know the economy is not so good BUT I just checked and for my dates (july 18-26) and can still book any room I want at the GF with the 4/3 deal!!

You usually have to book REALLY far in advance to even get in RPC~ I think I have had my ressies for almost a year now... but its still offered with the code and we are getting close to the 90 day point.

Has anyone else seen RPC available at 90 days out? I am sure they have a handful of cancels but to still have the code and online? its crazy!!!
Heck I might be the only one up in RPC that week

Just thought I would ask to see what the word was and if it was way down on bookings.

Yeah -- I noticed it for our trip. When I first booked the 4/3 deal the CM said that RPC was not included. Then I went online and noticed it was available (even about a month ago) -- and we're going in April, Spring Break, Easter week, peak crowds and peak season. The RPC availability shows us, disappears, and shows up again (like alot of the CL rooms). I really do believe that this is our great economy at work.

I know these rooms were hard to book last year, but now they are discounted and still available. To be fair, though, they are REALLY expensive compared to great resorts in other destinations. At the Poly, we booked LV CL. I thought about changing to GV CL, but those rooms were booked up with the deal. I think it really has to do with value & the current economic climate.

 

[mickeynut1]

The Grand Floridian pool area is fantastic. And it's never overly crowded. I love that place.

Veruca

This is great to hear as we're booked for our first stay at the GF this summer and we are planning on spending alot of time at the pool . I don't post much here on the FAQ but I do read it just about every day as I've gotten so much great info about the GF from here . I get more excited every day about our stay .

 

[grannyminnie]

Grannie Minnie, the Contemporary cabanas are BRAND NEW. They are just becoming bookable this week. So it does look like that is the direction things are heading. They are also putting cabanas in the Poly pool. I can't picture where they would be - there is not a lot of room over there. And then with the complete re haul of the Grand's cabanas it seems the increase in price is inevitable.

I agree I will be rethinking how many days we rent cabanas this summer.

Veruca

I had read about the Poly getting them, and I, with you, don't know where they will put them!! I was planning on two cabana days, but if the price goes up before I can book, it might be just one day for us. We have never booked one, so this is really a treat for us!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Last time i spoke with my GF friend they were at over 90% capacity.

 

[goofygal531]

The only thing I like about the CR cabanas, is the placement of them around the pool. It would be nice if the GF cabanas were by the other side of the pool, the shallow end. It would be more of a relaxing experience for me if I could sit in the cabana while the kids played in the pool It's the one thing that bugs me. I know they wouldn't fit over there, but if they would have designed it that way originally, it would have been a bit more family friendly.

Deb: Let me know if you discover anything about the cabana prices. I was told once you book, you pay whatever price you're quoted at the time of booking.

Brook: Haven't heard anything about good coffee in RPC. I know some CLs have received new Espresso machines, not sure about RPC. Have you discovered Starbucks new VIA instant coffee? It's actually pretty good.

I'm off to argue for my Segway Tour discount. The computer was acting up when I booked it and would not accept the Disney Visa discount.

 

[BlueSkies]

*CABANA PRICE ALERT*

Spoke with disney today and the CM that I spoke with told me the NEW cabana prices as of 3/22 are $100 for a half day and $185 for a full day...I asked if you booked before the price change would they honor the old prices and she said they wouldnt...that prices are subjesct to change with out notice....

sorry to be the bearer of bad news fellow cabana fans... But Channing did say a while back that she heard that the prices would be changing after the new upgrade...it just took a while for it to happen...

Hi Mickeynut!!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

*CABANA PRICE ALERT*

Spoke with disney today and the CM that I spoke with told me the NEW cabana prices as of 3/22 are $100 for a half day and $185 for a full day...I asked if you booked before the price change would they honor the old prices and she said they wouldnt...that prices are subjesct to change with out notice....

sorry to be the bearer of bad news fellow cabana fans... But Channing did say a while back that she heard that the prices would be changing after the new upgrade...it just took a while for it to happen...

Hi Mickeynut!!!

This doesnt surprise me but its not worth $100 bucks.

 

[grannyminnie]

This doesnt surprise me but its not worth $100 bucks.

I agree, and it saddens me, since we have never booked one, to say that we won't...
On my soapbox, WDW continually pushes the envelope of what they think people will pay (and some do!) for recreation there. Not to mention room rates...unless I was a bigwig exec and could afford it, I will never pay the rates for some of those GF rooms per night!! As long as there are "takers", tho, they will continue to raise prices, while at the same time cutting back on some things.
Just my two cents nobody asked for..

 

[mickeynut1]

*CABANA PRICE ALERT*

Spoke with disney today and the CM that I spoke with told me the NEW cabana prices as of 3/22 are $100 for a half day and $185 for a full day...I asked if you booked before the price change would they honor the old prices and she said they wouldnt...that prices are subjesct to change with out notice....

sorry to be the bearer of bad news fellow cabana fans... But Channing did say a while back that she heard that the prices would be changing after the new upgrade...it just took a while for it to happen...

Hi Mickeynut!!!

Hi BlueSkies . Thanks for the update. This definitely gives me something to think about. I'm sure the cabanas are great and I was really looking forward to a cabana day this summer, but I'm not sure I want to spend $100 for a half day . But I'm not really surprised as things are going up everywhere and since they did redo the cabanas, a price increase was inevitable . Thanks again for posting the updated prices .

 

[goofygal531]

I had a feeling the CM I spoke with was incorrect. Everything is subject to a price increase.

Just canceled my cabana days. Not worth $100 for four hours. Just hope their system is accurate. Hate having my CC linked to a reservation that's canceled, you never know with their wacky system. I'm keeping those canceled reservation numbers handy.

Guess we'll be at the waterparks much more than I expected.

Thanks for making the call Deb, even if it's bad news!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

*CABANA PRICE ALERT*

Spoke with disney today and the CM that I spoke with told me the NEW cabana prices as of 3/22 are $100 for a half day and $185 for a full day...I asked if you booked before the price change would they honor the old prices and she said they wouldnt...that prices are subjesct to change with out notice....

sorry to be the bearer of bad news fellow cabana fans... But Channing did say a while back that she heard that the prices would be changing after the new upgrade...it just took a while for it to happen...

Hi Mickeynut!!!

Wow, that is a price jump. I wonder if it's only temporary. Maybe because of spring break or summer season? Or perhaps till the 4/3 deal wears off? It's just weird that they'd do that knowing the economy is down and they want to drum up business, right? I don't know, I was looking forward to the cabana when we go back to the GF but that seems rather expensive for 1/2 a day.

 

[LJD2143]

*CABANA PRICE ALERT*

Spoke with disney today and the CM that I spoke with told me the NEW cabana prices as of 3/22 are $100 for a half day and $185 for a full day...I asked if you booked before the price change would they honor the old prices and she said they wouldnt...that prices are subjesct to change with out notice....

sorry to be the bearer of bad news fellow cabana fans... But Channing did say a while back that she heard that the prices would be changing after the new upgrade...it just took a while for it to happen...

Hi Mickeynut!!!

That's a 67% increase!

I was totally planning on booking one for Sept, but now I'm not so sure? $60 really did sound reasonable for 4 hours, and perhaps some sort of increase was justifiable. But 67% ?!?!?

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Well it looks like I will be cancelling my cabanna. That is way to much money for 4 hours time.

As far as bookings. I can not find any sort of discount 4/3 or other for my time frame end of April/May for RPC rooms or SL rooms and they are also not available at full price either.

Now I have more planning to do for the day we were gonna do the cabanna.

 

[TinkTatoo]

I e-mailed IPO yesterday about booking a cabanna and have just had an e-mail back from them confirming the price of $100 for half a day. We love spending time at the pool but with the new price increase we'll be doing it with out a cabanna. It will be interesting to see if bookings are down and they adjust the price

 

[pixie921]

That's so disappointing about the cabanas (but thanks BlueSkies for getting the info!). It was one of the things I was looking forward to doing. I love "pool days" but take meds that make me have to avoid direct sun, so I thought that would be the best way to enjoy our pool time fully. But that increase is so out of hand ... *sigh* ...

Disney, why must you keep pushing the limits?? Ugh.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Believe, me I am not trying to justify the price increase AT ALL, but with the better ammenities comes a bigger price tag. We did the 1/2 day cabana in August 2007 at the $60 rate, which included the cabana, the padded chairs, stocked frdidge, TV and sattelite radio (plus the cool portable Sharper Imaage A/C unit) but we didn't get the personal cabana assistant. We had someone to get us towels, but we certainly didn't get the service that others have reported recently (no bar service, no playing with the kids etc).

That being said, I am really glad the we go to the GF in Decembers when swimming is barely on the radar screen anyway... but what a huge disappointment for those who weere looking forward to it soon

 

[disyady]

That's a 67% increase!

I was totally planning on booking one for Sept, but now I'm not so sure? $60 really did sound reasonable for 4 hours, and perhaps some sort of increase was justifiable. But 67% ?!?!?

Somehow when you say 67% it seems even worse than $40 doesn't it? We loved renting the cabana a couple of years ago, but I don't know if I would again for $100. An even worse increase (albeit on a lesser scale) was the 100% price increase a year or two ago for a cup of tea in the Garden View Lounge. On one trip it was $3.00 - the next it was $6.00. It was quite a little increase for the 5 of us and yet we still chose to pay it. I don't mind prices going up, but doubling the price within a year for a cup of tea was a little much IMHO. Thanks to everyone here for all of their hard work keeping us up to date on these changes.