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

[Sleeping Becca]

Is there a business center at GF with free internet acess?

 

[mandymommy4]

One month until we leave for GF I have to spend our first night at CBR but then we move over. I can not wait!!! Hopefully I dont have to deal with the lovebug thing. But if I do Oh well. I did cancel our cabanna due to the price increase and booked the waterpark tickets in its place. Just one question for today. Are there pool chases by the shallow end of the beach pool? I have a little guy who will most likely spend most of his time in the zero entry area. TIA

You are a short timer now! WHOO HOO!

 

[BCV23]

Is there a business center at GF with free internet acess?

There is a business center at the GF convention center. Access is not free though.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

There is a business center at the GF convention center. Access is not free though.

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Is there a business center at GF with free internet acess?

I would assume the cost to use the internet there is $10.00 for every 15 minutes, because that's the cost to use the intetnet at the business center in the Contemporary.

 

[goofygal531]

I'm trying to picture the shallow end. I remember tables and chairs nearby at the bar area but can't remember about chaises. I'm sure someone will.

At the beach/theme pool, there's a row of chaise lounges at the end of the shallow pool right near the pool bar. There's a walkway along side of the chairs that leads to the beach where they play games with the children. It's also the walkway to the pool side.

I believe the tables with umbrellas are closer to the pool bar area. There weren't many and were always taken.

I did discover a shady spot under the pool bar near the courtyard pool. I noticed many people pulling the chaise lounges under the awning midday. I used to park DS2 under there in his stroller for a nap while DS5 played in the kiddie pool. Cheap cabana alternative

Is there a business center at GF with free internet acess?

http://allears.net/acc/internet.htm

This link lists all the Wi-Fi locations and general internet info. I think the fee is half the price of the in-room connection.

 

[PaulaSB12]

18 minutes ago I just got round to changing my hotel from Beach Club to Grand Floridian (the deal I booked it with runs out on 31st and that made it more affordable) This will be my last trip for a couple of years as next year I might do this one

http://www.explore.co.uk/holidays/Tour Detail?ItineraryId=202


Cairns & The Whitsundays
We begin in Cairns before heading south along the coast via Curtain Fig Tree and the stunning waterfalls of the Cairns highlands. From here we continue to Airlie Beach. A voyage to the idyllic Whitsundays off the East Coast is next and as we drop anchor in Blue Pearl Bay, we can enjoy some dazzling diving and snorkelling. But for the less active, the option to chill out and relax is hard to resist!


Fraser Island & Sydney
Next we head to Rubyvale and onto Carnarvon National Park to hike in its stunning gorge. After our stay on a working cattle station, we head south and explore the vast sands and forests of Fraser Island, swimming in crystal clear freshwater lakes and exploring by 4-wheel drive. Finally we end in Sydney with the opportunity to climb its famous Harbour Bridge or perhaps hike in the nearby Blue Mountains.


Uluru/Ayers Rock & into the 'Top End'
We fly direct to Yulara and journey through an awesome array of natural wonders: the weathered red domes of Kata Tjuta/the Olgas (the place of many heads), the astonishing sandstone 'amphitheatre' at Kings Canyon plus of course the incomparable Uluru/Ayers Rock itself. Then, venturing north via the Devil's Marbles, we walk in the gorges at Katherine and take a boat trip in Kakadu National Park, famous for its wildlife and aboriginal rock paintings. See green & red route on map.

Comment

Explore the diverse East Coast, from the tropical rainforests of the north to cosmopolitan Sydney in the south, then venture into the Outback to discover Uluru/Ayers Rock, the Olgas/Kata Tjuta and Kakadu National Park. Bring a sleeping bag, a sense of adventure and be prepared for some rough roads in the Outback. Walks are easy but conditions can be hot.

 

[PrincessPaczki]

Hi! Just wondering if anyone has booked a room at the GF for the weeks of free dining? I just wanted to know if there were alot of rooms set aside for FD.

 

[woodkins]

I booked the free dining for my stay at the GF this morning. It did not seem to be an issue for availability. We were staying originally from 10/8-13 but by changing from 9/24-9/29 it saved us $800. Plus as an added bonus I will be there on my B-day!!

 

[mmmears]

18 minutes ago I just got round to changing my hotel from Beach Club to Grand Floridian (the deal I booked it with runs out on 31st and that made it more affordable) This will be my last trip for a couple of years as next year I might do this one

http://www.explore.co.uk/holidays/Tour Detail?ItineraryId=202

That trip looks awesome! It's such a beautiful part of the world. I've been to Cairns & the GBR & the rainforest and it was the highlight of my trip to Aus & NZ. I hope you get to go there!

 

[BCV23]

I booked the free dining for my stay at the GF this morning. It did not seem to be an issue for availability. We were staying originally from 10/8-13 but by changing from 9/24-9/29 it saved us $800. Plus as an added bonus I will be there on my B-day!!

Congratulations....nice savings!

PaulaSB12, that sounds like a wonderful trip!

 

[PrincessPaczki]

Woodkins, Wow! Great savings plus free food. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[praline3001]

I just read that Disney did some major laying off at the resorts and parks this week =( estimates I saw said possibly 400 peeps ...

anyone know if the GF was effected by this? Curious how the service will be if they have to go on a skeleton crew. I also wonder if they have to change some perks as turn down and other if they did lay off?

Anyone hear anything about how this is effected the GF?

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

You are a short timer now! WHOO HOO!

I am so psyched. Listening to the podcast is getting me so pumped up to go. We are looking at property in Palm Bay one morning and spending the night doing the movie campfire thingy. I am thinking I am gonna love this hotel. There is more to do here than my fav AKL has and that is really saying alot!

 

[Tink rules]

I just read that Disney did some major laying off at the resorts and parks this week =( estimates I saw said possibly 400 peeps ...

anyone know if the GF was effected by this? Curious how the service will be if they have to go on a skeleton crew. I also wonder if they have to change some perks as turn down and other if they did lay off?

Anyone hear anything about how this is effected the GF?

With the GF being the Flagship... you won't notice much... they laid off 450 people in behind the scenes positions (never good, of course...) but Disney has over 62,000 cast members... these were people who weren't offered packages as alot of the bigger management people were... unfortunately I've heard it has happened so some CM's who have been there over 20 years.

 

[BlueSkies]

PaulaSB12 You are going to be very happy with choosing the GF!! It really is a special place...BTW your trip for next year sounds incredible...

PrincessP Just a bit of advice about visiting WDW during free dining...you MUST have your dining booked in advance...I mean just about everything...last year our trip overlapped the beginning of free dining and we couldnt believe the difference from the beginning of the week to the end...even the GF Cafe had very limited seating on a walk up basis...they asked us to come back in an hour!! that is not typical there...

Dont get me wrong I like to plan and I do make ADRs but its nice to have some availability for those spontaneous days...not much of that happening during free dining...although I guess thats the trade off for the perk( a big perk at that!!) of not having to pay for food.......so start putting your list together now...and have fun planning

 

[Sunburst]

I just read that Disney did some major laying off at the resorts and parks this week =( estimates I saw said possibly 400 peeps ...

anyone know if the GF was effected by this? Curious how the service will be if they have to go on a skeleton crew. I also wonder if they have to change some perks as turn down and other if they did lay off?

Anyone hear anything about how this is effected the GF?

I've been going since the year after they opened the Grand Floridian, so i've been there through many ups and down and never noticed anything that extreme in the service...its always been sunny for me.

Hi Veruca...are you around?

 

[Belinderella]

We had a wonderful time at the GF - 7 nights and 8 days. We booked a GV room and was upgraded to LV. We didnt spend much time in our room so that wasnt a big deal to us. We arrived around 10:30 AM and our room was not available until 2:45 PM.

It rained only one morning and of course it was the day I had a cabana rented and my kids were going on the Pirate Adventure. I was able to cancel the cabana and the kids did an adventure in the main building instead...they were sad but ended up having a great time. We enjoyed the beach cabana chairs alot and we noticed those that had the rented pool side cabanas were never at them so that made us feel better about not getting that experience.

The pool / beach activites were a great extra, my kids loved them. They played dodge ball, WII, bingo...they were wanting to give up dinner ressies to play the games. Movies on the beach was good except the wind was a little chilly at night so we didnt stay for the entire thing. Never made it to campfire on the beach, even though it was in our plans.

We had several diining ressies made but not enough, we found out the hard way...they were not available when we tried to get make some (party of 5). Gaspies became the dreaded meal...food was not so good and there were not a lot of choices.

 

[mmmears]

With all the layoffs, I dont think that the GF will be insulated from them, even though it's considered the "flagship." Honestly, I've been reading about how some of the rides aren't being run to capacity despite enormous crowds at WDW right now (cutbacks...). Also, IMO it's the deluxes that have the most staff -- and they stand to lose more employees. How much can they really cut back from the values? Not saying this to make anyone mad... we're staying deluxe in April... but I honestly think that it'll be easier to cut back some staff at these resorts than the other ones.

 

[Sunburst]

Oh Veruca, im glad you are here! How wonderful to be going back so soon. I've been to the yacht club just a few times but i do like it. My job is very good, thanks! i wish i had time to go back to Disney but its not in the cards for the next 6 months or so.