" Cat Lady" at the Grand Floridian

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We just got home yesterday from 5 nights at CSR followed by 6 nights at GF. During our stay at the Grand Floridian, my wife and I noticed that there was always this particular lady sitting in a chair or on a couch on the second floor. She was very eccentric looking, had a fake cat or two and some luggage, and she would just sit there. She sat so still and quiet that I thought she was a mannequin at first. Is she a regular fixture there? Do they pay someone to play the role of an eccentric old cat lady, or did we just happen to visit at a time when some weirdo was staying there? lol
 

Amber

6+4+3=2
Premium Member
She goes there daily. She and her husband enjoyed listening to the band, and he has passed away. She goes every day because she enjoys it, and it's a way for her to remember her husband. She brings a suitcase, and they are actually teddy bears. Strike up a conversation with her some time, she's happy to talk.
 

sbkline

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
She goes there daily. She and her husband enjoyed listening to the band, and he has passed away. She goes every day because she enjoys it, and it's a way for her to remember her husband. She brings a suitcase, and they are actually teddy bears. Strike up a conversation with her some time, she's happy to talk.

That's very interesting. I doubt that I will get a chance to talk to her, as our GF stay was most likely a one time experience. My wife has always said she wants to stay there for our 10 year anniversary, so I made sure to make it happen. But next year, we will be back to a value or a moderate. We always go to GF for supper, but she seemed to have been gone by then. I just thought that an eccentric looking lady like that sort of went along with the theme of the hotel, although I found it odd that they would actually hire someone to play that role. Interesting to know the story of why she is there.
 

mrdisman

Well-Known Member
She goes there daily. She and her husband enjoyed listening to the band, and he has passed away. She goes every day because she enjoys it, and it's a way for her to remember her husband. She brings a suitcase, and they are actually teddy bears. Strike up a conversation with her some time, she's happy to talk.

That is sad and sweet at the same time. Wow, to have someone love you that much.
 

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't know if she is a "Crazy Cat Lady" since I don't know her but I do know that she collects dolls, teddy bears, frequents the GFR lobby to listen to the music and on occasion have afternoon tea or lunch. As the story goes she lost her husband a few years back and they both enjoyed going to the GFR together, so to remember him she has continued the tradition. At one point in time she would gift a small bear to a child but I think she has discontinued doing that.
 

mrdisman

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't know if she is a "Crazy Cat Lady" since I don't know her but I do know that she collects dolls, teddy bears, frequents the GFR lobby to listen to the music and on occasion have afternoon tea or lunch. As the story goes she lost her husband a few years back and they both enjoyed going to the GFR together, so to remember him she has continued the tradition. At one point in time she would gift a small bear to a child but I think she has discontinued doing that.

She is not crazy then..just all alone and missing the person she spent her life with..
 

NiarrNDisney

Well-Known Member
She is not crazy then..just all along and missing the person she spent her life with..

Yep not crazy at all, she is harmless and honestly seems very nice! On my last trip my friend and I passed her on our way to lunch at Gasparilla Grill. She was sitting under the steps that head up to Citricos was playing with a doll, smiling and chatting with a friend of hers.
 

mouse_luv

Well-Known Member
She was there when we visited in August. I didn't get to talk to her, and even though my bf and I were trying to figure out her story b/t the two of us(we weren't sure if she was an actor or not either). I did smile in her direction and she happened to smile back. She seemed like a nice, harmless elderly woman. :)
Now that I've read her story, that's really sweet and sad all in one, makes me regret not saying hi and talking to her.
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
I've read where a relative posted about her on another fan forum when people were debating who she was. Said her name and told her story. Can't remember the name for the life of me. I know I'd adore her. I collect folks & bears, too.
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Sorry the other 'thread' was closed. That is a new term to me.

The lady who is always at the Grand Floridian Hotel is my sister, Lynn, who lives near there and is definitely Not homeless.

Her late Husband, Bruce, used to be there often, too, but would often go off and do other things while Lynn listened to the music.

She takes her bags of teddy bears with her everywhere and has for many many years.

Lynn has a terrific sense of humor, but she does hear the beat to a different drummer, as the old saying goes.

Bruce suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm October of 2007, which was a shock to all of us. He had a fantastic sense of humor as well, and the two of them couldn't have been more perfectly matched.

Lynn will be 67 in March, so she isn't as old as some thought. I am 65, and at times, websites like this one are somewhat of a struggle for me to figure out how to use, so I hope you will be patient with me.

Even as a child Lynn was rather overly imaginative. I remember when one night she got me to drag her into our closet so she could pretend she was a doll and 'catch' all of the toys come 'alive' when the rest of us were asleep. She was probably around 7 or 8 at the time. She was dissappointed the next morning that none had come to life, but she reasoned it all out that the toys must have realized that she was really a human and not a real toy.

So, Lynn is not homeless, but she is OCD. One day she will no doubt tire of going to the GF and go off into something else.

She and Bruce used to love to hand out teddy bears to children, but only after asking the children's parent's permission first. They have been going to Disney since it opened, and have spent a small fortune there, taking 4 kids there very often, spending almost more time in the place where people camp than at their own home, renting golf carts. So, if anyone thinks either of them were or are freeloaders, they are very wrong.

The person who wrote #43 on the original site about my sister needs to learn compassion for those less fortunate than she is. With the way the world is today, she could be homeless right now. I hope that is NOT the case, but if it is, I can't help but wonder if she would even give a thought to what she wrote about homeless people when many thought Lynn might be, and she really didn't like the idea of Lynn being in the hotel if she was homeless. I seem to remember that she didn't even want Lynn there if she wasn't a guest at the hotel. My goodness, don't you think there are literally thousands of people that go into these hotels to eat in the restaurants, or listen to the music, etc. It is a public place.

Lynn has a LOT of friends at the hotel, as well as a few like the above person, who resent her being there daily.

Who is she hurting? No one.

At any rate, I hope this satisfies everyone's curiosity. Thanks to all of you who were kind in your remarks about her.

Lynn's Sister,
Tracy Joan
Nashville, TN
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
I've read where a relative posted about her on another fan forum when people were debating who she was. Said her name and told her story. Can't remember the name for the life of me. I know I'd adore her. I collect folks & bears, too.
I believe the paste above (no, I didn't write it, it is a direct copy from somewhere else) is what you were looking for
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Sorry the other 'thread' was closed. That is a new term to me.

The lady who is always at the Grand Floridian Hotel is my sister, Lynn, who lives near there and is definitely Not homeless.

Her late Husband, Bruce, used to be there often, too, but would often go off and do other things while Lynn listened to the music.

She takes her bags of teddy bears with her everywhere and has for many many years.

Lynn has a terrific sense of humor, but she does hear the beat to a different drummer, as the old saying goes.

Bruce suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm October of 2007, which was a shock to all of us. He had a fantastic sense of humor as well, and the two of them couldn't have been more perfectly matched.

Lynn will be 67 in March, so she isn't as old as some thought. I am 65, and at times, websites like this one are somewhat of a struggle for me to figure out how to use, so I hope you will be patient with me.

Even as a child Lynn was rather overly imaginative. I remember when one night she got me to drag her into our closet so she could pretend she was a doll and 'catch' all of the toys come 'alive' when the rest of us were asleep. She was probably around 7 or 8 at the time. She was dissappointed the next morning that none had come to life, but she reasoned it all out that the toys must have realized that she was really a human and not a real toy.

So, Lynn is not homeless, but she is OCD. One day she will no doubt tire of going to the GF and go off into something else.

She and Bruce used to love to hand out teddy bears to children, but only after asking the children's parent's permission first. They have been going to Disney since it opened, and have spent a small fortune there, taking 4 kids there very often, spending almost more time in the place where people camp than at their own home, renting golf carts. So, if anyone thinks either of them were or are freeloaders, they are very wrong.

The person who wrote #43 on the original site about my sister needs to learn compassion for those less fortunate than she is. With the way the world is today, she could be homeless right now. I hope that is NOT the case, but if it is, I can't help but wonder if she would even give a thought to what she wrote about homeless people when many thought Lynn might be, and she really didn't like the idea of Lynn being in the hotel if she was homeless. I seem to remember that she didn't even want Lynn there if she wasn't a guest at the hotel. My goodness, don't you think there are literally thousands of people that go into these hotels to eat in the restaurants, or listen to the music, etc. It is a public place.

Lynn has a LOT of friends at the hotel, as well as a few like the above person, who resent her being there daily.

Who is she hurting? No one.

At any rate, I hope this satisfies everyone's curiosity. Thanks to all of you who were kind in your remarks about her.

Lynn's Sister,
Tracy Joan
Nashville, TN
That's it! Her name is Lynn!
 

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