disneymom08
New Member
We just got back from our 7 day 6 night stay at Disney, my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, my husband and I and our 3 1/2 y/o daughter. We did the MYW package with the dining plan and park hopper tickets and stayed at the Grand Floridian. I have to start out by saying this was the best vacation I have ever taken and my husband who basically said he 'just didn't get it' when we were planning the trip was ready to schedule us for the bounceback deal that was offered before we checked out. We didn't take the offer as tempting as it was because basically who can afford to do Disney every 6 months? Anyway like everything life even the best things are not perfect so I thought I would share some experiences.
1) As much as I loved staying at the GF and the hotel itself with all the restaurants and shops, the rooms are not all that great. We booked adjoining rooms which by Disney standards means next to one another not what I thought which meant with a door connecting them. No those are connecting rooms. They were able to switch our rooms and retain the lagoon view upgrade but the view was not as good but worth the sacrifice. However the room they switched us to had a broken toilet. Every time you flushed it water came out of the bottom. It took 3 calls to the front desck to get someone out and then he said oh I can't fix this we need to call a plumber. No kidding! Two days later it was fixed for 1 day but then broke again but it wasn't worth the hassle so we just threw extra towels on the floor.
2) Can't say enough good things about the DDP. I felt like we really ate great and got our money's worth. My parents kept saying this is the best food we've ever eaten at Disney. I'm sure it was a better deal with the tip included but we still made out.
3) Pal Mickey - cute but I wouldn't shell out the $65 again. We thought we would get 'inside' tips - character sightings and short wait times - not so much. We would pass right by characters and he wouldn't say a thing.
4) Refillable mugs - way worth it. We got our mugs the first say $12 each. Coffee in the morning with a fill up of soda on the way to the park. A refill after nap time and one on the way in from the evening. Averaging 3-4 drinks a day for six days - a good deal.
5) The last night we were there was the Pirate and Princess party which we were not interested in going to so I didn't pay much attention to it. I had no idea this meant that the park closes early to everyone who didn't pay extra. I was so mad that Disney would close a park early and jip everyone who paid for the full day out of 2 hours. Which may not seem like a lot but my little girl got in the habit of taking 3 hour naps while we were there and we couldn't make it back in time to do anything after her nap with it closing at 7:00. So because it was our last day like complete suckers we shelled out the $250 for five out of the seven of us to go becasue my daughter had to ride rides one last time before we left. It was fun but I am a bit sore that we shelled out that much.
And my last and final note...
6) No Mickey! We never saw Mickey; not once even at the P&P party. A whole week and no Mickey. What gives?
Anyhow 7 days 6 nights, good food, no Mickey, a leaky toilet, $65 for a plain old talking doll and $250 extra for our last night of riding it's a Small World - It was still the BEST VACATION EVER. Disney see ya next year!
1) As much as I loved staying at the GF and the hotel itself with all the restaurants and shops, the rooms are not all that great. We booked adjoining rooms which by Disney standards means next to one another not what I thought which meant with a door connecting them. No those are connecting rooms. They were able to switch our rooms and retain the lagoon view upgrade but the view was not as good but worth the sacrifice. However the room they switched us to had a broken toilet. Every time you flushed it water came out of the bottom. It took 3 calls to the front desck to get someone out and then he said oh I can't fix this we need to call a plumber. No kidding! Two days later it was fixed for 1 day but then broke again but it wasn't worth the hassle so we just threw extra towels on the floor.
2) Can't say enough good things about the DDP. I felt like we really ate great and got our money's worth. My parents kept saying this is the best food we've ever eaten at Disney. I'm sure it was a better deal with the tip included but we still made out.
3) Pal Mickey - cute but I wouldn't shell out the $65 again. We thought we would get 'inside' tips - character sightings and short wait times - not so much. We would pass right by characters and he wouldn't say a thing.
4) Refillable mugs - way worth it. We got our mugs the first say $12 each. Coffee in the morning with a fill up of soda on the way to the park. A refill after nap time and one on the way in from the evening. Averaging 3-4 drinks a day for six days - a good deal.
5) The last night we were there was the Pirate and Princess party which we were not interested in going to so I didn't pay much attention to it. I had no idea this meant that the park closes early to everyone who didn't pay extra. I was so mad that Disney would close a park early and jip everyone who paid for the full day out of 2 hours. Which may not seem like a lot but my little girl got in the habit of taking 3 hour naps while we were there and we couldn't make it back in time to do anything after her nap with it closing at 7:00. So because it was our last day like complete suckers we shelled out the $250 for five out of the seven of us to go becasue my daughter had to ride rides one last time before we left. It was fun but I am a bit sore that we shelled out that much.
And my last and final note...
6) No Mickey! We never saw Mickey; not once even at the P&P party. A whole week and no Mickey. What gives?
Anyhow 7 days 6 nights, good food, no Mickey, a leaky toilet, $65 for a plain old talking doll and $250 extra for our last night of riding it's a Small World - It was still the BEST VACATION EVER. Disney see ya next year!
