Sort of a Trip Report

[doombuggy1983]

We just got back from a 10 day stay at WDW yesterday 12-13-02. I wanted to give some thoughts, but not a blow by blow trip report. Hope that is ok with you all.

We stayed at the Grand Floridian. We were very impressed with the hotel, and the decorations are great. They have live holiday performances by various groups each evening, and it is nice. We were given no upgrade, and felt that they did not even think about checking. We also feel that our fax request was basically ignored. Our room was nice, and turn down service was nice too. A thought on this hotel. If you will spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom, this hotel is great. However, we really like Epcot, and we spent a lot of money with the valet parking at the Boardwalk, as we enjoy the restaurants there too. The monorail takes a lot of time to get from the GF to Epcot and back. The car was a lot faster. We used our car for everything except the MK. Nightlife is non existent at the GF and only a small lounge is open for drinks. The Boardwalk is a great place if you don't want to go to Pleasure Island. If you have packages sent back to the GF from the parks, check the DAY they are supposed to be at the gift shop. They are very dissorganized with this aspect, and completely lost one of our packages. They are supposed to send it to our home when (and if) they find it. Keep your receipts. Given the choice, I would stay at the Boardwalk resort the next time.

The MVMCParty is worth it. We went twice, enjoyed the atmosphere and the shows. The wait at the rides were non-existent. At the Haunted Mansion, they let us stay in on the ride without having to get back in line. Everyone was right, the cookies were terrible, but the hot chocolate was good.

The Candlelight Processional was very nice, but I disliked the French restaurant. The Fantasmic dinner package was very handy, but we thought we had paid for it, but then were presented a bill at the end of dinner. They told us that they make it seem like you are paying in advance to cut down on the no shows. We ate at the Brown Derby, which was very nice, with good food and service. I had read some complaints about the location of the reserved seats at Fantasmic, but was not disappointed. If you want to sit right in the middle, you have to wait in line for 90 minutes. Not worth it, in my opinion. Illuminations is a much better show than Fantasmic IMHO.

Restaurants we liked: Brown Derby & Mama Melrose at MGM. Le Cellier in Canada, the Italian Restaurant, the Japanese steakhouse at Epcot. Spoodles and the microbrewery at Boardwalk. Plaza Restaurant at MK. We didn't eat at Animal Kingdom.

Disappointments: Disregard for any room requests at GF. Fantasmic. French restaurant. Package delivery pickup at GF.

We had a nice time, probably a tad too long though. Seven days is plenty IMHO. I enjoyed Animal Kingdom much better in the cooler weather, as the plant life seems to hold in the heat there. The Lion King show was awesome. We were a bit more struck this trip with the emphasis on the almighty dollar by Disney. I think this will limit the number of trips we make in the future. But we came home and felt like we had a good time.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Quite a lot of negative aspects to your report - but everyone has their own opinions and is entitled to have their own say.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it on the whole, hope they find your missing package.

 

[doombuggy1983]

Captain, I guess that you could read some negativity into my report, but I was trying to make others aware of some concerns we had with this trip. We felt the Grand Floridian people were somewhat distant, snooty, if you will. Our last trip in August 2001, our stay at Boardwalk was delightful. The staff bent over backwards to make your stay a great Disney experience. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, I would give the Floridian staff about a 6 on the friendliness scale.

The parks were great as always. All the cast members were fabulous, and we had a great time. Sorry, but I just thought Fantasmic was not that great. I'm glad I didn't wait 90 minutes in line for it. I DID think the Osbourne Lights were very cool, the Lion King show was exceptional, Illuminations was great as ever. I think the Christmas party at MK was very well done.

So I just think the hotel was the main concern. It was just not right for us as far as location and the after park activities that we were looking for. But hey, we did see Kelly Rippa, who was staying there with her kids and husband.

I may be different than others on this board. Many trip reports gush over any small items that they feel is "Disney Magic". A chocolate on their pillow with the turn down service sometimes brings on a paragraph of delight. I look at this as a very expensive vacation with prices equal to many luxury resorts. I enjoy the Disney experience, or I would have not gone, but you should expect great service for what you pay, especially at what Disney terms the deluxe resorts.

 

[wdwguru]

While I have never stayed at the Grand Floridian (and probably never will), I have been there for meals and felt that "snooty" feeling you have mentioned. I have never felt it at any of the other deluxe hotels. It is unfortunate that such a beautiful hotel should have that "air" attached to it. I think all Disney hotels should give you that warm "magical" feeling and try to show you that you are special to them.

31 days to go!!!!!

 

[orangefan15]

Doom, I'm just back from the GF too. Sorry you had such a negative take on it. We had an awesome time. They did take my fax requests into consideration and we ended up with a dormer room with 2 private balconies and a complete view of the lagoon, including MK, WL, and Contemporary. That alone completely made our stay.

We also used the resort package delivery and our stuff was delivered no problem. Part of the problem with the store last week was that they had a new girl working there. She was really rather incomptent and the other woman working at the store apologized profusely to me when I waited in line 10 minutes to have something rung up and then the new woman rang up my order wrong.

I didn't feel any of the snootiness you mention, but perhaps that's because we didn't spend much time in the hotel. The staff was courteous to us and quick to give service. We had no bathrobes in our room upon arrival, so we called and they brought them within 5 minutes. That's the type of Disney service I expect.

All in all, I was impressed with the GF and would definitely stay there again if I had the money. My mom insists she'll never stay at another Disney resort again.