Grand Floridian Rooms - Virgin Hols

[jlbf06]

Thinking of changing our plans from May 2009 to Dec 2009 and if so staying at the GF for the first five nights with Virgin. The online system doesn't seem to offer any room upgrades tho - has anyone stayed there with virgin and if so what room type or upgrade did you have?

If they don't offer a view of the lagoon/MK would you think it possible to upgrade on arrival having booked through a TA?

Do most of the rooms there have balconies? And would you think it suitable for a rather boisterous three-year-old? :)

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

We are looking at five nights GF, one week villa, three nights Royal Pacific. Just hoping the sacrifice in weather (from May to December) is worth it!

Sorry for so many questions :o:

[Clare]

Hi and welcome to the Dibb :wavey:

Virgin Holidays can sometimes offer upgraded rooms (i.e. certain views, club level rooms), however, you'll need to call the booking line to speak to them.

I have used Virgin Holidays to upgrade a waterview room at the Yacht Club to a concierge (club) level room at the Yacht Club - they take all your details then call Disney directly to see if the room can be released, around 5-7 days later they'll call you back to advise whether it's possible to do. I found the room upgrade price with Virgin to be very competitive (surprisingly).

The rooms at the Grand Floridian are beautiful, and they all have private balconies, apart from the ground floor (i.e. their first floor rooms) which have balconies. Just to advise, in case you didn't already know, the main building at the Grand Floridian is concierge (club) level only, the standard rooms are all in the lodges with either views of the garden, lagoon or theme park view (i.e. the castle).

[jlbf06]

Thanks Clare, that's a great help. Will be booking as soon as next tesco deals come through, so will leave until ready to ask.

Just thought that as we are there it would be nice to have the best room that we can afford, to make the most of it ;) Hoping for theme park really so we could see the fireworks at night if ds is too tired to go out.

Would you advise taking a little 'un there, or is it a bit serious/grown up? Can't decide whether I'm being selfish and depriving them of a more "fun" resort lol..

The Yacht Club looks to have a great pool, wasn't sure just how much we would get to use it in Dec, which is silly because I have been to Fl a few times over xmas but it was so long ago, and always at our own villa in those days.

[Clare]

Thanks Clare, that's a great help. Will be booking as soon as next tesco deals come through, so will leave until ready to ask.

Just thought that as we are there it would be nice to have the best room that we can afford, to make the most of it ;) Hoping for theme park really so we could see the fireworks at night if ds is too tired to go out.

Would you advise taking a little 'un there, or is it a bit serious/grown up? Can't decide whether I'm being selfish and depriving them of a more "fun" resort lol..

The Yacht Club looks to have a great pool, wasn't sure just how much we would get to use it in Dec, which is silly because I have been to Fl a few times over xmas but it was so long ago, and always at our own villa in those days.

The Grand Floridian is a beautiful (stunning) resort and it's definitely children friendly (all the Disney hotels are but some more so than others). There's organised activities for the children throughout the day plus the character restaurant as well :) Don't worry it really is lovely.

However, if you're after a 'fun' resort I would personally go with the Beach Club. The Yacht Club is lovely but it's got a more 'formal' appearance and as it's attached to the convention centre you'll see lots of people in suits on their mobiles, etc. The Beach Club is very light and airy and there's always lots of kiddies there (although there are too at the Grand Floridian) and it seems more laid back :) (they also have a character breakfast).

TBH I don't think you can go wrong with the Grand Floridian but different people have different interpretations of a 'fun' resort.

[jlbf06]

Yes I think the GF will be first choice - it looks like a restful (and beautiful) haven from the parks, with a bit of Disney magic thrown in. Or I hope it is! Wish we could afford concierge but I think that could push it out of reach for us this time, even with tesco help :grin:

We will go on to RPC afterward - I just noticed that you have been there too (and just read your fab trip report from the GF/BW, thanks!). What did you think of the RPC? We are looking to go club level for three/four nights at the end of the trip.

[Clare]

You will love the Grand Floridian :) There's so much to do there and it is very relaxing (there's a good choice of restaurants as well).

Glad you enjoyed my trip report :)

I really liked the RPC, from the moment you step into the lobby and hear the gentle music playing in the background to walking around the grounds, it's lovely. There's a nice pool and a sandy beach to relax on.

It's also a very quick walk to the parks.

I didn't stay club level there (but was given a view of the parks, great view), but the rooms we had were beautiful. TBH they're not the biggest of rooms but they're more than adequate in size.

[kmt]

we've stayed at GF when dd was 9 months old and had a great time. had a standard room through VH and had views of the gardens, but if you sat on the balcony and looked to the left could see some of the fireworks.
pool was never really busy so dd was happy paddling without worrying about being splashed by others.
very handy being on the monorail, really easy to get to MK and then in the evening put dd in the pushchair and got the monorail to ttc and then on to epcot, she fell asleep on the journey and we then got to have peaceful dinner in one of the epcot restaurants.
we went in nov/dec and the decorations at GF are fab - xmas tree and gingerbread house as well as the lights around the resort.
would suggest you don't have a ground floor room (US level 1) as if the balcony door is open your little one could just run off as there is no fencing like on the upper floors.
have a great time

[Silver99]

Another vote for the GF here. I've stayed in a few of the Disney hotels and the GF is definitely the best overall. Some people might say that other hotels are better on individual things (for example, someone was trying to convince me that one of the moderates was way better than the GF because "the rooms have better sound-proofing") but as an overall package you can't beat the GF.

Don't forget the band in the afternoons :)

[jlbf06]

Thanks guys, I'm really excited about this now!

Didn't know about the band in the afternoon, I have found that ds needs a break, if not a nap, after lunch so it would be great to find things to do around the hotel at that time.

DD did adventures in cooking there years ago (she must have been 4 and is 11 now) and had a wonderful time while we chartered a boat on the lake! But that is my total experience of the GF so every bit of info helps :grin:

Did you find that the GF had a nice atmosphere in the evenings? We would prob like to stay close to the hotel if ds is tired then as well. We alwasy find it easier to work around him than try to tie him in with what we want iyswim....

[Clare]

The GF has a lovely atmosphere during the evenings :)

Lots of areas to wander and sit around outside as well.

If you don't fancy sitting in the lobby itself, there's a little seating area with sofas on the second floor that nobody seems to bother sitting in.

I really liked the Grand Floridian Cafe, it's a pretty restaurant with nice food - not fancy like Citricos or Narcoosees (or as expensive) but I found the food so much better at the Cafe than at Narcoosees anyway, but that was just my experience at the time.

[Jockey]

Another vote for the GF we have stayed here lots and one of the best locations we found fpr a standard room is Conch Key, mabe because it's near to Narccoosees one of our favorite restaurants.

This is a magical hotel and most standard rooms have just been refurbished :grin:

[mart]

Another vote for the GF we have stayed here lots and one of the best locations we found fpr a standard room is Conch Key, mabe because it's near to Narccoosees one of our favorite restaurants.

This is a magical hotel and most standard rooms have just been refurbished :grin:

Another vote for GF. Just be aware that the basic room is a garden view room.

A lagoon view room is an upgrade which will give you a view of the Seven Seas lagoon whilst to see MK its an upgrade again.

The rooms on the top floor of the buildings are known as dorma rooms and can be garden view or lagoon views etc.

These are slightly smaller than the other rooms and tend to sleep 4 rather than 5 but they make up for this by having vaulted ceilings and give the room a more airy feel.