Back From Our Awesome August Adventure!! ~Aug 23-31, GF and BWI~ - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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After waiting the entire summer, the day had finally come - August 23rd!! We were up bright and early. Well we were up early, but it was still dark out! We left around 6 and were to the off-site parking near the airport at 7 and to the airport by 7:15. Plenty of time before our 9:00 flight.
We had an uneventful flight and were to MCO in no time! I was a bit nervous about arriving on a Saturday morning. Despite never really having a problem arriving on Saturday before, on our last trip in January we arrived to a HUGE Magical Express line. It was crazy. As in we missed some of our FP’s that day!! This time was much different - no line at all! There was hardly anyone there at all and our line was non-existent. We were escorted to a waiting bus and out of there within about 10 minutes! It was great!! Some people might say that January or other times of the year are the slowest at WDW, but I have always found the last week in August to be the best!!
We had an awesome ME bus driver. He was lots of fun and even slowed down as we approached the WDW entrance/sign.
There were three resorts on our bus and we were the second stop. We made pretty good time.
We were met by a CM with an Ipad once we got off the ME bus. She escorted us inside to the check in counter. I figured our room must be ready since she didn’t get Bell Services to take our luggage.
Check in took about 15 minutes. Our room was ready! We were in Big Pine Key. Great! I had requested to be in any of three buildings and that was one of them. We were on the second floor, I had hoped for/asked for a higher floor, but this would be fine.
We made our way over to Big Pine, which is right outside the back door.
Our home for the next four nights. Or so we thought…
We opened the door to find only one bed! A king bed and a sofa. I assumed the sofa pulled out to a single bed. So, I picked up the phone in the room and hit the front desk button, which sends you to the call center. I explained to the CM that we have 4 people and need a room with 2 queen beds and the daybed/couch. He told me that there are no rooms at the GF with 2 queen beds and a daybed/couch. I told him that there are and we have stayed in one before. He said he was going to transfer me. Now I am actually speaking to someone at the front desk! He told me that the sofa in that room pulls out into a double bed, so technically they can put a family of 4 in there. Which would be fine, but the kids are not going to sleep together. And I wasn’t going to listen to them argue all night if we made them try to sleep together!! So I asked if there was anything else available. I was told that they could put us in a 4th floor room in Sago Cay. And that was the only thing available. Looking back, we should have just kept the Big Pine room, it had an awesome view of the courtyard pool and was a corner room. We should have kept that room and paid for a roll-away bed. I just didn’t think of it at the time.
So we trekked over to Sago Cay, the only building I had requested to not have!!
I was worried we were going to get a dormer room and be on the back side. Which is exactly what we got. The room was nice enough, but seemed small for a deluxe. I know that was because of the dormer room because we had stayed at the GF before and our room didn’t seem this small. The balcony was enclosed and the view was not of much. I knew we were not going to love this room. But we didn’t want to have to go and store our luggage and wait for another room to become available.
It was now about 1-1:30 and we were all starved! Plus we had dinner at 5:30 that evening. We didn’t want to eat any later and then not be hungry for dinner. So we threw our bags in the room and headed down to Gasparilla Grill for lunch.
It was pretty busy and we had to wait on our food quite awhile. I got my salad right away, but the kids flatbread pizzas came a bit later, and DH’s sandwich came even later.
Everything was very good.
Right outside Gasparilla’s -
After lunch we went back to the room and got all unpacked. We had placed an order with Garden Grocers and I had received a text earlier that our groceries had arrived. We were actually on the ME bus when I got that text! We called Bell Services and they delivered our groceries right away. We didn’t order a lot. A case of water, some Mtn. Dew, and some snacks. I was very happy with their service and will definitely use them in the future.
Once we got unpacked we got ready and headed out to the monorail. We were off to our first park - Epcot! The agency I work for was holding a Frozen Event/Dinner that evening. We had some FP’s first and then were going to the dinner.
Up Next: Epcot
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Last edited by Momof2Disneyboys; 09-30-2014 at 10:15 AM..
What a great start to the day, no line at DME, sun shining. Sorry about the room and having to move.
We used Garden Grocer this summer and was very happy with their service, like you we ordered water, some snacks but it was nice to have everything in the room and have the cold water in the fridge. We will definitely use them agian.
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What a fiasco with the room! Sorry you ended up with exactly what you didn't want! Boo!!! The room did look very pretty though!
I know!!
Yes, the room was very pretty!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a great start to the day, no line at DME, sun shining. Sorry about the room and having to move.
We used Garden Grocer this summer and was very happy with their service, like you we ordered water, some snacks but it was nice to have everything in the room and have the cold water in the fridge. We will definitely use them agian.
It was a pretty good start to the trip! A little hiccup with the room, but nothing major.
I loved Garden Grocer. We will definitely use them again. You are right - it was so nice to have the snacks and water in the room.
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Well I hate you didn't like the location but that room is so pretty! I like it MUCH better than other rooms I've seen at the GF. Too bad it wasn't where you wanted to be. Have the GF rooms gotten a refurb?
Other than room location, everything else went perfectly. Nice flight, no waits, GG, etc. Sounds like things started well overall. Can't wait to see your pics from the Frozen event.
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Great Start!! Especially with no line at DME!
Sorry about the room problem!!! But the room you did get does look nice!! I like the high ceilings!
It sure was nice to walk right onto a waiting bus at the airport!!
The room was very nice. Not sure how to explain it though, it just felt a little cramped I guess. I think it was due to the slanted ceiling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DisneyWorldNut
Well I hate you didn't like the location but that room is so pretty! I like it MUCH better than other rooms I've seen at the GF. Too bad it wasn't where you wanted to be. Have the GF rooms gotten a refurb?
Other than room location, everything else went perfectly. Nice flight, no waits, GG, etc. Sounds like things started well overall. Can't wait to see your pics from the Frozen event.
The GF did get a room refurb. The décor was different from the last time we were there in late 2012. I really liked the tan walls. We were just a bit underwhelmed by the view. We go to the deluxes for more room space and a balcony. When seated you couldn't even see over the balcony wall. When standing you could see some water and the monorail. Just a little boring for me I guess! I like to people watch from the balcony. There were no people out there!! DH did enjoy seeing deer across the lake each morning though.
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Reading the part about your past journey in January has me a little nervous now. We are going Jan 25 - Jan 31, so fingers crossed we don't have to wait to long at DME when we land.
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Exactly why I don't like the dormer rooms. I honestly can't believe they put you in a dormer King room. That makes no sense to me. And the pull out- well sure, technically two people could sleep on it but in reality -- yeah it doesn't work out so well.
It makes me SO SAD for you. A dormer room is great for 2 people--- it's pretty, it's quaint and maybe even a little romantic if you're traveling as a couple.
But the enclosed balconies make for a tough viewing situation, coupled with the water/monorail not being great if you like action.
Well. Scratch that off the list for you guys. You'll just have to visit me when I'm there next time.
But yay for awesome flights and being second on the ME! That is a great positive!!
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Jodi ºOº
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Glad your travel was uneventful and you got there safely Sorry you weren't thrilled with the room. We love GF but haven't stayed there since 2003. We always try to take a trip to the resort when we're in Orlando just to walk around - we love the ambience at that resort!
You had such a smooth journey down there, then it all went wrong with the room.
It seems like something always happens to us with check in!! Wait until you hear the check in story at the BWI.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackid2
Sorry you had to have an issue with the rooms.
Reading the part about your past journey in January has me a little nervous now. We are going Jan 25 - Jan 31, so fingers crossed we don't have to wait to long at DME when we land.
I hope you don't encounter long lines at ME or anywhere else on your January trip!! We are contemplating a quick January trip around that time again...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds like a good start minus the room situation.
Yep, all in all the trip was off to a good start.
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Exactly why I don't like the dormer rooms. I honestly can't believe they put you in a dormer King room. That makes no sense to me. And the pull out- well sure, technically two people could sleep on it but in reality -- yeah it doesn't work out so well.
It makes me SO SAD for you. A dormer room is great for 2 people--- it's pretty, it's quaint and maybe even a little romantic if you're traveling as a couple.
But the enclosed balconies make for a tough viewing situation, coupled with the water/monorail not being great if you like action.
Well. Scratch that off the list for you guys. You'll just have to visit me when I'm there next time.
But yay for awesome flights and being second on the ME! That is a great positive!!
I really wish we would have kept the original room and asked for a roll-away bed. That would have worked. But, I never thought of it until after the fact. That balcony was huge and would have been so nice.
Do you know if the dormer rooms are actually smaller, or do they just seem that way?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SharonK0527
Glad your travel was uneventful and you got there safely Sorry you weren't thrilled with the room. We love GF but haven't stayed there since 2003. We always try to take a trip to the resort when we're in Orlando just to walk around - we love the ambience at that resort!
Looking forward to more!
Thanks!
We love the ambience of the resort too. We usually stop there even if we aren't staying there.
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Shelly
Disney Destinations Specialist
Magical Vacations Travel
Glad you got there quick and easily but bummer that the room wasn't what you had hoped GF still just isn't my fave! I do like the new decor of the rooms though (I'm not sure how new it really is, I just know that's not what it used to look like)
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Have the GF rooms gotten a refurb? 
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We are going Jan 25 - Jan 31, so fingers crossed we don't have to wait to long at DME when we land.
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