Hi Everyone!
We just got back from a lovely stay at the Grand Floridian...Theme Park View Room...Royal Palm Club. I can not force my family to look at all my room and club photos...so that's where you guys come in! Here is my photo-packed review of our week (July 13-20)!!
Overall, we had a VERY good trip. This was our first time at RPC but our 3rd Disney trip this year. Our previous two trips were BWI CL during Christmas week and Poly CL last August. I have to say that our room at the GF was by far our favorite room we've ever stayed in. Before our arrival I sent an email to Disney Signature Services and asked for "4th floor please, as close to the center of the hallway as possible (example rooms 4404, 4405, 4406)". We were going for the best view and boy did we get it!
We were assigned room:
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The room was light, bright, airy and clean. The tall coffered ceiling made it feel very large. We have two teenagers and the room felt plenty big. I think my photos are pretty decent, but they still don't do it justice
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Thanks, Pete, for ensuring that our sofa day bed was clean! My 16 year old son slept on it comfortably!
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As with any hotel, it wasn't perfect. Here's a run-down of what went right and what went "not-so-right". After we pulled up under the GF main entrance and unloaded the luggage from our car, we were directed to the self parking lot. This is were we discovered big issue #1...there were never free spots in the main inn lot. Every single time except once we had to park in the convention center parking lot which isn't exactly close. Considering you pay for parking, this didn't feel grand (especially given RPC rates). While my DH went to park the car, I went into the lobby with my kids where we were greeted by Zachary. He was AWESOME! He chatted with us until my DH returned and escorted us upstairs. He brought us our welcome drinks which were delicious. (You can see them in the second pic above). Anyway, Zachary made us forget all about the inconvenient parking!
Our check-in was smooth and uneventful. One funny thing...before arriving we sent an email to DSS requesting extra hangers in our closet. In true Disney fashion they responded with "thanks for your request; we will do our best but it's not guaranteed." I understand why they say it, but it made us laugh that they couldn't even guarantee hangers. Anyway, when we arrived...no extra hangers. But we did request them and they were delivered.
Overall, mousekeeping was excellent. We had a few minor issues (flickering light, red spots on shower curtain) that were addressed very quickly. They even followed up with us to let us know the red spots were not blood but some kind of shampoo or lotion stain. They said they actually tested the stain to be certain. We were impressed with that.
I have to say, the biggest issue we had with the room was that it was a connecting room. I knew when I made the request that a connecting room was possible, but in all our Disney years we've never had a big issue with connecting neighbors. But, this was the first year we had a family full of banshees staying next door. These people did not talk to one another...they yelled. And, they obviously let their little hooligans jump on the bed and scream...at all times of day. The very first night we had to call down at midnight because they were listening to music and YELLING. We pushed the button on the phone labeled "concierge" and they sent someone up to their room quickly to quiet them down. I have no idea where the "concierge button" rings (an offsite call center or at the GF) but it seemed to work. I did go down to the concierge on the 3rd floor the next day to discuss our options and find out when the Banshees were leaving. Turns out, their stay exactly overlapped with ours for the whole week. The CM told me that she could look for a new room for us but that was about it. And, she said that anytime they were noisy after 10 pm to call. Honestly, I didn't want to give up our room because it was perfect in every way and I LOVED the view. We almost felt like the kid in school who has their seat moved when a bully is bothering them. Why don't they move the bully? Anyway, we rolled with it and did end up calling around midnight on two other evenings to have them dealt with.
Other than those things, the room was perfect! We liked how light and bright the bathroom area was and my daughter and I both appreciated the nice full-length mirror and the bright make-up light. There was plenty of storage in the room, but less than at the Poly last year. I also loved the artwork in the room and the overall styling of it. It did not feel tired or worn at all!
Gotta run an errand now, but I'll be back with a few pics of the view! Stay tuned!
Let me know if you have any room questions!