GF CL or YC CL

Duck143

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 10, 2008
Good morning All,

We have been so torn lately discussing resorts for our 2020 trip. We have decided to try CL, so we were able to limit our choices by that decision, and now we're down to 2 (I think!!). We have stayed at YC before and loved it. The proximity to the parks and specifically HS with GE opening will be important. However, I'm afraid that if we don't stay in GF this trip, it will never happen. I'm just thinking that GF is not as convenient for everyone in our party or swinging back into the resort to grab a snack or drink in the CL lounge is not as quick or easy there. What do you all think? I would love any input and appreciate your advice as always!
 
We always make our resort decisions based on our overall plans for our trips. We tend to spend most of our time in the EP area, so we stay over there the majority of the time. If you think staying at GF will end up being inconvenient, I wouldn't do it. We recently did a split stay between VGF and the Dolphin and planned our MK and AK days for the VGF portion and DHS/EP/BBB for our Dolphin stay. VGF (and GF) are absolutely gorgeous, but we just don't go to MK as much any more, so it just doesn't make sense to spend a whole vacation there.
 
We always make our resort decisions based on our overall plans for our trips. We tend to spend most of our time in the EP area, so we stay over there the majority of the time. If you think staying at GF will end up being inconvenient, I wouldn't do it. We recently did a split stay between VGF and the Dolphin and planned our MK and AK days for the VGF portion and DHS/EP/BBB for our Dolphin stay. VGF (and GF) are absolutely gorgeous, but we just don't go to MK as much any more, so it just doesn't make sense to spend a whole vacation there.
Thank you for the advice! Maybe a split stay might be the answer and maybe we'll do a standard room GF and get CL at YC. That might be an option!
 
I hear you about GF and the desire to stay but it not being convenient. We've stayed twice at GF a few years ago, but for the last 5 years have stayed exclusively at Epcot resorts. We just don't go to Magic Kingdom that much so it never makes sense for us. That said, I LOVE GF. I just love it. And I miss it. If you can afford to stay CL at GF, my guess you can afford a few ubers to get you to and fro. It's not as convenient as just walking in and out of HS or EP, but it's a good compromise. I love the pool at GF, the vibe, the quick service, etc. It's just lovely. It's out of our price range now, and we really do like BoardWalk Inn quite a bit, but if it's tugging at you, go ahead and do it!
 


Another vote here for a split stay! We too don't spend as much time at MK as we do at EP/HS now that our D is older, so what we typically do is spend 1/3 of our trip time at a MK hotel and 2/3 at an EP hotel (for us, usually BWI or BC). We typically plan for 1-1.5 days at MK while at a MK resort, along with 1-2 AK days where we use a Minnie Van for transportation. Typically we schedule the MK/AK stuff for the beginning of our trip, so that when we switch over to an EP resort, we don't need to worry about any more transportation other than our own two feet. :)

We've stayed both RPC and SL at GF, and the food is the same (and absolutely divine!), but the ambience is quite a bit different. The price difference is significant (to us at least) so sometimes that is a factor for us. The ambience is amazing at RPC with the music wafting up from the lobby, but we actually found it more convenient to get food at SL because it's right there in the open lounge area that you have to pass by anyway to get to your room. If you have the budget for it, I definitely think GF CL is something that everyone should try at least once because the food is truly so amazing and the resort itself is so beautiful...it's an amazing experience. :)

Have fun planning...I hope you have a magical trip! :)
 
I've never stayed at the GF but I found the monorail pretty convenient to get to either MK or Epcot. Although, I did stay at the Contemporary. Going to the TTC is a bit quicker from there on the monorail.\

I asked on the Disney Moms panel about split stays and while some people have had good luck making all of their fast passes at one time, their offical stance is you will have two booking windows. One for each of your check in dates. So that might mess up your later fast pass selections.
 


Not a fan of split stays unless you have more than a full week. You really do lose at least half a day of your vacation and the FP booking window is an issue, especially if you're going at a moderately busy time.
 
Not a fan of split stays unless you have more than a full week. You really do lose at least half a day of your vacation and the FP booking window is an issue, especially if you're going at a moderately busy time.
We're looking at May and for 9 nights. I don't love moving, but I do like the idea of trying GF standard room and then moving to CL YC. Maybe we can plan our MK days for GF stay to take advantage of that location.
 
I've never stayed at the GF but I found the monorail pretty convenient to get to either MK or Epcot. Although, I did stay at the Contemporary. Going to the TTC is a bit quicker from there on the monorail.\

I asked on the Disney Moms panel about split stays and while some people have had good luck making all of their fast passes at one time, their offical stance is you will have two booking windows. One for each of your check in dates. So that might mess up your later fast pass selections.
Good point about FP booking!
 
Another vote here for a split stay! We too don't spend as much time at MK as we do at EP/HS now that our D is older, so what we typically do is spend 1/3 of our trip time at a MK hotel and 2/3 at an EP hotel (for us, usually BWI or BC). We typically plan for 1-1.5 days at MK while at a MK resort, along with 1-2 AK days where we use a Minnie Van for transportation. Typically we schedule the MK/AK stuff for the beginning of our trip, so that when we switch over to an EP resort, we don't need to worry about any more transportation other than our own two feet. :)

We've stayed both RPC and SL at GF, and the food is the same (and absolutely divine!), but the ambience is quite a bit different. The price difference is significant (to us at least) so sometimes that is a factor for us. The ambience is amazing at RPC with the music wafting up from the lobby, but we actually found it more convenient to get food at SL because it's right there in the open lounge area that you have to pass by anyway to get to your room. If you have the budget for it, I definitely think GF CL is something that everyone should try at least once because the food is truly so amazing and the resort itself is so beautiful...it's an amazing experience. :)

Have fun planning...I hope you have a magical trip! :)
Thank you for taking the time to write about your experiences! My parents put DH and I in charge of planning this trip of a lifetime and we want it to be wonderful, fun and maybe a bit relaxing too!
I dont love having to relocate, but it maybe the only way we stay at GF. I don't think it's a good fit for our entire stay.
 
We are split stay fans, maybe even split stay fanatics! I had one small issue with fastpasses one time out of 10 or so split stays, & it was easily remedied with a phone call. We were never “homeless” between resorts because you have club level access from check-in until midnight of your checkout day. We usually just carry on with our regular day, going to whichever park is in our plans & when done, go to our new resort. If your room isn’t ready you can go to the lounge or the pool. They store & deliver your luggage for you so that’s easy. You do need to be present in your room for luggage delivery however. I say go for the split!
 
We are also fans of split stays! A stay at the GF CL then moving to the YC would be perfectly heavenly, IMO. we do have a rule of thumb that we like a minimum of three nights at any resort and prefer to have a little longer at one of the split stay resorts. So, during a one week stay we would stay 3 nights GF and 4 nights YC, for example. Anything less than 6 nights, we would choose one resort or the other for the entire stay.

Have fun!
 
We are also fans of split stays! A stay at the GF CL then moving to the YC would be perfectly heavenly, IMO. we do have a rule of thumb that we like a minimum of three nights at any resort and prefer to have a little longer at one of the split stay resorts. So, during a one week stay we would stay 3 nights GF and 4 nights YC, for example. Anything less than 6 nights, we would choose one resort or the other for the entire stay.

Have fun!
Ok, so maybe a Friday through Sunday or Monday at GF and then move over to YC for the rest of the stay. Thanks!
 
We are split stay fans, maybe even split stay fanatics! I had one small issue with fastpasses one time out of 10 or so split stays, & it was easily remedied with a phone call. We were never “homeless” between resorts because you have club level access from check-in until midnight of your checkout day. We usually just carry on with our regular day, going to whichever park is in our plans & when done, go to our new resort. If your room isn’t ready you can go to the lounge or the pool. They store & deliver your luggage for you so that’s easy. You do need to be present in your room for luggage delivery however. I say go for the split!
So if our CL is our check in day for our second half stay, they will take care of our luggage and we don't need to be in the room to get it? Have you had any trouble with any luggage getting misplaced moving to different resorts?
 
Not a fan of split stays unless you have more than a full week. You really do lose at least half a day of your vacation and the FP booking window is an issue, especially if you're going at a moderately busy time.

Curious as to how you feel you lose half a day? We're going to do our 2nd split stay in November and never lost a moment of time other than the time to Uber from one resort to another. :) And the FP+ issue where you could only book through your first stay and then have to wait until your second part of your stay has been done away with and you can now book FPs for the full length of stay whether its split or not.
 
Curious as to how you feel you lose half a day? We're going to do our 2nd split stay in November and never lost a moment of time other than the time to Uber from one resort to another. :) And the FP+ issue where you could only book through your first stay and then have to wait until your second part of your stay has been done away with and you can now book FPs for the full length of stay whether its split or not.
I'm curious as well, since I don't want to lose a half day waiting around (unless we choose to sit around the pool or lounge relaxing). We have done split stay, but half on property and then off site and never lost any time, but we had our own luggage and a rental car. The only time was checking into the new place and unpacking.
 
We have done onsite split stays before and never felt like we lost half a day. You drop your bags at bell services in the morning and then go about your day. Bell services will transfer your luggage and after you arrive at the new hotel, just call bell services and they will deliver luggage to your room.

On transfer day, we timed FPs for late morning and early afternoon. Our next room was ready before we were! FWIW, we were able to book FPs for all days of our split stay at 60 days out. But worst case scenario, you would book twice- once for each half of the trip. Since you are planning to stay club level, I would ask the advance planning concierge for help with this.
 
Curious as to how you feel you lose half a day? We're going to do our 2nd split stay in November and never lost a moment of time other than the time to Uber from one resort to another. :) And the FP+ issue where you could only book through your first stay and then have to wait until your second part of your stay has been done away with and you can now book FPs for the full length of stay whether its split or not.
When we did a split stay last year it took us time to pack up, check out (we had to sort the bill out as there was a small error), wait for a car to take us over to our second resort, check in there. CM told us at check in that our room would be ready in 30 min so we decided to bring our luggage up and make sure room was what we had requested and settle in (which would have taken time even if we held off for later). Since it was a new resort for us we took a bit of time to explore and see where food was, pool was, etc. If you're strict about the clock and don't care about what room you get, etc, you can be strict and make sure you don't lose too much park time, but honestly, the packing up and moving does take time. If you just go to the park you still have to arrange for your luggage to be taken over or held for you, etc. For some people, park time is precious, so moving resorts is a disruption of at least a couple of hours, if things go smoothly.
 

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