I know there have been several trip reports for VGF but I thought I would add some insights from our trip. We stayed from Christmas day to New Year's Eve. It was our family of 5 (two teenagers and a 20 year old). We stayed in a 2 bedroom / Lake View.
View:
We were assigned a first floor villa. The view was right on the pathway from VGF to Poly. At first it was a disappointment but as the trip progressed it became a non-issue for us. The pathway between these resorts is hardly ever used so there is very little traffic. However, my conclusion is there are no "great views" for VGF from most rooms. I think Std View over the fountain / pool area is just as nice as lake view for most villas. For us, we will probably just use a standard view and take our chances. The points cost, in our instance, was almost 100 pts for the diff views. Certainly at this time of year it was not worth the extra points IMO.
Favorite "Spot":
Given we have older children, my wife and I have the mornings to ourselves. We like to get a morning coffee and just chat. We discovered we could purchase our coffee at Gasparilla's, go back into the main building, and use the waiting area for Citricos and Victoria and Albert's. It has beautiful views of the resort and we had the entire area to ourselves. Frankly, these quiet mornings were some of the my favorite moments for this trip. When the random CM came by to enter the restaurants they also offered a friendly good morning. It was just a really, really nice setup if you want a quiet spot in the morning with great views just to enjoy each others company.
Walking the resort:
Given all the buildings are separate at GF, you walk the resort outside a lot. It surprised us but we ended up really liking this aspect of the resort. The grounds are beautiful, it is a peaceful vibe to the place, and walking in the fresh air was great for us. What was once a concern (i.e. building location), for us, was something we will miss not having in other resorts where you are always "inside". I much rather walk the nice grounds at GF then travel the long halls at BW for instance.
Another "great spot":
Down by the docks you have Narcoossee's restaurant. It has some of the best views at WDW. It also plays the music during the MK fireworks show. Again, it was never really crowded, it had a laid back vibe, and you can look at over the entire MK and watch the fireworks, etc. It was a great place to get a much more laid back view of the fireworks. We even spent a morning here just to enjoy watching all the activity pouring into MK New Years eve morning.
Overall, GF, for us, was a very laid back, beautiful resort. It had a large international crowd for Christmas which made the place more interesting for us as well. During this week, the pools were hardly ever used. Many times during the day you could have the pool to yourself. It was not a "high energy" and "high activity" place like when we visited AKL so if that is your thing, I think GF could appear very sleepy. However, for us, it was great. With older kids we like the more relaxed and quiet nature to the resort. All this being said, a different week, a different crowd, might totally change the vibe, however, it was just great for us at Christmas.
p.s. there has been so much said about the room itself I did not bother. They were great for us. The setup in the 2 bedroom was very quiet and great. It was the best room we have ever stayed in at WDW and we have been a cash customer for many, many years across a lot of properties. It is a step above anything WDW has done in any of their hotels IMO. Disney has never had a 5 star hotel. For us, VGF is as close as you can come at a room level.
View:
We were assigned a first floor villa. The view was right on the pathway from VGF to Poly. At first it was a disappointment but as the trip progressed it became a non-issue for us. The pathway between these resorts is hardly ever used so there is very little traffic. However, my conclusion is there are no "great views" for VGF from most rooms. I think Std View over the fountain / pool area is just as nice as lake view for most villas. For us, we will probably just use a standard view and take our chances. The points cost, in our instance, was almost 100 pts for the diff views. Certainly at this time of year it was not worth the extra points IMO.
Favorite "Spot":
Given we have older children, my wife and I have the mornings to ourselves. We like to get a morning coffee and just chat. We discovered we could purchase our coffee at Gasparilla's, go back into the main building, and use the waiting area for Citricos and Victoria and Albert's. It has beautiful views of the resort and we had the entire area to ourselves. Frankly, these quiet mornings were some of the my favorite moments for this trip. When the random CM came by to enter the restaurants they also offered a friendly good morning. It was just a really, really nice setup if you want a quiet spot in the morning with great views just to enjoy each others company.
Walking the resort:
Given all the buildings are separate at GF, you walk the resort outside a lot. It surprised us but we ended up really liking this aspect of the resort. The grounds are beautiful, it is a peaceful vibe to the place, and walking in the fresh air was great for us. What was once a concern (i.e. building location), for us, was something we will miss not having in other resorts where you are always "inside". I much rather walk the nice grounds at GF then travel the long halls at BW for instance.
Another "great spot":
Down by the docks you have Narcoossee's restaurant. It has some of the best views at WDW. It also plays the music during the MK fireworks show. Again, it was never really crowded, it had a laid back vibe, and you can look at over the entire MK and watch the fireworks, etc. It was a great place to get a much more laid back view of the fireworks. We even spent a morning here just to enjoy watching all the activity pouring into MK New Years eve morning.
Overall, GF, for us, was a very laid back, beautiful resort. It had a large international crowd for Christmas which made the place more interesting for us as well. During this week, the pools were hardly ever used. Many times during the day you could have the pool to yourself. It was not a "high energy" and "high activity" place like when we visited AKL so if that is your thing, I think GF could appear very sleepy. However, for us, it was great. With older kids we like the more relaxed and quiet nature to the resort. All this being said, a different week, a different crowd, might totally change the vibe, however, it was just great for us at Christmas.
p.s. there has been so much said about the room itself I did not bother. They were great for us. The setup in the 2 bedroom was very quiet and great. It was the best room we have ever stayed in at WDW and we have been a cash customer for many, many years across a lot of properties. It is a step above anything WDW has done in any of their hotels IMO. Disney has never had a 5 star hotel. For us, VGF is as close as you can come at a room level.
