Girlstar30
DIS Veteran
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- Feb 1, 2025
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Better late than never trip report! January 2025 was my first time ever staying at WDW DVC resorts. We chose to do this for my 40th birthday and also because I was interested in purchasing DVC! I thought for sure VGF would be my favorite Disney resort with Baylake Tower being a close second!
I decided to stay at VGF for my actual birthday celebration. Super excited for the Mary Poppins theme as I am a huge fan! I decided to go all out and have the bakery at the Grand Floridian make me a custom Mary Poppins cake. The price was astronomical, but you only turn 40 once, right?
So let's go back and get into the resorts we stayed at from beginning to end. At the planning stage, I didn't really understand how DVC worked and how limited rooms were.
We were able to get 3 nights at AKL JAMBO to start with when we needed 4. Kidani was available for our first night arrival. I really wanted Jambo because I liked how the pool and lobby looked and the proximity to the restaurants, but it is what it is. We arrived. As soon as we got out of the Uber, we heard Christmas music coming from the resort. We admired all the lights and theming and we checked in and headed to our room. We were so eager to see the animals in our savannah view room, but it was night time and too dark when we arrived. That would have to wait. I should have done more research but I did not realize that the studios only had a queen bed and a pullout. This was disappointing. I guess for the price, we automatically assumed that a room with one bed would be a king. I looked up our other rooms at the other hotels and realized that they would all be queen beds
At least VGF would have two of them.
DINNER that night was at T Rex at DS for the kids we were traveling with extended family. They were staying at Allstars so we were to meet there. First experience using Disney world bus transportation! Unfortunately, it would be one of the worst experiences we had. We waited outside for 15 mins and the bus didn't come. We noticed the time kept increasing from when it said it would arrive. Very strange. Other buses came and went. Half an hour later, still nothing. At this point, we were going to be late to our reservation if it didn't come soon... the time just kept going up and up. We decided to go to the front lobby and see what the heck was going on. Front desk cast member apologized, but no solution was given other than it would come eventually. I started to get a little upset and stressed out. Family was calling, they were already at DS from ALL stars. I asked to speak to a manager. I told her this was unacceptable and she agreed. She explained to us other options such as Uber and Minnie Van. I told her we shouldn't have to pay for this because their buses aren't running properly. Apparently she agreed and called Uber for us free of charge. I was happy for this and faith in DVC was restored.
DS was so big and overwhelming to me we didn't know where the bus stops were and decided to take Uber back after dinner. Didn't even unpack, exhausted and went to bed.
Breakfast at Sanna the next morning was fabulous. We enjoyed every dish. I was so impressed with Disney's luggage service. They initially had us at Pembe Savannah for Jambo and I expressed to them that I really wanted Sunset. No issue, they switched us and were very kind. We spent the day at Animal Kingdom park. Still no animal sightings but we didn't have time in the room yet. Dinner at Jiko was PHENOMENAL. Tried so many different foods I would never have tried before. Who knew I liked boar. Service was impeccable. Hosts made me laugh. "Are you hungry?" He said in his African accent. "Yes," i replied. "Good because it's about to go down!"
he wasn't kidding. Slept like a baby that night.
The next day we went to BOMA for breakfast. My goodness the food was phenomenal again. Is this how every DVC WDW hotel food is? My first time having POG juice, delicious! Those sticky buns were to die for. Service impeccable again.
Walking around the lobby we admired how beautiful it was. We loved the cultural representation, merchandise and cast members. Picked up a few unique ornaments. Family was meeting us at Uzima Springs pool. What an absolute blast we had! We participated in Disney trivia and went down the waterslide. It started to rain later and people left, but not us! Enjoyed the hot tubs. Cast members were once again on point bringing us towels and seeing if we needed anything. The service really stood out to me. We were officially in love with this resort. Wife slept on the pullout couch. She did comment that it was uncomfortable. It wasn't a deal breaker for us though. We actually loved the darkness of the rooms because we slept so well. Also loved the shower. Could not wait for tomorrow, but sad it was almost ending.
The next day we had family come over and it couldn't have been more perfect. As soon as they arrived, the zebras appeared near our balcony. A cast member came and was outside of our balconies answering any questions we had. Giraffes were walking by. There were a couple of other animals as well. I made coffee and we sat on the balcony chatting and admiring these beautiful animals. Was this for reals or was I actually dreaming? I couldn't believe I was here.
When we checked out and Disney luggage service came, I was once again impressed. The cast member was very kind and encouraged us to take pictures of the bell cart with all of our stuff for safety. I'm not going to lie that I had a tear in my eye upon leaving, it really felt like home. Off to Copper Creek Villas! I realize this is long and I will continue in another thread later!
I decided to stay at VGF for my actual birthday celebration. Super excited for the Mary Poppins theme as I am a huge fan! I decided to go all out and have the bakery at the Grand Floridian make me a custom Mary Poppins cake. The price was astronomical, but you only turn 40 once, right?
So let's go back and get into the resorts we stayed at from beginning to end. At the planning stage, I didn't really understand how DVC worked and how limited rooms were.
We were able to get 3 nights at AKL JAMBO to start with when we needed 4. Kidani was available for our first night arrival. I really wanted Jambo because I liked how the pool and lobby looked and the proximity to the restaurants, but it is what it is. We arrived. As soon as we got out of the Uber, we heard Christmas music coming from the resort. We admired all the lights and theming and we checked in and headed to our room. We were so eager to see the animals in our savannah view room, but it was night time and too dark when we arrived. That would have to wait. I should have done more research but I did not realize that the studios only had a queen bed and a pullout. This was disappointing. I guess for the price, we automatically assumed that a room with one bed would be a king. I looked up our other rooms at the other hotels and realized that they would all be queen beds
At least VGF would have two of them.DINNER that night was at T Rex at DS for the kids we were traveling with extended family. They were staying at Allstars so we were to meet there. First experience using Disney world bus transportation! Unfortunately, it would be one of the worst experiences we had. We waited outside for 15 mins and the bus didn't come. We noticed the time kept increasing from when it said it would arrive. Very strange. Other buses came and went. Half an hour later, still nothing. At this point, we were going to be late to our reservation if it didn't come soon... the time just kept going up and up. We decided to go to the front lobby and see what the heck was going on. Front desk cast member apologized, but no solution was given other than it would come eventually. I started to get a little upset and stressed out. Family was calling, they were already at DS from ALL stars. I asked to speak to a manager. I told her this was unacceptable and she agreed. She explained to us other options such as Uber and Minnie Van. I told her we shouldn't have to pay for this because their buses aren't running properly. Apparently she agreed and called Uber for us free of charge. I was happy for this and faith in DVC was restored.
DS was so big and overwhelming to me we didn't know where the bus stops were and decided to take Uber back after dinner. Didn't even unpack, exhausted and went to bed.
Breakfast at Sanna the next morning was fabulous. We enjoyed every dish. I was so impressed with Disney's luggage service. They initially had us at Pembe Savannah for Jambo and I expressed to them that I really wanted Sunset. No issue, they switched us and were very kind. We spent the day at Animal Kingdom park. Still no animal sightings but we didn't have time in the room yet. Dinner at Jiko was PHENOMENAL. Tried so many different foods I would never have tried before. Who knew I liked boar. Service was impeccable. Hosts made me laugh. "Are you hungry?" He said in his African accent. "Yes," i replied. "Good because it's about to go down!"
he wasn't kidding. Slept like a baby that night.The next day we went to BOMA for breakfast. My goodness the food was phenomenal again. Is this how every DVC WDW hotel food is? My first time having POG juice, delicious! Those sticky buns were to die for. Service impeccable again.
Walking around the lobby we admired how beautiful it was. We loved the cultural representation, merchandise and cast members. Picked up a few unique ornaments. Family was meeting us at Uzima Springs pool. What an absolute blast we had! We participated in Disney trivia and went down the waterslide. It started to rain later and people left, but not us! Enjoyed the hot tubs. Cast members were once again on point bringing us towels and seeing if we needed anything. The service really stood out to me. We were officially in love with this resort. Wife slept on the pullout couch. She did comment that it was uncomfortable. It wasn't a deal breaker for us though. We actually loved the darkness of the rooms because we slept so well. Also loved the shower. Could not wait for tomorrow, but sad it was almost ending.
The next day we had family come over and it couldn't have been more perfect. As soon as they arrived, the zebras appeared near our balcony. A cast member came and was outside of our balconies answering any questions we had. Giraffes were walking by. There were a couple of other animals as well. I made coffee and we sat on the balcony chatting and admiring these beautiful animals. Was this for reals or was I actually dreaming? I couldn't believe I was here.
When we checked out and Disney luggage service came, I was once again impressed. The cast member was very kind and encouraged us to take pictures of the bell cart with all of our stuff for safety. I'm not going to lie that I had a tear in my eye upon leaving, it really felt like home. Off to Copper Creek Villas! I realize this is long and I will continue in another thread later!
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