Are the grand villas worth it?

[LiloMae]

Has anyone stayed in grand villa (including cabin, treehouse, bungalow)? If so, which one and would you do it again? I'm trying to decide if it's worth splurging on a 3BR so we can more easily coordinate our trip. Our party of 4 adults and 2 kids is currently split between Pop Century and Art of Animation (booked before I heard of DVC) and the more I read, I'm realizing a 2BR or studio and 1BR are going to be hard to find.

 

[kellbot]

We've done pretty much all of the options in Saratoga Springs. The grand villas are nice for having a central place to be, but we usually opt for two 2 bedroom villas when we travel with a large group because it sleeps more people for fewer points.

For a group of 4 adults and 2 kids I'd probably go for a 2 bedroom lock-off. The kids can sleep on the murphy bed in the living room, and the adults who aren't their parents can stay in the lock-off room, which has its own door to the outside if they want to sneak out without waking the kids.

 

[CarolynFH]

Be sure to look at floor plans and capacities for each of those. A GV will have sleeping surfaces for 12, but the CCV cabins and Poly bungalows only sleep 8. The SSR treehouses sleep 9. Pay attention to where the beds are, since some are in bedrooms and some in living spaces, and consider family units as far as who will sleep where AND what bathrooms will be shared by whom.

PS it’s not always possible to reserve a GV from Disney for cash. You might be looking at renting from an owner, which involves serious restrictions on cancellation and changes, not to mention requiring many points.

 

[zavandor]

Also, many options require booking at 11 months. Especially the OKW Grand Villas, which are a great deal and owners there know it.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Aulani... yes! It's stunning. The like 60+ foot continuous deck with entrances from all the bedrooms and that view... Epic. We had a blast and wish we could have afforded more than 4 nights .

 

[NVDISFamily]

Have stayed at a few GVs but I’d say unless you have a huge party of high teens or more that you wish to gather together in a common space staying in a GV isn’t really worth it unless you have plenty of cash or points to burn or you really value that extra level of “magic” that the GVs have vs other rooms. Seems like a 2BR room would be great for your party of 6 with plenty of space. I’d consider looking at Kidani as a place to stay as they have the 3rd bathroom in the 2BR rooms which makes getting ready to hit the parks or just about anything easier. Animal Kingdom was also ranked as a top pick by my family as a place they would love to return to. We had 23 or 24 people in our party.

If you want the best DVC room at WDW - I’d have to stay my vote is still for the GV at CCV.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Have stayed at four different grand villas.
All were worth it imo.

In order of my favorites…

1) AKV single story
2) VB beach cottage
3) Grand Californian
4) AKV two story

All simply fantastic.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I have stayed in a GV at BLT and SSR, a bungalow at Poly and a cabin at Fort Wilderness. (The cabin at FW is not part of DVC) My family loved them all!

As others have mentioned, they are worth it especially if you have the cash or points to use.

For a party of 6, I agree you could get a 2BR.
Kidani and BLT have 3 bathrooms, so people sleeping in the living room have a full bathroom to use.

Look at the cost/point difference between a GV and a 2 bedroom and then think about how much time you will spend in the room.
As others have mentioned, look at the floor plans and think about where everyone will sleep.

DVC villas are nice to have a quick breakfast together before heading out in the morning and a place to hang out at night before going to bed.

Good luck with your search!
Have a great vacation!

 

[holden]

Worth it? Yes!

My favorite is BLT theme park view. We also enjoyed Jambo (all one floor).

Depending on the ages of the kids, you could get away with a 2BR at BLT or Kidani (both have three full bathrooms). Kidani 2BR are usually easier to get than BLT.

 

[GGGT]

We've (12 of us) stayed in Grand Villas at:

BLT
CCV
VGF
BWV
AKVK
AKVJ
We love them.
Great opportunity to share meals, movies, games, etc all together and at a casual pace.

Of course, they're point heavy and ultimately only you can decide if it's "worth" it to you.

 

[DsneyDude1]

We have 6 and always do an OKW GV although we have done SSR also. I wouldn't do it any other way. Gives my son's family a chance to spread out upstairs while grandma & grandpa have the 1st floor master. The only downside...my 2 grandsons 4 & 6 are going to grow up thinking all hotel rooms are like this.

 

[NVDISFamily]

are going to grow up thinking all hotel rooms are like this

We have to tell our kids all of the time that we can't stay in a GV every trip. It's for reunions or other special events. Thankfully our next stay is in a studio at VDH so we can reset expectations a little closer to reality.

In order of my favorites…

1) AKV single story
2) VB beach cottage
3) Grand Californian
4) AKV two story

Interesting that you like the Jambo GV over the Kidani one. We have stayed at Kidani already and are doing Jambo next summer. Cant wait to do the comparison.

I think the one big perk of the two story 4 bathroom layouts is that both of the rooms on the 2nd floor have en suite bathrooms giving the parties there some privacy as they prepare for the day and you still have the extra bath downstairs for even more flexibility to get ready. The GVs at the Grand Cal also have this layout and we love it. Jambo is awesome as it's one of the few single story GV to have the extra bathroom (I wish the others would have this too) but similar to CCV and Riviera the 3rd bathroom in the hall (or the 3rd and 4th bathrooms in case of Jambo) are all across a hallway. Not a huge deal, but those staying in that middle room without the attached bath have to bring all of their clothes and stuff with them to prep for the day.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We stayed in a GV at OKW last year with 4 adults and 3 kids. A few years prior we'd stayed in a 2 BR before kid #3 was born. Frankly, we had the points, and we were lucky enough to have an elevator building this time right by the HH. But overall, we could have easily done with the 2 Bedroom again if it were in the location. I don't think you need the 11 months to get a 2 bedroom at OKW.

 

[Genie+]

Has anyone stayed in grand villa (including cabin, treehouse, bungalow)? If so, which one and would you do it again? I'm trying to decide if it's worth splurging on a 3BR so we can more easily coordinate our trip. Our party of 4 adults and 2 kids is currently split between Pop Century and Art of Animation (booked before I heard of DVC) and the more I read, I'm realizing a 2BR or studio and 1BR are going to be hard to find.

When is your trip? If it’s in 2023, then yeah availability is already pretty tight for villas. If next spring then there’s alot of DVC availability, and if 7 months out you can rent from any owner no matter which resort you want. Also +7 months is cheaper per point.

I think you’re looking for cash rooms though? They are easier with flexible cancel or reschedule policies, but the money saved by renting DVC can be worth the stricter commitment.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Aulani. Absolutely!

 

[TheLyinKing]

Just depends as value is always subjective. For me, I'm always trying to maximize my points based on occupancy, so a GV would be something I would only splurge on for a super special occasion or something. But some people have more points available, or are at the point where they feel they made their money back already and prefer to use their points on things like this instead.

 

[MrsW]

We stayed in a single level Grand Villa at The Boardwalk in August. Only 6 of us, 3 generations and the 1st Disney trip for the grandkids. It took almost 2 1/2 years worth of points for 5 nights, so while it was wonderful and we absolutely loved it, it's not likely we'll be in the point position to splurge again.

 

[TheLyinKing]

We stayed in a single level Grand Villa at The Boardwalk in August. Only 6 of us, 3 generations and the 1st Disney trip for the grandkids. It took almost 2 1/2 years worth of points for 5 nights, so while it was wonderful and we absolutely loved it, it's not likely we'll be in the point position to splurge again.

Yeah personally I would only ever do a night or two in the Villa, and split stay. Just couldn't justify spending sooo many points. Especially since we don't have THAT many points to begin with hah