Best Grand Villa

[bwbuddy5]

I plan to have a blow-out vacation when I finally retire and will take a group of 8 including one 7YO and book one of the DVC grand villas (haven't yet decided whether to rent, or just buy the points and rent when not using).

So, how would you rank the grand villas and why? Would you recommend a 2br and a 1br instead?

 

[hakepb]

Having never stayed in one, my WDW GV bucket list would be:
Jambo (pool table room and huge balconies) happens to be 1 floor
VGF appears most luxurious and the Media Room can double as a 4th bedroom (which can work better for some groups) 1 Floor
BLT MK view (top 2 floors of BLT and a fireplace)

In the world of DVC, GCV and Aluani Ocean view GV's might overtake the WDW options.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It might be hard getting a GV for cash.

 

[southerngirl528]

I agree that GV's can be mighty scarce for cash. Hmm. I love DVC GV's and have used my points a good many times for these huge DVC villas. For sheer grandeur and the location AND those 60 ft long lanai's I would choose Aulani first! I certainly agree that VGF has some pretty scrumptious GV's. I prefer Kidani's GV's to Jambo's. Kidani's are 2 story and also have huge balconies AND they have that terrific extra "loft" area upstairs with another TV and a sleeper sofa. I know BLT has a great location to the MK but I just don't care for that resort very much. I'm the same about BWV. I know, I know. I may get flamed for that, but hey it's my opinion.

Vero Beach's Beach Cottages are awesome! You have your own individual cottage with NO connecting walls, they are right on the beach and the living areas are all upstairs to take in those views. I still love OKW GV's and have stayed a week in them the last several years in a row. They are huge and "feel" like home to my crew. What can I say? It would be pretty hard to go wrong with any of the DVC resort's GV's!

 

[bwbuddy5]

It might be hard getting a GV for cash.

Looking at Dave's rental site, and the FAQ for when to rent, the VGF is in the 3-6 months in advance booking recommendation (one of the lowest month recommendations). I thought maybe that meant it doesn't book as quickly as the other villas due to it's cost, and that perhaps it would be available for cash point rental through Dave's. What's your take? I've also been toying with the idea of instead buying a resale of a "cheaper per point" DVC resort, and take a chance at reserving one of the grand villas at the 7-month window. Crazy? We used to own DVC at Boardwalk, but sold it to pay for my daughter's wedding (and made about 50% above our original price 10 years prior-who says DVC is not an investment!)

Does it influence any of your recommendations that we will have a 7YO with us? And, this is definitely a WDW trip, but I would like to visit the Hawaii and California resorts some day. We've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and walked to the Grand Californian, it is beautiful.

Will we consistently see animals from the balconies at AK? I've watched several videos guests have taken, and it seems like the animals' cooperation is spotty at best.

 

[Mommy2TwoMickeys]

In 2010 we booked the GV at AKL Jambo on Cash through Disney. The room was amazing! Very big, awesome balconies, pool table etc. At the time, I didn't know how renting points worked, but if I did, I'm sure it would have saved us alot of money. This past December we rented points on here and I got a VGF owner who had enough points to book the GV at VGF for 6 nights. Talk about luxurious! the room was gorgeous and as another pp said, the media room can serve as a 4th bedroom with their own bathroom across the hall. I have pics if you would like to see

 

[bwbuddy5]

Affirmative, feel free to message me the link

 

[holden]

We are staying in a GV at BLT later this summer! BLT is our home resort. There are 10 of us going (4 kids, 6 adults), so I'm hoping we will have enough room. I like BLT for its proximity to MK and that extra bathroom!

 

[JWG]

I'm confident you'll have enough room. 10 in a grand villa should be great. We've never stayed in one, but would love to at some point. Ideally, we'd love a BLT theme park view - I can't imagine that view with two stories of windows (drool)!!

I also think Aulani would be spectacular but seems like it would be hard at 7 months.

 

[southerngirl528]

Not sure how hard it is to book at GV at Aulani now but I have a coworker who booked it at less than 7 months (they don't own at Aulani) for a stay a little over a year ago.

If you have dates you're looking at that are within my booking windows I can check availability on points for you.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

GVs at several resorts do not book up that quickly and are often available at 7 months. In general I'd place AKV, Aulani, SSR and VGF into that category. Sometimes you might catch OKW and BLT, and more rarely BWV.

If you have dates you're looking at that are within my booking windows I can check availability on points for you.

The DIS has asked that availability not be checked.

 

[southerngirl528]

Really Kat? Okay. I thought I had seen others post here that they have checked for other people. I have never nor do I plan on ever, ever renting out my own points. I happily use them all every single year for me and my family. I can assure you there was zero motive other than to be helpful.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Really Kat? Okay. I thought I had seen others post here that they have checked for other people. I have never nor do I plan on ever, ever renting out my own points. I happily use them all every single year for me and my family. I can assure you there was zero motive other than to be helpful.

Yep, although as you mentioned there are some who aren't aware and will do it now and then. I believe it's a couple of things. One, that there will get to be lots of posts asking people to check and two, that availability can change so it may not be all that helpful anyway. So they asked not to go check specific dates.

 

[Villians4me]

A couple of years ago, we got "stuck" an extra day at WDW by a snowstorm in NY. Was able to book an extra day at the GV in AKV Jambo House on 1 day's notice to accommodate my whole party. Loved it! We were a party of 10 and there was plenty of space for 10 in the Grand Villas. My SIL stayed here when she got married in the World, it's a great room. The Gv in BLT is also really nice and close to Magic Kingdom for the 7 yo.

 

[mouseclick1]

We have stayed in 3 GV's over the years, and I would rank them in this order:
#1. AKV Jambo: Everything about it was perfection. The room was simply amazing, and the pool table was a great bonus. I spent a ton of time on the huge balcony animal watching. I pretty much loved everything about it!
#2. BLT: We were fortunate enough to book a lake view room which gave us a view of MK as well. Nothing like watching fireworks from your balcony or drinking your morning coffee while gazing at the castle. The room was nice, but not really my style.
#3. SSR: The room was nice and the points were pretty reasonable. The room was fine, but I didn't feel there was anything particularly special about it. It felt like any nice condo that could have been anywhere.

 

[DbleTheFun]

We booked Grand Villas in early December 2014 both at 7 months for a split stay (DCL in the middle) at both Kidani and BLT. both were amazing. I prefer the esthetics of BLT so that got my vote... but both were great and I wouldnt hesitate to book them again.

 

[NancyDVC]

It depends on what you want to do. In my opinion the best GVs are Vero Beach, Hilton Head and Aulani but of course they are not at WDW. Vero is a beach cottage, HHI has a fireplace and AUlani has views! If you want space and quiet OKW or SSR are the choices. If you want close to the action for Epcot is BWV with that boardwalk view, for MK GF and BLT and for AK the AKV. I recently retired and am planning a trip to Aulani with a cruise (not DCL-I want to see more islands).