Buy VGC resale now or wait and buy VDH direct?

[nalabear]

We own VGC. It's proximity is priceless. IF Iger-Disneyland loving is serious about expansion -- this would be prime opportunity to push Anaheim on the expansion of lands around DLH. That will make VDH much more attractive. We're looking to buy since we're resale owners only to AUL and VGC and would be nice to be blue card for anticipation of something finally increased at DL with 2 DVC properties. Also, anticipate as grandparents future prospects to WDW will increase too.

I truly hope resale restrictions do not happen. I really don't know why they do that anyways.

 

[bobby5966]

They have changed the preferred layout style. Preferring a tower to a spread out layout of smaller buildings.

In terms of space and quality --- I haven't seen the Grand Californian, so I can't comment there. But I do believe Riviera has the highest quality of any WDW DVC (yes, the quality is higher than VGF overall), and is among the most spacious if we are talking about rooms, even pools (in terms of pool square footage per guest--- Poly has about the same amount of pool space for a much larger occupancy).

We haven’t stayed at Riviera yet, but from all the places we have stayed I’d say Grand California is the nicest in terms of quality. We like Grand Floridian, but the new big Pine building leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quality (the renovation looks like it was done with a budget contractor who cut corners).

 

[havoc315]

We haven’t stayed at Riviera yet, but from all the places we have stayed I’d say Grand California is the nicest in terms of quality. We like Grand Floridian, but the new big Pine building leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quality (the renovation looks like it was done with a budget contractor who cut corners).

Grand Floridian is very overrated. Great location. Fantastic dining.
But the rest of the resort — it’s like bits of fake luxury with cut corners. It’s certainly not a bad resort. But not truly the luxury resort it claims to be.

 

[nalabear]

You haven't been in the Del then. As a stay, it's not that great. Lots of history though and the views and vibe of the place is extraordinary. --facilities - meh.

 

[AC168]

Do you mean Hotel Del Coronado for the Del?

 

[nalabear]

Do you mean Hotel Del Coronado for the Del?

Yes

 

[havoc315]

You haven't been in the Del then. As a stay, it's not that great. Lots of history though and the views and vibe of the place is extraordinary. --facilities - meh.

… that’s yet another problem with the Grand FLORIDIAN… why base it on a historic California hotel?

 

[RoseGold]

I truly hope resale restrictions do not happen. I really don't know why they do that anyways.

Well, as my dad would say hope in one hand.... Of course DLT will be restricted. I don't think anyone thinks it would be in the O14 group.

It's a money-grabbing, timeshare-y thing to do, but hey. That's modern DVC. Yay?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

… that’s yet another problem with the Grand FLORIDIAN… why base it on a historic California hotel?

Because Del Coronado was contemporaneous to the Gilded Age hotels that also sprang up along the Florida coasts. Hotel Ponce de Leon is a great example that still stands in St. Augustine, FL, but it's very rooted in that city's unique Spanish-colonial past and architecture. There were many others that were Victorian style, including several in Miami, but few still exist, and most that do are small. The Belleview Inn near Tampa is a good example that is still around, but perhaps that was too similar to YC/BC.
GF is simply meant to evoke Gilded Age FL and I think it accomplishes that, so I don't think there's anything wrong with Del Coronado being a source of inspiration. It's not a clone, it's its own thing. And perhaps the proximity to Imagineering may have been a factor.

 

[havoc315]

Because Del Coronado was contemporaneous to the Gilded Age hotels that also sprang up along the Florida coasts. Hotel Ponce de Leon is a great example that still stands in St. Augustine, FL, but it's very rooted in that city's unique Spanish-colonial past and architecture. There were many others that were Victorian style, including several in Miami, but few still exist, and most that do are small. The Belleview Inn near Tampa is a good example that is still around, but perhaps that was too similar to YC/BC.
GF is simply meant to evoke Gilded Age FL and I think it accomplishes that, so I don't think there's anything wrong with Del Coronado being a source of inspiration. It's not a clone, it's its own thing. And perhaps the proximity to Imagineering may have been a factor.

The Ponce De Leon:



Belleview Inn:



The Del Coronado:



Clearly, the Grand Floridian takes far more "inspiration" from the California gilded-age hotel than from the Floridian gilded-age hotels. One could easily mistake GF for Del Coronado, while it looks nothing like the Belleview Inn or the Ponce De Leon.

I'm sorry, but no matter what you think of the hotel itself, it's a theming failure.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

The Ponce De Leon:

View attachment 723655

Belleview Inn:

View attachment 723657

The Del Coronado:

View attachment 723656

Clearly, the Grand Floridian takes far more "inspiration" from the California gilded-age hotel than from the Floridian gilded-age hotels. One could easily mistake GF for Del Coronado, while it looks nothing like the Belleview Inn or the Ponce De Leon.

I'm sorry, but no matter what you think of the hotel itself, it's a theming failure.

I wonder if you read my message. Yes, clearly, GF takes more inspiration from Del Coronado, I said so. They didn't seem to want the Spanish Renaissance Revival style of the big St. Augustine hotels for whatever reason. Since it was contemporaneous to the many Gilded-Age hotels of Florida, and many of the Florida ones that don't exist anymore were also Victorian, they drew inspiration from Del Coronado. Perhaps they liked Del Coronado. If you want to call that a theming failure, you're entitled to your opinion (no need to be sorry ).

But note that the Gilded Age was about opulence, and each state did not have a distinct architectural style for the hotels that were built during that period. From the Brown Palace in CO to the Mount Washington in NH, there were lots of styles, the only thing connecting them was their grandiose nature and clientele. Many of them were Victorian but not all, though it seems Disney wanted Victorian.

ETA: GF is my least favorite monorail resort, but the theme has nothing to do with that lol

 

[havoc315]

I wonder if you read my message. Yes, clearly, GF takes more inspiration from Del Coronado, I said so. They didn't seem to want the Spanish Renaissance Revival style of the big St. Augustine hotels for whatever reason. Since it was contemporaneous to the many Gilded-Age hotels of Florida, and many of the Florida ones that don't exist anymore were also Victorian, they drew inspiration from Del Coronado. Perhaps they liked Del Coronado. If you want to call that a theming failure, you're entitled to your opinion (no need to be sorry ).

But note that the Gilded Age was about opulence, and each state did not have a distinct architectural style for the hotels that were built during that period. From the Brown Palace in CO to the Mount Washington in NH, there were lots of styles, the only thing connecting them was their grandiose nature and clientele. Many of them were Victorian but not all, though it seems Disney wanted Victorian.

ETA: GF is my least favorite monorail resort, but the theme has nothing to do with that lol

I actually don't care that much about theme. Of things I like and dislike about Grand Floridian, theme is pretty low on my concerns. But if you're naming a hotel the Grand "Floridian" -- based on the gilded age of Florida, it makes little sense to mostly be guided by a California hotel.

My main likes for GF are the location and the dining and the general pool size. My dislike -- sprawling nature of the resort with a somewhat underwhelming layout, mediocre rooms on the resort side, and the "Victorian Elegance" often feels forced and half-done.
I don't dislike GF... I just don't see it as the best at WDW. Take out location, it might not be in my top 10. Even with location considered, it probably doesn't make my top 5. (prefer BC/YC, RIV, POLY... Then, it's kinda GF, AK, BW and CON/BLT in a batch).

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

But if you're naming a hotel the Grand "Floridian" -- based on the gilded age of Florida, it makes little sense to mostly be guided by a California hotel.

I see that. I suspect the imagineers were not thinking the inspiration of the resort would be scrutinized that deeply--they may have just liked the look and figured they were delivering a Victorian theme and that was fine since there were lots of Victorian hotels in FL.

My favorite resorts are the compact ones where I can get everywhere easily. That's why I own at BLT & RVA! But I do admire all the work that goes into theming at all the resorts, especially the deluxe and moderate ones. We're hoping to stay at all of the international ones, too. For NYE's we'll be at Sequoia Lodge at DLP!

At Disneyland I'm having a lot of trouble deciding. If pricing was equal, I would go VGC. So hopefully (for me) resale price will go down

 

[havoc315]

I see that. I suspect the imagineers were not thinking the inspiration of the resort would be scrutinized that deeply--they may have just liked the look and figured they were delivering a Victorian theme and that was fine since there were lots of Victorian hotels in FL.

Who knows.. maybe they didn't even know what it was going to be named when they designed it. May be more a naming error than anything else.

My favorite resorts are the compact ones where I can get everywhere easily. That's why I own at BLT & RVA!

Exactly! I do enough walking in the parks, I don't need to walk a mile to get from my room to the pool or to get a soda.

BLT could have been great, but to me, it suffered from errors in being the first of it's generation -- First DVC on the monorail, in a bit of a new age of DVC. At that time, it felt like Disney wanted to keep DVC slightly below true deluxe resorts. Thus, BLT rooms are smaller (and a bit cheaper feeling) than the Contemporary. The pool is blah. Subsequently -- Poly, VGF, and RIV -- the DVC rooms were equal to the nicest deluxe rooms and properties.

But I do admire all the work that goes into theming at all the resorts, especially the deluxe and moderate ones. We're hoping to stay at all of the international ones, too. For NYE's we'll be at Sequoia Lodge at DLP!

Enjoy Sequoia! I can appreciate and admire the theming, but it's just not super high on my priorities. Location, room quality, dining options, pools -- they affect my enjoyment of a vacation more than the quality of the theming. I do want the hotel to "look nice" -- But whether it perfectly matches a consistent theme just isn't super important to me.

At Disneyland I'm having a lot of trouble deciding. If pricing was equal, I would go VGC. So hopefully (for me) resale price will go down

 

[AstroBlasters]

I’ve been planning on waiting for VDH and buying 150 points to get a blue card, but then I saw a 200 point VGC contract priced @ $225/pt and had to pull the trigger. I talked to the agent and she said it had been on the market for 4 to 5 months at $250/260 pp and the seller just wanted it SOLD before dues. I pondered that it MIGHT drop down to $185 at some point next year, but then with ROFR and closing that pushes the whole thing out another travel year for $8k. I’d probably end up spending a good chunk of that on lodging anyways.

Now I’ll wait to order my wife a nice Grand Californian Villas sweatshirt on ShopDisney as soon as I clear ROFR!

 

[VegasDisneyMom]

I’ve been planning on waiting for VDH and buying 150 points to get a blue card, but then I saw a 200 point VGC contract priced @ $225/pt and had to pull the trigger. I talked to the agent and she said it had been on the market for 4 to 5 months at $250/260 pp and the seller just wanted it SOLD before dues. I pondered that it MIGHT drop down to $185 at some point next year, but then with ROFR and closing that pushes the whole thing out another travel year for $8k. I’d probably end up spending a good chunk of that on lodging anyways.

Now I’ll wait to order my wife a nice Grand Californian Villas sweatshirt on ShopDisney as soon as I clear ROFR!

Saw that posting and was amazed at how good of a price. Congrats on the offer!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Saw that posting and was amazed at how good of a price. Congrats on the offer!l

Thank you!

 

[NVDISFamily]

I’ve been planning on waiting for VDH and buying 150 points to get a blue card, but then I saw a 200 point VGC contract priced @ $225/pt and had to pull the trigger. I talked to the agent and she said it had been on the market for 4 to 5 months at $250/260 pp and the seller just wanted it SOLD before dues. I pondered that it MIGHT drop down to $185 at some point next year, but then with ROFR and closing that pushes the whole thing out another travel year for $8k. I’d probably end up spending a good chunk of that on lodging anyways.

Now I’ll wait to order my wife a nice Grand Californian Villas sweatshirt on ShopDisney as soon as I clear ROFR!

Congrats and welcome home neighbor. I’ll be looking for your post in the ROFR thread to see how it goes. 225 is awesome and that makes it even less likely I’ll be buying at VDH if the prices are even close. Might just have to change plans and try and grab more VDH points if the prices go lower

 

[AstroBlasters]

Congrats and welcome home neighbor. I’ll be looking for your post in the ROFR thread to see how it goes. 225 is awesome and that makes it even less likely I’ll be buying at VDH if the prices are even close. Might just have to change plans and try and grab more VDH points if the prices go lower

Thank you!

 

[kboo]

Just watching. We loved VGC when we stayed for the first time in April. I have been agitating for more VGC points and remember when resale prices were just hitting $200 and everyone was aghast. (regrets)