BWV GV is it worth it?

[FreeTime]

I am in the process of planning a family trip for 11 or us and am considering a GV. For those of you that have stayed there, is it worth it? I am thinking that I might be better off getting 2-2brs and locking off the studio so each family has their own space. But the thought of the WOW of the GV makes me want to consider the option. I appreciate your advice. Thanks!

 

[Patty3]

I was also thinking of a GV for next August. I know that if I booked a 2 bedroom and a studio the points are cheaper. They are 6 adults and two children.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I think it's worth it. I had extra points for the upcoming year so I went on a waitlist for a GV at the BWV for part of the week for this Thanksgiving. If you have the points, I say do it.

HBC

 

[barrie]

I'd guess a lot of people think they are worth it since most of the posts I see always talk about getting put on the waitlist for the GVs. I never hear of anyone just getting one on their first call!

 

[BillPA]

If you plan to spend all your time in the room, go for it. But if you are in the parks all day, why "burn" that many points. I would rather go for twice as long in a smaller unit. JMHO

 

[worldshowcase]

Is it worth it????????
YES, YES, YES!!!!!!
::

 

[ripleysmom]

I was able to book a BWV GV for President's week this year. I called day by day at exactly 9:00 am. That is the only way to be sure that you have a chance to get one.

We wound up having to cancel though so I made someone on the waitlist a very happy camper I am sure.

 

[Skip Wiley]

We booked one for the last week of January, our son will turn one while we are there and we are taking both sets of grandparents with us, so having everyone in one room is a lot less hassle for us. If we had two rooms we'd have to choose who stays with us or stay by ourselves, so for our situation a GV works best. We became members in June and were able to book the GV at 7 1/2 months out, so from our experience it seems that off season they aren't too difficult to get. We live in PA (our location is Margarittavile but that's more a state of mind than a location) so by the end of January the weather at WDW is dreamy compared to the inevitable four feet of snow we'll have by then.

 

[lacool]

Have you compared the actual point cost? The week I am going, a GV was actually less points than two 2-bdrms. That is not true all the time, but my trip involves a weekend and the switch from Dec to January when point costs drop dramatically.

I called at 11 months out day-by-day at 9 a.m. and got exactly what I wanted. I'll let you know if it was worth it in January!

 

[FreeTime]

Thanks for your responses everyone. I am just really concerned that there won't be enough privacy. I thought sis and her family would have a bedroom, my parents would have another, our kids refuse to sleep in a bed on vacation because they love their ReadyBeds so much, so they could stay in the master with us. But brother would be on the pull out, and he hopes to have a serious relationship by then and invite his gf too. I think the living room might be a little uncomfortable for them. But like someone else said if we get more than one room it is harder to get together. It will be easier to have an adults night out if all of the kids are in the same room so one of the adults can watch them. You know, I never had so much trouble making decsions before DVC. I guess there are just too many options!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by FreeTime
brother would be on the pull out, and he hopes to have a serious relationship by then and invite his gf too. I think the living room might be a little uncomfortable for them.

I just changed my vote. Based on who is going, I'm sure everyone would appreciate having their own quarters.

All of a sudden the WOW factor you were talking about for the GV might be a different WOW!

HBC

 

[rocketriter]

If you have the points and can spend them (or not), then you should make this decision based mostly on the personalities and needs of the family. Some families have the best times when they're alltogether. Others start playing control games or have noisy littluns or have other needs for privacy. When you get to the bottom-most bottom line, you're not there for the pretty room; you're not even there for the Disney parks; you're there to allow the greatest percentage of your guests to have the nicest possible vacation experience. That's a matter of personalities, not architecture.

 

[kathleena]

With your family situation, I would go for the 2 2brs. You will still be able to get together OK.

And for the night when you need all the kids in one unit for adult dinner time - just bring your portable beds over for your two kids and let them all spend the night in the other unit.

Plus you have other benefits - two W/D, four Baths, two kitchens.

 

[jekjones1558]

I asked myself this same question. We ended up getting 3 - 2 bedrooms so that 6 couples could each have their own space. Some families might not feel that way, but I felt that it would be better for us. Plus, 3 couples will have a whirlpool and we will have 3 washers and dryers. The only downside for us is that we will not have one large eating area if we all do want to eat at home together (which may or may not happen).
It is comforting to know that we (and YOU) will have a great time no mater what the decision is!

 

[ceejay13]

We took 8 members of my family and another couple with us in January. For that trip we got 2-2bdrs and a studio and it worked great. This was at the BWV. For our trip in December, however, we have a BWV GV booked for 5 nights. We are taking some friends and it is mostly a golfing excursion for the group. (Just my DH and I are staying an additional 6 nights in a BCV 1 bdr). We chose seperate accomodations for my family to save our sanity and theirs. We actually split up the 2 bdrs into 2 1 bdrs and 2 studios and allowed everyone to have their own space. We certainly grouped together in the evenings to visit or do laundry but it worked great. I think it depends on your family and how you all do together. We can't wait, however, for our first GV in Dec. With this group of friends the GV will be perfect and it's only 5 nights so I don't think we will get on each other's nerves too much.

 

[chainkid]

I've done three two bedrooms plus a studio in the past to save points and on one trip they put us right next to each other and it worked out great. However on a previous trip we had 3 one bedroom units and even though we requested being together we were on different floors as far apart as you could get. This was not very convenient for get togethers and I was annoyed with DVC because my one and only request was to be close together. this year we have a huge group going and we got two grand villas and a one bedroom unit and again our only request was to be together. I love the grandvilla for entertaining which we do alot as I'm not into the parks as much anymore. So if you don't mind being far apart then the sleeping arrangements for the two two bedroom units might work best but if being together is the most important thing than go grand villa because DVC will not guarantee any requests...its the luck of the draw. If you are looking into the BWV Grand villa request a one story unit as they are larger and have a very big laundry room off the master bath and living room area...it is easily big enough to sleep two in an aerobed and have complete privacy. We use this for the teenagers all the time and its alot better than sleeping in the sofa bed. I'm more into the togetherness thing since we don't spend time with our guests during the day, we like to have them visit for drinks at night and the extra space is wonderful. You could hold a small wedding in the great room.