First Stay at VGF - Dec 2024 1BD! Plus 1 Night at BRV!

[kgou]

I am glad you and your family enjoyed staying at VGF! I started my DVC with a SSR contract, but bought VGF direct when it went on sale back in 2022. I love VGF. My son and I have tried some of the other DVC resorts and like them as well, but when we tried AKV with a savanna view my son fell in love. I have since sold my SSR points and bought AKV to have the 11 month booking window there as well. We don't mind the bus transport from AKV at all, as it is dedicated (not shared) and we have never had to wait too long for the next bus. However, it would also be a good candidate for Minnie Van service when desired. We now alternate between VGF and AKV for our two main trips to WDW each year. We sometimes will add a weekend trip or two into the mix and will book something new or what is available. We have not been disappointed yet.
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ETA: FYI, The 1BR villas at AKV have some differences depending on which ones you book. The main difference is that the ones at Jambo house have one bathroom while the ones at Kidani Village have two bathrooms. Also, AKV will be starting a hard goods refurbishment in October, 2025, running through 2026.
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We haven't stayed at AKV yet but it's high on the list! For the November 2025 trip, trying to switch into AKV from SSR at the 7 month mark was my tentative plan. But now that would line up to coincide with the refurbishment, which gives me pause. The two bathroom at Kidani would be awesome ...especially as the kids get older.

Thanks for sharing your ownership story. It cements the idea that if we do find another resort that we absolutely love, selling our SSR in favor of that resort would be a viable option. To your point though, we haven't been disapointed yet in anywhere we've stayed!

The bus service at AKV being dedicated sounds really doable, especially at or around the holidays when crowds are higher. Excited to stay here someday!

 

[elliemaple]

My only regret is that I didn't buy more points during the incentives last year. lol.

And agree - the rooms are gorgeous, the resort is the flagship for a reason, location is great with the MK walking path being a stellar option, and the dues aren't awful.

Do you stay at VGF every visit, or do you bop around a bit? Genuinely concerned now if I stay anywhere else I'll be wishing that I was at VGF. Though so far in our DVC ownership, we've loved every resort that we've stayed at and think all of the resorts have their own unique characteristics that make them great!

We also have the same regret. Wish we got 200 instead of 150 during the VGF incentives. We stayed here the same exact time you did in a standard 1 bed with two small kids. Was our first time at VGF and we absolutely loved it. Similar view, our room ended in 26 and the monorail went right by our window which we all loved. Great standard view. Our only regret on the trip was not booking an extra day to have more resort time. It's a great building.

 

[kgou]

We also have the same regret. Wish we got 200 instead of 150 during the VGF incentives. We stayed here the same exact time you did in a standard 1 bed with two small kids. Was our first time at VGF and we absolutely loved it. Similar view, our room ended in 26 and the monorail went right by our window which we all loved. Great standard view. Our only regret on the trip was not booking an extra day to have more resort time. It's a great building.

so fun that we crossed paths for both of our first times at VGF! our room ended in 17 and same, LOVED the monorail view. it would have been amazing to have extra resort day.

we bought 150 as well during the sale last year and same, wish we got 200. when is your next trip? I don't know that we'll be back to VGF before 2026 and that is just too far away!

 

[elliemaple]

It's the same here probably 2026 sadly. We have a BLT contract and will book soon for fall of 2025 there when the rooms are refurbished, before the Bay cove pool closes for refurb. VGF is a better resort but the 8 minute walk to Magic Kingdom can't be beat with the little ones. We stayed there last year and even with the older dated room we did enjoy our trip and our lake view room.

 

[kgou]

It's the same here probably 2026 sadly. We have a BLT contract and will book soon for fall of 2025 there when the rooms are refurbished, before the Bay cove pool closes for refurb. VGF is a better resort but the 8 minute walk to Magic Kingdom can't be beat with the little ones. We stayed there last year and even with the older dated room we did enjoy our trip and our lake view room.

BLT is high on my list for the 7 month mark for my Nov 2025 trip! I'm interested to check out the refurb, and the walk to MK seems like it can't be beat. Hopefully 2026 finds us both back at VGF did you encounter long lines for the monorail and bus like we did, or did you have better luck?

 

[kgou]

All total, it took us about an hour from leaving our room to make it into HS.

Fact checking myself here. This should have said that it took us an hour from leaving our room before we were on our way to HS, not an hour from leaving our room to make it into HS. Subtle but important difference.

 

[elliemaple]

BLT is high on my list for the 7 month mark for my Nov 2025 trip! I'm interested to check out the refurb, and the walk to MK seems like it can't be beat. Hopefully 2026 finds us both back at VGF did you encounter long lines for the monorail and bus like we did, or did you have better luck?

We splurged for a rental car for our trip since our kids are in a double stroller and don't like waiting lol. We took the monorail in the mornings and sometimes walked back from Magic Kingdom and we drove everywhere else. We will probably book in November too. We got the AP and need to use it once more time. Loved the December weather so hopefully November will be just as nice. Loved hearing about your trip. Can't day enough nice things about VGF!

 

[kgou]

We splurged for a rental car for our trip since our kids are in a double stroller and don't like waiting lol. We took the monorail in the mornings and sometimes walked back from Magic Kingdom and we drove everywhere else. We will probably book in November too. We got the AP and need to use it once more time. Loved the December weather so hopefully November will be just as nice. Loved hearing about your trip. Can't day enough nice things about VGF!

Nice you had a rental car! Driving everywhere was probably super handy and quick considering some of the long bus lines. Nice to be able to control your own destiny like that. We live pretty much either a 6.5 hr drive away, or 2-6 hour flight away depending on if it's a connecting flight or not. We may drive for our Nov 2025 trip and if so, I could see us utilizing the car to get to the parks. Especially if we wind up at SSR.

All but two of our WDW trips over the last 5 years have been in either November or December. I picked a terrible UY for this to be the case, lol. We've lucked out with great weather both months (a little colder this trip than I'd prefer though!!) so I'm sure you'll love November weather as much as you enjoy December!

Are you enjoying being AP holders? I've thought about it the last two years, but since we can get mil rate park tickets it's harder for me to justify. We'd have to go more often to get value out if it I think.

Maybe our paths will cross again in Nov 2025! BLT is def on my radar if I can get in at 7 months.

 

[kgou]

Loved hearing about your trip. Can't day enough nice things about VGF!

Thank you for reading and following along! It was fun to relive it as I was typing it

 

[elliemaple]

Nice you had a rental car! Driving everywhere was probably super handy and quick considering some of the long bus lines. Nice to be able to control your own destiny like that. We live pretty much either a 6.5 hr drive away, or 2-6 hour flight away depending on if it's a connecting flight or not. We may drive for our Nov 2025 trip and if so, I could see us utilizing the car to get to the parks. Especially if we wind up at SSR.

All but two of our WDW trips over the last 5 years have been in either November or December. I picked a terrible UY for this to be the case, lol. We've lucked out with great weather both months (a little colder this trip than I'd prefer though!!) so I'm sure you'll love November weather as much as you enjoy December!

Are you enjoying being AP holders? I've thought about it the last two years, but since we can get mil rate park tickets it's harder for me to justify. We'd have to go more often to get value out if it I think.

Maybe our paths will cross again in Nov 2025! BLT is def on my radar if I can get in at 7 months.

BLT is great in our opinion and with the new rooms will be even better. 1 bed lake view is usually available at 7 months . It's not for everyone though, it is not really a themed resort and relies on the contemporary building for food and shopping. For little kids it's perfect with the private pool and the community hall, and access to magic Kingdom. Older kids might find it boring compared to AKL or beach club.

AP might be one and done for us. If we know we can go twice in a calendar year for a week each time it's a great deal with the sorcerer pass. But we can't go twice a year every year (unless we buy some more VGF points and get more vacation time off!)

 

[kgou]

BLT is great in our opinion and with the new rooms will be even better. 1 bed lake view is usually available at 7 months . It's not for everyone though, it is not really a themed resort and relies on the contemporary building for food and shopping. For little kids it's perfect with the private pool and the community hall, and access to magic Kingdom. Older kids might find it boring compared to AKL or beach club.

AP might be one and done for us. If we know we can go twice in a calendar year for a week each time it's a great deal with the sorcerer pass. But we can't go twice a year every year (unless we buy some more VGF points and get more vacation time off!)

a 1BD lake view and seeing the electric water pageant from the room sounds lovely to me!!!

 

[kgou]

BLT is great in our opinion and with the new rooms will be even better. 1 bed lake view is usually available at 7 months . It's not for everyone though, it is not really a themed resort and relies on the contemporary building for food and shopping. For little kids it's perfect with the private pool and the community hall, and access to magic Kingdom. Older kids might find it boring compared to AKL or beach club.

AP might be one and done for us. If we know we can go twice in a calendar year for a week each time it's a great deal with the sorcerer pass. But we can't go twice a year every year (unless we buy some more VGF points and get more vacation time off!)

@elliemaple what do you think of the refurbed rooms at BLT?

 

[elliemaple]

@elliemaple what do you think of the refurbed rooms at BLT?

Some things i like and some things look like they don't work well. I bet when you are in the room it will look nicer. I'm only commenting on the one bedroom room. Our family probably would not stay at a BLT studio due to the small size and layout of the room.

I do like the artwork and the artwork theme of the different lands of Magic Kingdom. I do generally like the bedroom. The curvy carpet is ok. I don't mind they got rid of the desk in the bedroom. The bathrooms look fine. I like the mirror with the monorail etching. They got rid of the passthrough from the tub to the bedroom which i get, but that side of the master looks kind of tight now with the solid wall. Looks like no ceiling fan in the bedroom or living room.

The living room red couch and the reduced yellow dining room bench do not go well with the room. It looks like 90's confetti pattern furniture you'd see at Chuck E Cheese. The ceilings are bare and look like any basic hotel room. The walls in the living space do not have texture, wallpaper, or moldings or anything special, outside of a vertical wood feature which separates the dining and living area (which i do like). I don't mind the dark wood for the murphy bed or the cabinets, but that yellow wood table between them makes zero sense. I don't mind the kitchen or the island. The reduced bench space at the table i am not a fan of, little kids love the bench space. The carpet in the living room and the egg shape chair i do like.

Overall i am glad the rooms are refreshed but some really simple mistakes and design choices could have been easily avoided if Disney would ever test group their decisions. VGF is a clear step above these rooms and has a cohesive, great design, but is probably meant to be a step above.

What are your thoughts?

 

[kgou]

Some things i like and some things look like they don't work well. I bet when you are in the room it will look nicer. I'm only commenting on the one bedroom room. Our family probably would not stay at a BLT studio due to the small size and layout of the room.

I do like the artwork and the artwork theme of the different lands of Magic Kingdom. I do generally like the bedroom. The curvy carpet is ok. I don't mind they got rid of the desk in the bedroom. The bathrooms look fine. I like the mirror with the monorail etching. They got rid of the passthrough from the tub to the bedroom which i get, but that side of the master looks kind of tight now with the solid wall. Looks like no ceiling fan in the bedroom or living room.

The living room red couch and the reduced yellow dining room bench do not go well with the room. It looks like 90's confetti pattern furniture you'd see at Chuck E Cheese. The ceilings are bare and look like any basic hotel room. The walls in the living space do not have texture, wallpaper, or moldings or anything special, outside of a vertical wood feature which separates the dining and living area (which i do like). I don't mind the dark wood for the murphy bed or the cabinets, but that yellow wood table between them makes zero sense. I don't mind the kitchen or the island. The reduced bench space at the table i am not a fan of, little kids love the bench space. The carpet in the living room and the egg shape chair i do like.

Overall i am glad the rooms are refreshed but some really simple mistakes and design choices could have been easily avoided if Disney would ever test group their decisions. VGF is a clear step above these rooms and has a cohesive, great design, but is probably meant to be a step above.

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are largely the same as yours!

Overall I think it's a great improvement. BLT is not a resort I've stayed at so far in my DVC ownership, but the extra bathroom in a 1BD and the occupancy of 1BDs being 5, and close proximity to MK are super appealing to me. Loving the artwork a whole lot! Agree with your sentiments that a few simple changes could have really made this a slam dunk. Really glad to see the Murphy beds and pulldown bed.

It's still really high on my list to try and swap into at the 7 month mark for our Nov 2025 trip.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

In retrospect, I can't decide if I'd spend the points again for a late arrival like this one. It was really fun to immediately head to the resort and be immersed in the Disney bubble, but I can't decide if it was worth the points or not when we could have booked a room at Coronado or another Moderate/Value to save the points. Anyone have any advice or thoughts on this?

Anytime we arrive into MCO later in the day, we don’t use our DVC points for that evening. We usually will redeem hotel points and stay at a hotel in DS. It used to be the Hilton, but a few years ago I made the switch to Marriott. We are arriving a little later in the day on Jan 10th and are staying at the JW Marriott for that night and will visit DS that evening, then the next day we will move to BCV for the beginning of our week in DVC. To your point, I don’t like wasting DVC points if I don’t get a full day at the DVC resort.

 

[Chuck96]

Thank you for sharing details of your trip. I enjoy doing the same thingon DISBOARDS, so a year (or more) later I can remember the vacation I had! It probably speaks to my age, but I have been genuinely surprised (perplexed?) when I reread my last two vacation posts - I had done things I had no recollection of doing. Seriously.

I also wish I had gotten a few more points, but like Charles, if I get more points, I am certain I'll want them at AKL. I've never stayed, but every time I have visited (usually for Jiko or Boma) I have felt absolutely at home. I love the animals, I love the theming, I love the lobby, and I love the restaurants. I keep eyeballing the (reasonably priced) points at the resale sites, but haven't felt like pulling the trigger yet.

Definitely try a lakeview if you get the chance. It makes the room feel a little calmer, and the view is pretty nice! Congrats on your big stay, I hope your next one is equally as special.

 

[kgou]

Anytime we arrive into MCO later in the day, we don’t use our DVC points for that evening. We usually will redeem hotel points and stay at a hotel in DS. It used to be the Hilton, but a few years ago I made the switch to Marriott. We are arriving a little later in the day on Jan 10th and are staying at the JW Marriott for that night and will visit DS that evening, then the next day we will move to BCV for the beginning of our week in DVC. To your point, I don’t like wasting DVC points if I don’t get a full day at the DVC resort.

We are loyal to Marriott as well and before our DVC ownership regularly stayed at the Swan/Swan Reserve. Will this be your first time at the JW Marriott? We stayed at the JW Grande Lakes many years ago and really enjoyed it, but have never stayed at the JW Bonnet Creek. Still ironing out the details for our Nov 2025 trip, but if we have another late arrival like we did this trip I'll strongly consider a Marriott option for the first time ...we have plenty of Marriott points that we could use!

 

[kgou]

Thank you for sharing details of your trip. I enjoy doing the same thingon DISBOARDS, so a year (or more) later I can remember the vacation I had! It probably speaks to my age, but I have been genuinely surprised (perplexed?) when I reread my last two vacation posts - I had done things I had no recollection of doing. Seriously.

I also wish I had gotten a few more points, but like Charles, if I get more points, I am certain I'll want them at AKL. I've never stayed, but every time I have visited (usually for Jiko or Boma) I have felt absolutely at home. I love the animals, I love the theming, I love the lobby, and I love the restaurants. I keep eyeballing the (reasonably priced) points at the resale sites, but haven't felt like pulling the trigger yet.

Definitely try a lakeview if you get the chance. It makes the room feel a little calmer, and the view is pretty nice! Congrats on your big stay, I hope your next one is equally as special.

Thanks so much for reading and following along! We had a lovely time. We're still pretty early in our DVC ownership, and the trip really hit home how glad we are that we took the plunge into ownership.

I bet the lake view rooms are lovely! I just love the original DVC building at VGF and am sure a lake view room would heighten that even more! We likely won't be back to VGF until 2026 unless I can swap in with our SSR points at the 7 month mark for our Nov 2025 trip.

I'm with you on more points and also am not ready to pull the trigger yet. I did see an attractive VGF contract in my UY but I am going to stay strong. I really want to get a few years of usage under our belts before making any decisions ...wish me luck!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

We are loyal to Marriott as well and before our DVC ownership regularly stayed at the Swan/Swan Reserve. Will this be your first time at the JW Marriott? We stayed at the JW Grande Lakes many years ago and really enjoyed it, but have never stayed at the JW Bonnet Creek. Still ironing out the details for our Nov 2025 trip, but if we have another late arrival like we did this trip I'll strongly consider a Marriott option for the first time ...we have plenty of Marriott points that we could use!

Funny enough, we were actually going to stay at the Swan/Dolphin...but then we looked at the JW Bonnet Creek and it looks like an awesome hotel (typical of JW properties). We figured, why not try it out?! So yes, this is our first time at that JW. We don't get in super later (I think around 4PM) so we will have that entire evening for DS. We have never arrived into MCO before 12pm, so we have always done Hilton/Marriott that first day...again, it seems like a waste of DVC points that first day when you don't have a full day to get settled. Back when I was a Hilton guy, we always did the Lake Buena Vista Palace location which was great because DS was right across the street. We will need to take a shuttle from the JW to Disney Springs, but the JW property looks a LOT nicer (the Hilton was very tired, especially the rooms) so we are excited.

It sounds like you have a lot of Marriott points (like I do). I would highly recommend using them for the first night of a trip if you aren't arriving super early. That first day always feels like a transition day because of the travel, so not wasting DVC points on a 1/2 day (or less) and settling into the trip with a night in a Marriott is a great option. If you want to be close to parks, the Swan/Dolphin is a great option. If you want Disney Springs, the JW is a great option (presumably...I will find out for sure a week from Friday, but the reviews online are fantastic). Good luck with the planning!

 

[kgou]

Funny enough, we were actually going to stay at the Swan/Dolphin...but then we looked at the JW Bonnet Creek and it looks like an awesome hotel (typical of JW properties). We figured, why not try it out?! So yes, this is our first time at that JW. We don't get in super later (I think around 4PM) so we will have that entire evening for DS. We have never arrived into MCO before 12pm, so we have always done Hilton/Marriott that first day...again, it seems like a waste of DVC points that first day when you don't have a full day to get settled. Back when I was a Hilton guy, we always did the Lake Buena Vista Palace location which was great because DS was right across the street. We will need to take a shuttle from the JW to Disney Springs, but the JW property looks a LOT nicer (the Hilton was very tired, especially the rooms) so we are excited.

It sounds like you have a lot of Marriott points (like I do). I would highly recommend using them for the first night of a trip if you aren't arriving super early. That first day always feels like a transition day because of the travel, so not wasting DVC points on a 1/2 day (or less) and settling into the trip with a night in a Marriott is a great option. If you want to be close to parks, the Swan/Dolphin is a great option. If you want Disney Springs, the JW is a great option (presumably...I will find out for sure a week from Friday, but the reviews online are fantastic). Good luck with the planning!

Thank you! I've heard great things about the JW Bonnet Creek, so I'm sure you will have an amazing first day there. If you think of it once you're back from your trip, I'd love to hear how you liked it. Yes, we have a pile of Marriott points. Your advice is well taken about using points for the first night. Especially with how late we arrived to BRV on our first night ....future trips it just makes sense to save the DVC points and spend some Marriott points.

I hope you have a lovely trip and enjoy!!! We've only stayed on the hotel side not DVC at BCV and LOVE that resort/Crescent Lake area. Have a wonderful time!