If you're going to VGC anytime soon, bring your earplugs

[preedymtnwest]

President's Week was our first trip home to VGC and I was so excited. We had a GV reserved for the first three nights and would be basically having a family reunion - us four, my DSis and family (4) and our one and only cousin and his family (4). The last four nights, we were in a 2BR with just us and my DSis and family.

Rants:
After checking in on Sunday to the Paradise Pier view GV (AWESOME!!!) and all going to DL after a dinner at Storytellers, DS (12) got lost for 1/2 an hour and then DS (9) swung off a railing outside Star Traders at 10:40 p.m. and cracked his head open, resulting in a late-night visit to UC Irvine Med Center and 5 stitches.

None of this, obviously, was Disney's fault, but after going to bed at 3:00 a.m. and getting up at 6:00 to double check DS, the jackhammer started right outside our window. I called the front desk, who said that the construction was in the park and they were the hotel and therefore couldn't do anything about it. And I thought they were all Disney....

So when it kept going and my teeth were rattling, I called back and asked for 12 sets of ear plugs. They said they'd be right up and as my kids were sleeping in the living room, and the 8 guests on the floor above seemed to be still asleep (although I wasn't sure), I waited in the hall in my pjs so that no one else would get woken up when the CM knocked on the door.

About an hour later the CM arrived with 2 sets of ear plugs, not 12. He showed me the note on his blackberry, which clearly said "earplugs12" but he had interpreted as "2" since how could you have 12 people behind that door?? I told him I was going to try to get back to sleep and could he please bring the other 10 sets up for the rest of the occupants in case they needed them, but just leave them on the door handle.

I finally got a couple more hours of sleep with the earplugs, but spent the next couple of days feeling like I had been drinking lots of red wine on an empty stomach and I hadn't had anything to drink at all! The other 10 sets of earplugs never arrived. My "upstairs" guests had heard something and my DSis had to close her balcony door, but the extra 12 feet of elevation must have helped, as well as the fact that some of them already sleep with earplugs and the others snore!

On the way back to the room after a long day at the parks again, I stopped at the front desk to ask for my other 10 sets of earplugs and explained why I wanted them. The CM at the front desk said that that wasn't right that the jackhammering started that early, and I should call if it happened again. They said they'd send the earplugs right up, which arrived, but only 4 sets this time.

The next morning at 6:00, thinking I could sleep in a little, the jackhammering started again. I called the front desk and explained what the CM had said the night before, only to be told that "that was her opinion, and there's still nothing we can do about it." I'm getting a little whacked out by now from lack of sleep and the jackhammering was hitting on my last nerve. The last morning in our GV, no jackhammering.

A couple more rants before I move on to the good stuff - our 2BR was missing its iron and 2 of the 3 TV remotes. We called and had the remotes delivered but didn't bother with the iron, but shouldn't mousekeeping notice stuff like that? Also, the GFI in the second bath wasn't working and they had to come up and reset the breaker (behind a locked door). The same thing had happened in the GV, but I just used the second sink in the master.

Probably the worst, though, was on the last morning in the 2BR, as we were scrambling to pack and eat up our room food, my DH pulled the large plates out of the cupboard for the first time and found FOOD on all of the plates. Not just "we didn't scrape them before we put them in the dishwasher" but "we ate fries and ketchup on them and then just stacked them and put them back in the cupboard." There were literally still fries on the plates! I don't fault mousekeeping necessarily, as it was not visible from the side - not until you pulled the plates down to use them - but maybe that needs to be part of their practice in the future!!!

Another small rant (especially if GCH CMs are lurking) - we had to fiddle for quite a while to get the DVD player to work in the GV and never did get it to work in the 2BR (but didn't have time to call it in and wait - we weren't there that much anyway). It would be nice if those things were working if they're going to be advertised as a "perk" of a DVC room....

Raves:
The GV was spectacular!! Especially the PP view part and WOC preview - absolutely incredible! It is going to be so hard to stay anywhere else in the future - in fact, when we moved to the 2BR, though very very nice, it was a letdown - we got spoiled! My DSis watched the big double story window from PP one night and saw light on in the GV and people moving around and said she was ticked off the they were in "our room!" We got quite attached.

In spite of my jackhammering problem, I will say that DVC tried to make it right by refunding my first night's points - that definitely goes a long way in my book towards making me feel a bit better (I'm in one of the most expensive accommodations in the whole place and I'm getting jackhammered at 6:00 a.m.?). I don't know if it was because I became a "problem child" by calling to complain, but we were put in a 2nd floor Redwood Creek view room for our 2BR, instead of a high level PP view room like I requested (I know - requests are only that). It was nice and relatively quiet (although we still couldn't have our slider open at night - the construction goes on all night), but we sure missed our PP view and WOC preview.

Linda, the CM who checked me in, was wonderful and a DVC member herself, so I felt like she really understood the system.

The GCH, as always, is all spectacular and I love to just hang around there and soak in the ambience. My guests all had a great time, even my cousin, who's not a huge Disney person himself and hadn't been to the parks for almost 20 years, even though he lives in San Jose!

Well, a long rant/rave, I know. I've been trying to figure out for a week how to share this - I don't want to whine, but I sure feel a sense of ownership and a vested interest in having things be "right" at VGC.

I did get a sense from CMs (other than Linda) that they still don't understand the whole DVC thing at GCH. And I know that the construction is inevitable, and I knew there was construction before I came, but I never in a million years expected jackhammering that early in the morning so close to a 4-star hotel.

Last year, when I stayed at BCV, I received a written notice before my stay that Stormalong Bay would be partially down for refurb during my stay. I never received anything like that before my stay at VGC, even though 2 of the 3 pools were down for refurb (I only knew ahead of time from my wonderful friends on the DISboards). It would have been nice to be forewarned of the pool closures, as well as the possible construction noise. I think it would have made me feel like they were doing it the "Disney Way."

So, if you're going to VGC anytime soon, and hope to have a PP view (which I still highly recommend), just bring your earplugs!!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Thanks for the great report, but...
I'm confused why you would think none of this was Disney's fault... It sounds like it's all their fault if you ask me.-- Or at least their responsibility.

MG

 

[franandaj]

I hope they have it taken care of by the time the F&W Festival starts. That will be my first stay and I'm so looking forward to many years of happy F&W Festival stays in addition to other sporadic nights throughout the year.

I want my first night to be special! We've had a number of trips to WDW already, but the fact that we bought into the GCV is really ridiculous and a special luxury (living only 20 min away!), so I really hope that our first stay is a magical as I am expecting!

Sorry you had to experience that at such a great place to stay. I doubt we'll ever get to stay in a Grand Villa, but it sounds lovely!

Can't wait for WOC to open!

 

[Nonsuch]

I hope they have it taken care of by the time the F&W Festival starts.

The construction noise is likely to continue for many months. The Little Mermaid is not scheduled to open until 2011. I just returned from my first VGC visit, and was in a 1-bedroom with PP view. My room was on the 5th floor near the elevators, which is farther from the construction than the GV.

Construction work (and bright lights) went on all night, but the loud jackhammers stopped at 11PM -- I don't know if there was a new policy or we were just lucky. All construction stopped one night, for World of Color sound testing.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Did you close your balcony door? Just curious... It still redicilous that they would start jackhammering at 6 am!

 

[nunzia]

Thanks for the great report, but...
I'm confused why you would think none of this was Disney's fault... It sounds like it's all their fault if you ask me.-- Or at least their responsibility.

MG

Well, I think what the OP said wasn't Disney's fault was the fact their son got lost for 1/2 hour and the other twirled on a rail and cracked his head open...Everything else, yes..I don't see why it was such a big deal for them to just get the earplugs to them..especially if this is going on, maybe provide earplugs in all rooms..be proactive! That said..I would have probably just gone and bought some. As for the things not working and even worse..food filled plates! For crying out loud..Disney..let's not let mousekeeping be an issue, OK? Constant mousekeeping issues should really be a red flag. That said, DVC owners should try and at least be tidy and certainly not shove dirty dishes in the cupboard..hopefully it was a DVC guest and not a super lazy mousekeeper...

 

[cseca]

Hmm... jackhammering doesn't sound good. Does that mean all park view rooms involves hearing jackhammers in the morning? Our infant DD would go nuts if she hears that early in the morning or all the way until 11pm...

 

[preedymtnwest]

Well, I think what the OP said wasn't Disney's fault was the fact their son got lost for 1/2 hour and the other twirled on a rail and cracked his head open...Everything else, yes..I don't see why it was such a big deal for them to just get the earplugs to them..especially if this is going on, maybe provide earplugs in all rooms..be proactive! That said..I would have probably just gone and bought some. As for the things not working and even worse..food filled plates! For crying out loud..Disney..let's not let mousekeeping be an issue, OK? Constant mousekeeping issues should really be a red flag. That said, DVC owners should try and at least be tidy and certainly not shove dirty dishes in the cupboard..hopefully it was a DVC guest and not a super lazy mousekeeper...

Thanks, Nunzia - we're on the same wavelength! As you mention, I meant that I couldn't blame Disney for the "extenuating circumstances" of me being already stressed and over-tired before the first jackhammering. And yes, my main complaint is that it took so long to get the earplugs and I also thought of why not be proactive and just leave them in the villas with a note explaining why you might need them? I could have easily inserted them at 6:00 and gone right back to sleep if I had them on hand.

I also hope it was a DVC owner (or maybe a renter?) that shoved the plates back and not mousekeeping, but if it was, come on people!! If you can't put them into the dishwasher, at least just leave them on the counter. Also, I was surprised that there were a couple of large gashes in the woodwork already in the 2BR. Stuff happens, but let's not trash our home away from home or the dues will certainly go up to fix things more often. Just my .02.

Again, overall, the experience there was fabulous and I'm so happy to own there. After wrangling with WDW buses and distances last February, it was really cool to be able to walk just about anywhere in 5-10 minutes! Location, location, location!

 

[preedymtnwest]

Did you close your balcony door? Just curious... It still redicilous that they would start jackhammering at 6 am!

I didn't even have my balcony door open and could hear it very well through it (although it cut down the noise tremendously). My DSis above us did have her door open, and closed it when the jackhammers started - this seemed to be enough from the 5th floor to deaden the noise for them.

We were definitely in the best view rooms, but the worst location for proximity to construction. Most of the other PP view rooms (except those directly below us on the end of the "T") will be a bit farther away from the fence line and thus the construction, so they might not be a problem.

As someone else said, the bright lights were on all night and other noises - the second night, we had some kind of tank truck parked right under the window with it's engine idling for hours, but that's mostly droning, white noise, so it didn't keep me up. The third night, I was finally awake enough to watch a little of WOC testing and take some pics, but the work light was pointing directly at our part of the hotel and I don't think the photos would have come out.

Once the construction is done (which may not be for quite a while, as someone else mentioned), it will all be fabulous. Just wanted you to be forewarned if you're going there soon!

 

[silmarg]

I am considering doing VGC next Presidents week. How was the weather? Do u think its a good time of year to go?

 

[Nonsuch]

Hmm... jackhammering doesn't sound good. Does that mean all park view rooms involves hearing jackhammers in the morning? Our infant DD would go nuts if she hears that early in the morning or all the way until 11pm...

An infant (or anyone sensitive to noise) should request a Pool View. The old California Dreams building has been removed, but Little Mermaid construction is still at the foundation stage. The construction site is isolated, so cement trucks and other vehicles can only enter when the park is closed. Even working all night, this limited access will slow down construction.

There was also some problems with Mulholland Madness last week. The ride was intermittently shut down during the day, and all the maintenance lights were on all night. The ride is still quite loud, even without screaming guests.

The double pane windows and tight doors do an above average job blocking sound, better than many hotels. Once the construction ends (in a year), the noise should be acceptable to most guests.

 

[preedymtnwest]

I am considering doing VGC next Presidents week. How was the weather? Do u think its a good time of year to go?

We lucked out with fabulous weather. This year was an El Nino, so it was supposed to be wetter, and it certainly has been. Before we left, we saw photos of ducks swimming down Main Street and so took our ponchos along just in case.

We had 75-80F weather the first few days, warm enough to go on GRR and Splash (but happy to be at VGC so we could go right back to the room and change). Then it cooled down to low 60s during the day and did rain a bit on Friday night, but only that one time. And in any case, even though we were having an exceptionally warm winter up here in the Pac NW, it was a pleasant change to run around without a jacket until evening.

It's hit or miss during this time of the year anyway, but I like it better than very hot and crowded in the summer.

Crowds were heavy but not unmanageable the first couple of days (Presidents' Weekend), but calmed down quite a bit the rest of the time. Besides the main refurbs (Matterhorn, ROA (no Fantasmic - wah!)), most things were open and fireworks and main shows on the weekend. So it's always a trade-off, but I'd take a couple things being refurbed over crowds and heat any day....

Hope that helps!

 

[La2kw]

I am considering doing VGC next Presidents week. How was the weather? Do u think its a good time of year to go?

Weather in February can range from sunny and warm to cold and rainy. It's actually our rainy season here in California and we've gotten a lot of rain this year, so that's what I would prepare for. I don't think Feb. is a good time to come at all. Disneyland does most refurbishments during the off peak times so that most everything is open during the peak times of summer and holidays.

 

[toocherie]

Sorry about your experience.

Some friends and I stayed in both the GCH and the villas this past weekend and were discussing the CM situation at the Grand Californian. It seems like either you encounter "very good" or 'very bad' CMs--there's no in-between. We also experienced more than we wanted of what we called the "Disney "no"." CMs just automatically saying "no" without even thinking about it.

One of our friends stayed at the villas Thursday night, then was leaving Friday night and coming back to stay Saturday night. She wanted to leave a small overnight bag with bell services and had to jump through hoops to do so. She was told if she left it it would be turned over to lost and found!!! Finally a CM got smart and realized that keeping a bag for one night was not going to kill them.

The Mousekeeping issue is inexcusable in my book. It should be part of the housekeeper's duties to double-check that everything is **** and span. My friend's one-bedroom villa didn't even have a stopper for the sink! You would have thought the maid would have noticed THAT. Leaving dirty dishes in the cupboard should have been reported immediately and clean dishes delivered.

I will say, however, that guest services was very nice about sending up additional wine glasses for a small party we had in my friend's villa last night. They came up promptly and without asking they even sent extra plates and silverware.

Like I said--you either get really outstanding service at GCH/GCV or you get crappy service--there is no in-between.

 

[cseca]

An infant (or anyone sensitive to noise) should request a Pool View. The old California Dreams building has been removed, but Little Mermaid construction is still at the foundation stage. The construction site is isolated, so cement trucks and other vehicles can only enter when the park is closed. Even working all night, this limited access will slow down construction.

There was also some problems with Mulholland Madness last week. The ride was intermittently shut down during the day, and all the maintenance lights were on all night. The ride is still quite loud, even without screaming guests.

The double pane windows and tight doors do an above average job blocking sound, better than many hotels. Once the construction ends (in a year), the noise should be acceptable to most guests.

Thanks! I think I will do that. Appreciate the help