Is GF REALLY that superior?

[L&Lfan]

We prefer the Epcot Resorts area. (Boardwalk Inn, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan and Dolphin)

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

I highly recommend Grand Floridian for a honeymoon. In fact, Disney's wedding pavilion and a horse-drawn Cinderella coach are there for weddings. You can have a great honeymoon without ever leaving the resort. There are great restaurants, a spa, 2 great pools, and shopping, not to mention a live jazz band in the lobby bar. It is easy to get to the restaurants at Contemporary and Poly as well.
To get a studio villa there, you need to book at the 11 month mark for the popular times (fall and christmas). There are only 47 studios available, and these can be repurposed as 2 BR-lockoffs by combining them with 1 BR units. So demand is high, supply is low. Poly has a lot more studios available.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There is a maximum of 5 AKV Club Level Studio Villas at any given time, and if one is booked within a 2BR lock-off, there are fewer than that. It is the lowest inventory room type in DVC.

AKV Value and BWV Standard are also very limited in inventory, and are booked promptly at 11 months almost year-round.

 

[jpeden]

Bold is mine. I wanted to highlight that one bit as it's not true. Kidani is not the only section with DVC. You can stay DVC at Jambo (we do), or if you stay at Kidani, you can take a shuttle (a van, not a bus) that runs every few minutes between Kidani and Jambo. The walk is 10 - 15 minutes.

Also, just to add - if the shuttle isn't there or not running for some reason - if you're at Kidani you can take any park bus to Jambo (they pick up at Kidani first and then go to Jambo). If you're at Jambo and need to go to Kidani, you can take the Disney Springs bus to Kidani, which picks up at Jambo first.

I'm leaning away from split stays - doesn't it mean you can't do Disney dining plans?

I don't think this is true. I think it has some quirks however - this is the info I found from Easy WDW site:

How will it work if I purchased the Disney Dining Plan for both stays?
If you purchased the DDP for the second stay you are unable to use dining credits for it until after all dining and snack credits for the first stay have been used (or expired) by at least 2 hours to give the system time to load the new credits. If you have even one snack credit remaining on the first stay you will not be able to use any of the dining credits from the second.
You can also get new mugs at the second resort, but this is only really necessary as a souvenir since the first ones will continue working.

Also found this from another page:

What if I decide to get the Disney Dining Plan? In the past, in order to qualify for a dining plan (even if it was non-discounted) guests had to have tickets added to both reservations in the split stay. However, Disney’s policy changed a year ago allowing guests to book the dining plan on both stays if there are tickets attached to the first booking. This means that guests are able to have dining for the duration of their stay and still take advantage of the cheaper ticket prices. Unlike tickets though, the Dining Plan is linked to number of days at each resort. Therefore, it is not possible to book the Dining Plan at the first hotel and have it extend to the second. The dining plans must be added to each reservation

 

[_auroraborealis_]

OP is discussing renting DVC points. DVC stays do not require tickets attached to each stay to acquire the Dining Plan.

 

[jpeden]

OP is discussing renting DVC points. DVC stays do not require tickets attached to each stay to acquire the Dining Plan.

I understand that - I was simply passing along general information that states that split stays aren't excluded from the dining pan.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I understand that - I was simply passing along general information that states that split stays aren't excluded from the dining pan.

Where split stays become an issue with Dining Plan is when Free Dining is involved, because all Free Dining promos require ticket attachment. So by having to attach full-price tickets to both stays, it can get messy since the first few days of a ticket are more expensive than adding days.

On a DVC rental, DDP would be unique on each reservation, and tickets have to be purchased 100% separately anyway. All credits from the first stay would have to be used by midnight of checkout of the first leg. There is no such thing as free dining on a DVC booking ever, so the DDP ticket rules aren't applied.

 

[hillg1868]

Bold is mine. I wanted to highlight that one bit as it's not true. Kidani is not the only section with DVC. You can stay DVC at Jambo (we do), or if you stay at Kidani, you can take a shuttle (a van, not a bus) that runs every few minutes between Kidani and Jambo. The walk is 10 - 15 minutes.

I must have missed something or just plain dont remember. We walked from Kidani to Jambo house once (yes the 15 minute walk) and other times took the bus. I dont remember a van running. Was that something new that they added?

 

[dansdad]

I must have missed something or just plain dont remember. We walked from Kidani to Jambo house once (yes the 15 minute walk) and other times took the bus. I dont remember a van running. Was that something new that they added?

We used it during our stay in 2010.

 

[writersblock]

Where split stays become an issue with Dining Plan is when Free Dining is involved, because all Free Dining promos require ticket attachment. So by having to attach full-price tickets to both stays, it can get messy since the first few days of a ticket are more expensive than adding days.

On a DVC rental, DDP would be unique on each reservation, and tickets have to be purchased 100% separately anyway. All credits from the first stay would have to be used by midnight of checkout of the first leg. There is no such thing as free dining on a DVC booking ever, so the DDP ticket rules aren't applied.

So all we'd have to do is buy two lots of dining and link one to each resort, and use up all the first lot of credits before the second resort? Now that opens up a whole realm of possibilities!!!

One last thing: if we did universal, are we better staying onsite there? Only concern is we wouldn't have magical express for one of our trips either two or from the airport unless we sandwiched universal between 2 Disney resorts

 

[amyy]

We have stayed at Kidani several times and so I guess AKL would probably be my pick. I enjoy that it is away from the hustle and bustle yet just a short ride away. Excellent dining choices, 2 pools between Jambo & Kidani, a spa to get a massage if you want, cultural programs at night etc. Since you don't share buses I have never been bothered by the ride.

We stopped doing the dining plan several years ago since it was a value for us so I can comment on that.

 

[twoplustwins]

GF is my least favorite.

Epcot area or AKL would be my choice.

 

[DougEMG]

So we've narrowed it down to a deluxe and these are our choices (for our honeymoon):
GF villa
Boardwalk villa
Poly villa
AKL - we can push the boat out for club villa, or get Savannah villa, or go value or standard for 2 weeks.

I'm loving the theming of AKL but it seems so far away from everything. SO loves Boardwalk but to me it looks pretty standard. GF is my love but is it worth the money? All villas look the same apart from theming. Hearing amazing things about poly too.

Help me out!

I've stayed at all 4 of those in the DVC section. Based on just the room, the VGF is definitely the nicest by far but hardest to get, AKV I find too dark, while the POLY and BWV are okay but nothing special. Location wise BWV can't be beat with easy walking to both EPCOT and DHS.

It comes down to 3 things - resort, location and price. What's more important to you?

Our last few visits have been all split stays between BWV/VGF or BWV/BLT or BWV/POLY. POLY is always my last choice for a MK resort - but is the easiest to get a room at.

 

[TCRAIG]

So we've narrowed it down to a deluxe and these are our choices (for our honeymoon):
GF villa
Boardwalk villa
Poly villa
AKL - we can push the boat out for club villa, or get Savannah villa, or go value or standard for 2 weeks.

I'm loving the theming of AKL but it seems so far away from everything. SO loves Boardwalk but to me it looks pretty standard. GF is my love but is it worth the money? All villas look the same apart from theming. Hearing amazing things about poly too.

Help me out!

For Honeymoon - I would strongly recommend the Grand Floridian Villas...so romantic. While I do love BWV as well - it just doesn't have the same vibe...and I would not recommend AK - too loud - too many kids - dark small rooms

 

[jscottnc]

Congratulations. Now to the important business, which DVC resort? First, what is your time frame? If less than 7 months from today, AKL will be the default choice (if that) UNLESS you are going during a truly dead time (January before MLK Day, Feburary before President's Day, March through May EXCLUDING spring break/Easter) though truly dead times are harder to come by. At 7 months AKL is nearly always doable; BWV about the same. You would have to be extremely lucky to get a Studio at VGF (it is a small resort) at 11 months; 1 bedroom villas are slightly easier to get.

If you can pay cash (i.e. not rent points) you have more options though roughly double the cost for a villa. In that case you might as well get a regular room and daily housekeeping. I like Beach Club/Beach Club Villas for its easy access to Epcot dinning.

 

[Denise W]

For our daughter's honeymoon, we gifted them our DVC points to stay in a one bedroom villa at BWV with boardwalk view. They said it was fantastic!

Denise

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed in all but the GF. Stayed in a regular room at the Polynesian. DVC studios at BWV, AKL/Kidani and BCV. My friend stayed in a studio at GF. I was underwhelmed with the GF studios. I thought they felt a little cramped. They were lovely, just not my cup of tea.
I would consider doing a split stay, with a night or two at US/IoA. You would be able to use DME to and from MCO. It would cost about $100 to get r/t Towncar service over to US. Uber would be a lot less, I'm sure.
You could spend 5 nights at one WDW resort (for me it would be BWV), move to US for 2 nights (love all three of the original resorts there), then back to WDW for 5 nights at AKL or Kidani. That would be perfection for me.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

The GF ... It has a bit of a Victorian feel.

Shanti, you just won "Understatement of the Day" award!

 

[kiford]

The Boardwalk is in walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It has circus/amusement park theming, and its main pool features a kooky clown slide. There are no restaurants inside this resort.

There may be not restaurants "in" the Boardwalk but you just basically go downstairs and you're on the Boardwalk where there are several restaurants. Not much different than another hotel where you go to the main floor to get to several restaurants. And you're walking distance to restaurants at BC/YC, Swan & Dolphin and Epcot.

Also there is a quiet pool that is very quiet and rarely frequented by more than a couple of people.

 

[Babsy]

So we've narrowed it down to a deluxe and these are our choices (for our honeymoon):
GF villa
Boardwalk villa
Poly villa
AKL - we can push the boat out for club villa, or get Savannah villa, or go value or standard for 2 weeks.

I'm loving the theming of AKL but it seems so far away from everything. SO loves Boardwalk but to me it looks pretty standard. GF is my love but is it worth the money? All villas look the same apart from theming. Hearing amazing things about poly too.

Help me out!

My son and daughter had a portion of their honeymoon in WDW and both opted to stay in the Epcot resort area. (They were raised with > annual trips to WDW like some folks go the beach. LOL! ) So they basically knew what they wanted!
I believe that young people really enjoy the Epcot area the most, generally speaking. Personally, I love the MK resort hotels the best and the GF or Poly just screams romance to me. (My DH and I had our 45th anniversary at the GF RPC and the BWI CL as a split stay.)

All of the resorts that you have listed are awesome and would make a lovely honeymoon destination. If your love is the GF and if your SO favours the BWV, then it sounds to me like you have narrowed the list down to two. Personally, I would go with the split stay that others have recommended and stay at both the Gf and the BWV. However, not everyone enjoys moving while on vacation, so that is completely understandable if you want to select just one.

Regarding whether or not the GF is worth the money? Probably not worth what WDW charges, but then none of the Disney resorts are really worth what Disney charges for them. Many people happily pay it, however, and fully enjoy the experience. I know that we do not regret spending the money that we did to stay there for our anniversary. It was truly magical. We were in the main building with a perfect view of the castle and fireworks and I will never forget our first night on the balcony watching Wishes in each others arms. Dreams are made of moments like that one.....

Then we moved to the BWI and we had a wonderful room overlooking the boardwalk and truly enjoyed the CL there. The friendly staff has a special place in our hearts because of their kindness. This is also a special resort. It may not look like much from the outside (at least not to me), but the rooms are lovely and the CM's the best in WDW, IMO.

We didn't choose the Poly because there was massive construction going on there at the time. However, the Poly has now completed the work and is a wonderful choice once again. It is tied for one of the top three resorts in WDW and I simply cannot choose one between them (GF, POY and CR). This would be a wonderful honeymoon choice. Very romantic at night with the torches lit!

The AKL is spectacular, with an amazing lobby in Jambo and, of course, the animals. It wouldn't be my personal first choice for a honeymoon, though. It simply doesn't have the prime location that the other two resorts have, the rooms are a bit small and dark for my taste and the luxury is just a little lower than what you find at the GF and the BWI, IMO.

Bottom line: I would choose in this order:

GF then Poly then BWI then AKL.

Be aware that while we have stayed at all these resorts many times, we have stayed in the hotel rather than the DVC portion in each case. Our son owns DVC at the GF so we have been in the rooms there to visit him, but have not actually stayed there ourselves. The GF studios are lovely, IMO, but we prefer the layout and amenities of the standard hotel rooms. Personal preference.

Thank you all. So much to think about. I didn't realise GF or AKL club were so hard to get. Something to consider, I guess. I'm not feeling the Boardwalk from the pics I've seen, and we are huge fans of animals.

I'm leaning away from split stays - doesn't it mean you can't do Disney dining plans?

As I understand it:
The problem with split stays and Disney Dining plans is that there would be a day when you would buy the dining plan twice (moving day). You can buy it though, for both stays, if that isn't a concern. I do wonder why, if you are staying in a luxury resort with presumably just the two of you, you would want to buy a DP. The economics are really unlikely to work out in your favour if you buy the plan/package. DH and I always find that we do much better paying OOP for our meals. If you are hoping for free dining, then a RO discount usually works better for us. You may want to look carefully at you plans to determine if going with a dining plan will work best for you.

Congratulations! Enjoy whichever resort you choose!