NEW VGF Building

[DVCsloth]

Don't like how they have the couch facing away from the television and don't like how they are adding all studios. I would have bought Poly if I wanted that. Love Polynesian, but I like having the option of a 1br and if the points are the same in VGF2 it will most likely make the 1br harder to book, probably 2br as well.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Don't like how they have the couch facing away from the television and don't like how they are adding all studios. I would have bought Poly if I wanted that. Love Polynesian, but I like having the option of a 1br and if the points are the same in VGF2 it will most likely make the 1br harder to book, probably 2br as well.

I'm here now...that is exactly what the rep I talked with said. Don't buy VGF2 if you want larger accommodations as the "new" studio buyers will start gravitating toward 1 and 2 BRS! Saved DH 25K LOL!

 

[Hjs33]

I think they did the very bare minimum to these rooms to sell them. They did not add the Murphy bed, they did not add the kitchenette, and I haven’t heard, but I’m pretty sure it looks like these will only have the one bathroom/shower vs the split two shower at the DVC building. They avoided all the really expensive items and basically did a soft goods refurb and then just slapped a DVC sticker on it.

I think in another 8 years when the Grand Floridian is due for a complete remodel they will get these rooms up to the standard of the studios at the original DVC building(add a Murphy bed, kitchenette, and update the bathroom). But they obviously did not want to pay for it themselves and figured they could just stick it to the Grand Floridian owners to pay it through their dues. I would not be surprised to see larger than normal dues increases over the next several years as they have to build a larger capital reserve to cover this update. Unfortunately I think the original owners are getting the short end of the stick as they will now also be expected to cover some of the additional costs to eventually get these new rooms up to the DVC standards at the original building. As a VGF owner I‘m not happy about it, but I love the resort and I am glad they are adding more studios, which is what we tend to reserve. Plus, I‘m excited about the potential theme park views.

 

[sethschroeder]

I would take the real bed all day over a sofa bed

Except the Murphy bed is essentially the normal mattress now. So all you are doing is losing the conversion ability at VGF. These sofa beds are no longer the horrible pull outs.

If DVC deviates from principle of points being proportional to sq ft then they'd have an incentive time to not build 1BR at all, or so few that they'll be extremely difficult to book.

They would need to eliminate 2BRs though as well at that point. They can do it more so at DL because its viewed as a local park with local ownership who is not coming for 1-2 weeks at a time to stay.

Additionally Disney is targeting the families willing to pay for 2BRs more than ever. They don't want 3 families each in a studio with 12-15 people total across that footprint. They want instead a single family of 4-5 paying close to the same amount and willing to pay more on everything for upgraded experiences.

If the studio rooms cost more than a deluxe, I bet they won’t, then no one will get a deluxe again as competition will be insane

id wager studios are less than deluxe by at least 1 point

New rooms are better location, bigger, will have 2 real beds, and is more so GF vs VGF that you currently get. I bet the point chart will be higher and those things are easy to sell.

What I'm objecting to is the grand conspiracy to dilute the value of existing points by using VGF2 as a backdoor route to jacking up the points costs of the existing rooms.

Except Disney doesn't view it as a backdoor. They have legit reasons to price it higher because in their mind the GF is a upgraded product over GFV and you are getting the "full experience". In a couple years time if they are the last rooms to book they can shift the points over.

Most people are just skipping to the end because they know if the new rooms are higher priced they likely won't book as quickly.

add a Murphy bed, kitchenette, and update the bathroom)

Which I don't think is allowed per state laws regarding timeshares. Pretty sure I have read a number of times regarding there be no major changes to the room itself. Removing a real bed for the Murphy bed, removing floor space to add a kitchenette, and splitting a bathroom likely would be outside of what Disney is legally allowed to do.

I don't fully know the laws though and just am going off what others who seem to know what they are talking about have discussed in the past with other resorts, changes, and refurbs.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Which I don't think is allowed per state laws regarding timeshares. Pretty sure I have read a number of times regarding there be no major changes to the room itself. Removing a real bed for the Murphy bed, removing floor space to add a kitchenette, and splitting a bathroom likely would be outside of what Disney is legally allowed to do.

I don't fully know the laws though and just am going off what others who seem to know what they are talking about have discussed in the past with other resorts, changes, and refurbs.

If there is a law then DVC has ignored it in the past when they added the single murphy bed to VWL, BWV and BCV and the sleeper chair to OKW and changed the occupancy.

Also they've changed from refrigerator/freezers to essentially coolers and also removed jetted tubs from several resorts. Oh - and ceiling fans. Now also removing desks from the master bedrooms aren't they?

 

[Airb330]

If there is a law then DVC has ignored it in the past when they added the single murphy bed to VWL, BWV and BCV and the sleeper chair to OKW and changed the occupancy.

Also they've changed from refrigerator/freezers to essentially coolers and also removed jetted tubs from several resorts. Oh - and ceiling fans. Now also removing desks from the master bedrooms aren't they?

Ugh I love the ceiling fans, I forgot some resorts are missing them post-refurb. Which resorts are removing desks? That’s really important to my family since (unfortunately) being totally unplugged just isn’t an option on most of our wdw trips.

 

[Lorana]

Ugh I love the ceiling fans, I forgot some resorts are missing them post-refurb. Which resorts are removing desks? That’s really important to my family since (unfortunately) being totally unplugged just isn’t an option on most of our wdw trips.

Removing desks is a big deal, as sometimes I have a working vacation.
I think I need to make a chart of what is/is not in a room type per resort now (desks in master, ceiling fans, jetted tubs, etc). Also a list of how many people can be seated at the dining table vs counter. The BRV 2BRs for example can’t sit as many people for dinner as the room occupancy allows.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Ugh I love the ceiling fans, I forgot some resorts are missing them post-refurb. Which resorts are removing desks? That’s really important to my family since (unfortunately) being totally unplugged just isn’t an option on most of our wdw trips.

Per every video and picture I've seen the desk is gone from the SSR master bedrooms.

 

[Airb330]

Per every video and picture I've seen the desk is gone from the SSR master bedrooms.

Wow that’s a poor decision. Too many hours worked at a AKV 1 bedroom but it would’ve been miserable without a desk. Very short sighted. Disney seems to be targeting the upper middle class demographic, and many in the group need to work on vacation.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Wow that’s a poor decision. Too many hours worked at a AKV 1 bedroom but it would’ve been miserable without a desk. Very short sighted. Disney seems to be targeting the upper middle class demographic, and many in the group need to work on vacation.

And so simple to just leave the setup alone. Replace any furniture and fixtures but don't remove them without a replacement for the function.

 

[RoseGold]

So agree on the desks! I was just in a BC studio, and boy that "desk" was a problem. At least BC has that pool table room no one is ever in for a "business center".

 

[DougEMG]

I need that desk so I can leave my computer setup to do some gaming in the evenings.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

Don't like how they have the couch facing away from the television and don't like how they are adding all studios. I would have bought Poly if I wanted that. Love Polynesian, but I like having the option of a 1br and if the points are the same in VGF2 it will most likely make the 1br harder to book, probably 2br as well.

Seriously. I bought 500 points at VGF and have NEVER booked a studio.
WE RIDE AT DAWN!

 

[DebbieB]

My friend checked in today and has a room in Big Pine Key. No sign of construction.

 

[Sandisw]

My friend checked in today and has a room in Big Pine Key. No sign of construction.

The announcement said construction to start in Spring. So I bet we won’t see it starting until March.

 

[DebbieB]

The announcement said construction to start in Spring. So I bet we won’t see it starting until March.

It’s really going to be a rush job.

 

[RoseGold]

It’s really going to be a rush job.

Disney is very capable of doing a project this size on this timetable, example Saratoga.

 

[DebbieB]

Disney is very capable of doing a project this size on this timetable, example Saratoga.

To be honest, it’s a disappointment. They are basically doing a quick hotel room renovation and selling it as DVC. No kitchenette is a big one. Look at what they did with Poly and CC, they gutted and reconfigured. Quick $$$ on this one.

 

[DaveNan]

To be honest, it’s a disappointment. They are basically doing a quick hotel room renovation and selling it as DVC. No kitchenette is a big one. Look at what they did with Poly and CC, they gutted and reconfigured. Quick $$$ on this one.

Agreed. But if these sell quickly, and I suspect they will, they will continue to do this type of conversion. TBH, I only think these will sell quickly because of the three most important things in real estate interests, location, location, location. The name alone will help sell, VGF. Also, while the creation of DVC was around "Welcome Home", and an emphasis on larger more comfortable accommodations, the message has changed. It is now, stay at luxury resorts at 50% the cost and "guarantee" your cost (ignoring the increasing MF). The changed message has an increased focus on studios. So a building of all studios at GF, exactly matches the new marketing message.

 

[RoseGold]

To be honest, it’s a disappointment. They are basically doing a quick hotel room renovation and selling it as DVC. No kitchenette is a big one. Look at what they did with Poly and CC, they gutted and reconfigured. Quick $$$ on this one.

That's not disappointing to Disney. The building had to be gutted anyway, might as well let DVC pay for it. It's exactly the plan, and that's exactly how it will go. The schedule is not a problem for Disney. They might even be dragging it out because they don't have $$$ to do anything else for a while. This is such a small project in the overall scope of DVC. It's not like having a building of normal hotel rooms does much to the overall product. I'm a VGF1 owner and thrilled.

There is no foreseeable large scale construction. At this rate, I would expect to see more cheap conversion.