*The Official VILLAS AT DISNEY'S GRAND FLORIDIAN RESORT & SPA Owners & Lovers Group*

[Her Dotness]

Guests with dining reservations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa are being directed to park not in the resort parking lot, but across the street in a Cast Member parking lot.

One more reason to own and stay at VGF.

As if those of us on this thread need a reason...

 

[disneylover81]

We have now been DVC owners for one whole year and have no regrets! We are loving it, especially since we got to get AP’s finally. I’ve been twice in the last month, which makes me so happy inside! DH and I had our anniversary trip and then 2 weeks later DD and I got to go on a last minute high school graduation trip, just the two of us.

It’s time to book our anniversary trip for next May. We stayed in a resort studio last month for the first time. We loved it for the location and the room was good, loved the pool view and the fireworks view from our balcony. We weren’t in love with the thins walls, but wasn’t a deal breaker. So now I’m wondering if we should book a deluxe studio for our next trip and try it out. I’m torn because I think the rooms look nice and I like the bathroom setup, but the VGF building itself isn’t in as good of a location at BPK. I know it’s a matter of personal preference, but I wonder from those who have stayed in both, which do you prefer and why?

 

[sndral]

We have now been DVC owners for one whole year and have no regrets! We are loving it, especially since we got to get AP’s finally. I’ve been twice in the last month, which makes me so happy inside! DH and I had our anniversary trip and then 2 weeks later DD and I got to go on a last minute high school graduation trip, just the two of us.

It’s time to book our anniversary trip for next May. We stayed in a resort studio last month for the first time. We loved it for the location and the room was good, loved the pool view and the fireworks view from our balcony. We weren’t in love with the thins walls, but wasn’t a deal breaker. So now I’m wondering if we should book a deluxe studio for our next trip and try it out. I’m torn because I think the rooms look nice and I like the bathroom setup, but the VGF building itself isn’t in as good of a location at BPK. I know it’s a matter of personal preference, but I wonder from those who have stayed in both, which do you prefer and why?

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the central location of BPK when I stayed a couple of nights last Nov/Dec. - didn’t notice any noise either. I’ve always been in 1 br.s in the original building so can’t compare studios, but regarding location - I really like the penguin fountain in the lobby, that the monorail’s trains are so close when they glide by, how quick the walk over to Captain Cook’s at the Poly is (love their food offerings for QS/dole whips,) & when I can see fireworks from a standard view .

Guests With Dining Reservations at Grand Floridian Directed to Park Away From Resort in Backstage Cast Member Parking Lot

Guests with dining reservations at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa are being directed to park not in the resort parking lot, but across the street in a Cast Member parking lot. Access to the lot is being controlled by a resort Cast Member who is checking for dining reservations before allowing guests to park – similar to what you’d expect from the gate at any Disney World resort.

Guests park in a Cast Member parking lot and then cross Floridian Way before making the walk to the resort proper. Cast Members we spoke with did not know how long this procedure would be in place.

Interesting that they’ve started this simultaneously w/ the walkway to the MK reopening.

 

[mrsap]

Same!

Just bought 220 points at VGF today! Can you please add me to the list?

Thank you!

We bought 200 pts direct for VGF this month. Could we be added too? Thank you!

and Congrats! I’ll be happy to add all of you!

 

[disneylover81]

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the central location of BPK when I stayed a couple of nights last Nov/Dec. - didn’t notice any noise either. I’ve always been in 1 br.s in the original building so can’t compare studios, but regarding location - I really like the penguin fountain in the lobby, that the monorail’s trains are so close when they glide by, how quick the walk over to Captain Cook’s at the Poly is (love their food offerings for QS/dole whips,) & when I can see fireworks from a standard view .

Thanks. I think we may give it a try and book an DS and see how we feel about the location of ray building. We had a standard view at BPK and the best fireworks view. DH and I stayed at BLT a couple weeks ago in standard view and had a great MK view also. I don’t really love BLT rooms though, but was so happy when I booked our trip 2 days before we left and it was available. I just knew we’d have been stuck at SSR.

 

[stwaldman]

We have now been DVC owners for one whole year and have no regrets! We are loving it, especially since we got to get AP’s finally. I’ve been twice in the last month, which makes me so happy inside! DH and I had our anniversary trip and then 2 weeks later DD and I got to go on a last minute high school graduation trip, just the two of us.

It’s time to book our anniversary trip for next May. We stayed in a resort studio last month for the first time. We loved it for the location and the room was good, loved the pool view and the fireworks view from our balcony. We weren’t in love with the thins walls, but wasn’t a deal breaker. So now I’m wondering if we should book a deluxe studio for our next trip and try it out. I’m torn because I think the rooms look nice and I like the bathroom setup, but the VGF building itself isn’t in as good of a location at BPK. I know it’s a matter of personal preference, but I wonder from those who have stayed in both, which do you prefer and why?

We've stayed in studios and 1BRs in the old building and i put up my mother in BPK this past winter (I didnt stay, but spent lots of time shuttling in between the two and seeing both rooms naturally). The deluxe studios felt more natural to us as a couple (plus a small child not yet in a full bed) because it left the couch/pulldown area for room to not be on top of your bed. The resort studios somewhat lack that type of space since there are two beds down at all times.

Having done a lot of walking in between the two buildings, I think the spacing difference is minimal unless there is a disability or mobility issue to consider. We did have one person in BPK that was less mobile and I think it was enough of a distance difference that they would have had a noticeably worse time if they were in the original building.

Do you care much about point cost/views? I think a commonly accepted "perk" of the old building is that the standard rooms generally have a nice monorail view and for the most part don't look onwards to a neighboring building or shed like some of the rooms in BPK. This might factor in, or might be completely irrelevant, but I am in the population of "morning coffee on the balcony" and I'm getting quite used to the views from the older building, particularly because I tend to request a high floor.

 

[stwaldman]

We've stayed in studios and 1BRs in the old building and i put up my mother in BPK this past winter (I didnt stay, but spent lots of time shuttling in between the two and seeing both rooms naturally). The deluxe studios felt more natural to us as a couple (plus a small child not yet in a full bed) because it left the couch/pulldown area for room to not be on top of your bed. The resort studios somewhat lack that type of space since there are two beds down at all times.

Having done a lot of walking in between the two buildings, I think the spacing difference is minimal unless there is a disability or mobility issue to consider. We did have one person in BPK that was less mobile and I think it was enough of a distance difference that they would have had a noticeably worse time if they were in the original building.

Do you care much about point cost/views? I think a commonly accepted "perk" of the old building is that the standard rooms generally have a nice monorail view and for the most part don't look onwards to a neighboring building or shed like some of the rooms in BPK. This might factor in, or might be completely irrelevant, but I am in the population of "morning coffee on the balcony" and I'm getting quite used to the views from the older building, particularly because I tend to request a high floor.

I'll also add, I thought one quiet perk of the old building too is that meeting uber eats or grocery delivery drivers was much easier since the building has its own loop. We did get caught in some gnarly rain storms so not having to walk across the central part of the property (even if only a few feet) was actually very helpful here.

 

[disneylover81]

We've stayed in studios and 1BRs in the old building and i put up my mother in BPK this past winter (I didnt stay, but spent lots of time shuttling in between the two and seeing both rooms naturally). The deluxe studios felt more natural to us as a couple (plus a small child not yet in a full bed) because it left the couch/pulldown area for room to not be on top of your bed. The resort studios somewhat lack that type of space since there are two beds down at all times.

Having done a lot of walking in between the two buildings, I think the spacing difference is minimal unless there is a disability or mobility issue to consider. We did have one person in BPK that was less mobile and I think it was enough of a distance difference that they would have had a noticeably worse time if they were in the original building.

Do you care much about point cost/views? I think a commonly accepted "perk" of the old building is that the standard rooms generally have a nice monorail view and for the most part don't look onwards to a neighboring building or shed like some of the rooms in BPK. This might factor in, or might be completely irrelevant, but I am in the population of "morning coffee on the balcony" and I'm getting quite used to the views from the older building, particularly because I tend to request a high floor.

Thanks. It’s just DH and myself in the studios and we don’t normally spend a lot of time in the room. We’ve always been park open to park close people, but now that we have DVC I don’t feel the need to get it all in anymore and would like to just have some resort only days so more and more the room layout will play a bigger factor for us. When we were there last month, i should have taken the time to walk over to the VGF building to get a feel for the walking distance. I do have a knee that gives me lots of trouble, but I admit I just keep walking and suffering through the pain while at WDW.

As for views, when I paid cash, I was MK views only no matter the cost. But DVC has changed that for me too. Now that we have AP, I want to be able to go multiple times a year so I will probably only book standard view rooms mostly and I’m figuring out how to get MK/fireworks view booking standard so it’s the best of both. We don’t have tons of points yet; we purchased 175 direct last year so we are still letting the sticker shock wear off from that big purchase. I would like to add on more at some point, but DH says not anytime soon.. it took me a lot of convincing for him to agree to the 175 (actually he only agreed to 150 and I threw in the additional 25 points without telling him until after it was a done deal ) if I could have swung buying 200 points that day, I definitely would have. I always request a high floor also and like to sit on the balcony and look out.

The rain could be a big factor and I have noticed the covered walkway between the buildings. We’ve lucked out the last 2 trips and didn’t get one drop of rain, which is unheard of. We go the first week of May typically for our May 4th anniversary!

 

[Her Dotness]

Maybe just me, but I actually would rather have a standard view overlooking the monorail. I'm like a little kid when it comes to sitting on our balcony to watch that thing go past.

For fireworks viewing, IMO, it's pretty hard to beat wandering over to Gaspy's (though public decency is admittedly necessary) to get snacks and potables to sustain self while sitting on the terrace outside Gaspy's. Terrific view from there that doesn't cost you bunches more points.

 

[disneylover81]

Maybe just me, but I actually would rather have a standard view overlooking the monorail. I'm like a little kid when it comes to sitting on our balcony to watch that thing go past.

For fireworks viewing, IMO, it's pretty hard to beat wandering over to Gaspy's (though public decency is admittedly necessary) to get snacks and potables to sustain self while sitting on the terrace outside Gaspy's. Terrific view from there that doesn't cost you bunches more points.

I’m like a little kid watching fireworks from my balcony. I think we will book DS for our next trip and see what we think. If we decide we like RS better, we can always book it on the next visit. We have lots of years to try out all the rooms and resorts.

 

[Wife of Fozzy Bear]

Just discovered this thread, late to the party. We bought 200 points direct last November at VGF and our Welcome Home stay is in October. We are taking the family so have a 2BR booked for 5 nights at VGF the 6 nights at AKL.

Will read some of the replies on here for hints and tips we can use to make our first stay special. Any tips for taking four year old twins welcome!

So excited to be owners after pondering it for a few years.

 

[disneylover81]

Just discovered this thread, late to the party. We bought 200 points direct last November at VGF and our Welcome Home stay is in October. We are taking the family so have a 2BR booked for 5 nights at VGF the 6 nights at AKL.

Will read some of the replies on here for hints and tips we can use to make our first stay special. Any tips for taking four year old twins welcome!

So excited to be owners after pondering it for a few years.

Congrats! You won’t regret it! We pondered buying for probably 5 years before finally purchasing. I wish we had just done it when we first thought about it. We purchased 175 points a year ago at VGF and now I’m pretty sure we are about to add on 150 more points. I always knew we’d add on eventually. I didn’t think it would be this soon, but those new incentives got me with the adonitis really bad! We have 2 small grandsons now so we will definitely need the extra points so we can start making memories with them.

I love VGF and so far it’s my favorite of all the resorts we’ve stayed in. I especially love the pools. Your twins are going to feel so special being there !!

 

[Wife of Fozzy Bear]

Congrats! You won’t regret it! We pondered buying for probably 5 years before finally purchasing. I wish we had just done it when we first thought about it. We purchased 175 points a year ago at VGF and now I’m pretty sure we are about to add on 150 more points. I always knew we’d add on eventually. I didn’t think it would be this soon, but those new incentives got me with the adonitis really bad! We have 2 small grandsons now so we will definitely need the extra points so we can start making memories with them.

I love VGF and so far it’s my favorite of all the resorts we’ve stayed in. I especially love the pools. Your twins are going to feel so special being there !!

Thank you! I can’t wait to see our granddaughters enjoying the resort. They are Princess mad and it’s hard to get them out of their Disney dresses.

We took them to Orlando when they were 2 but stayed off site. I’m sure being able to easily bring them out of the park for some chill time will make for a better holiday for everyone. We can pace things in a more relaxed way.

We started crossing the Atlantic in 2001 when our children were 7 and 9 to visit Disney, that was supposed to be a one time trip! We have been fortunate enough to visit all the Disney parks except Shanghai, but Orlando has always felt like going ‘home’ and I am sure owning at VGF will make it even more special.

We did a trial DVC trip in November and rented points to try it out. Did the tour of several resorts and a new incentive came out mid-trip and that was it. It is lovely to be able to share it with the next generation.

We have already succumbed to add-on-itis, we’ve just had an offer accepted on a small contract at Vero Beach because we know we want to do a trip every one to two years, alternating between a full Disney trip with the family, and a Universal/beach trip for adults only at this stage. We were wary of the high dues there but for 50 points it’s not too ruinous - and the price per point was pretty good. Fingers crossed Disney doesn’t decide to wake the ROFR monster but hopefully not.

We’ve always been dawn to dusk park people but with little ones with us, and not getting any younger ourselves, I think we will enjoy the change of pace.

 

[disneylover81]

Thank you! I can’t wait to see our granddaughters enjoying the resort. They are Princess mad and it’s hard to get them out of their Disney dresses.

We took them to Orlando when they were 2 but stayed off site. I’m sure being able to easily bring them out of the park for some chill time will make for a better holiday for everyone. We can pace things in a more relaxed way.

We started crossing the Atlantic in 2001 when our children were 7 and 9 to visit Disney, that was supposed to be a one time trip! We have been fortunate enough to visit all the Disney parks except Shanghai, but Orlando has always felt like going ‘home’ and I am sure owning at VGF will make it even more special.

We did a trial DVC trip in November and rented points to try it out. Did the tour of several resorts and a new incentive came out mid-trip and that was it. It is lovely to be able to share it with the next generation.

We have already succumbed to add-on-itis, we’ve just had an offer accepted on a small contract at Vero Beach because we know we want to do a trip every one to two years, alternating between a full Disney trip with the family, and a Universal/beach trip for adults only at this stage. We were wary of the high dues there but for 50 points it’s not too ruinous - and the price per point was pretty good. Fingers crossed Disney doesn’t decide to wake the ROFR monster but hopefully not.

We’ve always been dawn to dusk park people but with little ones with us, and not getting any younger ourselves, I think we will enjoy the change of pace.

That’s awesome having all your travels so far. It’s my dream to go to Disney Paris, but DH isn’t on board yet to leave the country. He’s just from a small town in MS and never even went on vacation as a child. It’s a real shame all he missed out on growing up. It’s a good thing he met me and I like to travel and take him places. I always made sure we took our kids on vacation while they were growing up.

I’ve always been the same way - park open to park close, but we have now been so many times and with DVC I know we are committed to a lifetime of going back so I don’t feel the need to have to rush and do everything anymore in one trip a year. The goal is to go 2-3 times a year now since we finally got AP’s. I’d also like to venture over to universal studios since we haven’t ever been there.

I hope your Vero Beach passes. I would like to go there one day too. I just am so excited about DVC and being able to stay at all the resorts and not feel Iike it’s costing me a fortune each time.

 

[Wife of Fozzy Bear]

That’s awesome having all your travels so far. It’s my dream to go to Disney Paris, but DH isn’t on board yet to leave the country. He’s just from a small town in MS and never even went on vacation as a child. It’s a real shame all he missed out on growing up. It’s a good thing he met me and I like to travel and take him places. I always made sure we took our kids on vacation while they were growing up.

I’ve always been the same way - park open to park close, but we have now been so many times and with DVC I know we are committed to a lifetime of going back so I don’t feel the need to have to rush and do everything anymore in one trip a year. The goal is to go 2-3 times a year now since we finally got AP’s. I’d also like to venture over to universal studios since we haven’t ever been there.

I hope your Vero Beach passes. I would like to go there one day too. I just am so excited about DVC and being able to stay at all the resorts and not feel Iike it’s costing me a fortune each time.

Disneyland Paris is charming, such a pretty park. We’ve been three times, twice in the last few years when Covid kept us out of the US. The second park there needs more to do but there’s a big expansion underway. The dining and shopping area there is nothing like Disney Springs but that’s undergoing work too. I’d follow the expansion/renovations and try to persuade your husband when it’s all done. We do four nights and that’s more than plenty. You could do it as part of a longer European trip as you have a long flight to get there. That 9 hour flight to Orlando from London is not my favourite part of the trip. It’s not bad, just boring. We’ve just come back from California and that was a longer flight but definitely worth it!

When our kids were little we loved taking them travelling even if it was cheap chain hotels in the UK for a night or two and find all the free or cheap activities. I never dreamt we would own something like DVC back then, I only wish we could have afforded it in our 40s and not our 60s but if I could I would be right there with 2/3 visits a year and an AP! Just all that darn ocean to cross….

 

[disneylover81]

Disneyland Paris is charming, such a pretty park. We’ve been three times, twice in the last few years when Covid kept us out of the US. The second park there needs more to do but there’s a big expansion underway. The dining and shopping area there is nothing like Disney Springs but that’s undergoing work too. I’d follow the expansion/renovations and try to persuade your husband when it’s all done. We do four nights and that’s more than plenty. You could do it as part of a longer European trip as you have a long flight to get there. That 9 hour flight to Orlando from London is not my favourite part of the trip. It’s not bad, just boring. We’ve just come back from California and that was a longer flight but definitely worth it!

When our kids were little we loved taking them travelling even if it was cheap chain hotels in the UK for a night or two and find all the free or cheap activities. I never dreamt we would own something like DVC back then, I only wish we could have afforded it in our 40s and not our 60s but if I could I would be right there with 2/3 visits a year and an AP! Just all that darn ocean to cross….

Y'all are living it up! I'd love to travel Europe and my brother is actually stationed in Italy in the Air Force and we haven't gotten to see him or his family since 2019 so that would be a plus to go there also. I will keep working on DH and hopefully he will give in soon.

We have done the same with our kids, just to be able to take them anywhere on a trip. When they are young, just going to any hotel anywhere with a pool was a happy trip for them (even though we always had a pool at home). I used to do online surveys in all my spare time, plus anything else I could do to make extra money just to take them somewhere once a year, which would normally be Destin, FL. I wish we could have bought DVC in our 20's or our 30's, but we definitely struggled financially in those days . . . call it young and dumb! We have come a long way to get to where we are now and I feel so happy to be able to share DVC with my grandkids. The longest flight I've been on so far is MEM-EWR, which was only about 3 hours so in my mind, I am trying to imagine a 9 hour flight, it does seem very long and boring for sure. We do plan on using our new contract points to go to Aulani next year and that's a long flight so we will see how that goes for us! I hope you can make it across the ocean more and more . . .

 

[mrsap]

Someone who is currently at The Grand posted in the GF Resort Thread, that according to a CM there, the Lobby Construction will begin THIS FRIDAY. You can view their post HERE. I will follow up if any confirmation reports are posted or any blogs report.

 

[mlittig]

My GFV contract showed up in my account and my points were loaded on Tuesday June 6th So on Wednesday, I booked my stay from May 7th to the 13th next year using my very own Grand Floridian points My other trips at the GFV were booked at the 7 month mark using my OKW points so I am very excited to have the 11 month booking window

 

[mrsap]

Someone who is currently at The Grand posted in the GF Resort Thread, that according to a CM there, the Lobby Construction will begin THIS FRIDAY. You can view their post HERE. I will follow up if any confirmation reports are posted or any blogs report.

Update posted on the GF Resort Thread by @sdk1231 HERE…



Another post HERE that construction will start TOMORROW in the Lobby.

 

[pirate33]

We’re dying to know what is going on with the renovations? Is anyone on site to report?