The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners & Lovers Group - 2.0

[DebbieB]

How are the crowds so far?

We arrived Saturday, it was very crowded over the weekend. Yesterday and today, not bad.

Did Radiator Springs at night using the single rider line, about 30 minutes.

 

[Goofy4Pooh]

The view in # 4522 is so awesome! It's like looking into YOUR backyard!! I feel that your so close to the park that if someone (who has good arms) pitched me off the balcony I could either be in line for Little Mermaid ride OR get in through the back door! That is if I could land feet first!! LOL!! We were just there this past May and had friends stay with us who absolutely could have sat in the living room chair just starring out though the LARGE picture WINDOW ALL DAY!! He kept saying how "it feels like I'm (he) the owner of this... look and behold!" So funny!! Although other villas have great views too, THIS room with the BIG window framing the park leaves a HUGE impression on people when entering the room & standing at the foyer!! Bay Lake Towers to me doesn't even match up!!
Our stay was 3 nights so most of us saw WOC about 6 times! The pool table upstairs kept people occupied when we needed some down time & just because we live close by my 15 yr old likes to bring his xbox which they do have hook ups for. Also hooked up karaoke through TV speakers & used the long dining table for playing poker WHILE watching WOC!! This was our 3rd time in the Grand Villas at VGC with the other 2 staying poolside! You can do all same things there as well EXCEPT for the incredible PARK VIEW with WOC show!! YOU will love this room!! Enjoy your time there!!

Thank you hjgaus for the wonderful description! Sounds perfect for our family gathering. We plan to be there at least 5 nights, possibly 7. It's funny ...DH and I have two trips to WDW planned in the next few months which are just two of the four or five trips we take every year but all I can think about is our family reunion trip to GCV and DL. DH jokes that if we win the lottery the first thing we will do is add points and move up our trip! Till then I will continue to budget and plan and DIS boards will be a big part of that!

I was wondering if you had any pictures of your view from 4522? I would love to see the poolside ones too if you have them. I checked here http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44522663 as suggested by sechelt but there were only two pics posted to look at.

Thanks again for your feedback

 

[hjgaus]

Your very welcome Goofy4Pooh!! I would love to send you pics though this board but I don't have a flicker or whatever acct. to do it through here but if you pm me with an email address I can send a few. I had the same problem a few months ago when trying to share my view @ Aulani but someone pm me then added on to the thread FOR me. It's funny while your waiting to come here to California, we are trying to muster up enough points to stay in Florida - we haven't been to WDW since New Years Eve 2009!!
Please let me know about the pictures & hopefully I can help out!

 

[mrsw94]

Hi all..I've read through a lot, but have a couple of questions about our stay next week. We were VERY lucky to have been able to rent points for a 2 bedroom Sat through Friday. I can't wait!! Anyway, I'm working on my packing list and have a few ???'s...

There are 8 of us total. Our plan is for my in-laws to have the master bedroom (since they are paying for it!!), My family of 4-Me, DH, DD10 & DS4 in the other bedroom. 2 queen beds, right? My SIL and her daughter (22) in the living room. Does this sound doable?

Questions...
1. Is there enough room for DD & DS to sleep on the floor on air mattresses? We sleep in a king at home and DH is so tall that he needs a queen all to himself!!

2. Are there hair dryers in all the bathrooms or just the master?

3. What else should we bring? I have coffee filters (both kinds), paper towels, and extra cups. What am I forgetting?

Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Word of warning about room 1507 (1 bedroom) - we heard honking from the valets coming in and out of valet parking (blind corner, so they are required to honk) constantly during our trip - including throughout the night.

We got a too bad/so sad/we're booked and can't move you response to our concerns.

 

[Snurk71]

Hi all..I've read through a lot, but have a couple of questions about our stay next week. We were VERY lucky to have been able to rent points for a 2 bedroom Sat through Friday. I can't wait!! Anyway, I'm working on my packing list and have a few ???'s...

There are 8 of us total. Our plan is for my in-laws to have the master bedroom (since they are paying for it!!), My family of 4-Me, DH, DD10 & DS4 in the other bedroom. 2 queen beds, right? My SIL and her daughter (22) in the living room. Does this sound doable?

Questions...
1. Is there enough room for DD & DS to sleep on the floor on air mattresses? We sleep in a king at home and DH is so tall that he needs a queen all to himself!!

2. Are there hair dryers in all the bathrooms or just the master?

3. What else should we bring? I have coffee filters (both kinds), paper towels, and extra cups. What am I forgetting?

Thanks so much for your help!!

If you're not already sure, better check to make sure you have a dedicated 2br instead of a lock off. The dedicated will have 2queens, the lock off will have one queen and a foldout couch. You should be able to tell on your reservation as you have to book a category when the reservation is made.

There was some pretty good floor space in the 2nd bedroom, seems like you'd be able to fit an air mattress in somewhere - maybe the entryway part of the bedroom if nothing else.

If your sil and niece are sharing the pullout in the living room, another option is maybe your daughter would like to sleep on the Pullman below the tv in the living room. Our daughter loved sleeping in it when she was 10 - thought it was cool/special.

 

[mrsw94]

If you're not already sure, better check to make sure you have a dedicated 2br instead of a lock off. The dedicated will have 2queens, the lock off will have one queen and a foldout couch. You should be able to tell on your reservation as you have to book a category when the reservation is made.

There was some pretty good floor space in the 2nd bedroom, seems like you'd be able to fit an air mattress in somewhere - maybe the entryway part of the bedroom if nothing else.

If your sil and niece are sharing the pullout in the living room, another option is maybe your daughter would like to sleep on the Pullman below the tv in the living room. Our daughter loved sleeping in it when she was 10 - thought it was cool/special.

Thanks so much I'll have my FIL call and confirm. The confirmation he got just says 2 bedroom Villa. Just out of curiosity, does the lock-off have more space? Wondering if since we have the 2 kiddos with us that might be more preferable.

So what is in the living room? Is it both a Pullman and the pullout couch in the living room? I'm just trying to picture where everyone will sleep. My FIL was told it would sleep 9, but I'm not sure where those numbers came from.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Nonsuch]

So what is in the living room? Is it both a Pullman and the pullout couch in the living room? I'm just trying to picture where everyone will sleep. My FIL was told it would sleep 9, but I'm not sure where those numbers came from.

It is more likely you have a dedicated 2 bedroom. Studios are the first villa type to book, which makes 2 bedroom lockoffs equally difficult to book.

Sleeps 9 = 2 in master king bed + 4 second bedroom (2 in each queen bed) + 2 in living room foldout couch + 1 in living room Murphy bed (below TV)

 

[mrsw94]

Great. Thanks so much. I would imagine that my SIL will take the couch and my niece (22) will take the Murphy bed. Can't wait!!!!!

 

[hjgaus]

Hi all..I've read through a lot, but have a couple of questions about our stay next week. We were VERY lucky to have been able to rent points for a 2 bedroom Sat through Friday. I can't wait!! Anyway, I'm working on my packing list and have a few ???'s...

There are 8 of us total. Our plan is for my in-laws to have the master bedroom (since they are paying for it!!), My family of 4-Me, DH, DD10 & DS4 in the other bedroom. 2 queen beds, right? My SIL and her daughter (22) in the living room. Does this sound doable?

Questions...
1. Is there enough room for DD & DS to sleep on the floor on air mattresses? We sleep in a king at home and DH is so tall that he needs a queen all to himself!!

2. Are there hair dryers in all the bathrooms or just the master?

3. What else should we bring? I have coffee filters (both kinds), paper towels, and extra cups. What am I forgetting?

Thanks so much for your help!!

Okay - We were in a 2 bedroom dedicated villa in August and tried my queen size air mattress in the room with the queen beds BUT IT DID NOT FIT!! yes I tried the little space at the foot of the door by the bathroom (even moved the little table out) but still no luck! Now keep in mind that I did not tried to adjust the other beds around like I usually do in the hotel room so my rather large 2 teenage boys had to share one of the beds while another teenage boy (son's friend) had the other bed to himself! My friend and her family (2 extra people) had the living room so couldn't do it there! Luckily it was only a 1 night stay but I over estimated the size of my air mattress (it has a head board shape to it) which we just purchased! So maybe yours will be fine or maybe just a twin size is even better! Also, yes the hair dryer in the second room (in a black bag) but not in the bathroom across from the kitchen. Enjoy your time @ VGC & DLR!!

 

[Snurk71]

Great. Thanks so much. I would imagine that my SIL will take the couch and my niece (22) will take the Murphy bed. Can't wait!!!!!

The Murphy bed isn't very long. I would guess it wouldn't be very comfortable if someone were much over 5'.

My wife and I slept on the couch pullout and got by with enough room (I'm 6'2", 185 and my wife is 5'7"). It was the most comfortable pullout I ever slept on.

 

[Nonsuch]

I have just returned from another great trip to the Villas
Room request was successful: villa 5502

Some panoramic pictures:

 

[disneymeister]

Love this board! Followed the advice on requesting room preference (thanks nonsuch)...we were assigned room 6502. Such a great view!! Been watching WOC every night!!

 

[bigAWL]

I have just returned from another great trip to the Villas
Room request was successful: villa 5502

Some panoramic pictures:

Was that your first choice villa? And if so, why not 6502?

 

[Nonsuch]

Was that your first choice villa? And if so, why not 6502?

5502 is my third choice.

6502 is first: on the 6th floor and there are very few rooms in the area.
5508 is second: slightly better angle to view WOC
5502 is third:

I am happy with any Paradise Pier view, which for 1 bedroom villas is:
6502, 5502, 4502, 3502, 5508, 4508, 3508

 

[mrsw94]

Okay - We were in a 2 bedroom dedicated villa in August and tried my queen size air mattress in the room with the queen beds BUT IT DID NOT FIT!! yes I tried the little space at the foot of the door by the bathroom (even moved the little table out) but still no luck! Now keep in mind that I did not tried to adjust the other beds around like I usually do in the hotel room so my rather large 2 teenage boys had to share one of the beds while another teenage boy (son's friend) had the other bed to himself! My friend and her family (2 extra people) had the living room so couldn't do it there! Luckily it was only a 1 night stay but I over estimated the size of my air mattress (it has a head board shape to it) which we just purchased! So maybe yours will be fine or maybe just a twin size is even better! Also, yes the hair dryer in the second room (in a black bag) but not in the bathroom across from the kitchen. Enjoy your time @ VGC & DLR!!

Thanks so much! I'm going to hope that we are in a dedicated 2 bedroom and go from there! Luckily the air mattress is a twin and DS3 is pillow bed, so I'm hoping we can make it work!

 

[ChrisSD]

We love 3522 over all the other 2BR's. It's always #1 on the request.

 

[hulliechrisp]

Checked out of 3522 on Tuesday...great view! Every morning my 2 year old ran to the balcony yelling "RIDES!" It was a great vacation!

 

[bigAWL]

We love 3522 over all the other 2BR's. It's always #1 on the request.

That was my choice as well. Loved it. Though I might try a higher floor next time. If only the grand villa above it were two more 2BRs. "I'd like room 5522, please."

 

[Chereya]

We love 3522 over all the other 2BR's. It's always #1 on the request.

I have #3522 written in my notes as having a view somewhat blocked by the tree tops. Do you happen to have any balcony pics of your view? I am renting points and haven't asked my owner to add my specific room number requests yet. TIA!