upgrades GFV

[jltdone]

I am just wondering if it is even possible or has happen to anyone who booked a 1 bedroom standard and got a 1 bedroom lake view as upgrade.
I am renting points and I am just curious.
Thank you
Jason

 

[erionm]

Upgrades with DVC points reservations are VERY RARE. If it happens, it's typically because the assigned room was unexpectedly removed for a maintenance issue.

 

[Mpadovani2]

It did happen to me once. It was definitely a fluke. The family staying in the standard view 1 bedroom had a split stay and did not want to move to the lake view, so they put us in there. On top of that, they were staying on a cash reservation and as a result we got daily Mousekeeing (clearly by mistake). Took me two days to figure out the mousekeeing. We were only there for 5 nights....but it was heaven. I would not consider upgrades normal...just a nice surprise.

 

[jltdone]

It did happen to me once. It was definitely a fluke. The family staying in the standard view 1 bedroom had a split stay and did not want to move to the lake view, so they put us in there. On top of that, they were staying on a cash reservation and as a result we got daily Mousekeeing (clearly by mistake). Took me two days to figure out the mousekeeing. We were only there for 5 nights....but it was heaven. I would not consider upgrades normal...just a nice surprise.

do most 1 bedrooms lake view have a partial view of MK?

 

[Marionnette]

I am just wondering if it is even possible or has happen to anyone who booked a 1 bedroom standard and got a 1 bedroom lake view as upgrade.
I am renting points and I am just curious.
Thank you
Jason

It's always better to book what you want instead of hoping for an upgrade. DVC upgrades are even more rare than cash reservations because the system is designed to be near 100% capacity at all times. I would even discourage you from asking for an upgrade at check in because that could result in additional points being taken from the owner's account.

 

[Marionnette]

do most 1 bedrooms lake view have a partial view of MK?

They are considered to be "water views". You will definitely see the Seven Seas Lagoon but the views of the MK are pretty limited, especially from the lower floors.

 

[jltdone]

They are considered to be "water views". You will definitely see Bay Lake but the views of the MK are pretty limited, especially from the lower floors.

I was looking at the touring plans floor plans and got a good idea of decent room views. Never staying at the GF before if you got a 1bedroom lake view ground level we will say would be able to see the wishes from it?

 

[Marionnette]

I was looking at the touring plans floor plans and got a good idea of decent room views. Never staying at the GF before if you got a 1bedroom lake view ground level we will say would be able to see the wishes from it?

2 of the ground floor 1-BR water view villas face the lagoon, not the theme park, and look out at the Poly Bungalows and CR. The third ground floor 1-BR has a sideways view of the MK from the balcony. It's blocked by other buildings and vegetation but if you were in one, you would see most of the fireworks from the balcony. I don't think that you would see much from inside of the room. Fireworks views are better from the upper floors.

TBH, if you want a guarantee to see fireworks from your room, you really need to book a Theme Park View at another resort, either with cash or at at BLT where there is a specific booking category for TPV. PVB and VGF do not have a TPV booking category.

 

[supersnoop]

Do not ask for an upgrade at the front desk when you check in. They don’t give “free” upgrades. They will collect the extra points from the member’s account. As a renter, you could really screw up the owner’s other plans and cost yourself a lot of money and headache.

 

[kboo]

You may be confusing the villas with the hotel. A good number of the Lagoon View rooms in the HOTEL have a view of Poly if you lean right, Contemporary and the fireworks to the left. We stayed in one of them back in 2016. The villa building is set off a bit from the hotel, and ironically some of the standard villas that overlook the front of the hotel have good fireworks views. We stayed in a standard studio last summer and didn't have a view of the fireworks, but had a lovely view of the Seven Seas lagoon, the wedding pavilion and the monorail. There are plenty of places to see fireworks from the resort itself, but the villa building isn't situated to have a view of the fireworks. I will add that the standard view rooms at VGF (except for the dreaded 1221 (?) I think) have views that would be considered upgraded views at any other resort.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I am just wondering if it is even possible or has happen to anyone who booked a 1 bedroom standard and got a 1 bedroom lake view as upgrade.
I am renting points and I am just curious.
Thank you
Jason

Odds that you would get a lakeview room are extremely small and if you ask for it and they put you in a LV room they likely will be charging the owners account for the difference. I would not do that to an owner.

Standard view at VGF is not bad at all. High floor facing towards the main hotel can also see some fireworks from reports. Most, maybe all, lakeviews won't other than the GV's.

 

[kboo]

After re-reading this thread, I think if you are hoping for a MK/fireworks view, your odds are better with the standard view anyway. I think the room request is along the lines of, "high floor, facing hotel entrance". But keep in mind, if you don't get that, you'll likely get a partial lagoon view that may or may not include a monorail view. I wish I knew how to attach a photo file here, because I got a gorgeous view of from a VGF standard studio of the monorail passing by under a glowing sunset. Having stayed in lagoon view at the hotel (Boca Chica, 4th floor) where we could see fireworks, the Contemporary and Poly, and a standard villa, I don't think the "upgrade" to lagoon view is worth the extra points.

And no, don't ask for an upgrade upon check in.

 

[Snurk71]

Do not ask for an upgrade at the front desk when you check in. They don’t give “free” upgrades. They will collect the extra points from the member’s account. As a renter, you could really screw up the owner’s other plans and cost yourself a lot of money and headache.

How/why would the front desk do something like this - without confirmation from the owner? Sounds like that one would be easy to get the points back if they did that.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

How/why would the front desk do something like this - without confirmation from the owner? Sounds like that one would be easy to get the points back if they did that.

There have been several reports of this over the years.

 

[chalee94]

I was looking at the touring plans floor plans and got a good idea of decent room views. Never staying at the GF before if you got a 1bedroom lake view ground level we will say would be able to see the wishes from it?

if you want to see fireworks, a short walk to the pier near Narcoossee's or the viewing area in front of the Gasparilla Island Grill is a better plan.

if you want to see Wishes, you are flat out of luck as they stopped showing Wishes in May...

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

For the new fireworks show, you miss a lot by not seeing it in the MK. A lot of the story is told using projections on Cinderella’s Castle, and you cannot see these from outside the park. Having said that, the best views from GF would be Gaspys, Narcoossees or the boat dock. Also consider the Top of the World Lounge on top of BLT.

 

[supersnoop]

How/why would the front desk do something like this - without confirmation from the owner? Sounds like that one would be easy to get the points back if they did that.

“Any chance you have something a little nicer available?”
“I can put you in a lake-view room if you’d like.”
“Sure!”

At that point, you’ve confirmed that you’d like the room. Since it a points reservation, there’s no talk of cost. If you’re a renter, the member is suppose to notify DVC that you aren’t authorized to make modifications. Guess how many owners go through that trouble (or even know about the requirement) until it’s too late.

 

[pangyal]

“Any chance you have something a little nicer available?”
“I can put you in a lake-view room if you’d like.”
“Sure!”

At that point, you’ve confirmed that you’d like the room. Since it a points reservation, there’s no talk of cost. If you’re a renter, the member is suppose to notify DVC that you aren’t authorized to make modifications. Guess how many owners go through that trouble (or even know about the requirement) until it’s too late.

Out of curiosity, is that covered by unchecking the box that asks whether the guest you’re reserving for is a member? Or is it an actual extra process that needs to be completed with MS?

 

[Snurk71]

There have been several reports of this over the years.

What were the reported conclusions - were the points taken or ultimately refunded?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

“Any chance you have something a little nicer available?”
“I can put you in a lake-view room if you’d like.”
“Sure!”

At that point, you’ve confirmed that you’d like the room. Since it a points reservation, there’s no talk of cost. If you’re a renter, the member is suppose to notify DVC that you aren’t authorized to make modifications. Guess how many owners go through that trouble (or even know about the requirement) until it’s too late.

I don't know if notifying MS that it is not a member in the room will do anything to prevent the front desk from doing an unauthorized modification. I thought the rules and regulations just designate that should be done in order to limit any benefits a renter gets.

What were the reported conclusions - were the points taken or ultimately refunded?

Points were taken for the upgrades. The owner was generally able to get the additional payment from the renter but still it's a bit crazy that the front desk doesn't follow the same rules that MS does on who can and can't make or change reservations.