DVC Villa Grand Floridian First Impressions

[DVC Dude]

I have been to every DVC resort and now I finally had a chance to stay one night in a VGF 1 bedroom unit and here are my "First Impressions"

In a nutshell, this is the flagship DVC resort and everything is the best in class quality and furnishings. I really loved the upscale feel, but it obviously comes at a huge point premium over the other resorts.

Very classy entrance. Relaxed environment. I really felt the "Welcomed Home" here
Excellent concierge checking process that was more relaxing than any other resort
Beautiful fountain in lobby entrance and open atrium
Beautiful Victorian theme and nice new smell
Hallways and carpet upscale compared to other resorts
Immediate wow on entrance into the unit. To me, this is the only DVC that feels like an upscale private condo and not a hotel
Nice simulated wooden floors in the hallway and kitchen and living room
Love the hallway to bathroom on entrance to separate washing machine and closet, this is a really nice and logical layout - in fact this is the best layout of any DVC
I love the glass window decoration in the hall into kitchen
Awesome layout of kitchen with great use of space
Awesome granite countertops and stainless steel appliances - best of any DVC by far
Nice glass kitchen cabinets
Cool tub sink in kitchen
Incredible refrigerator quality - better than most homes
Love chauffeured ceilings
Loved the small flip out bed under TV
Loved tiled patio outside
Double pane windows really make the outside nose non-existent
High quality solid core doors to bedroom and bathroom
Nice carpet in bedroom
Most comfortable bed of all DVC
Large walk in closet
Love ceiling detail in bedroom
Why iPhone 4 plug near bed - seriously, this is silly as most people have the iPhone 5 or Android phones. this is a huge oversite and should be eliminated.
Robes in closet are a nice touch
Seriously incredible and super awesome tub - the best of any DVC by far
Best bathroom layout of any DVC
Solid core sliding doors to bathroom are nice
TV behind bathroom mirror is cool
Great floor and wall tiles in bathroom
Best shower in DVC by far. Rain shower. Nice tiles. Heavy duty glass door
Magnify mirror and upscale soaps are a nice touch

I found the walkway to the GF main lobby reasonable
I thought the parking was fine, but was almost full when I was there
The VGF pool was a disappointment as it is so small, the waterfall feature is lame, and there was no hot tub. I think the kids play water feature was incredible, but I would rather replace that with a nice set of hottubs. They should groom the beach area better and add more canopy chairs out there. The loud kids music was a little annoying as this is an upscale resort, not Pop all star resort pool.
The walk to the boat to the MK was pretty long and I think the wal to the Poly boat may be the same distance.
the restaurants and the food at VGF are so far superior to every other resort it is not even fair to compare them. Simply said, if you enjoy nice meals, this is the best DVC resort to stay at.

 

[DVC Mike]

I like VGF as well.

 

[DVC Dude]

I never thought I would say this, but I am now seriously considering adding points at VGF

 

[psac]

Thanks for posting your impressions!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Can't wait Very thorough list, thank you! I wasn't aware there was a VGF pool--I thought it was just a childs water feature.

 

[DVC Dude]

I never thought I would say this, but I am now seriously considering adding points at VGF

I just called and added on.....ouch my bank account and my wallet hurts!

Can't wait Very thorough list, thank you! I wasn't aware there was a VGF pool--I thought it was just a childs water feature.

The pool is the same one that is on the south side of VGF and has the slide and waterfall. The kids play feature is there also. It is a decent, but not too impressive pool.

The other pool is in the middle of VGF and is larger and has only ONE hot tub. Seriously, there is only one large hot tub for this entire resort.

 

[rkold]

The other pool is in the middle of VGF and is larger and has only ONE hot tub. Seriously, there is only one large hot tub for this entire resort.

That's better than the Poly! They have *NO* hot tubs. It's why we have zilch interest in a Poly DVC unless they are planning to add one.

 

[missy2217]

Can you walk to the Magic Kingdom from GF?

 

[Msmithmd]

Can you walk to the Magic Kingdom from GF?

Nope.

 

[DVC Dude]

Can you walk to the Magic Kingdom from GF?

yes, but it is a really long walk, because there is no bridge over the canal

http://goo.gl/maps/lLaOx

 

[GAN]

They go through all that with the attention to detail, and skimp on the pool? Too bad...

 

[Msmithmd]

yes, but it is a really long walk, because there is no bridge over the canal http://goo.gl/maps/lLaOx

Shhhhhh! Don't let Disney marketing hear you!

The way their advertising is biased on FP+, they are liable to see your post and start marketing that you can walk to AK, HS, and Epcot from the Grand Floridian villas as well...

 

[DVC Mike]

They go through all that with the attention to detail, and skimp on the pool? Too bad...

There is no VGF pool. There are two GF pools that VGF guests can use.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Excellent concierge checking process that was more relaxing than any other resort

What's this concierge checking? Is this check-in or regular lobby concierge desk?

 

[dgaston]

I still have a 3gs phone! It works fine We'll be staying in March standard view; any suggestions on room requests?

 

[DVC Dude]

What's this concierge checking? Is this check-in or regular lobby concierge desk?

I meant when you check in - the process is much different than others resorts. You sit in a chair at a desk and the CM checks you in like visiting the concierge rather than standing in front of a counter top.

I still have a 3gs phone! It works fine We'll be staying in March standard view; any suggestions on room requests?

The iPhone service was good at VGF. Because it is 100% sold out, you will have very little choices of room requests. Also, the resort is very small so the rooms are pretty equal other than lake vs non-lake.

I would simply ask for a high floor.

 

[sssteph]

I meant when you check in - the process is much different than others resorts. You sit in a chair at a desk and the CM checks you in like visiting the concierge rather than standing in front of a counter top.
QUOTE]

That is always a nice touch.

When I stayed at the BWV in 2012, we arrived in the late afternoon and had done online checkin, anyway they had us sit on the couch in the lobby while they got our stuff together. I found this pretty relaxing as well.

This June 2013 when we stayed at the BCV we arrived in the early morning and had to go up to the counter to check in, even though I had done the online check in and gave all our information including our CC # again. Frustrating after traveling across the country all night.

 

[UncleKyle]

Thanks for the list, sadly I doubt we'll ever get to stay there unless we get lucky on a waitlist. But will be visiting on my next trip.

Love the sit down check-in. Been saying they should do that for years. Get rid of the huge living rooms next to check-in like at OKW, and make them all sit down.

 

[DVC Dude]

Thanks for the list, sadly I doubt we'll ever get to stay there unless we get lucky on a waitlist. But will be visiting on my next trip.

Love the sit down check-in. Been saying they should do that for years. Get rid of the huge living rooms next to check-in like at OKW, and make them all sit down.

Well, currently the VGF studios are booked on the 7 month mark and the 1-2-3 bedrooms are all gone by the 5 month mark for non VGF owners.

That is one of the reasons I decided to buy some VGF points as I wanted access to the 11 month booking window.

I think this resort will have HUGE demand for the studios and it will be much easier to get the 1-2 bedrooms as the prices per night is so high.

Even if you only get one night, I suggest giving it a try as it really is a step up from all the other DVC resorts.

 

[DVC Dude]

Someone asked about parking and I found the lot to be super easy to access and park. The walk was short compared to BWV or AKV. It was a very small parking lot so I would assume it may get filled on some nights.