New VGF Rooms Available

[BoSoxGal]

Just switched our Dec trip to the new resort studio rooms. They’re available, but it looks like nights are going fast. They’re the same amount of points as a deluxe studio - which is annoying although doesn’t surprise me. We had 7 nights booked at PVB (home resort) and were able to get all 7. We figured it was worth a shot since the likelihood of getting that many nights there is probably slim. We figured we’d go for it - if it’s too small, we at least got to try it! The kids are going crazy that we get to stay at the hotel with the gingerbread house. It’s the little things

 

[Micah008]

Congrats on getting one, they just showed up today, and all of the rooms are in inventory and bookable starting 6/20.

The Standard View are for sure going fast.

This also confirms the numbers I posted here:
Standard - 84
Lagoon - 90
Theme Park - 28

 

[BoSoxGal]

Congrats on getting one, they just showed up today, and all of the rooms are in inventory and bookable starting 6/20.

The Standard View are for sure going fast.

This also confirms the numbers I posted here:
Standard - 84
Lagoon - 90
Theme Park - 28

Is that correct that the square footage is higher for resort studio vs. deluxe? I thought they were smaller?

ETA: not questioning your chart, just what I’ve read on the interwebs so far

 

[George]

Is that correct that the square footage is higher for resort studio vs. deluxe? I thought they were smaller?

That's correct. Those GF rooms are among the largest on property. I love that the resort rooms have 2 real beds; that "kitchenette" in the DX does nothing for me. I prefer the location of the resort studios too, much more convenient to monorail and boat.

 

[Micah008]

Is that correct that the square footage is higher for resort studio vs. deluxe? I thought they were smaller?

ETA: not questioning your chart, just what I’ve read on the interwebs so far

It is hard to get good information on the square footage sometimes... even Disney lists different numbers in different places. So, no guarantee my number is exact. That being said, what George replied is correct, they are one of the largest on property... and larger than the deluxe studios.

If you did see something different on the interwebs, please pass it along for comparison sake.

 

[BoSoxGal]

Ah - So I think the complaints were what George mentioned about the "kitchenette" in the regular studios. That doesn't mean much to us either. I see there's a Keurig in those resort studio rooms which is much better than a full coffee pot (I never understood why they even have those). Last trip I had a collapsible hot water kettle and some Starbucks Via packs which was actually fantastic!

I'll have to look at the maps and start studying! We enjoyed going to GF for their quick service a couple of times from Poly and are so excited to stay there!

 

[George]

I wonder if there’s a laundry room in the new building, or if DVC will make guests schlep their stuff to the Deluxe Villas building.

 

[Anne]

Do the resort studios have a microwave or is that part of the "no kitchenette"? We tend to have a lot of reheated leftovers for lunch so it is tough not to have a microwave.

 

[George]

Do the resort studios have a microwave or is that part of the "no kitchenette"? We tend to have a lot of reheated leftovers for lunch so it is tough not to have a microwave.

No. Think resort hotel room, and that’s exactly what you get.

 

[Alcachofa]

No. Think resort hotel room, and that’s exactly what you get.

So, they basically did nothing to make them DVC?

 

[BoSoxGal]

This post has good pictures and a video:

Preview One of the New Disney Vacation Club Villas Coming Soon to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa - WDW News Today

We took a tour of one of the new villas that will soon be available for Disney Vacation Club members at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

wdwnt.com

I don’t know what the rooms looked like before. There’s no microwave, and it doesn’t look like there are any plates, utensils, etc. Like George mentioned, I do like the fact that there are two regular beds (although the new “Murphy bed” style second beds in poly and riviera were much better. I do wish they did the little pull down twin. I don’t know how this 5th sleeper works.

 

[George]

So, they basically did nothing to make them DVC?

Basically. Well, they did redecorate. Apparently the hotel rooms will get the same design during upcoming renovations.

I do wish they did the little pull down twin. I don’t know how this 5th sleeper works.

Remove the rear bolster(s) on the daybed and voilà, you have a real twin bed. I hate those space-hogging, drawer-denying pull-down abominations.

 

[BoSoxGal]

I hate those space-hogging, drawer-denying pull-down abominations.

But the little hidden pictures of the sleepy characters are so cuuuuuuute

 

[bnoble]

I hate those space-hogging, drawer-denying pull-down abominations.

I'm in this camp too. The SSR 1BRs now have essentially no storage in the living room.

So, they basically did nothing to make them DVC?

Pretty much, and it's a shame. But it's also in line with what a lot of DVCers want, namely: a cheaper way to stay in the hotel rooms they were renting before. And if that's all people want, Disney would be foolish to do more than that.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around, because for our family, one of the biggest selling points of timesharing is to be able to vacation in Not A Hotel Room. Even before we bought our first one, we were either renting via VRBO and friends, or in a pinch staying in an extended-stay brand (e.g. Residence Inn). In the fifteen years since we first bought, I think I've stayed in a unit classified as a studio exactly once, and even that had a competent kitchen and a king bed upstairs in a loft.

 

[George]

I'm in this camp too. The SSR 1BRs now have essentially no storage in the living room.

The thing I loved about the SSR Studio was that it didn’t have that confounded “bed” thing, and instead had an enormous dresser with tons of drawers and storage space.

 

[Anne]

The other thing to note about the resort studio vs deluxe studio is the absence of a split bath. Two showers in one room plus a microwave make the original studios a better fit for us. We prefer the pull down 2nd bed since it gives us more open space during the day and we can have the kids sleep on the pull down and they don't mind (unlike the pull out couch at Beach Club which was hard even for them to sleep on).

ETA: We do prefer the couch bed in the resort studio over the pull down under the TV. My kids are always nervous they will hit their heads on that and refuse to use it.