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

[sndral]

Returned Sat., here are some pix from our balcony - villa 1426 a 4th floor standard view 1 br. in the original VGF building. It overlooks the front entry Porte Cochere, not my favorite standard view, but it was surprisingly quiet except for the the monorails humming by.

 

[pirate33]

Returned Sat., here are some pix from our balcony - villa 1426 a 4th floor standard view 1 br. in the original VGF building. It overlooks the front entry Porte Cochere, not my favorite standard view, but it was surprisingly quiet except for the the monorails humming by.
View attachment 725105View attachment 725106View attachment 725107

The monorail sound is a “happy sound” for me!

 

[aka Charles]

The monorail sound is a “happy sound” for me!

Yes !

And the sound of the boat horns !

Puts a smile on my face every time.

.

 

[rmonty02]

Returned Sat., here are some pix from our balcony - villa 1426 a 4th floor standard view 1 br. in the original VGF building. It overlooks the front entry Porte Cochere, not my favorite standard view, but it was surprisingly quiet except for the the monorails humming by.

Curious...What is your Favorite standard view? I'm still trying to decide which building to request.

 

[LadybugsMum]

Curious...What is your Favorite standard view? I'm still trying to decide which building to request.

What type of room did you reserve? 1, 2, 3 bedrooms are in the original villas building. If a studio then the type of studio determines the building - deluxe studios (standard/lake view) are in the original building and resort studios (standard, lagoon, them park views) are in Big Pine Key.

 

[rmonty02]

What type of room did you reserve? 1, 2, 3 bedrooms are in the original villas building. If a studio then the type of studio determines the building - deluxe studios (standard/lake view) are in the original building and resort studios (standard, lagoon, them park views) are in Big Pine Key.

We reserved a 2bd room, so the original villas. I will request a higher floor, just trying to decide which to direction to face? Proximity to other amenities doesn't matter

 

[sndral]

Curious...What is your Favorite standard view? I'm still trying to decide which building to request.

We reserved a 2bd room, so the original villas. I will request a higher floor, just trying to decide which to direction to face? Proximity to other amenities doesn't matter

For standard view I really enjoy the upper floor villas facing the rest of the GF grounds because you can see the MK fireworks from them. I realize that the original VGF building is so small that they can’t always accommodate every view request, so I just go w/ requesting upper floor & see where I end up .
From the VGF map on page one of this thread I’ve circled the villas I’m talking about.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Same, we had a standard view villa and a PERFECT view of the MK fireworks every night which was a COMPLETE surprise!

 

[f1rstxlas7]

I'll be staying at VGF this coming July and was wondering if anyone had any Magic Kingdom rope drop experiences? In the first post of this thread it says the walkway will allow you entry to the front gates a half hour before park open(is that supposed to read Early Entry instead?) but that seems pretty late considering most resorts you can grab a bus an hour beforehand. Any idea if that's accurate and what the entry is like at the walkway? Is it similar to the Contemporary side with the single security booth for people to walk through? Are there any other recommendations for rope dropping and getting to the front gates as early as possible like using the boat or monorail instead?

 

[LoveMugsNPins]

I'll be staying at VGF this coming July and was wondering if anyone had any Magic Kingdom rope drop experiences? In the first post of this thread it says the walkway will allow you entry to the front gates a half hour before park open(is that supposed to read Early Entry instead?) but that seems pretty late considering most resorts you can grab a bus an hour beforehand. Any idea if that's accurate and what the entry is like at the walkway? Is it similar to the Contemporary side with the single security booth for people to walk through? Are there any other recommendations for rope dropping and getting to the front gates as early as possible like using the boat or monorail instead?

If you use the monorail you will get to go through security at VGF. A much easier task than going through at MK. I don't know when the monorails start but I believe it is pretty early. Much earlier than park opening.

I would get to MK at least a 1/2 hour before early entry starts. They usually start letting people into the park before official times. You still have to go to the area you want to be in and queue up there.

 

[f1rstxlas7]

If you use the monorail you will get to go through security at VGF. A much easier task than going through at MK. I don't know when the monorails start but I believe it is pretty early. Much earlier than park opening.

I would get to MK at least a 1/2 hour before early entry starts. They usually start letting people into the park before official times. You still have to go to the area you want to be in and queue up there.

Security via the Monorail is likely better than at MK and probably the boat landing too, but wouldn't it be less busy via the walkway?

As for when to get to MK, that's not too much of my concern. I aim to get to the turnstiles as early as transportation is open and know where to go once the park starts to let people in, I'm just not sure what the quickest method of getting to the MK turnstiles from VGF is. I don't want to make the decision to walk but later realize that the security screening opens later than the security for Monorail or Boat so any additional advice would be helpful!

 

[CarolMN]

Security via the Monorail is likely better than at MK and probably the boat landing too, but wouldn't it be less busy via the walkway

Walkway is definitely less busy in my experience. We are usually the only ones at security when we use the path.

 

[f1rstxlas7]

Walkway is definitely less busy in my experience. We are usually the only ones at security when we use the path.

Any idea what time security will start processing people through compared to the other security checkpoints?

 

[Chuck96]

We tried one of earliest monorails today, was pretty quiet. But that was at 7:25 for an 8:00 Royal Table rez. Park didn’t open until 8:30 for Resort guests. They started letting people in to Main Street at 7:50 or so.

A question for the more experienced GFers. I’ve been parking over in the lot by the fitness center and OG DVC Villas. But I’m staying in BPK. Am I allowed to park in the parking lot in front of the main building? Or just in the Villas lot? Not a big deal, but any stress on my feet I can alleviate will be a win in the future.

 

[mrsap]

We tried one of earliest monorails today, was pretty quiet. But that was at 7:25 for an 8:00 Royal Table rez. Park didn’t open until 8:30 for Resort guests. They started letting people in to Main Street at 7:50 or so.

A question for the more experienced GFers. I’ve been parking over in the lot by the fitness center and OG DVC Villas. But I’m staying in BPK. Am I allowed to park in the parking lot in front of the main building? Or just in the Villas lot? Not a big deal, but any stress on my feet I can alleviate will be a win in the future.

You can park in either. When we stayed at BPK, we preferred the DVC lot and just cut through the DVC building and headed out the back door, but if you find the other one more convenient, go for it! Enjoy!

 

[mrsap]

 

[rmonty02]

For standard view I really enjoy the upper floor villas facing the rest of the GF grounds because you can see the MK fireworks from them. I realize that the original VGF building is so small that they can’t always accommodate every view request, so I just go w/ requesting upper floor & see where I end up .
From the VGF map on page one of this thread I’ve circled the villas I’m talking about.
View attachment 725634

THANK YOU sndral

 

[Brucerob1962]

We will be in a 1 bedroom standard in 58 days cant wait..first time here, any pointers or tips? how far is it to main bldg for transportation? citricos? How is it? I assume grocery delivery goes to villas check in bldg and the delivery service will know where to go to drop off? Be nice if they came to your room to drop off But maybe I can get bell services to deliver them, I assume for a fee which is Ok with Me. Im trying to see if i can get upper floor for the view, be nice if could somehow see MK fireworks from the room.

Thanks ALL

 

[Brucerob1962]

Can confirm same, towel carts were left in the hall and unlocked in Big Pine Key this past week, I asked to swap out towels on day 2 with housekeeper in hall, once I saw she pulled from unlocked carts, I grabbed fresh towels myself

WHAT ABOUT toilet paper and paper towels do we have to buy our own if need more?

 

[stwaldman]

We will be in a 1 bedroom standard in 58 days cant wait..first time here, any pointers or tips? how far is it to main bldg for transportation? citricos? How is it? I assume grocery delivery goes to villas check in bldg and the delivery service will know where to go to drop off? Be nice if they came to your room to drop off But maybe I can get bell services to deliver them, I assume for a fee which is Ok with Me. Im trying to see if i can get upper floor for the view, be nice if could somehow see MK fireworks from the room.

Thanks ALL

We just got back from a 1br.

- Main building is at most a 5 min walk, although park buses and gasparilla are on the far end of the building, so maybe add on 2-3 minutes of time going there

- citricos was very good for us, had a great meal although it may have just been that we had grandma watching the little that night lol. Service was very good and food was as well. No complaints although we aren't super picky (but we will acknowledge when Disney overprices a table or signature dining).

- our groceries did go to the main building, they did deliver although I think there was a small fee for them accepting cold/grocery products. No other fee beyond tipping. Very easy and never took more than 15-20 mins.

- we had a monorail only view (on the side looking away from the resort). Fine by us, but we made no specific room request because we split stay with a PVB lake view and got our fill of fireworks from across the lake.

Happy to give any other feedback, we loved this 1br. It was a tremendous space and worth every point.