News Disney Vacation Club Announces Expansion at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I've not audited every single date and I'm not intimately familiar with discounts, but on a random week I picked in March, the grand was running $1,000 per night rack rate including tax, while the Four Seasons was $1,300 per night rack rate pre-tax.
You’re picking the wrong rooms, boss..
But that’s another story...

here’s the thing: if ever 4 is $1100 a night...and they are based on service and QC...
And the other is $1000 and spends the bare minimum for the appearance of service...

then one is massively overpriced. Even with the Choo choo
 

nickys

Premium Member
Again, I'm not talking about what's good or bad business, or how to best logistically fill all the rooms.

I'm saying Disney is *contractually obligated* to balance demand. It *cannot* be the case that a Value Studio at AKV requires you to walk your reservation at 11 months out but a 1 BR Savanna View is easily bookable at 5 months. I'll try to find the exactly language but they're REQUIRED to adjust the pricing when demand is severely imbalanced.
You say it cannot be, but it is.

So whatever the wording is, it clearly doesn’t mean what you think it means.
 

Disone

Well-Known Member
hmmm...interesting.

rocked a 98.3 one year that I can recall. Fell to 68 at one point bout 2 years later...

but 95 is very high
Yes.
no...views are dumb and too expensive...that’s why there are no standards

Disney had always done a terrible job of miscalculating longterm desire to pay for “views”

look at bay lake...”lake view” is pointless...how many people are from Dubai and were unaware of the existence of water?
In this case that's not really why they did that. The whole selling point of Bay Lake Tower was its proximity to the Magic Kingdom. Lakeview though were named such so as emphasize that while you are near the Magic Kingdom you are not looking at the Magic Kingdom.
Contemporary south is under full refurbishment right now. For at least the intermediate future...they’re not interested in driving pilings to replicate bay lake.

the poly tower that was speculated is always in a holding pattern if I had to guess.

id expect more GF conversion.

and then where do the go? The other half of boardwalk? Half of beach club? More DAKL.

this isn’t “over” by any means
Is contemporary South under refurbishment?
I know two families that were automatically upgraded from Caribbean Beach to Grand Floridian in March. Selling the ultra-deluxe resort rooms must be a problem.
It is always easier to sell a moderate or value. Often Revenue management will do this on purpose. Intentionally oversell the moderate and the value. This is not really indicative of a problem with selling Deluxe rooms. The short version here is sometimes they do this during a brief period of soft occupany, it's a nice surprise for the guests, at least most of the time, and it avoids having to lower the rate of the deluxe resorts.
disney has no intention of “competing” with the four seasons. None. That’s why they allowed it to be built.

the white and red place is run on the level with $200 hotels in most cities...On a GOOD day.

you’d be amazed at how the machine works
100%
Jeeze can we stop with the Four Seasons comparisons? Yeah, it's way nicer than the Grand. It's also *waaaaaay* more expensive.

(The Grand is outrageously priced, you'll get no argument from me whatsoever.)
Grand Floridian used to be consistently more expensive than the Four Seasons. However more recently I have noticed a Four Seasons increasing its price substantially and it's now fairly uncommon for it to be cheaper than the Grand Floridian. They do occasionally still offer a fantastic Florida resident rate. If you're able to get that a word of warning sometimes they have a Florida resident rate that really isn't that low and other times it's a good (40%?) off the regular rates.
The GF has never been rated more than 4 stars.
So real "star ratings" from Forbes or popularity star ratings from travel websites? GF has been awarded a four Diamond rating from AAA but has not ever been awarded a four-star rating from Forbes. The WDW Four seasons aimed for 5 star but was awarded Four star.
I never understood why they never made Yacht/Beach their Flagship Resort instead of Grand Floridian.

In my opinion they are lightyears better than the Grand.
I assume proximty to MK but overall I agree with you.
They go back and forth in my amateur research.
Agree. In my case June 2020 was the last time I saw it cheaper than the grand. Hopefully it swings back into the Four Seasons favor because I absolutely love that Resort.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
In this case that's not really why they did that. The whole selling point of Bay Lake Tower was its proximity to the Magic Kingdom. Lakeview though were named such so as emphasize that while you are near the Magic Kingdom you are not looking at the Magic Kingdom.

Yeah...but they then charge more for the “lake view”...busting the theory

So real "star ratings" from Forbes or popularity star ratings from travel websites? GF has been awarded a four Diamond rating from AAA but has not ever been awarded a four-star rating from Forbes. The WDW Four seasons aimed for 5 star but was awarded Four star.

Yeah...but pretty much every hotel over $300 a night in town
 

Disone

Well-Known Member
Yeah...but they then charge more for the “lake view”...busting the theory
Three view choices.... Standard. Lake. And theme park. I think those are pretty fair descriptors. They're not charging more for Lakeview. Lakeview is rightfully more than standard. Standard, and this is by no means a Disney exclusive, really is substandard. You know when you get a standard room at any hotel anywhere in the United States that what you got is the dirt cheapest hotel room that hotel had to offer. Standard my backside. This is the custodial closet converted into a room :)

Slightly off topic. If you've ever seen the Gaylord Palms near Disney you know that its surround by underwhelming scenery. You can pay more to have a room that overviews as massive and expensive atrium but they don't call their exterior less expensive view rooms "standard", instead they're called " Florida view". Well I guess that is very accurate. You are in Florida and that is your view. lol.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Three view choices.... Standard. Lake. And theme park. I think those are pretty fair descriptors. They're not charging more for Lakeview. Lakeview is rightfully more than standard. Standard, and this is by no means a Disney exclusive, really is substandard. You know when you get a standard room at any hotel anywhere in the United States that what you got is the dirt cheapest hotel room that hotel had to offer. Standard my backside. This is the custodial closet converted into a room :)

Slightly off topic. If you've ever seen the Gaylord Palms near Disney you know that its surround by underwhelming scenery. You can pay more to have a room that overviews as massive and expensive atrium but they don't call their exterior less expensive view rooms "standard", instead they're called " Florida view". Well I guess that is very accurate. You are in Florida and that is your view. lol.
Right...I get that.

they are charging more for “lake view”...which is silly and the only opinion I ventured.

even “theme park view” doesn’t wow me...but I’m tough. The Tomorrowland parking lot/service area never did much for me...and I’m usually not that enthralled for 11 minutes a day.

more of a DAKL/Beach Club kinda cat
 

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
Premium Member
And theme park. I think those are pretty fair descriptors.
I think Theme Park view is fair for buildings 5 and 7 but the view from the Theme Park Rooms in building 9 is the contemporary resort. You can see space mountain if you’re standing at the glass; you have to go outside and either stand to the right or peer around the divider to see the castle. It’s a bit disingenuous IMO.
 

Disone

Well-Known Member
I think Theme Park view is fair for buildings 5 and 7 but the view from the Theme Park Rooms in building 9 is the contemporary resort. You can see space mountain if you’re standing at the glass; you have to go outside and either stand to the right or peer around the divider to see the castle. It’s a bit disingenuous IMO.
Sorry. I has side barred the convo and was talking specifically about standard Lakeside Inn theme park views at Bay Lake Tower.

Back on topic, You're absolutely right that the theme park views of. GF Building 9 are not really that. Sure if you look hard left you can see the theme park. But you're absolutely right that is not what you're looking at from your balcony of Building 9 "theme park" views. 8's are only marginally better.
 

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
I've not audited every single date and I'm not intimately familiar with discounts, but on a random week I picked in March, the grand was running $1,000 per night rack rate including tax, while the Four Seasons was $1,300 per night rack rate pre-tax.

The FS varies a LOT. Some nights you can book for $500-600, while others its over $1K. The Grand is always about the same. Four Seasons also does a lot of promos (eg 4th night free).
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
They're going to keep removing Deluxe rooms from the inventory this way in lieu of lowering prices the traditional way.
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
They're going to keep removing Deluxe rooms from the inventory this way in lieu of lowering prices the traditional way.
Chapek vomits a little every time he’s reminded there isn’t a Villas at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

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