PTR: Two Foodies Gone Wacko aka Paying OOP For a 1-br Villa - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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PTR: Two Foodies Gone Wacko aka Paying OOP For a 1-br Villa
The details-- When: October 1-6, 2017 with MNSSHP on arrival night. Where: Grand Floridian 1-bedroom Villa, a first-ever for us Who: Her Dotness aka me, Dot, and His Drewness, my DH Drew Why: After two birthday stays for me, it's finally Drew's turn for his dream party, MNSSHP, and if we can get it, Victoria & Albert's Chef's Table as his birthday dinner.
First, to set the stage, we're well aware that most non-DVC members rent points for about half the cost of our stay. We considered that in its various forms and then decided it was simply more troublesome than our VAY-CAY-SHUN philosophy supports. We are weirdos who'd rather pay more for less hassle as in "The less we gotta bother, the waaaaay better it suits us."
Granted, far more sensible people than we do all that shopping around, decide on a DVC broker or private deal from a DVC member, set up a stay and think us quite bonkers. That's where the second part of our VAY-CAY-SHUN attitude kicks in--"We do NOT care. We do what WE want."
As a result, we simply booked from Disney just as we're accustomed to doing. Quickly saw what we could get, easy-peasy, with the usual Disney deposit of $200. No upfront payment in part or full as most brokers demand.
Actually, we ARE saving money compared with our usual Deluxe King CL stay. Our 1-br Grand Floridian Villa will cost almost $2000 less and, more importantly, gets us back to our beloved GF. Same beautiful resort, but new and different. It's only $400 more than the Yacht Club CL stay we were considering. Since MK is our favorite park, the better location and GF stay clinched it.
We were surprised to learn it can actually be easier to book high-demand Villas like BLT and GF when paying OOP. Florida law requires a percentage of timeshares be reserved for OOP stays. So, while it costs somewhat more than renting points, we got the type of stay we prefer--and then some (see directly below).
The 1-br Villa will give us about 250 more sq. ft. than our usual Deluxe King room (which is already a nice amount of floor space at about 630 sq. ft. A standard GF room being 440)! With a full kitchen, stackable washer/dryer, whirlpool tub plus separate shower stall as big as a walk-in closet. Did I mention all that extra space is costing us less?
A big concern for us is a spacious enough room for parking DH's powerchair out of the way. Also, I often awake in the middle of the night, unable to get back to sleep, and have actually lounged in a room's bathtub to read and avoid waking Drew. A completely separate living room will be a godsend for me!
We'll be eligible for any later Disney discounts that apply, unlike points renters. More importantly for us, we have the same flexibility as with standard Disney resort stays. We could change our booking if something more desirable becomes available. Furthermore, we've the usual Disney cancellation policy. Renting points locks you into your stay, making full coverage travel insurance more necessary.
We get full daily Mousekeeping at no additional cost. Point renters, like members, get only 4th day trash-towels-toiletries service on our weeklong stay with no full service cleanup. That you get upon the 8th day of a longer stay and at similar intervals thereafter. As much as I detest cleaning, this alone could be worth what we're paying!
The usual Deluxe niceties, robes and nightly turndown service, are included, not so for renters. And notable bathroom features include those totally cool flat panel tv's IN the bathroom mirrors with two quite separate sinks, one in the toilet and shower stall area, the other opposite the freestanding tub. That tub is MINE-all-mine, a gorgeous oval freestanding tub just begging for long Basin bath bomb soaks.
There are a few drawbacks, however.
Unlike with a CL stay, no Itinerary Planning Office to book ADR's for us. We formerly booked them together and then decided two years ago to turn that over to the IPO--and subsequently changed virtually every one, of course. No biggie. We'll deal with that somehow.
The Villas building's location is less convenient than being in the RPC (main building) but does have a covered walkway to get to the GF bus stop and lobby entrance, making access to the 2nd floor monorail station a bit more involved but not laborious. Parking is conveniently close to the building.
Weirdly, there's no DDP room service except at BWV. It's OOP only at all other resorts. Probably not much of a drawback even though GF room service is quite good and has been a godsend for us previously in bitterly cold weather.
And speaking of food, I suspect I'll miss all those lounge goodies, especially the continental breakfast.
However, being able to keep our preferred snacks and drinks on hand may offset that somewhat, especially having a real full-size fridge. With that, we might even eat those leftover desserts we haul back to the room! Plus, I can bring our favorite Gevalia since we'll have an actual coffeemaker.
If not in the mood for a full breakfast, we can use snack credits to pick up something light at Gaspy's which is open 24 hours. I can envision using insomnia time for some snack credit shopping.
All in all, we're quite eager to see how staying in a Villa compares to our usual GF stay.
We'll keep you in the know as we discover more pluses and minuses. So, hang along, faithful Two Foodies fans. A cheery welcome to any new readers. You're in for a wild 'n' crazy journey to another fabulous Dot and Drew trip.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Last edited by Her Dotness; 12-02-2016 at 04:48 PM..
Reason: correct erroneous "tub/shower" reference. Silly Dot!
Last stay with my son and his family, I got a one bedroom villa at OKW through Disney. It was less expensive than booking two rooms (even at a value, which isn't for me).
We had my 11 month old grandson and loved having the washer and dryer and full kitchen. these are two vacation essentials for me. I would do it again in a heart beat. IMHO a good choice and we got a discount so it was a good value.
Glad you think so, Tara, as I was channeling you when I wrote this sentence: We could change our booking if something more desirable becomes available.
I doubt we'll follow your somewhat varied example , but ya never know...
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Glad you think so, Tara, as I was channeling you when I wrote this sentence: We could change our booking if something more desirable becomes available.
I doubt we'll follow your somewhat varied example , but ya never know...
I really am happy that you have another trip n the works!!!
A great start!!! And good pros/cons list!! We are renting points for the 1st time thru David's - for next November 2017 for a group of 10 (hopefully our requests for 3 rooms at AKL Jambo House comes thru). And I appreciated reading your lists as to renting/vs not renting.
And I appreciated reading your lists as to renting/vs not renting.
Do PM me after your stay, if you think to do that, to compare notes.
Don't know that we'll ever want to rent points, but I always say too much info is usually better than not enough where things like this are concerned. Sure would like to hear how you liked your more normal non-member DVC stay even if you do a TR.
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
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It sounds amazing!!
, but ya never know... 
I really am happy that you have another trip n the works!!!
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
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