Grand Floridian DVC Info, Speculation, and Update Thread - Part 1!

[disneydreamfan14]

to the Villas at the Grand Floridian thread - a great place to chat, update, and speculate about the Disney Vacation Club building currently under construction at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Walt Disney World.

A few tidbits of information...
Address: 4401 Grand Floridian Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 32830 (Grand Floridian address - it is unknown if the DVC will have a different address)
Category: Deluxe Villa
Transportation: Motorcoach, Monorail (via Grand Floridian monorail station), Ferry Boat (via Grand Floridian ferry dock)

Confirmed Details
-The DVC building will house Disney Vacation Club villa rooms.
-The resort is currently being constructed on Grand Floridian property.

Speculation
-The DVC building will have three wings and include 147 villas.
-The resort will open by the end of 2013
-There will not be a VGF pool, guests will have access to Grand Floridian pools as well as the Grand Floridian Spa.
-Some Grand Floridian rooms may be converted to villas and included in the Villas at the Grand Floridian.

Construction Pictures
*thanks to USA Today, dvcnews.com, and damouse.com*

Artist rendering of the DVC Building


Construction as of early May 2012


Construction as of early May 2012


Construction as of late May 2012


Construction as of July 2012


Construction as of October 2012


Construction as of December 2012


Construction as of January 2013 - most recent photo update



Will you be visiting the new DVC?

I thought I would start a thread to collect all of the ideas and information. If you know anything new for me to add, post it below or PM me!

[Poohs Pal]

DD and I are hoping they will be open for our early December visit... Nice picture.

[jojomickey]

Does anyone know if there will be TPV?

[FantasiaMagic]

I can't wait until it opens!!! So excited!!!!!

-Anyone know how you will be able to get the GF - bridge like BLT/CR or just like a path of some sort??

[jojomickey]

Hi everyone!
DisneyByTheNumbers.com has updated photos.
Can't wait till the outside is finished!!!

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Originally Posted by jojomickey

Does anyone know if there will be TPV?

Most likely, no. I don't think the angle is right for any of the rooms. Some top floor rooms may have a view of high fireworks, but that's still a guess too.

Originally Posted by FantasiaMagic

I can't wait until it opens!!! So excited!!!!!

-Anyone know how you will be able to get the GF - bridge like BLT/CR or just like a path of some sort??

From the rendering it appears there will be a covered walkway similar to WL/VWL.

[jojomickey]

That,s a shame if it doesn't I guess they couldn't make it taller than the main building. Do you think maybe some of the outer buildings will be converted to DVC being that those buildings do?

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Originally Posted by jojomickey

That,s a shame if it doesn't I guess they couldn't make it taller than the main building. Do you think maybe some of the outer buildings will be converted to DVC being that those buildings do?

I don't see any reason to believe the resort rooms will be converted; my opinion is if they were going to we would have seen construction by now for the reason that they would have been able to start selling earlier.

Plus, you don't want to flood the resort with DVC rooms. You need the high grossing resort rooms to keep funding amenities and services.

[jojomickey]

It would have been nice if you could see the castle like they do over at bay lake, and it looks to me that some of the rooms will face the monorail side, what do you think of that view, it looks too close to the monorail to me.

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Originally Posted by jojomickey

It would have been nice if you could see the castle like they do over at bay lake, and it looks to me that some of the rooms will face the monorail side, what do you think of that view, it looks too close to the monorail to me.

That whole side facing the monorail and entrance would have to be considered "standard view" just like it is at BLT. I'd expect there to be only 2 view categories as opposed to BLT's 3 though. Some facing toward the GF main building would probably be standard as well (a good number will still be able to see the monorail and the covered walkway), and the rest I would expect to be a resort or lagoon view.

Hopefully we start getting more details soon from DVC.

Edited to add: http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/disn...rial/17324.htm This link shows a decent overview of the new property.

[tinkbyday]

Originally Posted by Poohs Pal

DD and I are hoping they will be open for our early December visit... Nice picture.

We are hoping the same for our trip later in the month!

[disneydreamfan14]

Sorry about the lack of construction photos in the OP - when I was loading them up they all deleted themselves!

Ill have photos in order from the beginning of the construction to now - its cool to see the building progress!

Ill get these up as soon as I can.

[disneydreamfan14]

USA Today says: " but we have received word that there will also be additional existing rooms at the Grand Floridian that will be converted to DVC units, as well. This will result in a roll-out similar to that of the Animal Kingdom Villas, where the converted fourth- and fifth-floor rooms in the original Lodge building (now called "Jambo House") were later joined by the new rooms in the Kidani Village addition."

So some rooms *may* be converted in regular resort buildings. Not sure how reliable their source is.

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Originally Posted by disneydreamfan14

USA Today says: " but we have received word that there will also be additional existing rooms at the Grand Floridian that will be converted to DVC units, as well. This will result in a roll-out similar to that of the Animal Kingdom Villas, where the converted fourth- and fifth-floor rooms in the original Lodge building (now called "Jambo House") were later joined by the new rooms in the Kidani Village addition."

So some rooms *may* be converted in regular resort buildings. Not sure how reliable their source is.

Was this only in the 2011 USA Today story when the project was originally announced? I don't recall reading or hearing anything about this happening from any other sources (I believe the lastest announcement I saw from DVC called for 147 units). At this point, they'd really need to get moving for a fall opening.

[dvc at last !]

I am looking forward to the opening also -

wish there was more info !