Wow. Just wow.
Just returned from a five-night/six-day stay in a std view VGF villa...it was THE best Disney trip since I purchased DVC in 2006--maybe since my first "real" trip to Disney back in the 90's...
It was not without problems--including a UT park hopper ticket that simply would not link into Disney's My Disney Experience (this despite two phone calls, each taking well over an hour, prior to me leaving home--after each of which Disney told me the problem was fixed, only it wasn't--the problem still existed when we checked in); the monorail being down (during times we needed to get back to VGF); and a magic band that took "forever" to open our room door (it worked just fine on everything else; just not on our door...ultimately it always did open the door, but it took a LOT of moving it around and "fiddling" to get it to work)...
The BIG thing is how incredibly nice and helpful and wonderful the GF CMs were to us in resolving our various problems...not since my first trip to Disney, when I came home saying "they treat me like nothing I want is too much to request, like I'm the most important person in the world" have I felt so well cared-for/special. They were flat-out, universally wonderful. Disney magic at its most potent!
Now, they're not perfect...one CM (at check-in) was clearly new and didn't know the answers to our questions (primarily about how to cope with getting back to the GF during the hours the monorail was down--the alternatives weren't great and weren't clear, either)...but he was unfailingly nice and quickly "sent for the cavalry" (another CM who did have the knowledge to answer our questions)...
The villa itself was beyond gorgeous and the facilities at the GF are a "cut above" the other resorts...I finally figured out how to do my pre-dawn exercise swims (go to a pool that doesn't have lifeguards during the day) and that worked great, too...
We had a wonderful time, despite encountering glitches and issues...my it makes a huge difference when the staff actually helps/acts like they want to help when one does encounter an issue!
And we had one extra-special, unexpected experience the night the skies opened in a torrential downpour just as we were leaving the VGF to go to the Contemporary for our "treat dinner" at the Caliornia Grill...it's a bit of a trek to the boat dock from the villas and we'd have gotten drenched doing it...not a big deal, but it inspired me to ask "the lobby guy" (Stuart) what our alternatives were for getting over there. At first he said it'd stop raining within an hour as "it always does"--but since we had to be there in an hour, that didn't help. We hadn't yet figured out the non-monorail time bus accommodations (we'd just been walking to the Transportation & Ticket Center, via the Poly) so I asked the best way to get there...he said "hold on just a sec; I'll see if I can work some Disney magic"...he made a call and a car showed up to give us a ride over!!!!! Neither Stuart nor the driver (Laurie) would accept a tip, and both were beyond nice to us...the "glow" that came from that bit of pixie dust was intense...
LOVE LOVE LOVE the VGF...worth every "extra point" ... huge fan...and it very likely has restored my frayed-at-the-edges love for Disney...I still despise the new My Disney Experience process...I acknowledge some of the plus'es of magic bands (when they work), but still dislike them (given the number computer-related problems I've encountered in the last two trips w/magic bands, there's NO way I'll put a credit card on one, ever!, and since they frequently fail to open a door, I have to get and carry a room key as well as a credit card...so the "convenience" of having your payment mechanism and access keys on your wrist is pretty much eliminated)...
Anyway...just thought I'd give a shout-out to the VGF and its WONDERFUL CMs...it was a fantastic "short week"!!!
Just returned from a five-night/six-day stay in a std view VGF villa...it was THE best Disney trip since I purchased DVC in 2006--maybe since my first "real" trip to Disney back in the 90's...
It was not without problems--including a UT park hopper ticket that simply would not link into Disney's My Disney Experience (this despite two phone calls, each taking well over an hour, prior to me leaving home--after each of which Disney told me the problem was fixed, only it wasn't--the problem still existed when we checked in); the monorail being down (during times we needed to get back to VGF); and a magic band that took "forever" to open our room door (it worked just fine on everything else; just not on our door...ultimately it always did open the door, but it took a LOT of moving it around and "fiddling" to get it to work)...
The BIG thing is how incredibly nice and helpful and wonderful the GF CMs were to us in resolving our various problems...not since my first trip to Disney, when I came home saying "they treat me like nothing I want is too much to request, like I'm the most important person in the world" have I felt so well cared-for/special. They were flat-out, universally wonderful. Disney magic at its most potent!
Now, they're not perfect...one CM (at check-in) was clearly new and didn't know the answers to our questions (primarily about how to cope with getting back to the GF during the hours the monorail was down--the alternatives weren't great and weren't clear, either)...but he was unfailingly nice and quickly "sent for the cavalry" (another CM who did have the knowledge to answer our questions)...
The villa itself was beyond gorgeous and the facilities at the GF are a "cut above" the other resorts...I finally figured out how to do my pre-dawn exercise swims (go to a pool that doesn't have lifeguards during the day) and that worked great, too...
We had a wonderful time, despite encountering glitches and issues...my it makes a huge difference when the staff actually helps/acts like they want to help when one does encounter an issue!
And we had one extra-special, unexpected experience the night the skies opened in a torrential downpour just as we were leaving the VGF to go to the Contemporary for our "treat dinner" at the Caliornia Grill...it's a bit of a trek to the boat dock from the villas and we'd have gotten drenched doing it...not a big deal, but it inspired me to ask "the lobby guy" (Stuart) what our alternatives were for getting over there. At first he said it'd stop raining within an hour as "it always does"--but since we had to be there in an hour, that didn't help. We hadn't yet figured out the non-monorail time bus accommodations (we'd just been walking to the Transportation & Ticket Center, via the Poly) so I asked the best way to get there...he said "hold on just a sec; I'll see if I can work some Disney magic"...he made a call and a car showed up to give us a ride over!!!!! Neither Stuart nor the driver (Laurie) would accept a tip, and both were beyond nice to us...the "glow" that came from that bit of pixie dust was intense...
LOVE LOVE LOVE the VGF...worth every "extra point" ... huge fan...and it very likely has restored my frayed-at-the-edges love for Disney...I still despise the new My Disney Experience process...I acknowledge some of the plus'es of magic bands (when they work), but still dislike them (given the number computer-related problems I've encountered in the last two trips w/magic bands, there's NO way I'll put a credit card on one, ever!, and since they frequently fail to open a door, I have to get and carry a room key as well as a credit card...so the "convenience" of having your payment mechanism and access keys on your wrist is pretty much eliminated)...
Anyway...just thought I'd give a shout-out to the VGF and its WONDERFUL CMs...it was a fantastic "short week"!!!
Just curious though, why you would never put a credit card on one? I have found THAT is one of the few things that works with the Magic Bands! 
