For over a decade Disney has used the same basic room layout for DVC resorts ranging from the BoardWalk to the Beach Club to Saratoga Springs. That is, until 2007 saw us introduced to larger units at the Animal Kingdom Villas' Kidani Village. So what will Disney use at the Grand Californian Hotel?
According to our sources, Disney is going back to the BWV / VWL / BCV / SSR style layout for the rooms at the Grand Californian. While the larger Kidani Village rooms have been very well-received by members, lack of space on Disneyland property is forcing DVC to go back to the smaller design.
The units at AKV's Kidani Village feature an extra bathroom in the One Bedroom and larger accommodations, more space in the living area and a redesigned master bathroom. If our information is correct the Grand Californian's DVC villas will revert to the old layout with one bathroom in Studio & One Bedroom Villas and two bathrooms in Two Bedroom Villas.
There is no word on the proposed occupancy limit for the California-based villas. While DVC permits members to put 5 guests in a One Bedroom Villa and 9 in a Two Bedroom Villa, most resorts will only comfortably sleep 4 / 8 guests in their units. The Animal Kingdom Villas became the first resort to officially sleep 5 / 9 guests with the addition of a convertible sleeper chair in the living room. Whether DVC could accommodate the convertible chairs into the smaller floorplan remains to be seen.
Also unknown is which floorplan Disney will use at the forthcoming Hawaii-based resort. While Disney did pay a substantial price for the land on Oahu, the property is unlikely to be quite as landlocked as the Grand California currently is within the Disneyland Resort complex.
