The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners & Lovers Group - 2.0

[DonnaL]

We just got home very early Saturday morning (1/19) from our first Disneyland/VGC trip! It was awesome.....flights were all on time ...a feat which IMO is great....since we were leaving from Newark/connecting in Phoenix to Orange County and coming home leaving Orange County/connecting in Phoenix to Philadelphia! We had Room #3508 at VGC and it was great...clean, didn't appear to be a lot of wear and tear and the view was awesome! I do agree with above poster about the bath sinks being somewhat high.....I am a 4'11" adult female and I was struggling with them....can't imagine what a little one would do. We also had robes hanging in the master closet. We arrived Sat evening 1/12 and it was COLD and continued to be cold until Tuesday evening 1/15....Wednesday and Thursday were much better..temps in low 70's, but, as soon as the sun started to fade......maybe 3:30/4:00 it started to get chilly and we definitely needed a heavier jacket or sweatshirt to combat the wind. However, the upside of the cold weather was very minimal crowds.....early in the week we practically walked on everything.....most we waited was 10 minutes......and since it was sunny we really didn't mind it.....we're from PA and had our fleece with us...so we were fine with the low 50 daytime temps. We used Von's for groceries.....another good experience. We only ventured offsite one day....Tuesday we took a Grey Line tour to Universal Hollywood....left GC at 8:25 a.m. and returned about 12 hours later. That was a fun day also. On this trip we had my husband, myself, our youngest son (23) and our grandson (11). My husband and I have already decided we will be returning in about 18 to 24 months.....after he retires and we can spend a little more time on the West Coast doing some other things either before or after our stay at VGC.

[Nonsuch]

Originally Posted by dmwang9

...I'm guessing that most rooms are going to to be relatively quiet, but I'm wondering if there are any rooms that I should avoid because they're going to be on the louder side in the evenings.

There has been one report (in this thread) of noise from the underground valet parking disturbing a ground floor villa.

The pool and Redwood Creek sides will have less noise that the Paradise Pier (WOC) side, but this would only matter if you are in bed before the park closes. At least you will not experience the late night jackhammers some guests experienced during the Little Mermaid construction

[wbl2745]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch

There has been one report (in this thread) of noise from the underground valet parking disturbing a ground floor villa.

The pool and Redwood Creek sides will have less noise that the Paradise Pier (WOC) side, but this would only matter if you are in bed before the park closes. At least you will not experience the late night jackhammers some guests experienced during the Little Mermaid construction

I've also heard that the room right next to the viewing balcony on the 6th floor gets noise from the door slamming.

Each time we've been to the VGC we've had a room on the Redwood Creek side. I really like those rooms because you get a view of the forest and depending how high you are, of Grizzly Peak. The only problem with rooms facing Redwood Creek is that they seem to leave the bird calls on all night. If you open your door that can be annoying. However, I'd say that the rooms on that side of the building have been very quiet.

[Nonsuch]

Originally Posted by cpster

I have 5 nights reserved in July that I will be shortening to 3 nights. Does checking in early on a Sunday increase chances if getting a PP view studio?

Half the hotel rooms turn-over on Sunday, which likely applies equally to the villas. More turn-over should increase the chance your request can be granted. Several posts on this thread report the earliest request is given priority, so making a request months is advance might be more important than checking in early in the morning.

I have had my villa request NOT granted only once, the reservation was only 2 months in advance and I checked in late

[Anal Annie]

Super excited that we got a studio for 4 nights this August....although I usually DO make some sort of a room request on our reservations I felt a little funny asking for a specific room number so I simply asked for a unit with a view of WOC. Do you think that will be enough of a request to get a good room or was it a mistake to leave it vague and to not ask for a specific room number? I was just happy that we snagged a room at all so I didn't want to sound too greedy.

[Nonsuch]

Originally Posted by Anal Annie

...Do you think that will be enough of a request to get a good room or was it a mistake to leave it vague and to not ask for a specific room number?

There is no reason to be vague
Only 4 studios have a WOC view:

6504, 5504, 4504, 3504

[BlazerFan]

Anyone here now who could use our extra bottled water and unopened grocery items? We checkout tomorrow. Send me a PM if you are interested.

[Breyean]

Originally Posted by wbl2745

I've also heard that the room right next to the viewing balcony on the 6th floor gets noise from the door slamming.

Each time we've been to the VGC we've had a room on the Redwood Creek side. I really like those rooms because you get a view of the forest and depending how high you are, of Grizzly Peak. The only problem with rooms facing Redwood Creek is that they seem to leave the bird calls on all night. If you open your door that can be annoying. However, I'd say that the rooms on that side of the building have been very quiet.

I do not understand why that door has to slam so loudly. I was sure it was broken the first time we used it, but it's always the same trip after trip.

We had that view on our last trip at Christmas and it was very nice.

[PoohsFan1]

I just called MS and put in my room number request for our June stay. We will be in a studio therefore I requested room number 5504. I am crossing my fingers that we get it, I would love to have a WOC view for our first ever trip to DLR . However, I know it is just a request, but I am still excited .

[Anal Annie]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch

There is no reason to be vague
Only 4 studios have a WOC view:

6504, 5504, 4504, 3504

Oh. Well, we would still be happy to get any one of them tho even tho I'm sure the higher the floor the better. Since no other DVC resort takes specific room number requests (that I'm aware of) it just seemed like it was a lot to ask. Hopefully we'll get one of the 4. It's looking like we'll probably be booking a flight that arrives super early (like between 8:30 and 9:00 AM) so hopefully as a Saturday arrival we'll get there early enough to slip that request in again at the check-in desk. I realize no rooms will be open that early. That's OK. This flight is on Jet Blue and is their only direct flight of the day. It will likely be our most comfortable flight of the entire trip even tho it leaves before the sun comes up.

[cpster]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch

Half the hotel rooms turn-over on Sunday, which likely applies equally to the villas. More turn-over should increase the chance your request can be granted. Several posts on this thread report the earliest request is given priority, so making a request months is advance might be more important than checking in early in the morning.

I have had my villa request NOT granted only once, the reservation was only 2 months in advance and I checked in late

Thanks for the reply!

[Nonsuch]

Originally Posted by Breyean

I do not understand why that door has to slam so loudly. I was sure it was broken the first time we used it, but it's always the same trip after trip.

The exterior door to the viewing patio is on the opposite side of the wall from the bedroom with 2 queen beds.

[paulinthehills]

Just wanted to say hi, as I'm new to these boards. Assuming I can find someone to rent me their points/reservation I'm looking to stay in a villa in September of this year. My girlfriend hasn't been to Disneyland since she was a teenager and I think this is the perfect way to truly introduce her to the "magic". She's never even seen California Adventure or Downtown Disney. I was curious does the studio include a stove or is it just a microwave oven? Also, can you have room serivce in the DVC units just as you would in the rest of the hotel? Thanks much! - Paul

[Nonsuch]

Originally Posted by paulinthehills

...I was curious does the studio include a stove or is it just a microwave oven? Also, can you have room serivce in the DVC units just as you would in the rest of the hotel?

Studios have a microwave only. There is also a toaster and a full size coffee maker. The refrigerator is compact, but larger than the normal hotel units.

Room service is available 24 hours, although the late-night menu is rather limited.

[paulinthehills]

Originally Posted by Nonsuch

Studios have a microwave only. There is also a toaster and a full size coffee maker. The refrigerator is compact, but larger than the normal hotel units.

Room service is available 24 hours, although the late-night menu is rather limited.

Thanks! I appreciate it!