Advice for DVC member and WDW vet please!

[DISNEYFAN3260]

We're DVC (BLT) and frequent visitors to WDW - complete Disneyland newbies. My husband and three "kids" (17, 18, 19) are strongly considering a short trip from Chicago to DL and DCA from July 22-26, 2018. (The dates aren't flexible.)

We hear it is virtually impossible to get a room at GCV at 7 months out. We'd need a 1-bedroom, standard view. Does anyone have experience with this situation during July? Did you get a room easily or have to waitlist? Did you not get a room at all? If you did get one, how far in advance of your trip did you get it?

Our second option is to book a standard room that sleeps 5 at the Disneyland Hotel. We could do that now and a room is available, but I'm worried about the points automatically becoming reservation points (since it's part of the Disney Collection) in the event that anything does change or we get a chance for GCV. I'm just not sure how risky it is to wait for that... We don't want to risk losing reservation points we can't use. What would you do?

Also, I'm learning about tickets and MaxPasses and they seems pretty straightforward. Are there any DVC discounts on multiday tickets? Might there be special ticket offers that we should watch for that might apply for us by next July? I'm assuming our WDW APs won't do us any good for discounts. (LOL!)

THANKS for your opinions, info, and experiences with any of the above - and anything else you think we should consider!

 

[hilarys]

We're DVC (BLT) and frequent visitors to WDW - complete Disneyland newbies. My husband and three "kids" (17, 18, 19) are strongly considering a short trip from Chicago to DL and DCA from July 22-26, 2018. (The dates aren't flexible.)

We hear it is virtually impossible to get a room at GCV at 7 months out. We'd need a 1-bedroom, standard view. Does anyone have experience with this situation during July? Did you get a room easily or have to waitlist? Did you not get a room at all? If you did get one, how far in advance of your trip did you get it?

Our second option is to book a standard room that sleeps 5 at the Disneyland Hotel. We could do that now and a room is available, but I'm worried about the points automatically becoming reservation points (since it's part of the Disney Collection) in the event that anything does change or we get a chance for GCV. I'm just not sure how risky it is to wait for that... We don't want to risk losing reservation points we can't use. What would you do?

Also, I'm learning about tickets and MaxPasses and they seems pretty straightforward. Are there any DVC discounts on multiday tickets? Might there be special ticket offers that we should watch for that might apply for us by next July? I'm assuming our WDW APs won't do us any good for discounts. (LOL!)

THANKS for your opinions, info, and experiences with any of the above - and anything else you think we should consider!

Hi there, congrats on planning your trip. We own a small contract at VGC (wish we had bought more) and so we usually try to book before 7 mos, the times when we have waited to decide on a trip closer to the date of travel it has been full. So, I can't give you explicit suggestions on July (prime time for DL) except to watch it over the next few months and see what happens with availability. Then be ready to go right when the on-line booking opens at exactly your seventh month date. The one bedrooms are easier to get than studios, but there are very few DVC units overall. There is only one view category at VGC so you don't need to worry about standard vs theme park as far as points go. The one bedrooms are great because of the two bathrooms, kitchen and wash/dryer. I have stayed in the five person rooms at the DL hotel and bathroom wise it would be really tight with "kids" the age of yours. One option is you could book a straight out cash reservation for the room you want at DL hotel to give you comfort that you have something and then release it when you get closer. That won't help if you are trying to use points to pay for it though.

Try asking the question on the DVC board too, probably many others who have tried to book at 7 mos in summer.

No DVC discounts on tickets but you do get a discount at some restaurants and shops (however it is not as good as the Annual Pass discount). Definitely plan to get park hopper tickets as the parks are so close together that it is easy to switch back and forth multiple times a day.