Difficulty of Getting a Studio at Grand Cali??

[Lothlórien]

What is the difficulty of getting a studio at the Grand Californian in January or February at the 7-month mark?

I have tried for the Grand Flo and it seems regardless of the time of year it is pretty much impossible. Had an ex-CM "friend" that worked for DVC as a TG tell me that they over-sold for the GF and that is why I cannot get a room. Honestly, I have no knowledge if that is true or not. Just sharing her "reasoning".

I have also had the same experience trying to get the Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club at 7-months out various times of the year.

Anyhow, I would like to visit DLR and stay on points, but it seems that it has become more and more difficult to book at non-home resorts due to the wait of the additional 4 months.

I do realize I can wait-list, but with my job I do not have that flexibility. Either I schedule off, get a room and airfare or I use the vacation time for something else.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Weekends are usually the most difficult at VGC but if you are not looking for a holiday or a race weekend you have a decent chance to book it if online right at 8am at the 7 month mark. IMO VGC is remarkably available at 7 months considering it's small size but there are dates it will sell out before 7 months. Some flexibility in dates will increase the odds. If you don't get it then waitlists can work.

Overselling VGF would be illegal. A regular on the boards tracked their sales too and nothing they found seemed to indicate that, I'm afraid someone is just attempting to stir up trouble. And honestly I've booked VGF at 7 months during that first part of the year and have also just watched dates out of curiousity. Unless trying for a race or holiday weekend it's definitely been possible to book and if you have some flexibility in dates it's easier.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

At VGC there are only 23 studios, and these can also be configured as 2 BR Lock-Offs.
At VGF, there are 47 studios, but these can also be configured as 2 BR Lock-Offs.

Contrast this to Poly with 360 studios, or Saratoga Springs with 432 studios.

Supply is limited, but demand is great.
Even so, you can possibly get into VGF at 7 months if you try the summer months. It is generally easier to get in when the point chart is the highest (not including Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter). Also Lake View will be around after the Standards sell out.

 

[drusba]

Star Wars race weekend, which coincides with MLK weekend, and Presidents week are usually a problem at 7 months out. During the other parts of the two months after the Christmas break in Jan, you have decent chances for a studio but what can often happen is that a night exactly 7 months out disappears quickly once the 7 month window opens at 8 a.m. online, and "quickly" can sometimes mean success depends on your computer being faster than others at 8 a.m. in communicating with Disney's computer.

As to VGF, yes, Disney oversold the studios, but did it legally. VGF had four major problems when it opened: (a) it had only 47 studios (all of which were part of 2BR lock-offs); (b) its price per point was very high (Disney cleverly made it appear like it was a bargain by pricing it below BLT, but it accomplished that facade by raising the price of BLT by 40% over a two year period after BLT had mostly sold out); (c) the points per night needed were very high, which effectively made it even more expensive than the dollar price; (d) the minimum purchase for new purchasers was only 100 points (and apparently you could even go as low as 50).

The combination of those factors, and the fact that most purchasers are not overly wealthy, meant that the proportion of purchasers who would purchase only enough points to get studios would be much higher at VGF than any prior WDW resort. However, under its point structure, Disney got to sell all points, including those applicable to 2BRs and GV's, to purchasers who were mainly purchasing only enough points to get studios. Net result, most owners need to reserve studios but studios are only 25% of the rooms in the resort.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Star Wars race weekend, which coincides with MLK weekend, and Presidents week are usually a problem at 7 months out. During the other parts of the two months after the Christmas break in Jan, you have decent chances for a studio but what can often happen is that a night exactly 7 months out disappears quickly once the 7 month window opens at 8 a.m. online, and "quickly" can sometimes mean success depends on your computer being faster than others at 8 a.m. in communicating with Disney's computer.

As to VGF, yes, Disney oversold the studios, but did it legally. VGF had four major problems when it opened: (a) it had only 47 studios (all of which were part of 2BR lock-offs); (b) its price per point was very high (Disney cleverly made it appear like it was a bargain by pricing it below BLT, but it accomplished that facade by raising the price of BLT by 40% over a two year period after BLT had mostly sold out); (c) the points per night needed were very high, which effectively made it even more expensive than the dollar price; (d) the minimum purchase for new purchasers was only 100 points (and apparently you could even go as low as 50).

The combination of those factors, and the fact that most purchasers are not overly wealthy, meant that the proportion of purchasers who would purchase only enough points to get studios would be much higher at VGF than any prior WDW resort. However, under its point structure, Disney got to sell all points, including those applicable to 2BRs and GV's, to purchasers who were mainly purchasing only enough points to get studios. Net result, most owners need to reserve studios but studios are only 25% of the rooms in the resort.

Yes, and two other factors contribute.
1) People like me with over 400 points sometimes just need a studio, so we are competing for the few studios with those who only have 50 points. (Also competing for lock-offs)
2) For popular times, up to one third of the studios are Fixed Weeks, so not available to book even at 11 months.

 

[Jump4Joy8390]

I am hoping to book a studio at the Grand Californian for 7 nights, starting on August 20 (Sunday). It's not a race weekend or a holiday, and I'm hoping that a lot of kids are back in school by then. Still, I'm checking availability every day and a few dates past the 7-month mark are sold out already.

Is it best to wait until January 20, and take my chances on getting 7 consecutive nights? Or should I start booking any days I can get, starting on January 14? And keep changing my reservation each day? Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[CarolynFH]

I too have a VGC availability question. I think the answer is probably "Of course not, what are you thinking?!" but I'll ask anyway.

Is there likelihood of VGC studio or 1 BR availability at 7 months for Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in 2018? DD & I are planning a mom & me trip to do the 5K or 10K, and she'd probably do the half as well. What about for the Sunday and several nights after (she would go home to work and DH would join me for a DL visit!)?

 

[DizDaD7]

What is the difficulty of getting a studio at the Grand Californian in January or February at the 7-month mark?

I have tried for the Grand Flo and it seems regardless of the time of year it is pretty much impossible. Had an ex-CM "friend" that worked for DVC as a TG tell me that they over-sold for the GF and that is why I cannot get a room. Honestly, I have no knowledge if that is true or not. Just sharing her "reasoning".

I have also had the same experience trying to get the Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge and Beach Club at 7-months out various times of the year.

Anyhow, I would like to visit DLR and stay on points, but it seems that it has become more and more difficult to book at non-home resorts due to the wait of the additional 4 months.

I do realize I can wait-list, but with my job I do not have that flexibility. Either I schedule off, get a room and airfare or I use the vacation time for something else.

Try for it, and then get what you get & waitlist the rest...What I would do besides that is, book a Good Neighbor Hotel as well, so you're covered. In any case, you can always cancel 1 if need be.

FWIW. We were able to snag 5 nights out of 7 back in 2014 during Presidents week....We got the top floor too, with the best view of DCA...Lots of Then & there....But we also did stay for 2 days at Hotel Menage.( which was very very nice..A lil further away but.)

Good Luck.

 

[clayfolks]

Last May we had a studio at VGC for 4 nights. We booked it at exactly 8am at exactly 7 months. We were able to book the last 3 nights immediately and wait listed the first night. Our waitlist came through within a week or two. I figured that the worst thing that could happen was we would get stuck at a good neighbor hotel for the first night. We could have had a one bedroom but I wasn't feeling it...

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I too have a VGC availability question. I think the answer is probably "Of course not, what are you thinking?!" but I'll ask anyway.

Is there likelihood of VGC studio or 1 BR availability at 7 months for Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in 2018? DD & I are planning a mom & me trip to do the 5K or 10K, and she'd probably do the half as well. What about for the Sunday and several nights after (she would go home to work and DH would join me for a DL visit!)?

Fairly unlikely for the weekend but waitlist the 1BR and check the website periodically if it isn't available when you go to book. I'd guess that the following nights have a decent chance to be booked.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I am hoping to book a studio at the Grand Californian for 7 nights, starting on August 20 (Sunday). It's not a race weekend or a holiday, and I'm hoping that a lot of kids are back in school by then. Still, I'm checking availability every day and a few dates past the 7-month mark are sold out already.

Is it best to wait until January 20, and take my chances on getting 7 consecutive nights? Or should I start booking any days I can get, starting on January 14? And keep changing my reservation each day? Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Walking a reservation at seven months out does not guarantee you will get the nights you need. Owners at that resort can book any of the days you need right out from under you.