Disappointment with Online Booking (Non-Home Resort)

[Bell30012]

Honestly being on site here is not the advantage it is in Florida. I have gone several times and I never even bothered to try to stay at a Disney hotel. There are great hotels within walking distance.

I'm sure you are right but there was that little box to check off, as having stayed there. I'll leave it wait listed for a while but plan on booking something else <gasp> off property.

 

[tjkraz]

I never really see a "Disney bubble" at this resort.

1. You can SEE the rest of the world from your hotel and park rides
2. There are LOADS and LOADS of locals and it's a much more like a "day" trip park then Orlando. Much different feeling of 'real world'

I said I had never stayed at Disney hotel, but then I remembered I did. And I never have bothered to stay again so I guess I wasn't too impressed.

Personally I still think the Grand Californian is a worthy destination. Not only is it my favorite Disney resort but its proximity to the two theme parks and Downtown Disney cannot be beat.

Paradise Pier and DLH are both a little more remote and would be a tougher sell, IMO. No real geographic advantage over many (cheaper) locals.

A lot of it depends on how active you want to be during your stay. We often find ourselves running to DTD or the parks 3-4 times per day. Could be a quick walk to Jamba Juice or Earl of Sandwich in DTD, or a trip into DCA just to ride Grizzly River Run.

An off-site hotel may only add 5-10 minutes travel time but if you're doing it 6-8 times per day, it adds up.

 

[Shelly S]

We are planning to take our first Disneyland vacation. Since it is not my home resort, Monday morning at 8:00 AM promptly, I log into DVC to book a stay for October 16 - October 21. No availability on the 16th. Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM promptly, I log into DVC to book a stay for October 17 - October 22. No availability on the 17th.

This morning, at 7:45 AM, I check availability for October 18 - October 23. All days available, nothing gray. At 8:00 AM, I click enter and guess what… No availability on the October 18. GRRRRRRR. I wait listed October 18 - October 23. If it comes through in the next month or two we go to Disneyland if it doesn't, the left coast wasn't meant to be.

/end rant

Getting in at VGC takes a major effort if you didn't get your days at 7 months, but it is possible. We will be staying in a studio next month. It will be our 4th trip to VGC all booked at 7 months or less. I would, and have pieced the reservation together day by day. Doing a wait list for 5 or six nights will most likely not come through. People tend to do short stays at VGC and there are few rooms so someone would have to cancel the exact days you need, meanwhile others who have a shorter wait list will get it filled. Some ways to piece the reservation together are today, Do 2 separate one day waitlists (you can only have 2 waitlists at once), one for 18th and one for 19th. It is much easier to get a one day waitlist to come through. Tomorrow and the next few days after try again at 8 am to book the 20th and beyond. Also you really need to check the website at least 3 times a day and book whatever day may pop up as available. Single days become available all the time and disappear just as fast, grab one when you can. When one of your single day wait lists come through, wait list another day you are missing until you get all the days you need, then member services can link them. I would also book one of the hotels across the street as backup, some are even closer walking to disneyland than VGC. It's better to go and stay across the street, than not go at all. In the end if you do get all your days VGC is beautiful, my favorite, and worth the effort. Good luck!!!!!!

 

[tasha99]

I think staying at VGC is worth it. To me it's not just the added time walking from a hotel nearby--I think Harbor Blvd is a little seedy. Not horrible, but I've been asked for change and there are people camping/sleeping next to the sidewalk (I used to stay at Hojos a lot, and the farther you get from the Disney entrance, the more uncomfortable it becomes). On late night walks, this is less than ideal.

From VGC you do not see any big city stuff-- the view of CA or the pool would never lead you to believe you're in a city rather than a theme park. To get to the parks, you either enter through the hotel or walk through downtown disney. I do think that the other Disney hotels would be a harder sell.

 

[bellablue2]

i'm not a fan of walking, but i expect that would be necessary to have any chance booking vgc at the seven month window virtually any time of the year.

 

[DVCFan1994]

I am looking to book VGC 11/11-11/16 (Wed-Mon) - the Avengers race weekend. I am new to the idea of walking, as I've never been to DL as a DVC member, and make reservations at 11 months at WDW and change resorts at 7 only if its available (OKW and BWV home resorts).

I am looking for a one bedroom. I understand it's going to be tough, but I am not sure exactly how tough and therefore what my best strategy would be for securing what I want. Should I start walking a week before the first day I want? Or a week before my hoped for checkout date - and then just cancel the days I don't want when I get to the 7 month day of my actual check-in?

 

[Disneyhappy]

Wow - I didn't realize how lucky we were to get a studio at VGC for our upcoming trip Saturday. We are in spring break season. I think i booked it one or two days after the 7 month window opened. I wish the OP luck with her wait list.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think Harbor Blvd is a little seedy. Not horrible, but I've been asked for change and there are people camping/sleeping next to the sidewalk (I used to stay at Hojos a lot, and the farther you get from the Disney entrance, the more uncomfortable it becomes).

The sidewalks on the hotel side from HoJo are full of driveways. I cannot imagine someone sleeping on that side. On the other side, the park side, you're still in total view of cars, there are other driveways. The only time I ever noticed someone sleeping on a bus bench it was early early in the morning, and it was the bench right in front of the Disney entrance. FWIW.

I personally find nothing seedy about Harbor at all. It's all full of Disney-goers for the most part.

 

[tasha99]

The sidewalks on the hotel side from HoJo are full of driveways. I cannot imagine someone sleeping on that side. On the other side, the park side, you're still in total view of cars, there are other driveways. The only time I ever noticed someone sleeping on a bus bench it was early early in the morning, and it was the bench right in front of the Disney entrance. FWIW.

I personally find nothing seedy about Harbor at all. It's all full of Disney-goers for the most part.

I said it wasn't horrible, but there were homeless people sleeping on the side that the hotels are on when I was there in September. I didn't feel unsafe, especially since I travel with teens/young adults. It's a major street in a biggish city, so it is what it is. I think the Disney hotels, especially Grand Californian, have the advantage there. After them, I would stay in one of the hotels directly across from the Disney entrance. Ymmv

 

[TagsMissy]

I've tried 3 times now to get a villa at GCV with 0 luck. It is what it is with that resort. With so few villas it's nearly impossible I've found. We just bit the bullet, and it hurt, but we booked 6 nights in a deluxe view at DLH as that was all we could get.... it hurt to use that many points but it was what it was, we were there for a wedding and in the wedding party so we wanted to be onsite since the wedding was on property at the DLH.

 

[DebbieB]

I'm 4 for 4 at VGC at 7 months.
2011 - Studio in May
2012 - Studio in September
2013 - 1 bedroom in August
2015 - 1 bedroom in August

I think it's a beautiful hotel and 2 of 3 times we got a great park view.

 

[AZMermaid]

I agree that the chance of getting a waitlist for all 5 days is slim to none. Booking one day at a time as they are available is the best way to go and that will give you a fighting chance of booking VGC. I have had a hard time with studios, but was able to get them using this strategy. So far... we have always been able to get 1BR at 7 months.

10/16 is also at the end of Fall Break in AZ and many Utah schools are off 10/15-10/16 for a teacher's convention. Those two things make this a very crowded time for DLR and could impacting already tough availability. Good luck!

 

[asunutgirl]

I was trying to book the same time - 2 nights for our anniversary. I ended up just using my points to book a regular hotel room. It is a few more points but at least I'm there. This is why they need another DVC property on this coast.

 

[DougEMG]

Because there are 500+ people online at exactly 8:00 trying to book one of the 8 rooms still available for that date. Synchronize your clock with http://nist.time.gov and run some trial bookings in the days leading up to see if Disney's clock is a few seconds fast or slow, and then have the website up, search filled out, and clock visible so you can click the button the millisecond availability opens up.

That's pretty much what I had to do to get out PVB reservation. Only difference was I had to be up before 5am since we're on the west coast.

 

[apple9117]

bummer sorry to hear!

 

[Bell30012]

I'm 4 for 4 at VGC at 7 months.
2011 - Studio in May
2012 - Studio in September
2013 - 1 bedroom in August
2015 - 1 bedroom in August

I think it's a beautiful hotel and 2 of 3 times we got a great park view.

Well, I'm 0 for 1 at this time. I checked every single day at 8:00 exactly. Their close is exactly 9 seconds ahead of my computers. I'm going to continue checking it every day for a few weeks. I've got a wait list for the 5 nights and I'll wait list 2 nights. If neither comes through, we'll have to think about whether this is the year for a DL vacation or next. Getting WDW resorts is far easier. It does make me wonder why DVC has not seen this demand and increased capacity. They sure are building plenty of additional ones at WDW.

 

[marx]

I totally agree that there is a lot of demand for certain resorts at certain times. However, there is just too many times the ONLY day that is not available is the start of the 7-month window. I'm curious why the Online System shows availability for the first day of the seven-month window right up through 7:59 AM Eastern time and then, poof, its gone at 8:00 AM. A few months ago I was watching availability for VGF and there was about 7-8 days in a row when the Online System showed availability until it rolled over to the new day. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen enough times to make me wonder if there is a glitch in the system.

I've tried to think of booking scenarios that could explain why only one day at the start of the 7-month window would continuously be unavailable. Are there that many members who book only one day at a time? It can't be due to members walking a reservation.

I was looking to book a VGC studio Aug 22-26 2015 at the 7 month window. At nine months out almost all of July and scattered dates in early August were showing as not available (due to VGC owner bookings) in the Resort Availability Tool. However, the dates I wanted as well as 7 days leading into those dates were available. I decided to walk my reservation, and I am so glad I did. On August 15th at exactly 8am I attempted to make a 7 day reservation, but did not get in on time. I tried again on the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, all without success. Finally on the 20th I was able to snag a room. On the 22nd I shortened the reservation to my desired dates. I am quite certain that if I did not walk the reservation, I would not have been able to get the dates I wanted.

 

[AZMermaid]

It does make me wonder why DVC has not seen this demand and increased capacity. They sure are building plenty of additional ones at WDW.

I totally agree! People are saying they want DVC to build in the Carribean or NYC... why not a tower or something in CA! I think the Simba lot would be a great spot for a DVC property. It would have to be a tower to fit, but cmon Disney!

One thing to consider is there is no $95 fee to stay at one of the DLR hotels (and you can stay at Grand Cal even). The points are more... although not too much more for Paradise Pier.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I am a single female who used to stay in the area for business a lot. I would get up and run in the morning. Yes, occasionally I would see a homeless person at a bus stop, but.... that's not the end of the world (and perhaps instead of viewing that as "horrid" you could use it take a moment to think how lucky we are to have our big crisis be we can't get into the Disney hotel?) I never felt any concern walking back and forth to the Sheraton Park at any time. (I don't bother with ART, but if you do that you can actually never even see the "homeless" person. Candy Cane Inn also has a dedicated shuttle and it gets great reviews!)

The city has really worked on sprucing the area up and it shows. Another option is a Holiday Inn that's kind of behind the parking garage. I NEVER saw a homeless person there, but it's a little farther to walk IMHO. Nice hotel though.

 

[tasha99]

I am a single female who used to stay in the area for business a lot. I would get up and run in the morning. Yes, occasionally I would see a homeless person at a bus stop, but.... that's not the end of the world (and perhaps instead of viewing that as "horrid" you could use it take a moment to think how lucky we are to have our big crisis be we can't get into the Disney hotel?) I never felt any concern walking back and forth to the Sheraton Park at any time. (I don't bother with ART, but if you do that you can actually never even see the "homeless" person. Candy Cane Inn also has a dedicated shuttle and it gets great reviews!)

The city has really worked on sprucing the area up and it shows. Another option is a Holiday Inn that's kind of behind the parking garage. I NEVER saw a homeless person there, but it's a little farther to walk IMHO. Nice hotel though.

You are making a lot of incorrect assumptions here. I never said that it was horrid. I said wasn't horribly seedy and that I didn't feel unsafe. It is less than ideal on a late night walk (I too am a single female). Sorry, but it is. Just because I am pointing that out, doesn't mean I don't have sympathy for the homeless in America or lack gratitude for where I am in my life right now. It doesn't even mean I wouldn't stay out there again. This is a board where we exchange info on all things Disney and what our experience was like staying at different resorts and eating different meals. It's trivial stuff, yet it's kind of fun and we are all here doing it.

I was recounting my experience at Disneyland and of course ymmv. If you read more into that then there was, I think that's mostly on you. All I was saying was that if the Disney bubble matters to people, you're not going to find it if you go very far out on Harbor Blvd because you are in a city. You can find it at VGC if that kind of thing matters to you. It kind of does to me because my vacation is a few days out of the year where I get to immerse myself in a fantasy world. Doesn't mean that has to matter to everyone.