disney grand california sale start 1-25-09 for founding members

[toocherie]

I don't think that you can change your use year for an add on. I have a March UY and would like to get a different month forR gcv. I m only buying 100 POINTS.

You most certainly (well, certainly as long as they let you borrow which you seem to have covered) would be able to book with an Aug UY. Once you purchase a contract you already have the points for the next 50 years. The only thing that then matters is the date that you wish to make your reservation. All UY's would be able to borrow from 2010 and make a ressie for Dec. 2009. The only problem would be with a Nov 09 ressie and a Dec UY that wished to borrow from 2010 - that could not be done since they would still technically be in their '08 UY.
If you really want 09 points and an Aug UY works otherwise in planning then you might want to reconsider keeping the Feb.

I'm guessing they will require a purchase of 160 pts if you wish to change UY's.

Yes--it's my understanding that to have a different UY you have to have at least a master contract of 160 points for that UY.

It's hard to explain typing it out.

No I will NOT get 2009 points for my Feb UY I will get 2010 points, but once when the booking opens I can borrow my 2010 Feb UY points to book since it's past my UY.

Lets say I had a AUG UY and getting 2009 points and booking opens in March You will not be able to use your 2009 points as you have to wait for your UY Month to come up before you can book. So I wouldn't be able to book until AUG and if I want to go around the Holidays this year all the rooms may be taken by then since bookings may open in March. And we all know that the resort will be full after it opens in NOV/DEC months.

Did that make better sense? This is the way my guide explained it to me

So for me and wanting to go around the Holidays this year it's best to keep my FEB UY in order to book by March and borrow my 2010 points.

It makes no sense to me that someone who gets '09 points wouldn't be able to book, but someone can "borrow" points from a year and book ahead of them?

Just to state again b/c I really don't want you to learn later that you could have switched and gotten another year of points - what you are stateing for booking is incorrect. Now if I can figure out better how to explain for you.......

August UY points 2009 are valid for bookings from Aug 1 2009 to July 31st 2010. That means they can be used for a reservation anytime between those dates.

Now - the 11 month booking window only means that you can book up to a maxiumum of 11 months ahead of your stay. GCV at opening will be an aberation b/c it will also be for dates less than 11 months but it includes both Nov and Dec of 2009. Since the August UY points will be valid then you may book with them.

Depositing is a hard thing to understand and the best I can explain is that you already have your points for the next 50 years - DVC does not deposit anything. So all you have to worry about is your booking window and if you have any available points left to use. There is also no correlation between your UY and when you can call to book - only the above criteria affects booking.

This is my understanding too. People who have "pre-November" UYs should be able to book because they will have points available from their 2009 UY. People with "post-November" UYs should be able to book because they will have points from 2010 that they can borrow. So I believe (Kathy is this right?) that everyone buying should be able to book for November-December 2009, depending on availability of course!

 

[DebbieB]

According to my guide, the first UY for VGC will be JUNE. They will then add on as the year progresses with April not getting points until April 2010. But I would think that you would be able to borrow from 2010 (which won't help disnfile if he/she was needing points from both 2009 and 2010).

I have an April use year so I would not get points until my 2010 use year. I would hope that would mean that I would not have to pay dues until 4/2010. Not that it makes a big difference on 100 points. I'm bummed about no 2009 points.

 

[WED]

Hi Guys

Sorry if this has been posted before (may be someone can direct me to the correct page) but i was wondering the price per point of the Grand Californian? I am in Sydney Australia and I purchased points at DL however i have not received my letter as yet (my letters tend to arrived 1 month later!)

Anyway any info on the price per point would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ToodlesRN]

What I was trying to say is that we as members have to wait for our YU for our points to be activated/deposited into our account every year. So my guide was saying that if someone has a Aug UY he/she would have to wait for there UY to have those 200 points activated/deposited into there account. So if bookings start in March 2009 and that person does not have there 200 points deposited until Aug 2009 they would not be able to book in March as they don't have those points yet for the GCV's

Maybe she explained it wrong to me, but all I can say is that I am happy with the decision I made to keep all my contracts in the same UY that way I don't get confused even more than I already am! I know that I will not be the only person who doesn't get 2009 points, those who have later UY lucked out in getting the 2009 points. Maybe I will luck out with the Hawaii resort getting points!

 

[toocherie]

Hi Guys

Sorry if this has been posted before (may be someone can direct me to the correct page) but i was wondering the price per point of the Grand Californian? I am in Sydney Australia and I purchased points at DL however i have not received my letter as yet (my letters tend to arrived 1 month later!)

Anyway any info on the price per point would be appreciated.

Thanks

100 point minimum add-on at $112 per point with a $5 per point discount, matching developer points and if you buy 220 or more points and physically go to Disneyland to buy them you get two annual passes for one year. (I know the latter is unlikely for you to do!)

Question: why don't they just say the amount per point is $107?

 

[wdw4life]

What I was trying to say is that we as members have to wait for our YU for our points to be activated/deposited into our account every year. So my guide was saying that if someone has a Aug UY he/she would have to wait for there UY to have those 200 points activated/deposited into there account. So if bookings start in March 2009 and that person does not have there 200 points deposited until Aug 2009 they would not be able to book in March as they don't have those points yet for the GCV's

Maybe she explained it wrong to me, but all I can say is that I am happy with the decision I made to keep all my contracts in the same UY that way I don't get confused even more than I already am! I know that I will not be the only person who doesn't get 2009 points, those who have later UY lucked out in getting the 2009 points. Maybe I will luck out with the Hawaii resort getting points!

That is incorrect as far as the booking goes. It doesn't matter if you have your points at the time you are booking. You only have to have the points available at the time of your stay.

 

[WED]

100 point minimum add-on at $112 per point with a $5 per point discount, matching developer points and if you buy 220 or more points and physically go to Disneyland to buy them you get two annual passes for one year. (I know the latter is unlikely for you to do!)

Question: why don't they just say the amount per point is $107?

Hello

Thank you so much for that info, yes i agree why not just say $107 pp!

Funny enough the trip from Sydney to California is not too bad.......it is when i have to change planes after 14 hours and sit for another 5 hours or so to Orlando.........buy hey it is worth it! - Oh i actually need to physically fly to California to purchase the points as we can't purchase the points directly from Disney unless we are on US soil. However we can purchase resale DVC points anytime of year, we don't need to be on US soil, which can make it easier and more economical! I just have never purchased resale points before and I am a bit hesitant.

Again thanks for the info

 

[DebbieB]

100 point minimum add-on at $112 per point with a $5 per point discount, matching developer points and if you buy 220 or more points and physically go to Disneyland to buy them you get two annual passes for one year. (I know the latter is unlikely for you to do!)

Question: why don't they just say the amount per point is $107?

I think by wording it that way the $5 per point can be part of your down payment if you finance. Also, they are keeping the $112 across the board for all resorts as the base price.

 

[toocherie]

I think by wording it that way the $5 per point can be part of your down payment if you finance.

you must be right--thanks.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

This is my understanding too. People who have "pre-November" UYs should be able to book because they will have points available from their 2009 UY. People with "post-November" UYs should be able to book because they will have points from 2010 that they can borrow. So I believe (Kathy is this right?) that everyone buying should be able to book for November-December 2009, depending on availability of course!

That is correct! If they do open bookings in March 1st then everyone who purchases would be able to book a stay for anytime between Nov 09-Feb 1st 2010 immediately - depending on availability and assuming what has been posted about them giving out points is correct.

What I was trying to say is that we as members have to wait for our YU for our points to be activated/deposited into our account every year. So my guide was saying that if someone has a Aug UY he/she would have to wait for there UY to have those 200 points activated/deposited into there account. So if bookings start in March 2009 and that person does not have there 200 points deposited until Aug 2009 they would not be able to book in March as they don't have those points yet for the GCV's

Maybe she explained it wrong to me, but all I can say is that I am happy with the decision I made to keep all my contracts in the same UY that way I don't get confused even more than I already am! I know that I will not be the only person who doesn't get 2009 points, those who have later UY lucked out in getting the 2009 points. Maybe I will luck out with the Hawaii resort getting points!

I actually have understood what you've been saying - unfortunately your guide explained it to you incorrectly.

Even if you're not changing I hope you now understand how the booking works - otherwise in the future you (and other's) may end up waiting way past the first date your able to book and could get shut out by members taking full advantage of the booking rules. And this could be extremely important at GCV with the very limited number of rooms.

 

[SanDeeKath]

This is really sounding complicated but the bottom line is you should KEEP your use year no matter what. Everyone buying now is doing an add on, right? Sooooo, keep your UY. You do NOT want 2 master contracts because you would have to transfer back and forth and you are only allowed 1 transfer per year. It is such a pain to have 2 master contracts going. And you can't "negotiate" your UY as someone else suggested. Your previous purchase UY is yours to keep (unless you sell your AKV or SSR).

My understanding is that when you get a different UY points, you are creating a separate master contract and must purchase 160 points. The only way I would do that is if 1) I hate my use year (personal decision based on travel habits) or 2) I am definitely going to sell my old UY contracts so I do not care if I have 2 master contracts temporarily.

EVERYONE who buys will be able to go to GCV in November/December. You will either have the points already in the account for 2009 (my Sept UY means I will have my points deposited Sept 1st) OR you will be able to borrow from 2010 and travel in November of 09. Booking starts around March and in either scenario as an owner you will be able to make ressies in March for November/December 2009 travel.

On a side note, we bought our points this morning and the points and contracts already hit our account tonight!!! I love Disney!

Katherine

 

[ACDSNY]

I agree with SanDeeKath having two UY is more complicated. We have Feb & Aug UYs and plan on adding GC to our Aug UY once I make up my mind how many points. We decided to changed from Feb to Aug when DVC went to the new banking rules so now I'm down to 100 SSR points in Feb.

To all that have already purchased Congrats! I'll be your new neighbor soon.

 

[ToodlesRN]

This is really sounding complicated but the bottom line is you should KEEP your use year no matter what. Everyone buying now is doing an add on, right? Sooooo, keep your UY. You do NOT want 2 master contracts because you would have to transfer back and forth and you are only allowed 1 transfer per year. It is such a pain to have 2 master contracts going. And you can't "negotiate" your UY as someone else suggested. Your previous purchase UY is yours to keep (unless you sell your AKV or SSR).

My understanding is that when you get a different UY points, you are creating a separate master contract and must purchase 160 points. The only way I would do that is if 1) I hate my use year (personal decision based on travel habits) or 2) I am definitely going to sell my old UY contracts so I do not care if I have 2 master contracts temporarily.

EVERYONE who buys will be able to go to GCV in November/December. You will either have the points already in the account for 2009 (my Sept UY means I will have my points deposited Sept 1st) OR you will be able to borrow from 2010 and travel in November of 09. Booking starts around March and in either scenario as an owner you will be able to make ressies in March for November/December 2009 travel.

On a side note, we bought our points this morning and the points and contracts already hit our account tonight!!! I love Disney!

Katherine

This makes more sense, I've worked 5 12 hours shifts in a row and my brain is fried from work and thinking too hard with this add on Thanks for clarifying this up! I need to go check my account and see if it shows my DP yet

 

[rodserry]

As a bit of an aside, can someone point out to me info on the Grand CA HOTEL concierge rooms? How are they different? We are thinking of going to GCH with our freebie points and I can't seem to be able to get much info searching the boards (except one lady's scathing review of the concierge food area having bad chocolate strawberries ) Thanks, Katherine

 

[kerickson]

No GCV won't be open by October but we would use our points to stay at GCH instead.

ToodlesRN
Just so you are clear, you won't be able to use your VGC points to stay anywhere (including outside of DVC, meaning DLR hotels) until after VGC is open in Nov/Dec 09. This is because technically the points aren't available yet to trade. You can only book a stay for after the opening date. So unless you plan to use points from a different resort (BLT, SSR, AKV) you won't be able to book a stay in Oct (VGC won't be open yet and the Developer Points expire Oct 3).

Also, I believe SanDeeKath is correct in that in March, all new VGC members should be able to book a reservation for after the opening date, as long as they have VGC points they can use or borrow. If it sounds like your guide is telling you different, we should get some specific scenarios together and get on the phone again to be sure we understand it correctly. I'm planning on purchasing tomorrow afternoon so I'll clarify with my guide as well - I have an Aug UY.

 

[AuntieM03]

Did they speculate when in March the bookings would start? I'm wondering if the founding members will be able to book before the general public can buy.

 

[ToodlesRN]

ToodlesRN
Just so you are clear, you won't be able to use your VGC points to stay anywhere (including outside of DVC, meaning DLR hotels) until after VGC is open in Nov/Dec 09. This is because technically the points aren't available yet to trade. You can only book a stay for after the opening date. So unless you plan to use points from a different resort (BLT, SSR, AKV) you won't be able to book a stay in Oct (VGC won't be open yet and the Developer Points expire Oct 3).

Yep knew that, we plan on using our AKV points to stay at the GCH in mid October and using our DP for WDW or a quick trip to DL before they expire.

 

[kerickson]

That is incorrect as far as the booking goes. It doesn't matter if you have your points at the time you are booking. You only have to have the points available at the time of your stay.

wdw4life - you worded it perfectly. While I was trying to get the same thought out about 6 people posted so I didn't see your post. This way of phrasing it makes good sense.

As a bit of an aside, can someone point out to me info on the Grand CA HOTEL concierge rooms? How are they different? We are thinking of going to GCH with our freebie points and I can't seem to be able to get much info searching the boards (except one lady's scathing review of the concierge food area having bad chocolate strawberries ) Thanks, Katherine

I'm staying GCH Concierge this May 3-8. We unexpectedly had to cancel a WDW trip and I had to use up my points by July so I decided to go Concierge. Figure it will be the last time we'd have the opportunity (bummed they don't have Concierge as an option for VGC because it would have brought points down for other units- but guess there are just too few units to have different categories). I think the perks for us will be: bottles of waters we can take into the park, breakfast and snacks for lunch and dinner. We have young kids who don't eat much, so I'm hoping we'll only have to pay for lunch and dinner a few of the days we are there and munch on Concierge food in between. And, the ability to grab some breakfast foods and eat while we are getting ready in the morning will be a huge benefit, I hate wasting time in the mornings while the lines in the parks are growning! They also have storytelling for the kids which will be a nice activity before we turn in for the night.
I'm not setting my expectations too high, but don't think I'll be disappointed given we aren't paying anything out of pocket for the perk.

 

[toocherie]

Did they speculate when in March the bookings would start? I'm wondering if the founding members will be able to book before the general public can buy.

Interesting! I hadn't thought of that! If regular members can't even buy until March 25 and booking starts March 1 somebody said? . . . . .

 

[kerickson]

Interesting! I hadn't thought of that! If regular members can't even buy until March 25 and booking starts March 1 somebody said? . . . . .

That would be quite a Founding Member perk! It wouldn't be a bad idea, otherwise there's going to be thousands of members calling to get 48 units between Dec and Feb!