DisneyLand and Wait list for Grand CA Resort

[FINNZUP]

After spending 5 days at WDW and 5 nights on the Disney Dream this spring, I did not think I'd be planning another trip to the most magical place on earth.. but i might be. DH has been asked to speak at a conference in CA and guess what... 1 block from Disneyland! We have always used our membership to travel on the East coast and this West Coast opportunity is HUGE!

I tried to book 2 nights at Grand CA Resort and I was told there was no avail. The time we are looking at is Nove 9&10. (It will just be the me and the DH. We are leaving the kids home with Grandma!) Will only need a studio.

I wait listed for a Studio and for a 1 bedroom suite figuring that I could just take whatever came up first, even if it cost a few more points. Then, in further investigation I realized I could stay at the DisneyLand Hotel (on points but converting them to reservation points). Of course it costs MORE points as that hotel is not DVC.

My question is... Does anyone have any experience with being wait listed at Grand CA Resort? I just wonder (realistically) what my chances are of getting in there. Once I convert my points and book Disneyland Hotel, you can't get those points back to use at a DVC resort.... Also... PER DVC I can not stay wait listed at Grand CA Resort once the reservation for the DL Hotel is made... : (

The CA resort is so limited with the amount of DVC rooms they offer!

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

MK

 

[Chic]

Because the amount of DVC Villas at the Grand Californian is extremely limited, DVC recently changed their policy and they now allow DVC Owners to book a room in the regular part of the Grand Californian Hotel using points. Did you ask about availability in that section? Anyway, your travel dates are only 4 months out and take place during value season for points. Therefore, I would think it's doubtful your waitlist will come through. If you are 100% positive that you will be visiting the dates mentioned, I would go ahead and book a solid reservation and not depend on the waitlist.

 

[CarolMN]

Monday, 11/12 is Veteran's Day. Since lots of schools have that day off, it's not surprising that the weekend befroe (11/9, 10 & 11) is booked solid.

I'd be willing to gamble on a VGC waitlist if I had a cash back up that could be cancelled. Perhaps the conference has a preferred hotel that isn't too far away that could serve as a back up in case the waitlist doesn't work?

 

[Shellandscott]

I would leave the waitlist active until the 30 day mark at least. Like you said once you convert those points to reservation points they can not go back to DVC points. I would think that there would be a room available at one of the three hotels at that point and you could book the hotel using points at that time. So ride it out. Is doubtful that something comes up, but you are only looking for two nights, which is easier to get than a whole week. It all depends on what you have the nerves for.

 

[tjkraz]

Anything COULD happen but honestly I wouldn't hold out much hope. The 7 month window for those dates began 3 months ago. That's a lot of time for others to have submitted wait list requests for the same dates. And every wait list victory begins with a cancellation--which itself may never occur.

There are only a couple dozen Studio and 1B villas. The odds are very much stacked against you.

Nothing wrong with staying on the wait list but I would definitely recommend alternate accommodations. Using points or even paying cash for Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier is an option. In fact you may even be able to use points for a hotel room (rather than a villa) at the Grand Californian. But neither of these is "cheap" in DVC terms.

Disneyland Hotel is very nice but it's not terribly convenient to the theme parks. Grand Cal is where you get the real benefit of the private entrance to DCA plus some very nice balcony views.

 

[MrShiny]

Since the point value of DLH is relatively high, I'd just book a normal reservation for DLH and still with the waitlist. We had a wait list for GCV studio come through for Mother's Day night, so it can happen, although that is a big weekend you are going - not only is it Verteran's Day, but it is traditionally when all the holiday stuff like the Christmas Parade starts at DL. With this being the first holidays for the revised DCA, I'd expect it to really busy!

You could also look at the non-Disney hotels too - there are many closer than the Disney ones and very reasonable. Candy Cane Inn is especially good.

 

[dgaston]

And I'd suggest looking at Mary's www.mousesavers.com for her recommendations for Disneyland too. She has some other alternatives that might work well for you.

If the conference is at the Marriott, it's an easy walk through the DCA parking lot to the main entrance. I've done that with my after 4pm conference tickets.

 

[MrShiny]

Yes that is great advice! A few years ago I went several times to DL and stayed a a variety of properties up and down Harbor. I liked Candy Cane the best, but Del Sol was a great value too (didn't care for their pool that much).

The Marriott and the Hilton right next to it are indeed a pretty close walk.

I even used discount hotel web sites a couple of times and got the DoubleTree in Orange - too far to walk, but still a very short drive.

If you are unfamiliar with DL though, just know that unlike WDW, some of the cheaper motels (like Del Sol) are actually a much shorter walk to the parks than the 3 Disney hotels.

One advantage to the Disney hotels right now though is that you can use the GC into the back if DCA, which can be a great advantage if trying to do Cars Land in the morning.

And I'd suggest looking at Mary's www.mousesavers.com for her recommendations for Disneyland too. She has some other alternatives that might work well for you.

If the conference is at the Marriott, it's an easy walk through the DCA parking lot to the main entrance. I've done that with my after 4pm conference tickets.

 

[JackandSally79]

Like others have said, I would stay on the waitlist. When we went in Jan '10 we were on the waitlist. It was a last minute thing too. We were put on the waitlist only 2 months before. But we also had a back up plan. Good Luck!

 

[Friend of Figment]

Just remember due to Carsland who knows what will be available by November. I recently purchased our BLT DVC in May and we booked immediately at DLH for Nov 3-9. We went with DLH because it was less points than the 1 bedroom at GCV. But I have heard people having a hard time booking that week. This is our first trip to DLR since we are lifelong WDW fans. Best of luck!

 

[SeanCLV]

We are looking to use up some extra DVC points my family has that will expire in Feb. It is 159 points, so we were thinking of heading down to DL for a long weekend in November or December. Today I wait listed two weekends (Nov 2nd - 4th and Dec 6th - 9th) for a 1BR GCV. From reading all of these Wait List threads, our chances may be pretty slim of getting something.

From what I understand, I cannot make a hotel reservation using points and then if my wait list is fulfilled, cancel the hotel reservations and use the points for the GCV res, correct? Should I just go straight to seeing if I can make a hotel res?

What other options do I have for a long weekend using these points in the So Cal area or even Southwestern US? Is it easy to convert them to some RCI or similar timeshare in say San Diego? It doesn't appear that 159 points isn't enough for a family of 4 to do a cruise (if there even is one). I really like a timeshare idea though so we can bring/cook our own food and save money.

 

[DebbieB]

I am at VGC right now. We booked our room at 7 months and it was soldout later the same day. We tried to add the night of 9/28 2 or 3 months ago when we found out that the first MNSSHP is Friday. My waitlist expired at 7 days, we did not get it. We are moving to PP on cash.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...From what I understand, I cannot make a hotel reservation using points and then if my wait list is fulfilled, cancel the hotel reservations and use the points for the GCV res, correct? Should I just go straight to seeing if I can make a hotel res?

What other options do I have for a long weekend using these points in the So Cal area or even Southwestern US? Is it easy to convert them to some RCI or similar timeshare in say San Diego? It doesn't appear that 159 points isn't enough for a family of 4 to do a cruise (if there even is one). I really like a timeshare idea though so we can bring/cook our own food and save money.

If you book a DL hotel room on points and cancel, those points are still Reservation points and cannot be used for DVC. The only benefit is that you don't have to pay the $95 and don't have to worry about the Rule of Four.

 

[SeanCLV]

If you book a DL hotel room on points and cancel, those points are still Reservation points and cannot be used for DVC. The only benefit is that you don't have to pay the $95 and don't have to worry about the Rule of Four.

So what you are saying is that the DL hotels are exempt from this rule and fee, correct?

 

[tjkraz]

So what you are saying is that the DL hotels are exempt from this rule and fee, correct?

Correct.

As to your original question about booking a hotel room on points vs villa waitlist, I would take the hotel. Sounds like you're under time constraints to use the points. Better to get SOMETHING than NOTHING. Villas are more economical and probably luxurious (I'll take a one bedroom villa over a standard hotel room any day) but with the urgency to use the points...take what you can get.

RCI tends to not be a good option on short notice. You can try doing a search to see what comes up but I would be very wary of the quality of any destination which is available on 45-60 days' notice.

Good luck.

 

[SeanCLV]

If you book a DL hotel room on points and cancel, those points are still Reservation points and cannot be used for DVC. The only benefit is that you don't have to pay the $95 and don't have to worry about the Rule of Four.

Correct.

As to your original question about booking a hotel room on points vs villa waitlist, I would take the hotel. Sounds like you're under time constraints to use the points. Better to get SOMETHING than NOTHING. Villas are more economical and probably luxurious (I'll take a one bedroom villa over a standard hotel room any day) but with the urgency to use the points...take what you can get.

RCI tends to not be a good option on short notice. You can try doing a search to see what comes up but I would be very wary of the quality of any destination which is available on 45-60 days' notice.

Good luck.

Gotcha, should probably just try the hotel route. Thank you so much for the input guys!