Grand Californian angst

[kingrob76]

I've been planning a trip for over a year to the Grand Californian to celebrate my son's graduation - going back to Disneyland (last visit was 2010) has been on his "ask" list for about 4 years now. We were looking at an early / mid June trip to as to allow him to work this summer, and to not get in the way of going off to college.

It's frustrating to watch the inventory disappear - a week ago all but one night of our planned trip was available for a 2BR, and now 3 nights are not available right smack in the middle. I expect it will be worse when the 7-month window actually opens in a few days. My questions are:

- What is going on here? I know the total inventory is relatively low, but, is there any way to get a reservation without owning here?
- Is there any chance to fill the missing nights via wait list? My wait listing experience has been 0 for every attempt.
- What are my chances to fill the missing nights via the rental market?

Any help and information is appreciated. Thanks!


Rob

 

[AZMermaid]

Book what you can and do single night waitlists. You can do 2 at a time. So if the three middle days are still missing, waitlist days 1 and 3. Then add waitlists as those come through. Dedicated 2br are gonna be easier waitlists than the lock offs, I think. Locks off disappear as the studios book. Obviously this involves some flexibility in points, like if you cancel part or all because the waitlist doesn’t come though… can you still bank? Make sure you do so 30+ days out. Stalk with site multiple times a day, sometimes things hit before the waitlist processes or the middle day might pop up. I’ve had decent luck with stalking and single day waitlists. Good luck!

edit- I just went and looked at June. Oh boy. That’s rough.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The rental market requires that the inventory be available. Home resort points won't get you a booking if the units are booked.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Not the best use of points but you can always use them and stay in a regular room on the hotel side. The fee is waived for DL hotels.

 

[Imkarlawithak2005]

I feel your pain. I’m hoping for an end of June trip and just keeping my fingers crossed. Luckily my dates are flexible, but I’ve stayed 4-5 times on points and never have I been this worried. I think early-mid June is going faster because the last week of June the points chart increases. Good luck!

 

[tjkraz]

It's frustrating to watch the inventory disappear - a week ago all but one night of our planned trip was available for a 2BR, and now 3 nights are not available right smack in the middle. I expect it will be worse when the 7-month window actually opens in a few days.

Resorts are always a coin flip at 7 months. Even when availability is showing, the exact number of rooms can vary from day to day. Today (November 6), someone could book a June 6 check-in plus six additional nights up through 6/12. If there was only one room left for 6/11 and 6/12 and someone booked a full 7-night stay today, then those nights are now full.

I was lucky enough to get several nights in a One Bedroom for May, but that tends to be easier to book than 2B. Like others said, get whatever nights you can and waitlist others. If all else fails, use points for a hotel room.