Grand Californian - Booking at 7 month window

[DonaldDuck21]

I was just wondering if anyone ever had any luck booking the Grand Californian for the Dec 26th - Jan 1st time frame for a deluxe studio.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

As a home resort, yes I did last year and know that it wasn't available at 7 months. If you did get it at 7 months there would have been a cancellation and luck involved, all which can happen but makes the odds difficult.

 

[SuperRob]

Your best bet is to try, then waitlist, and hope that someone had to shift some dates around. Good luck!

 

[DebbieB]

If you are talking this year, all the dates are currently available except 12/31.

 

[sunryzez]

How is availability mid week in June there? I'm booking aulani ( my home) for June 16th - 23rd. We want to do three nights at Californian grand Floridian before then. That would be a tues-fri stay June 13th-16th. I'm hoping because it is earlier June I might have a better chance?

 

[drusba]

How is availability mid week in June there? I'm booking aulani ( my home) for June 16th - 23rd. We want to do three nights at Californian grand Floridian before then. That would be a tues-fri stay June 13th-16th. I'm hoping because it is earlier June I might have a better chance?

I assume you mean the Grand Californian (VGC) and not Florida's Grand Floridian. In June 2016 for that time at 7 months out, VGC studios and 1BRs (and as a result 2BR lock-offs) were gone, and dedicated 2BRs were missing June 14 and 15 (your June 13 and 14 in 2017)

 

[sunryzez]

I assume you mean the Grand Californian (VGC) and not Florida's Grand Floridian. In June 2016 for that time at 7 months out, VGC studios and 1BRs (and as a result 2BR lock-offs) were gone, and dedicated 2BRs were missing June 14 and 15 (your June 13 and 14 in 2017)

Sorry, yes I did mean grand Californian. I am new to DVC still so I still confuse some of the resorts. I will need two studios or a 2 bedroom. What is a dedicated and lock off 2 bedroom? Do you think all of the 2 bedrooms will be gone by then? If so do you know how it works booking window wise for the disney collection? I might have to book at one of the other disney hotels in California using my points. I know it is a lot more points but I probably will not be in the west coast again for a long time and want the full disney experience...

 

[drusba]

A 2 BR lock-off consists of a connecting studio and 1BR, each with its own front door (they can be opened inside to each other or locked-off by the internal connecting doors). Thus, all studio or 1BR reservations diminish the availability of 2BR lock-offs. A dedicated 2BR is one that can only be a 2BR and has only one front door. As I mentioned for 2016 for the June time you want, the studios and 1BRs (and thus the lock-off 2BRs) were gone for all the nights you want before 7 months out and the dedicated 2BRs were gone for first two of the three nights you would be seeking. In other words, you would not have gotten what you wanted if you had tried for this year absent going on wait list and hoping it came through.

There is no particular booking window for the Disney hotel rooms in the Disney Collection except that you cannot both call to reserve and reserve them during the last four months of your use year. You can book them for a stay during those last four months of your use year but you just have to call to do so before the end of the eighth month of your use year.

If you intend to use points for the hotel room, be aware that will be a permanent change of status for the points used. If you later cancel the reservation, the returned points can thereafter be used only for non DVC resort reservations.

 

[illinidp]

We we booked a 2 br for mid July 2016 at 7 months they were still available for another 12 days. The days in June after school is out but before the points per night go up in late June can be popular though.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We we booked a 2 br for mid July 2016 at 7 months they were still available for another 12 days. The days in June after school is out but before the points per night go up in late June can be popular though.

Yes, Juy isn't quite the same as the time in June when schools are getting out and just before the DL blackout dates really kick in. That's my BD and has been a preferred time to go there since we bought VGC before it opened. Studios have always had a tendancy to be gone and usually it was the 2BR's then the 1BR's but that can switch around a bit. It's definitely a more difficult time to book at 7 months.