Question about renting points at the Grand Californian

[DannyDisneyFreak]

We are going to start planning a vacation to Disneyland for the first time, we wouldn't be able to afford staying "onsite" in one of the DL hotels but I was thinking about renting points. If I wanted to rent points for a GC studio when is the earliest I could book and when should I start looking for a renter? What are the chances of getting a theme park view room? I am also wondering, what if you rented points for a studio for example (which I know is non-refundable) and then later decided you wanted to upgrade to a 1 bedroom, would thins be possible if you could rent more points from someone?

 

[disneynutz]

Rooms can be booked 11 months prior to check in. I would start looking for someone 13 months prior.

Decide on the size of room prior to booking and book that room.

Bill

 

[DebbieB]

There are not separate view categories at VGC, it's luck of the draw. I've been lucky 2 out of 3 times by requesting specific room numbers (list of 5).

It would be difficult to upgrade the room size, the additional points would have to come from the same member or they would have to work with another member to get the rest of the points. You are renting a reservation, not the actual points. Once the 7 month mark hits, availability is very limited.

 

[DisneyWhovian]

I tired this last year for a trip I took this September. No luck finding anything. Be diligent and good luck!

 

[Pooh2]

We tried renting points for Sept as well this year and did not have any luck either..

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

We tried renting points for Sept as well this year and did not have any luck either..

How far in advance did you try?

 

[Lynne M]

There are very few villas at VGC. Depending on how much later you decide you want to switch, there may not be any one bedroom villas left. If it's at the 7 month deadline or later, your chances are slim to none.

Changes in rented DVC reservations are not as simple as changing a hotel reservation. In order to change from a studio to a 1 bedroom, the member you rented from would have to have enough points to cover the upgrade (roughly double the original amount), and would have to be willing to sell them to you (they may have planned to use them for their own vacation).

if they don't, AND you can find another member to work with, AND there's still availability, the original member would have to cancel your original reservation for the studio, and make a shorter reservation, however many days worth of a 1 bedroom villa you could get for the original amount of points. Then the second owner would have to make you a second reservation, starting on the checkout day of the first reservation, to cover the rest of your trip. The owners would have to link their reservations so you didn't have to move to a different villa mid-trip. And you'd have to hope and pray that someone else didn't grab the last remaining 1 bedroom villa while all these transactions are taking place - that kind of thing happens all the time - leaving you with no reservation at all.

Simply put, it would be a mess. If you are thinking of attempting this, be sure to discuss it with the member up front, before any money changes hands, to make sure they're on board with it. Many members who rent have a no changes, no cancellations policy.

Seriously, if you really want a 1 bedroom villa, that's what you should rent.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

There are very few villas at VGC. Depending on how much later you decide you want to switch, there may not be any one bedroom villas left. If it's at the 7 month deadline or later, your chances are slim to none. Changes in rented DVC reservations are not as simple as changing a hotel reservation. In order to change from a studio to a 1 bedroom, the member you rented from would have to have enough points to cover the upgrade (roughly double the original amount), and would have to be willing to sell them to you (they may have planned to use them for their own vacation). if they don't, AND you can find another member to work with, AND there's still availability, the original member would have to cancel your original reservation for the studio, and make a shorter reservation, however many days worth of a 1 bedroom villa you could get for the original amount of points. Then the second owner would have to make you a second reservation, starting on the checkout day of the first reservation, to cover the rest of your trip. The owners would have to link their reservations so you didn't have to move to a different villa mid-trip. And you'd have to hope and pray that someone else didn't grab the last remaining 1 bedroom villa while all these transactions are taking place - that kind of thing happens all the time - leaving you with no reservation at all. Simply put, it would be a mess. If you are thinking of attempting this, be sure to discuss it with the member up front, before any money changes hands, to make sure they're on board with it. Many members who rent have a no changes, no cancellations policy. Seriously, if you really want a 1 bedroom villa, that's what you should rent.

Pretty sure all we need is a studio, I was only curious about the 1 bedroom. Thanks for the info though, I would never do that now lol

 

[nolenbelledavis]

Just another idea. We went in July/August and stayed at GC. I had gotten a 25% off code from orbitz through my email and that made it a lot more affordable. You might also keep an eye out for something like that.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Just another idea. We went in July/August and stayed at GC. I had gotten a 25% off code from orbitz through my email and that made it a lot more affordable. You might also keep an eye out for something like that.

is that kind of thing common for DL, I don't think WDW ever has discounts from outside like that do they?

 

[Pooh2]

How far in advance did you try?

At the 7 month mark.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

At the 7 month mark.

I've been researching and you need to start looking 13 months out.

 

[Snurk71]

is that kind of thing common for DL, I don't think WDW ever has discounts from outside like that do they?

Depending on the time of year, DL has historically had periods of discounts available (x% off, buy 3 get 4th free) - even for GC. When cars land was completed the discounts got a little more scarce because they didn't need to offer then to fill rooms. But they do still offer them at times.

One other comment about a studio vs 1br, I don't have the details to back this up, but I think 1brs are generally more available than studios. They both sleep 5, but the 1brs are double the points of a studio. So a lot of people reserve the studios early, which leave the more expensive 1brs left (in case you didn't know VGC is made up of 2br dedicated villas, and 2br villas that are actually a 1br and a studio that can be rented as either a 2br or separately as a studio and 1br - it's called a lock off).

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[DannyDisneyFreak]

Depending on the time of year, DL has historically had periods of discounts available (x% off, buy 3 get 4th free) - even for GC. When cars land was completed the discounts got a little more scarce because they didn't need to offer then to fill rooms. But they do still offer them at times. One other comment about a studio vs 1br, I don't have the details to back this up, but I think 1brs are generally more available than studios. They both sleep 5, but the 1brs are double the points of a studio. So a lot of people reserve the studios early, which leave the more expensive 1brs left (in case you didn't know VGC is made up of 2br dedicated villas, and 2br villas that are actually a 1br and a studio that can be rented as either a 2br or separately as a studio and 1br - it's called a lock off). Sent from my SAMSUNG-Note2 using DISBoards

What is the best way to find the discounts?

 

[houseofduck]

One other comment about a studio vs 1br, I don't have the details to back this up, but I think 1brs are generally more available than studios. They both sleep 5, but the 1brs are double the points of a studio. So a lot of people reserve the studios early, which leave the more expensive 1brs left (in case you didn't know VGC is made up of 2br dedicated villas, and 2br villas that are actually a 1br and a studio that can be rented as either a 2br or separately as a studio and 1br - it's called a lock off).

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I am no expert on VGC, but is this true about studios sleeping 5? I just tried and it wouldn't let me book 5 in a studio unless one is an infant. The one bedroom, however, did let me book 5 in the room.

 

[pharm55]

I have not stayed in a studio at VGC but do know that when we stayed there in Aug 2013 we had to get a one bedroom for our family of 5. Could not book studio.

 

[nolenbelledavis]

is that kind of thing common for DL, I don't think WDW ever has discounts from outside like that do they?

This was an orbitz discount that worked on all of the DL resorts. So it wasn't from DL. If you go through orbitz you can also go through a cash back website first and save some money that way too!

 

[bethy]

We are VGC owners and a family of five. The max occupancy of the studios is 4 plus one infant under 3 years old.

 

[Snurk71]

We are VGC owners and a family of five. The max occupancy of the studios is 4 plus one infant under 3 years old.

My bad. It's been a couple years since we stayed in a studio there. I thought they had the trundle in the studios there like they have in the 1 and 2brs (and the studios at VGF).

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