The Official VILLAS at DISNEYLAND HOTEL (Discovery Tower) Owners and Fans Info Thread

[MartyParty]

Ok wait room question. For VDH second full week in January, I have two preferred studios booked with points. I've waitlisted for a 2br. Been stalking the Disneyland Hotel site and the 2br continues to be available to book for cash.

Question: if the 2br remains available to book for cash, will Disney likely process my 2br wait request just prior to arrival?

No sure if they let the room go empty on the cash side or would they honor a wait request. Glad I have my points. The cash cost for a 2br four night stay inclusive of taxes is about $8,300.

Thoughts???

 

[ladyelizabeth]

Ok wait room question. For VDH second full week in January, I have two preferred studios booked with points. I've waitlisted for a 2br. Been stalking the Disneyland Hotel site and the 2br continues to be available to book for cash.

Question: if the 2br remains available to book for cash, will Disney likely process my 2br wait request just prior to arrival?

No sure if they let the room go empty on the cash side or would they honor a wait request. Glad I have my points. The cash cost for a 2br four night stay inclusive of taxes is about $8,300.

Thoughts???

Hey there! So the rooms on the cash side are not available to DVC members. They need to keep a certain number of rooms for cash (legal timeshare stuff essentially). Even if they are not booked on the cash side, they do not get put into points inventory. At the end of the day, they are two different inventories.

 

[ehh]

In addition to the 2026 points chart release today, the VDH TOT chart was also posted: https://cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.disney.com/media/dvc/catalog/resorts/dvc-resorts/VDH-TOT-2026.pdf

TOT for 2026 is $2.96077/pt, up from $2.86896/pt in 2025, a 3.2% increase. The increase from 2024 to 2025 was also exactly 3.2%.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

I hope someone who’s good at screening point charts double checks the math on VDH. Everything looks the same except grand Villa went up across the board. It’s only two rooms though so could have washed out with Change of dates for some dates between seasons or someone said maybe due to a leap year day. Anyhoo if you’re good at point chart sleuthing, take a look.

 

[Wedgeout]

Curious too how every line on grand villa points increased on the points chart. Thought if changed adjusted from somewhere else.

 

[VGCgroupie]

In addition to the 2026 points chart release today, the VDH TOT chart was also posted: https://cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.disney.com/media/dvc/catalog/resorts/dvc-resorts/VDH-TOT-2026.pdf

TOT for 2026 is $2.96077/pt, up from $2.86896/pt in 2025, a 3.2% increase. The increase from 2024 to 2025 was also exactly 3.2%.

I really hope it doesn't increase this much every single year.

 

[ehh]

I hope someone who’s good at screening point charts double checks the math on VDH. Everything looks the same except grand Villa went up across the board. It’s only two rooms though so could have washed out with Change of dates for some dates between seasons or someone said maybe due to a leap year day. Anyhoo if you’re good at point chart sleuthing, take a look.

Curious too how every line on grand villa points increased on the points chart. Thought if changed adjusted from somewhere else.

I noticed the same, and there's no obvious adjustment downward somewhere else. It's roughly a 2k pt increase over the course of the year, less than 0.1%, which is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Will update my spreadsheet to get a more precise understanding.

 

[ehh]

I noticed the same, and there's no obvious adjustment downward somewhere else. It's roughly a 2k pt increase over the course of the year, less than 0.1%, which is fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Will update my spreadsheet to get a more precise understanding.

Okay, all updated and still not seeing anything.

Seasons 4 and 6 lost a Weekend night and gained a Weekday night, losing points. Seasons 1 and 5 were the opposite and gained a Weekend night at the cost of a Weekday night, increasing in points.

While this looks like a decrease in points at the surface (more expensive seasons shifted to a lower Weekend mix), it's surprisingly not! Total points (with no LO splitting) went up 110pts in 2026 with no pts/night changes factored in. This is a normal fluctuation and well short of the Leap Year bump (around 7.5k points at VDH).

I can't find anything hidden to explain the increase in the GVs at VDH. GVs would have gone down 12pts in 2026 without the points chart change, while the points chart change contributed 2,088pt increase (on top of the 12pt decrease from the calendar shift), for a net increase of 2,076pts over 2025.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Okay, all updated and still not seeing anything.

Seasons 4 and 6 lost a Weekend night and gained a Weekday night, losing points. Seasons 1 and 5 were the opposite and gained a Weekend night at the cost of a Weekday night, increasing in points.

While this looks like a decrease in points at the surface (more expensive seasons shifted to a lower Weekend mix), it's surprisingly not! Total points (with no LO splitting) went up 110pts in 2026 with no pts/night changes factored in. This is a normal fluctuation and well short of the Leap Year bump (around 7.5k points at VDH).

I can't find anything hidden to explain the increase in the GVs at VDH. GVs would have gone down 12pts in 2026 without the points chart change, while the points chart change contributed 2,088pt increase (on top of the 12pt decrease from the calendar shift), for a net increase of 2,076pts over 2025.

Does the fact that one of the grand villas wasn’t declared before but maybe now will be have an impact?

 

[ehh]

Does the fact that one of the grand villas wasn’t declared before but maybe now will be have an impact?

I don’t think so.

Curiously, the Unit, Unit 1J, that the declared GV is in is roughly 59k points (based on % owned math) and only contains that GV, which is now 50.3k points/yr.

I suppose it’s possible that the 1k bump for each GV is to get them closer to their Unit sizes in terms of points? Error is still large, though.

 

[ocdb8r1]

Hey there! So the rooms on the cash side are not available to DVC members. They need to keep a certain number of rooms for cash (legal timeshare stuff essentially). Even if they are not booked on the cash side, they do not get put into points inventory. At the end of the day, they are two different inventories.

There is nothing legal that prevents Disney from satisfying DVC requests with cash inventory....there is just nothing that obligates them to do so. All the timeshare documentation permits Disney to use their owned (declared or non-declared) inventory to satisfy DVC points requests.

 

[supercarrie]

Stopped into the Broken Spell Lounge tonight for an after work drink. (The old Steakhouse 55 lounge.) They had live entertainment, Santa popped in for a visit, and holiday drinks on offer. Currently opens at 4pm daily!

Terrible photo of the holiday menu is attached (didn’t want to use flash and the lighting is dark in here!)

Definitely a fun place to check out, but not a must do.

 

[robinb]

Hi everyone! I hope this is the right place to ask my question. We will be visiting LA family and Disneyland from March 9 - March 14 on the backside of a Panama Canal cruise. Everything is currently booked solid, but I’m willing to book something refundable nearby and waitlist for a studio. What studio type do you think would be more likely to open up?

 

[ehh]

Hi everyone! I hope this is the right place to ask my question. We will be visiting LA family and Disneyland from March 9 - March 14 on the backside of a Panama Canal cruise. Everything is currently booked solid, but I’m willing to book something refundable nearby and waitlist for a studio. What studio type do you think would be more likely to open up?

Preferred View Deluxe Studio is the most numerous and your best chance.

 

[Wedgeout]

Hi everyone! I hope this is the right place to ask my question. We will be visiting LA family and Disneyland from March 9 - March 14 on the backside of a Panama Canal cruise. Everything is currently booked solid, but I’m willing to book something refundable nearby and waitlist for a studio. What studio type do you think would be more likely to open up?

Most are preferred category. That would be my choice. Also keep checking searches in accessible rooms. The hearing impaired only ones are nearly identical to a regular room.

 

[robinb]

Most are preferred category. That would be my choice. Also keep checking searches in accessible rooms. The hearing impaired only ones are nearly identical to a regular room.

Hmmm. I didn't check hearing accessible rooms and one is available. Thank you so much! I booked it.

I would normally NOT book an accessible room, but the we're 2 1/2 months out and handicapped folks had plenty of time to book the room. If it were close to the 11 month or even 7 month window, I would feel differently. I'll go ahead and put a waitlist down for a regular room to replace that reservation to open it back up to someone who needs it.

 

[ehh]

Hmmm. I didn't check hearing accessible rooms and one is available. Thank you so much! I booked it.

I would normally NOT book an accessible room, but the we're 2 1/2 months out and handicapped folks had plenty of time to book the room. If it were close to the 11 month or even 7 month window, I would feel differently. I'll go ahead and put a waitlist down for a regular room to replace that reservation to open it back up to someone who needs it.

If it’s the last room available, don’t sweat it, even at 11m.

Only at the CA resorts does DVC maintain completely isolated inventory for accessible vs. not. For the other resorts, they’re a shared inventory, similar to 2BRLO and Studios.

So if at a WDW/etc resort you see that both accessible and non-accessible are available and you book the last non-accessible, it actually takes from both inventories and you’re shadow-booked into an accessible room. You can usually request out of it, though.

EDIT: I realize that explanation is bad, sorry. Basically, at WDW/etc it automatically does what you did and advertises the last accessible room as non-accessible.

 

[robinb]

If it’s the last room available, don’t sweat it, even at 11m.

Only at the CA resorts does DVC maintain completely isolated inventory for accessible vs. not. For the other resorts, they’re a shared inventory, similar to 2BRLO and Studios.

So if at a WDW/etc resort you see that both accessible and non-accessible are available and you book the last non-accessible, it actually takes from both inventories and you’re shadow-booked into an accessible room. You can usually request out of it, though.

EDIT: I realize that explanation is bad, sorry. Basically, at WDW/etc it automatically does what you did and advertises the last accessible room as non-accessible.

Thanks! I have intentionally booked an accessible room at WDW on my upcoming trip in a BWV 2BR because one of my friends needs a wheelchair accessible shower. Previously, I had never booked an accessible room but was assigned one more than once at check-in.

 

[ehh]

Thanks! I have intentionally booked an accessible room at WDW on my upcoming trip in a BWV 2BR because one of my friends needs a wheelchair accessible shower. Previously, I had never booked an accessible room but was assigned one more than once at check-in.

Any chance you’re a late booker? Or were for those reservations?

 

[robinb]

Any chance you’re a late booker? Or were for those reservations?

No, I'm usually not a late booker. I almost always book in the 11-7 month resort window. I *have* been a DVC member for a very long time so I think it eventually happens to anyone who has been a member for a while.