The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners & Lovers Group - 2.0

[AZMermaid]

I sent an email today too. I said I’d like the ability to reserve our park tickets at the time of reservation and didn’t necessarily need the year plus allowed at WDW. But to wait till 60 days out and not get it, puts my points in jeopardy if I’m past the banking deadline. We know how hard it is to get VGC so simply rebooking for later is not an option. I stressed that a resort only stay is fun sometimes, but let’s face it, we bought DVC to go to the parks. I’m going late May (resort only, AZ resident with expiring points) and September- hoping for parks.

 

[montreid]

Sent email yesterday to DVC too. They do listen -- at least read the emails. We are a specific captured audience who clearly love the Disney product to spend such dollars. And usually pretty good PR ambassadors when the mouse does it right.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I sent an email today too. I said I’d like the ability to reserve our park tickets at the time of reservation and didn’t necessarily need the year plus allowed at WDW. But to wait till 60 days out and not get it, puts my points in jeopardy if I’m past the banking deadline. We know how hard it is to get VGC so simply rebooking for later is not an option. I stressed that a resort only stay is fun sometimes, but let’s face it, we bought DVC to go to the parks. I’m going late May (resort only, AZ resident with expiring points) and September- hoping for parks.

Sent email yesterday to DVC too. They do listen -- at least read the emails. We are a specific captured audience who clearly love the Disney product to spend such dollars. And usually pretty good PR ambassadors when the mouse does it right.

Awesome. I really did get the feeling they are listening and aware of the issue-especially given the uniqueness of VGC. It's not easy to change reservations even 10 months ahead. I hope it all helps!

 

[RoseGold]

OMG. This explains how I got all my July dates at VGC. I must have a black hole reservation! Well, I’ll gladly take a rebooking at beach club.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I thought there was one upper level from the DVC GC that walked down the hall to actually enter the GC Resort . So maybe they can utilize those rooms to figure out the overbooking problem., assuming the main lobby will still be open for guest access upon check in, etc.... I love Grand and don’t want anybody to be disappointed upon grand re-open!
Good luck

 

[montreid]

I thought there was one upper level from the DVC GC that walked down the hall to actually enter the GC Resort . So maybe they can utilize those rooms to figure out the overbooking problem., assuming the main lobby will still be open for guest access upon check in, etc.... I love Grand and don’t want anybody to be disappointed upon grand re-open!
Good luck

x240-x260 are all along the same wing and can accompany studio level relatively easily. For studios VGC has options with GCH. It's the 1BR and 2BR that'll have more issues cause those are only the corners and high value rooms.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

As I mentioned earlier, I emailed Disney Parks and DVC yesterday, and I just had a very nice follow up call with DVC. I think it would definitely help if they heard from some other concerned VGC owners as well--especially anyone potentially impacted by a trip in the next 60-90 days. So send those emails!

I'm going to post in the speculation thread as well as i think I saw some people with upcoming reservations over there. Specifically, I asked for a special bucket for DVC and that the reservation calendar be extended far beyond 60 days to accommodate owners who own a very inflexible product (this is what WDW does and I reiterated that it was wrong to have different rules for the West Coast just because we are a small group).

Isn't the park still restricted to CA residents? So even if it is opened for you (and them) it doesn't help the VGC owner who is not a CA resident.

I wrote to DVC several weeks ago about the ending of the exception to points in holding that coincides almost to the day that VGC opens. With that too VGC owners do not get the benefit that has been given to WDW or all other DVC resort stays. I did get a response that they were looking into it. At a minimum it would assist non-CA residents to hold on in the hopes that CA revises restrictions or doesn't go backwards.

 

[montreid]

Isn't the park still restricted to CA residents? So even if it is opened for you (and them) it doesn't help the VGC owner who is not a CA resident.

I wrote to DVC several weeks ago about the ending of the exception to points in holding that coincides almost to the day that VGC opens. With that too VGC owners do not get the benefit that has been given to WDW or all other DVC resort stays. I did get a response that they were looking into it. At a minimum it would assist non-CA residents to hold on in the hopes that CA revises restrictions or doesn't go backwards.

True - there's things DVC+DLR can do within their powers. the Cali restriction isn't one of them I do believe and hope Disney will see the value of taking care of their most dollar spending folk (on-site stay people).

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Isn't the park still restricted to CA residents? So even if it is opened for you (and them) it doesn't help the VGC owner who is not a CA resident.

I wrote to DVC several weeks ago about the ending of the exception to points in holding that coincides almost to the day that VGC opens. With that too VGC owners do not get the benefit that has been given to WDW or all other DVC resort stays. I did get a response that they were looking into it. At a minimum it would assist non-CA residents to hold on in the hopes that CA revises restrictions or doesn't go backwards.

I totally agree about the lack of benefits to the VGC owners and I definitely mentioned that in my email. Funny enough, the person I spoke to volunteered that a very large percent of the VGC owners are CA residents. I suspect this has part to do with it, but I believe the speculation is that the restriction won't last long. But the out of state VGC owner definitely has double the argument. I suspect they will deal with it on a case-by-case basis. That's the impression I got.

 

[KPeterso]

As I mentioned earlier, I emailed Disney Parks and DVC yesterday, and I just had a very nice follow up call with DVC. I think it would definitely help if they heard from some other concerned VGC owners as well--especially anyone potentially impacted by a trip in the next 60-90 days. So send those emails!

I'm going to post in the speculation thread as well as i think I saw some people with upcoming reservations over there. Specifically, I asked for a special bucket for DVC and that the reservation calendar be extended far beyond 60 days to accommodate owners who own a very inflexible product (this is what WDW does and I reiterated that it was wrong to have different rules for the West Coast just because we are a small group).

Thanks for the update. I emailed 2 days ago and am now playing phone tag with someone from the Member Relations team about my email and concerns. I missed her call and when I called her back, I got her voice mail. Hopefully, I will be able to catch her today as her voice mail says she works M-Th, so she would not be there tomorrow.

 

[KPeterso]

Thanks for the update. I emailed 2 days ago and am now playing phone tag with someone from the Member Relations team about my email and concerns. I missed her call and when I called her back, I got her voice mail. Hopefully, I will be able to catch her today as her voice mail says she works M-Th, so she would not be there tomorrow.

I was able to connect with someone in the Member Relations team a little bit ago. She was very nice and I explained my various concerns related to the booking of VGC and the ticket/theme park reservation issue. She understood and said most of her magic that she has to help these situations has been taken away right now. But she would be escalating this to the Sr VP (I assume that is Terri Schultz) as well as the Disneyland side. And like the other poster, she did say that they want to hear about these sorts of things and that they don't know about issues unless members tell them about it.

I also mentioned I need to call Member Services about something but was waiting for hold times to drop down a bit. She was willing to look and fix, but since it is VGC, she can't right now with it completely paused. No ETA on it getting fixed though. I just need to reallocate points (move banked VGC to a VGC reservation using current points, so not a big deal) so I can call. She did say that Member Services is recalling people and hiring more to get the phone line hold times down, so I guess that was a positive too.

 

[CarolynFH]

She did say that Member Services is recalling people and hiring more to get the phone line hold times down, so I guess that was a positive too.

Hooray! Long overdue!

 

[SeaDis]

I also mentioned I need to call Member Services about something but was waiting for hold times to drop down a bit. She was willing to look and fix, but since it is VGC, she can't right now with it completely paused. No ETA on it getting fixed though. I just need to reallocate points (move banked VGC to a VGC reservation using current points, so not a big deal) so I can call. She did say that Member Services is recalling people and hiring more to get the phone line hold times down, so I guess that was a positive too.

Thanks for the update! It's getting a little concerning (silly) there is no update posted on why VGC is paused right now. Especially when they are overwhelmed by phone calls. Pushing out information/explanation would be way more efficient.

 

[AZMermaid]

“While we cannot guarantee park access / tickets due to severely limited capacity as mandated by the state of California, DVC Members staying at DLR were accounted for in how tickets will be distributed. My best advice is to be diligent in making your park reservations as another part of your vacation planning process. We are hopeful and optimistic that capacity in the parks will grow quickly over time and this will become a limited or non-issue soon. We also will likely extend the advanced booking window as California allows non-residents to visit our parks.”

This was the reply I got. Not exactly an answer, but the “how tickets are distributed” is interesting. It indicates to me there will be buckets of tickets like WDW... so assuming the hotel bucket is big enough to cover all the rooms, it might be stressful, but doable.

 

[montreid]

well that's encouraging -- maybe buckets. it would make sense. Would be great to see an early option like 4/12 for those with reservations AND the buckets. Buckets will do though!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

“While we cannot guarantee park access / tickets due to severely limited capacity as mandated by the state of California, DVC Members staying at DLR were accounted for in how tickets will be distributed. My best advice is to be diligent in making your park reservations as another part of your vacation planning process. We are hopeful and optimistic that capacity in the parks will grow quickly over time and this will become a limited or non-issue soon. We also will likely extend the advanced booking window as California allows non-residents to visit our parks.”

This was the reply I got. Not exactly an answer, but the “how tickets are distributed” is interesting. It indicates to me there will be buckets of tickets like WDW... so assuming the hotel bucket is big enough to cover all the rooms, it might be stressful, but doable.

Very interesting and that does sound much more positive than has been suggested by the information released so far. Thanks so much for posting. I'll be crossing my fingers!

 

[Drewmama]

Will all the pools be open at Grand Cal when the reopen? We'll be there Memorial Day weekend.

 

[SeaDis]

Will all the pools be open at Grand Cal when the reopen? We'll be there Memorial Day weekend.

Resort Hotel Amenities & Recreation

While certain amenities and recreational activities have been modified based on physical distancing and health guidelines, rest assured you’ll still find magic at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa—plus many of the things you’ve come to love, including close proximity to the theme parks, access to delightfully themed pools, impeccable Guest service and much more.

Pools

• Pools and whirlpools/spas may operate with reduced hours. Please confirm hours of operation with the Front Desk.
• Pools and whirlpools/spas will operate with reduced capacity to allow for physical distancing. Face covers required unless swimming in the water.
• Poolside cabanas will be available for an additional fee.
• Poolside activities, including pool parties and waterslides, will not be available.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/experience-updates/hotels/

 

[ValW]

Just received a call from Member Services regarding my VGC booking in October. The message said something about overbooking. I had booked 5 nights a while ago. I booked a separate 1-night reservation during the "blip". On the phone with them now to find out what's going on.

 

[niroc]

I was able to book a 2 BR villa at the end of July when all the reservations were "open" for that brief time. I got a call from member services tonight saying that there is an overbooking issue and they are willing to transfer my reservation to a 2 bedroom suite at the GC instead of the Villas, but no kitchen, no washer/dryer, etc. I see no benefit to switch. I have the option not to switch, but there is no guarantee that there will be a villa opening when we arrive in which case they would transfer us to a suite anyway. What would you do? Switch to a suite or stay put with the villa reservation and see what happens?