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

[TLPL]

Ah so much to learn! LOL
Will MS be able to have me make dining reservations when is it time?

 

[stopher1]

Ah so much to learn! LOL
Will MS be able to have me make dining reservations when is it time?

Not that I'm aware of, no. Here's a link for you to check out various aspects about the DLR.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=38865819&postcount=3

I hope this helps!

 

[Disney Princess]

Last week, I was in SoCal on business and flew my DW out to celebrate our 28th anniversary for the weekend. Unexpectedly my sister passed away from complications with breast cancer and had to return to DFW as soon as possible. However, with the Super Bowl and bad weather in Dallas last week, we could not get a flight back until early Saturday morning.

On Friday, we stayed at a hotel near DL so we could have dinner in DD and fly out early Saturday morning. Before dinner, we walked around the GCV. We talked to a CM at the check-in desk and asked if it would be possible to see one of the villas. We bought points before the GCV was finished and my DW had never seen a finished unit. We told her that we would understand if it was not possible. The hotel & villas were at capacity last weekend.

The CM stepped away to check with her manager and came back and told us a 1BD was available for us to see. If I remember correctly, the CM's name was Jai, and she seemed as excited as my DW that she could show it to us. The unit was absolutely beautiful. We love the Arts & Crafts style and detailing. We felt the warmth of "home" the moment we walked in, even though we only stayed maybe 5 minutes.

We thanked the CM and told her that she made our night. Considering the weekend was such a disaster, this CM's care, committment and compassion demonstrated the service and quality that we love about Disney. My DW and I felt like we received a little bit of pixie dust, and it was so desperately needed.

My DW said we need to spend all of our vacations at the GCV...I agree.

I am so sorry to hear about your sister. I am thrilled to hear that the CM was able to provide a bit of joy to you, even not knowing how much it would mean. Hopefully you'll return west soon for a relaxing vacation. And, Happy Anniversary!!!

 

[nunzia]

Just booked the flight for our August first time VGC trip today. Now what should I do next? Should I make dining reservations like we usually do for our WDW trips? Oh this is all new to me, planning a trip to DLR instead of WDW. So exciting! Where can I get discounted park tickets? Anyone can help?

If you are going to the Expo (and I'm guessing you are since your ticker says so ), they offered discounted park passes last time..plus an after 4 one just for evenings. You cannot make any DLR reservations more than 60 days out (maybe the restaurants in DTD take them earlier..not sure). 60 days out you can book at the few places that would need Priority seating as they call it..Character meals, Blue Bayou, maybe Carnation? Where else? Napa Rose..I guess that's a 60 day time frame too. Steakhouse 55...At 30 days you can make Fantasmic dessert reservations (your card is charged immediately), I think also WOC dinner reservations are 60 days out..but you don't prepay. So much easier than WDW but of course many less options for diverse meals.

 

[nunzia]

Ah so much to learn! LOL
Will MS be able to have me make dining reservations when is it time?

Vacation planning can if you are staying onsite. Some people have good luck with them,..I didn't..my last trip was really messed up..including my having Fantasmic tickets that were dated the day I bought them, so of course no good, when I opened the envelope to go to the sho... Luckily it was fixed, but this wasn't the only screw up so I'll just do my own bookings..and double check accuracy..from now on.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I have had the opposite experience with Vacation Planning. The last 3 years we have used them everything was stellar. Even though I will microscopically check what reservations they have made for me, I have had no problems. I love the itinerary they make, put the document on my cell and off we go.

pseudo-dvc member

Jack

 

[Yukonjack]

On the bright side, rain makes the crowds much smaller.
High quality rain gear (pants and jacket) works much better than an umbrella.
Rain transforms ElecTRONica into something out of Blade Runner

Being from the desert SW, we actually look forward to gloomy weather sometimes, and when we were at DL last, it rained one day and we were some of the only families out and walking around IN the rain We love the nearly year round clear skies and sun here, but it does make us miss the dreary days too

 

[CrazyDuck]

Vacation planning can if you are staying onsite. Some people have good luck with them,..I didn't..my last trip was really messed up..including my having Fantasmic tickets that were dated the day I bought them, so of course no good, when I opened the envelope to go to the sho... Luckily it was fixed, but this wasn't the only screw up so I'll just do my own bookings..and double check accuracy..from now on.

Yea... Recently, I have had problems with Vacation Planning as well. I purchased some ears to be delivered to the room when we checked in. We also ordered a card, baloons and a cake to be delivered to the room on my DD's birthday which was a few days into the trip! Well when we checked in and went to the room the ears were there, then a few minutes later one of them shows up with the card and baloons. ok well a few days early no harm... but when her birthday arrives and the cake didn't show up at 5pm like I ordered, I called them and they said there was a "mix up" (Oh Really?), and the bakery was already closed and we would have to go without! (Gee thanks for that!). So there we are, it's now 6pm and we have nothing for my DD, I call around and got a ressie for 8 people on a Friday night (not easy), but Rainforest Cafe was willing to accommodate us after I explained the situation. They even brought out their volcano desert thinggy and even sang "Happy Birthday" for her (no thanks to VP)!

 

[thndrmatt]

For our first ever DVC trip to our DVC home no less over Labor Day, our waitlist for a studio just came through! I guess because we're inside 7 months now and some people might have swapped out to a FL trip? We had Monday night, but now we have Sat and Sun night also. Woo!

 

[nunzia]

Being from the desert SW, we actually look forward to gloomy weather sometimes, and when we were at DL last, it rained one day and we were some of the only families out and walking around IN the rain We love the nearly year round clear skies and sun here, but it does make us miss the dreary days too

OT..and we really hate the sub zero freezing days we aren't prepared for and the tons of snow and no school..eh???
I actually LOVE the June gloom weather..as opposed to our blazingdeath June weather here.

 

[TLPL]

If you are going to the Expo (and I'm guessing you are since your ticker says so ), they offered discounted park passes last time...

I want to know more about the discounted park passes. We are planning to go to the parks earlier that week before the Expo. How does that work? Care to share your experience?

 

[nunzia]

I have a AP so didn't pay alot of attention, but my friend bought one of the ones that was good for the evening..I wish I could remember how much it was. Is ther anything online with info from the last Expo?? Anyone?? They had a desk on the Convention Center floor that sold the passes, I remember that much.

 

[Yukonjack]

OT..and we really hate the sub zero freezing days we aren't prepared for and the tons of snow and no school..eh???
I actually LOVE the June gloom weather..as opposed to our blazingdeath June weather here.

Hah! I know, that was some COLD weather for a few days there. I used to live in Alaska, but have gotten pretty soft since then about cold weather. I prefer the warm weather, but my wife and I (we both lived in N. VA for some time) miss the gloomy weather too. Sounds wierd to people who get to experience it more often than us

 

[Disney Princess]

For our first ever DVC trip to our DVC home no less over Labor Day, our waitlist for a studio just came through! I guess because we're inside 7 months now and some people might have swapped out to a FL trip? We had Monday night, but now we have Sat and Sun night also. Woo!

Yay! I love to hear about waitlist successes!

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Hi All.

Regular DL visitors (3 times in the last 2 1/2 years, which isn't bad since we live in Canada).

We just got back from a Disney cruise and a few days in WDW - the primary reason we went to Florida is that we had won free flights, and figured we should max their value out.

Loved the cruise - WDW was meh. We've definitely decided that we prefer DL (and spending a week in San Diego afterwards), and would likely only go back to WDW every 3-5 years.

Anyway... while on the cruise, we ended up signing up for DVC and it turns out that our home resort is AKL, as we were told that VGC was not available. We were advised that for when we like to travel to DL (early March and/or the end of September) that the 7 month booking window would not be an issue.

Now that I've had time to think about it (we had to pack our house and move 3 days after we returned, as it sold with a quick possession while we were gone), I'm stressing out that we have made a big mistake in joining the DVC with a WCW resort. It was an impulse purchase and I hadn't done enough research to know that I could have purchased into the VGC in the resale market.

Please tell me that I hopefully haven't just blown $20k.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Hi All.

Regular DL visitors (3 times in the last 2 1/2 years, which isn't bad since we live in Canada).

We just got back from a Disney cruise and a few days in WDW - the primary reason we went to Florida is that we had won free flights, and figured we should max their value out.

Loved the cruise - WDW was meh. We've definitely decided that we prefer DL (and spending a week in San Diego afterwards), and would likely only go back to WDW every 3-5 years.

Anyway... while on the cruise, we ended up signing up for DVC and it turns out that our home resort is AKL, as we were told that VGC was not available. We were advised that for when we like to travel to DL (early March and/or the end of September) that the 7 month booking window would not be an issue.

Now that I've had time to think about it (we had to pack our house and move 3 days after we returned, as it sold with a quick possession while we were gone), I'm stressing out that we have made a big mistake in joining the DVC with a WCW resort. It was an impulse purchase and I hadn't done enough research to know that I could have purchased into the VGC in the resale market.

Please tell me that I hopefully haven't just blown $20k.

Wow!!! I am not sure that buying at WDW, when you aren't crazy about WDW is the best idea. While you will have some luck at the 7-month window with VGC, I am not sure I would count on definitely getting a reservation unless you have the home advantage of the 11-month window. I have learned that those that visit DL are not used to planning their trips that far ahead, but I think that as the VGC owners become more savvy in booking the exact times they want, it is going to be harder and harder for those trying to book at 7-months.

Even though we live on the East Coast, we bought VGC to definitely have the 11-month window. Since our son moved out there, we did not want to take any chances in not getting just what we wanted, when we wanted it.

Have you returned your contracts yet? Have you missed your window to cancel? If not, I would sure check out the resales available. I am just not sure how any DVC Guide could possibly assure you that you will have no issues with 7-month bookings. And as all of us that have had DVC for some time can tell you, your vacation habits tend to change over the years. So what you are used to doing right now, may be different a few years down the road.

If you are too late to cancel, you are just going to have to set your clock to get up early on the first day you need to be calling MS to book.

 

[CrazyDuck]

If anything, I'd be kicking myself for not buying AKV in the resale market!

 

[Nonsuch]

Anyway... while on the cruise, we ended up signing up for DVC and it turns out that our home resort is AKL, as we were told that VGC was not available. We were advised that for when we like to travel to DL (early March and/or the end of September) that the 7 month booking window would not be an issue.

It is true your will be able to book at 7 months for March and September, but not every day will be available. You will never be able to visit during high demand dates.

Now that I've had time to think about it (we had to pack our house and move 3 days after we returned, as it sold with a quick possession while we were gone), I'm stressing out that we have made a big mistake in joining the DVC with a WCW resort. It was an impulse purchase and I hadn't done enough research to know that I could have purchased into the VGC in the resale market.

Please tell me that I hopefully haven't just blown $20k.

If you have not signed your final contracts, you can still back out of the deal.
The first rule of DVC is "buy where you want to stay"

You can buy VGC on the resale market. New rules limit usage of resale points on non-DVC resorts (resold after March 21, 2011).

You could also go on a wait-list with Disney for points at VGC. These would be points Disney buys back or owners who default.

 

[kikiq]

Now that I've had time to think about it (we had to pack our house and move 3 days after we returned, as it sold with a quick possession while we were gone), I'm stressing out that we have made a big mistake in joining the DVC with a WCW resort. It was an impulse purchase and I hadn't done enough research to know that I could have purchased into the VGC in the resale market.

Please tell me that I hopefully haven't just blown $20k.

I am a little concerned about the 7 month window availability. I know there have been several DVCers that have been able to book their dates 7 months out. If you are flexible at 7 months on your dates, then maybe it will all work out. I thought I could use our SSR points in January for our birthday weekend, but wasn't able to book at 7 months. We ended up buying VGC points because we wanted specific weekends during the year.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

We signed our contracts on board the ship and are past the 10 day window.

Thanks for confirming what I have come to suspect - we're screwed.