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

[jerseygal]

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS! MAY 2014 BE A YEAR OF MUCH LESS DESPAIR!

I just read your post...It brought "tears to my eyes".....Yes, there are
Christmas Miracles!

I hope that you and your family ENJOY YOUR JUNE TRIP!!!!!

GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN THE COMING YEAR!

 

[wdw1014]

Jerseygal and Poohsfan thank-you for the kind words and understanding. Washington is a strong little town and we will pull through. The vacation I have been planning for over a year now is just the distraction I need. Hope you and your families have a great 2014. Happy New Year!

 

[mickeymom629]

Happy New Year everyone!

Thinking ahead to 2016, I'd love to book a grand villa for either January (worried about all the refurbs, though), end of May or some time in the summer.

What are my chances @ booking a grand villa at the 7 month mark? Also, I would love to get the HA one because of the view.

 

[DebbieB]

Do you mean the biannual Expo? It does fill up quickly at that time. I believe some people got in at 7 months, but they might have been arriving earlier than the start of the Expo.

We always use our Hilton miles to stay there during the Expo because it is the absolute closest place to stay. Depending on your expo strategy that may or may not matter to you, but for us it is key.

Hmmm since F&Wdoesn't seem to be coming back. I might start thinking about renting out some of my points.

I got a 1 bedroom from Sunday to Wednesday nights before D23 last August at 7 months. I'm not sure if I could have got more nights, we planned to move to PPH on Thursday.

 

[Nonsuch]

Thinking ahead to 2016, I'd love to book a grand villa for either January (worried about all the refurbs, though), end of May or some time in the summer. What are my chances @ booking a grand villa at the 7 month mark? Also, I would love to get the HA one because of the view.

2016, that's planning ahead! The GV has a great view of WOC, and January is a common time for WOC refurb.

Booking HA will guarantee the Park View.

 

[PatMcDuck]

2016, that's planning ahead! The GV has a great view of WOC, and January is a common time for WOC refurb.

Booking HA will guarantee the Park View.

When booking for myself (at 7 months and much less sometimes) I have seen the GV available, but usually for not more than 2 nights in a row. But that does not mean it is not possible of course!)

 

[lwanthony]

So my wife and I have been thinking about joining DVC for a few years now. We have on average been going to Disneyland every other year or so and see ourselves doing that forever.
I think I have her convinced that DVC is the way to go and a re-sale purchase at the VGC would be perfect for us. But here is the catch.....
She will not commit until we try it out first IE: rent points for our next stay and see how we like it.
We will be going November 30th - Dec 5th of 2014 and are just starting to look into rental of points. Can any one here give us a little guidance? I have looked at a Davids, and we may go that direction, but would also rent privately if we found someone willing. My biggest issue right now is can we still get a studio even though the 11 month window is past by a few weeks? Also, since I want this to go perfect so the wife buys in, how can I make sure we get a perfect view of PP so she falls in love with it like I know she will?

Thanks for any advice, I need to get on the ball and make this happen!!!!!

-Lane

 

[mickeymom629]

When booking for myself (at 7 months and much less sometimes) I have seen the GV available, but usually for not more than 2 nights in a row. But that does not mean it is not possible of course!)

Thanks!

My kids are older (youngest in college) and last January we stayed in a BWV grand villa and it was soooo memorable! DS24 lives in L.A. and I'm hoping to have enough points (banking and borrowing) to WOW them again. Two of my kids have never been to CA or Disneyland, since they weren't able to go on the trip we made 2 years ago. We had a fabulous 1 bedroom at VGC - loved every minute of our time there! Would love to have 5 night in a grand villa in January (college son's time off), but it would stink to have major attractions closed.

We definitely couldn't afford the points for a g.v. in the summer, so it would have to be a 2 bedroom and, possibly, a studio but I'm sure that's almost impossible too.

 

[Nonsuch]

...We will be going November 30th - Dec 5th of 2014 and are just starting to look into rental of points. Can any one here give us a little guidance? I have looked at a Davids, and we may go that direction, but would also rent privately if we found someone willing. My biggest issue right now is can we still get a studio even though the 11 month window is past by a few weeks? Also, since I want this to go perfect so the wife buys in, how can I make sure we get a perfect view of PP so she falls in love with it like I know she will?

All villa types are available for your dates (I just checked), but you should attempt to book ASAP. I have never used Davids, but that would be the simplest solution. Your days (Sunday to Friday) are the lowest point cost, but remember Fantasmic and Fireworks are only Fri/Sat/Sun nights. Candlelight will likely be Dec 6-7.

Earliest booking seems to help room assignment, but there is no way to guarantee a "perfect view". If you really want to impress your wife, consider booking a 1-bedroom (perhaps shorten your trip a day or two).

Although VGC is sold out, you might want to get on the waiting list to buy direct. There is not a big price difference between buying resale and direct.

 

[lwanthony]

Thanks Nonsuch. I realize that Fantasmic will be only on the weekends during that time, which is why we will be arriving on Sunday. We will do the desert seating for Fantasmic that night. I thought about doing a one bedroom, but the price difference is almost double.
I didn't know there was a waiting list for buying direct. How does that work? Are people selling back to DVC?

-Lane

 

[laughinplace199]

Calling tomorrow (my 7 month window) to try to book for August. Wish me luck!

 

[carissa1970]

Thanks Nonsuch. I realize that Fantasmic will be only on the weekends during that time, which is why we will be arriving on Sunday. We will do the desert seating for Fantasmic that night. I thought about doing a one bedroom, but the price difference is almost double. I didn't know there was a waiting list for buying direct. How does that work? Are people selling back to DVC? -Lane

We've been told by our DVC rep several times that they have a waiting list, and it takes about 6 months to get what you want. We've considered it many times!!

 

[disneydenisel]

We've been told by our DVC rep several times that they have a waiting list, and it takes about 6 months to get what you want. We've considered it many times!!

We were on the waitlist for over 6 months and finally got our points in November! It was a long wait!

 

[carissa1970]

We were on the waitlist for over 6 months and finally got our points in November! It was a long wait!

Heavenly. Still trying to convince the DH we need to get on the list.

 

[XMom]

Did you have to take the number of points in the contract or could you request a certain number of points since it's through Disney? We are looking to add on 60 or so points so we can get a 1 BR every September instead of a studio.

 

[Pumpkin meme]

loved our 9 day stay in feb 2013 @ GCV and are now waiting for sept to open up in our 7 mth window.....fingers crossed as we would really love to tour DL in weather that doesnt require scarves and beanies....

hurry up.....hurry up.....

 

[Breyean]

Did you have to take the number of points in the contract or could you request a certain number of points since it's through Disney? We are looking to add on 60 or so points so we can get a 1 BR every September instead of a studio.

You tell Disney how many points you want. Unlike with resale, where sellers and buyers are locked into the # of points in the contract, once Disney takes back points through ROFR or foreclosure, they can, and do, split up those contracts into smaller (or combine into bigger) amounts to meet the wait list demands.

When we were on the list for VGC twice a couple of years ago, our guide even called us once to tell us they had just gotten a huge contract back in my UY and it would get us to the top of the list, maybe even get us our points.

Worked out fine for us. Good luck to you!

 

[lwanthony]

Okay first snag. The person I know that will rent points to me is not a VGC home owner. So...... we can only book at the 7 month window. Anybody have any incite as to if that would even be possible? Looking for Nov 30 - Dec 5th so 5 nights...... I can try Davids and book now, but the deal my friend is offering is a 50% or so savings over Davids.

Thanks for any info guys!!!!!!

 

[Syndrome]

Okay first snag. The person I know that will rent points to me is not a VGC home owner. So...... we can only book at the 7 month window. Anybody have any incite as to if that would even be possible? Looking for Nov 30 - Dec 5th so 5 nights...... I can try Davids and book now, but the deal my friend is offering is a 50% or so savings over Davids.

Thanks for any info guys!!!!!!

We just rented points from a non VGC member. We arranged it so at EXACTLY the 7 month window, they booked our reservation for 5 nights in a 1 bdrm. They were on the phone at 8am EST. We had no trouble getting what we wanted, and this was for late Juy 2014.
for Novemeber I think you have a good shot to get what you want from your friend, and save a lot of $$$.
Check out ****** website to see your availabilty. It works very good with VGC. Right now all catagories for your dates have availabilty.

Good Luck,
Syndrome

 

[Cinderpamela]

Okay first snag. The person I know that will rent points to me is not a VGC home owner. So...... we can only book at the 7 month window. Anybody have any incite as to if that would even be possible? Looking for Nov 30 - Dec 5th so 5 nights...... I can try Davids and book now, but the deal my friend is offering is a 50% or so savings over Davids.

Thanks for any info guys!!!!!!

The first week of December is actually a very popular time for DVC members to go.... it's certainly worth a shot to try. Make sure your owner is online and ready to book with Member Services right when the 7 month window opens up... but be sure to have a Plan B backup.

You did not mention what room category you are trying for but you should be aware that Studios can be the hardest to get.