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

[NVDISFamily]

Right!? I was like wait - did I imagine that? I get it when they have to push dates but just be upfront about it instead of pretending it never happened. I do think they are going to displace people to the new tower when it happens but it seems like you could do that in 2024 since it opens in 2023. At the same time I know it will happen eventually (looking at you Boulder Ridge) and I’m buying at Tower so have that bright shiny new toy to distract me from the much needed refurb at grand cal. Waiting until 2025 would also make the refurb schedules for the two properties offset which I’m sure is nice.
All that said.. was looking forward to 2024 and now it looks like tbd later.

I'm really looking forward to the remodel but I won't lie I'm glad I get to "experience" the current rooms so I can be a part of that journey. With our first DVC experience (on rented points) being at SSR in a new studio we loved the murphy bed and I'm sure we are going to be eagerly awaiting the remodel. More so as the Grand Villas also seem to be a prime target to potentially also have the murphy in the downstairs which will be nice if we ever need to fit a bunch of people in that room

My wild guess on why the delays may be that Disney likely works with a set of known contractors they have a relationship with and they don't want to lock in VGC remodel until they are 100% sure VDH is done. I have some hope we may get started in 2024.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Next step forward: Phones and MB+ for keys and bypass the front desk altogether.

I’ve not used MB but phones do work here on the DVC doors. I’ve used mine the last couple of stays & never stopped at the front desk.

 

[Royal Consort]

My wild guess on why the delays may be that Disney likely works with a set of known contractors they have a relationship with and they don't want to lock in VGC remodel until they are 100% sure VDH is done. I have some hope we may get started in 2024.

Possibly. That would be en pointe for Disney to meet their own needs completing VDH before their obligations to existing owners/guests . However, we were informed that the substantial rise in dues the last 2 years was to cover the expense of the VGC refurbishment. I am curious whether there is enough $ in the kitty to cover this yet. I suspect Disney are pushing this out because they haven't budgeted enough for it. Rather than inform owners what's occurring and when it will occur in a transparent way, the strategy is to obfuscate and ignore. Speculation, of course, is what we have due to the aforementioned "obfuscate and ignore".

 

[ajiuo]

I kind of wonder how similar the DVC referb will be to the hotel referb in 2017. Even if it happens in 2024 that’s a 7 years. That’s the amount of time between a soft goods update. I can’t help but think it will be a more updated design than the hotel side. I’m guessing all the carpet will be removed and not just the entrance. I do kind of hope they use the tree wallpaper with chip and dale… I kind of love that. I also like the trim lighting on the upper perimeter of the rooms.

What happens to DVC members when they do a referb… do we lose room capacity and are not able to make reservations? Or do they move people to hotel rooms? In Orlando I guess you can always book at a different resort. but in California there will only be one other option… and that won’t be an option for resale members, which I’m guessing there are a lot of at grand Californian, considering that you can’t buy direct.

 

[ehh]

I kind of wonder how similar the DVC referb will be to the hotel referb in 2017. Even if it happens in 2024 that’s a 7 years. That’s the amount of time between a soft goods update. I can’t help but think it will be a more updated design than the hotel side. I’m guessing all the carpet will be removed and not just the entrance. I do kind of hope they use the tree wallpaper with chip and dale… I kind of love that. I also like the trim lighting on the upper perimeter of the rooms.

What happens to DVC members when they do a referb… do we lose room capacity and are not able to make reservations? Or do they move people to hotel rooms? In Orlando I guess you can always book at a different resort. but in California there will only be one other option… and that won’t be an option for resale members, which I’m guessing there are a lot of at grand Californian, considering that you can’t buy direct.

Typically the resort runs at reduced capacity while refurbishment is underway. This happened recently with BWV, where certain views were completely unbookable at 11 months due to expected refurbishment.

Sometimes they forecast this incorrectly and still have more bookings than they can accommodate. In this scenario they move people to different resorts or cash rooms. This happened recently with BRV, where they had to move some guests to CCV, WL, or an entirely different resort (though they tried to stay within DVC).

 

[ajiuo]

Typically the resort runs at reduced capacity while refurbishment is underway. This happened recently with BWV, where certain views were completely unbookable at 11 months due to expected refurbishment.

Sometimes they forecast this incorrectly and still have more bookings than they can accommodate. In this scenario they move people to different resorts or cash rooms. This happened recently with BRV, where they had to move some guests to CCV, WL, or an entirely different resort (though they tried to stay within DVC).

This kind of seems like a more delicate situation for Disneyland though. At Disney World, worst case scenario, DVC members could always book at old Key West or Saratoga springs if there is limited availability at their resort. There are a lot of other options. That’s not the case at Disneyland. Like I said the Disneyland DVC will be open… but who knows how hard that will be to book at seven months, and it won’t be available for resale members. So what other option do Anaheim owners have?

 

[ehh]

This kind of seems like a more delicate situation for Disneyland though. At Disney World, worst case scenario, DVC members could always book at old Key West or Saratoga springs if there is limited availability at their resort. There are a lot of other options. That’s not the case at Disneyland. Like I said the Disneyland DVC will be open… but who knows how hard that will be to book at seven months, and it won’t be available for resale members. So what other option do Anaheim owners have?

I don't see why the answer would be any different from any DVC: VGC owners can continue to try to book using their points at 11 months but if it's unavailable they can try different nights or use their points at VDH, Aulani, Vero, Hilton Head, or many WDW resorts.

I would be somewhat surprised at a complete resort shutdown for a refurb. I'd expect them to take a portion offline at a time, which would make booking more difficult but not impossible. Depending on the structure of the downtime, 11 month bookers may not notice any difference.

 

[ehh]

Example: if they take 1 floor at a time offline, they're still running at ~80% capacity. Instead of 23+23 rooms, they'd be at 18+18(ish) and there are not many times of the year where that would be noticed by an 11 month booker, maybe just early December and certain holidays.

GVs are another story if they do it by floor, those 2 units have a decent chance of being offline at the same time.

 

[NVDISFamily]

A silver lining about the refurb and room capacity is there is a good chance they may put you in a club level suite room at the Grand or Disneyland Hotel to try and match your room capacity. I've seen a few people get swapped into the Arroyo or El Capitan suites on DVC Fan Facebook when their villa has an issue and they need to put them in a different room. Sign me up for the El Capitan suite please

 

[franandaj]

Honestly, I'd be pissed because I would be depending on the kitchen. I often cook in the Villas.

 

[ajiuo]

Is it true that you can order room service from restaurants at downtown Disney here?

 

[elenex]

Ok, just have to get this off my chest.

My last 2 stays have been very subpar, even ignoring the need for a refurb and I blame management. I stayed in the DVC wing but in one of the GCH rooms back in November and am checking out of VGC on Monday.

Both rooms have been incredibly dusty. Each morning, a fine layer of dust coats everything in the room. I complained a total of 4 or 5 times and told them the HVAC system must be spewing this crap out and that there's no way the housekeepers could do anything about it. The best I got was that they'd send someone up to to to dust and see if they could do anything with the vent. No one ever came. My wife has asthma and both of us have dust mite allergies. I've had terrible sleep every night of both stays.

This trip is on DVC points, 7 nights. Tonight is night 6. I have yet to have any housekeeping. I asked twice on day 5, once this morning and then went and complained at the front desk this afternoon on my way to the park. They assured me they would speak to the manager and someone would come. No one came. Haven't even had towels refreshed.

I stayed at the Disneyland hotel for a couple nights between the 2 stays and talked to the bellhop about our issues on the first stay as he brought our bags up. Said "knowing management there, I'm not surprised."

Has this been an issue for a long time, or is this just recent? I love the hotel, have a great view this trip... But damn they need to clean up this operation. As an owner, I'm disgusted with how this "$800/night" hotel is being run.

 

[nalabear]

Yes, management is more hotel geared than DVC - no doubt about it.

We cut out management and just stop by the cart and ask for towels and supplies. They are super friendly and accommodate. never say no.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Just booked our 1-bedroom family stay for New Years, 11 months from now (!!!). Wanted to be sure to grab one right at our booking window; we had a great time earlier this month between Christmas and New Year, but wanted to snag New Years Eve the next holiday season. Does anything special happen at The Grand or in DTD for New Years Eve?

 

[JeffCD]

Hello All,
The DW and myself are big fans of Disneyland, and the Grand Californian, and up until Covid, had tried to go each year during the Xmas holiday season, and mostly stayed at the Grand. (and watched the room rate climb from ~ $300 per night to almost $800 dollars a night last year).

We went last year for the first time since 2019 (the first week of the holiday overlay). We have some health concerns around "you know what" and moved up the visit from our usual time (typically the first week of December) and it actually worked out well, other than the hotel bill!

After we got back, we both realized that the Grand and Disneyland during Christmas is truly our "happy place" and we want / expect to go every year.

Based on the fact that we're going to try to go every year, and that the hotel rate seems to continue to climb, I started to look at DVC, and I'm slowly becoming more educated about Points, Home Resorts, 11 Month / 7 Months, etc. but still have a lot to learn.

I've seen on the DVC resale sites that I could purchase 100 points for VGC (which I think would cover a studio rental during the early holiday period at 20 points per night).

Based on what I've seen on the discussion Boards, I do think I would need the VGC as my Home Resort so I could book at 11 months for a Sun - Thurs stay in a studio sometime after the holiday overlay goes up, but before the point requirements jump up as Xmas get closer.

I've also seen lots of posts about people having to try to book their trips (not necessarily the VGC) at 8:00 eastern time 11 months before their vacation or doing something called "walking" to move their reservation.

So, a few questions. Am I going to have to do a mad scramble each year to try to book a five night stay (during the 20 point period) during the holidays even though I'm going to have the VGC as my home resort (and paying the premium for the VGC points)?

If that's the case, although it might not be a deal breaker, it would be a major negative for me. I wouldn't mind booking 11 months out, but I sure would be upset if at 8:03 am every available date was booked, and either I didn't go, or ended up paying for a regular hotel room.

The other question is about the use year. If, as I said, I want to always to in mid-November to mid-December, should I be looking at any particular use year (e.g. Sep, Dec, etc.)

Any other advice or wisdom would be very much appreciated!!
Jeff

 

[ajiuo]

I am an owner at another resort and I can tell you that booking grand cal at 7 months doesn’t really happen… especially during the Christmas season. That’s why I decided to get a contract at VGC myself. The time of year I want to book isn’t as big of a deal… I’m not sure about Christmas season though…. I could see that being something that needs to be booked day one at 11 months… maybe Someone else has experience.

Another thing to consider is the new disnland DVC tower they are building. They are going to have a lot of studios there, so it might be easier to book more reliably for busy seasons… at 11 months. You probably will not be able to use vgc points there though.

 

[Huskerpaul]

Right now resale prices are trending down, so a good time to buy. I do know that the time you are looking at is a popular time with DVC due to the point chart. Studios cost 26 week day in the summer and 30 Christmas week. Also there are less than 50 studios available to book with DVC total. So lots of competition.

For use year it would be good to have a banking deadline after the time you usually travel so that if you have to cancel you could bank the points from your reservation. Banking dealine is 8 months into each use year, so for eample my April contract has a December 1 banking deadline.

 

[ehh]

Hello All,
The DW and myself are big fans of Disneyland, and the Grand Californian, and up until Covid, had tried to go each year during the Xmas holiday season, and mostly stayed at the Grand. (and watched the room rate climb from ~ $300 per night to almost $800 dollars a night last year).

We went last year for the first time since 2019 (the first week of the holiday overlay). We have some health concerns around "you know what" and moved up the visit from our usual time (typically the first week of December) and it actually worked out well, other than the hotel bill!

After we got back, we both realized that the Grand and Disneyland during Christmas is truly our "happy place" and we want / expect to go every year.

Based on the fact that we're going to try to go every year, and that the hotel rate seems to continue to climb, I started to look at DVC, and I'm slowly becoming more educated about Points, Home Resorts, 11 Month / 7 Months, etc. but still have a lot to learn.

I've seen on the DVC resale sites that I could purchase 100 points for VGC (which I think would cover a studio rental during the early holiday period at 20 points per night).

Based on what I've seen on the discussion Boards, I do think I would need the VGC as my Home Resort so I could book at 11 months for a Sun - Thurs stay in a studio sometime after the holiday overlay goes up, but before the point requirements jump up as Xmas get closer.

I've also seen lots of posts about people having to try to book their trips (not necessarily the VGC) at 8:00 eastern time 11 months before their vacation or doing something called "walking" to move their reservation.

So, a few questions. Am I going to have to do a mad scramble each year to try to book a five night stay (during the 20 point period) during the holidays even though I'm going to have the VGC as my home resort (and paying the premium for the VGC points)?

If that's the case, although it might not be a deal breaker, it would be a major negative for me. I wouldn't mind booking 11 months out, but I sure would be upset if at 8:03 am every available date was booked, and either I didn't go, or ended up paying for a regular hotel room.

The other question is about the use year. If, as I said, I want to always to in mid-November to mid-December, should I be looking at any particular use year (e.g. Sep, Dec, etc.)

Any other advice or wisdom would be very much appreciated!!
Jeff

Early December at VGC can be a bit competitive, even at 11 months, as there are just 23 studios (and 2BR LO bookings drawdown that inventory, too) and it is a great time to visit. Mid-December gets a little easier, but not a lot (8:05am might be okay, 9am is risky). Mid-November is easier still (9am is usually fine), but there's fewer Christmas decorations up.

In terms of Use Year, you'll want to avoid December, February, and March if you plan to stay exclusively in Nov/Dec. This is because, if you needed to cancel just before the 30-day mark (canceling after is a different matter and much worse), your cancellation date would likely be after the banking deadline for these UY (you could get away canceling a Nov reservation in Oct for a Mar UY) and then you'd have to scramble to use them in a short period of time or lose them.

It's not a dealbreaker (I occasionally use Dec UY points in Nov), but does add risk.

I'd also like to point out that while a 100pt contract is currently a perfect fit for 5 weekday nights in Season 2 (20pts/night in Apr 16 - Jun 25, Oct 6 - Nov 20, and Nov 26 - Dec 21), it is possible that DVC adjusts the points chart in future years. Considering the popularity of December, it's a prime candidate for an increase in pts/night.

 

[JeffCD]

Thanks Everyone! Just so that I'm clear, ehh are you saying that typically the vast majority of VGC inventory sells out 11 months to the day in the booking window? If that's the case, wow!! Does anyone expect that the new Disneyland DVC will have any effect (positive/negative) on the VGC availability/resale? Thoughts on waiting for news on the Disney DVC (since I'm assuming all of the Grand DVC for Nov/Dec 2023 is already gone, which means I'm really looking at Jan 2024 to try to book for Dec 2024.

 

[ajiuo]

What the poster above said… Just to be clear since this is a potential new DVC member. Yes they can change the point chart. They could make that time of year cost more points… but they would have to lower it somewhere else. They can’t. Change the total number of points they can charge… only move things around