The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners & Lovers Group - 3.0

[ClaraOswald]

I haven't been following prices much, but I think it's less expensive to buy VDH direct than VGC resale. I'm glad I have both.

Yes, after incentives, direct VDH drops below $200 per point (as low as around $188 or so if you're buying at least 150 points.) Lately, you'd be lucky to get VGC resale for under $240 per point, I think. More per point for the smaller contracts, of course.

I have found that owning both makes me appreciate each one more in a way that I could not if we were going to the same property every trip.

My husband is worried if we end up buying VDH, we will walk by the Grand Cal entrancing longingly every other trip.

 

[Jperiod]

SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive point charts at certain times of year, Palm Breeze Bar anytime of day and Trader Sam’s at night (where people can actually come visit and you can hear each other having a conversation) , walking around the grounds isn’t a sea of humanity like Grand Cal, the showerheads aren’t disgusting, I don’t have to cross a major road to get to my car, access to Dole Whips on property, they have enough security lanes to get into Downtown Disney, there is actually availability for studios….

Interesting, I guess most of that doesn't apply to or bother us. We only stay in 1 bedrooms and our preferred time is more points at VDH, plus the ToT rate is laughable. Maybe that will change as we become empty nesters but I doubt it since we like king beds. Maybe that's why disney still doesn't put kings in studios, it'd make competition even more fierce!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yes, after incentives, direct VDH drops below $200 per point (as low as around $188 or so if you're buying at least 150 points.) Lately, you'd be lucky to get VGC resale for under $240 per point, I think. More per point for the smaller contracts, of course.



My husband is worried if we end up buying VDH, we will walk buy the Grand Cal entrancing longingly every other trip.

Would $7800 of upfront cash and a 10-20% savings on food and merchandise for the rest of your Disney park going lives help soothe things a bit?

BTW, you can always waitlist VGC @ 7m. Especially the 1BDs as they have the most availability.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Interesting, I guess most of that doesn't apply to or bother us. We only stay in 1 bedrooms and our preferred time is more points at VDH, plus the ToT rate is laughable. Maybe that will change as we become empty nesters but I doubt it since we like king beds. Maybe that's why disney still doesn't put kings in studios, it'd make competition even more fierce!

I don’t stay in studios with the family, just when I take solo trips to LA for work or charitable endeavors.

The 1BD points charts are much better at VDH than VGC for the majority of the year. VGC is better for BDs, IMO.

For 1BD:

Early Jan: VDH 30 points, VGC 62 points
Spring Break: VDH 50 points, VGC 64 points
June: VDH 42 points, VGC 39 points
August: VDH points, VGC 52 points

Also, the teens love to have some downtime in the rooms and my wife and I enjoy dressing up and go out for a date night as long as it’s close by.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Interesting, I guess most of that doesn't apply to or bother us. We only stay in 1 bedrooms and our preferred time is more points at VDH, plus the ToT rate is laughable. Maybe that will change as we become empty nesters but I doubt it since we like king beds. Maybe that's why disney still doesn't put kings in studios, it'd make competition even more fierce!

I was curious how the points charts compare for the months we tend to travel in. I just looked at a 1-week stay in a 1-bedroom to make comparisons easier.

January = VDH is better
February = VGC is better
June = VGC is better
December = VGC is better (but only by 1 point for a weeklong stay.)

So it looks like VGC is mostly better for us. However, I have no idea what months we'll want to travel in as the years go on. I could honestly see is going during just about any month. (Unlike at WDW where we pretty much only travel January/February.)

Would $7800 of upfront cash and a 10-20% savings on food and merchandise for the rest of your Disney park going loves help soothe things a bit?

BTW, you can always waitlist VGC @ 7m. Especially the 1BDs.

I wonder how hard it is to get a waitlist to come through for a 6 or 7 night stay though. I feel like that would be tough.

 

[Jperiod]

After going so many years, we know what times we like best and they're all more at VDH (late may, june, nov & dec). With the added TOT, one might as well take that money and buy VGC.

 

[ClaraOswald]

After going so many years, we know what times we like best and they're all more at VDH (late may, june, nov & dec). With the added TOT, one might as well take that money and buy VGC.

Are we paying tax at VGC too...but it's just already lumped into our dues?

 

[AstroBlasters]

After going so many years, we know what times we like best and they're all more at VDH (late may, june, nov & dec). With the added TOT, one might as well take that money and buy VGC.

If you can find a contract…. There really isn’t any inventory right now.

Also, you asked me why I like staying at VDH in addition to VGC. When you happen to travel doesn’t invalidate the reasons that apply to me.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I was curious how the points charts compare for the months we tend to travel in. I just looked at a 1-week stay in a 1-bedroom to make comparisons easier.

January = VDH is better
February = VGC is better
June = VGC is better
December = VGC is better (but only by 1 point for a weeklong stay.)

So it looks like VGC is mostly better for us. However, I have no idea what months we'll want to travel in as the years go on. I could honestly see is going during just about any month. (Unlike at WDW where we pretty much only travel January/February.)



I wonder how hard it is to get a waitlist to come through for a 6 or 7 night stay though. I feel like that would be tough.

6-7 night waitlist? Oof, I wouldn’t count on that in June and December. Jan and Feb are much lighter times of the year as long as there isn’t an event life RunDisney.

 

[Jperiod]

If you can find a contract…. There really isn’t any inventory right now.

Also, you asked me why I like staying at VDH in addition to VGC. When you happen to travel doesn’t invalidate the reasons that apply to me.

I didn't mean to imply your reasons aren't valid. I asked because I wondered if I was overlooking something. But your reasons don't really apply to us, so I believe our choice not to buy there still makes sense for us. When I first heard they were building VDH, I was sure we would buy, but as more details were revealed, we decided it wasn't a good fit. ClaraOswald sounds like she's waffling between the two resorts, so my comment about buying VGC over TOT was just a pricing opinion that they're not terribly far off from each other when you weigh all the costs.

 

[Jperiod]

Are we paying tax at VGC too...but it's just already lumped into our dues?

Yes, it was negotiated low with Anaheim or something, into our dues. If I remember right.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I didn't mean to imply your reasons aren't valid. I asked because I wondered if I was overlooking something. But your reasons don't really apply to us, so I believe our choice not to buy there still makes sense for us. When I first heard they were building VDH, I was sure we would buy, but as more details were revealed, we decided it wasn't a good fit. ClaraOswald sounds like she's waffling between the two resorts, so my comment about buying VGC over TOT was just a pricing opinion that they're not terribly far off from each other when you weigh all the costs.

I own significantly more points at VGC than I do at VDH, so I’m not saying that VDH is better…. but, by owning both I have options because in some instances VDH is a much better value.

Also, since the amount of VGC resale contracts on the market is down to 2…. It could be significantly more expensive to purchase a smaller contract in a specific UY that it has been over the past year or so.

Also…. the showerheads in VGC really are pretty awful at this point….. someone should take them out and install them in the DVC executive’s homes….

 

[ClaraOswald]

6-7 night waitlist? Oof, I wouldn’t count on that in June and December. Jan and Feb are much lighter times of the year as long as there isn’t an event life RunDisney.

Yeah, that's what I figured, unfortunately. Much easier for people who just like to stay a couple nights...but I don't think that would ever be us. That's why we will only buy VDH if we feel excited enough to want to stay there half the time.

I do think we will eventually want direct points....somewhere. Especially if we want to keep going to WDW after all the 2042 contracts expire. I feel like as time goes on, resale won't be as good of a deal once everything has restrictions, basically.

But I guess that's more of a Future Me problem.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah, that's what I figured, unfortunately. Much easier for people who just like to stay a couple nights...but I don't think that would ever be us. That's why we will only buy VDH if we feel excited enough to want to stay there half the time.

I do think we will eventually want direct points....somewhere. Especially if we want to keep going to WDW after all the 2042 contracts expire. I feel like as time goes on, resale won't be as good of a deal once everything has restrictions, basically.

But I guess that's more of a Future Me problem.

You may like Lakeside Lodge…. You seem to like outdoorsy theming…

 

[ClaraOswald]

You may like Lakeside Lodge…. You seem to like outdoorsy theming…

Yeah, it does look promising to me. Or if they sell BRV again after 2042. It will be interesting to see what options exist by then.

 

[KPeterso]

So I stopped in the DVC center at DCA on Saturday to pick up my membership magic reusable bag. I chatted with the guides there a bit and asked about the VGC refurb and asked why it was not a full refurb like it should have been. 2 of the cast members acted like they had not heard the complaint at all, but the one said she has heard the complaints and said it was laid out at the 2024 meeting that this was the money available and this was the costs of associated with the refurb and that there was not enough money to change some of the things. I told them I have seen pics of the shower heads that are becoming rusty and gross and questioned why something like that was not changed. No answers...

 

[AstroBlasters]

So I stopped in the DVC center at DCA on Saturday to pick up my membership magic reusable bag. I chatted with the guides there a bit and asked about the VGC refurb and asked why it was not a full refurb like it should have been. 2 of the cast members acted like they had not heard the complaint at all, but the one said she has heard the complaints and said it was laid out at the 2024 meeting that this was the money available and this was the costs of associated with the refurb and that there was not enough money to change some of the things. I told them I have seen pics of the shower heads that are becoming rusty and gross and questioned why something like that was not changed. No answers...

Excellent work.

I might have questioned if there is going to be a large dues increase if we have not budgeted enough in current dues to replace shower heads….

 

[VGCgroupie]

What do you like about VDH, particularly better than VGC? I cannot fathom anything I'd like better about VDH. We have no desire to stay there. We stayed at the hotel in 2017 for our 20th anniversary and were so disappointed.

Everything that Astro said.

I will say I stayed at VDH on cash right before becoming a DVC member. I have a thread here I made talking about why I would never ever buy VDH, I quite frankly hated it. My screen name is actually based off how much I was pro VGC and anti VDH. I went toe to toe with people here on why VDH was terrible. I bought VGC and then I bought VDH because I saw how hard it was to get into VGC and I needed more availability in CA, but when I bought VDH I still declared how I bought at a place I didn't like. https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-“confessions”.3954130/post-65734340

I had my welcome home stay at VDH in a 2 bed and realized that I didnt dislike it as much as I had thought, but I still did to love it. Then I had a 1 bed stay, disliked it even less this time. The new entrance into DCA really helped, the revamped DTD really helped the walk not feel so long. I was so so excited for the VGC refurb and they completely let me down. Pair that with the fact that is is so hard to get anything there without 11 month planning I am very happy I own at VDH.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Wow, the point chart jump for a 2BD after June 28th…. and the spread between 1bd and 2bd….
https://cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.disney.com/media/dvc/catalog/resorts/dvc-resorts/GCAL-2026.pdf

 

[cruisehopeful]

Are we paying tax at VGC too...but it's just already lumped into our dues?

It's a popular talking point and while it's true, the dues don't seem to be nearly as much as the VDH tax. It's probably a wash, all things considered, but it really sucks to pay for the TOT at checkout. I think the buy in price is kind of overlooked and forgotten. The checkout tax after each stay is a constant reminder of how much we're paying.