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

[oktracy]

I have been anxiously awaiting the announcement as well. I am also hoping to reserve tickets for the event. Hope to see you there!

 

[lawboy2001]

We just returned from a trip to California, which included a four night stay at VGC! We loved it! Our home resort is BLT but we now see there is a resort that is EVEN closer to the action, at least at DLR -- that back entrance to DCA is so wonderful. The resort is over the top opulent and all the staff were great. We loved the enormous one bedroom suite. We had a redwood view, I think room 2514. It was great but quite dark. But with the extreme heat last week I think we ended up liking it -- retreating to room to be in cool darkness. The only problem is that unlike travel to WDW, you have to deal with jet lag there an back

 

[keaster]

We are planning on renting a car for our trip in March. What is the parking situation? Do DVC members pay for parking and if so what is the rate?

 

[Nonsuch]

...What is the parking situation? Do DVC members pay for parking and if so what is the rate?

Self-parking is free for guests staying on points (normal rate is $20/night), lot is across Disneyland Drive from GCH. Valet parking is not free (or even discounted), $30/night.

 

[weheartdisney07]

If I remember reading right VGC does not have DVD players in the rooms anymore. Are there any options if we wanted to watch movies in the room?

 

[FireflyTrance]

If you are staying at VGC can you participate in all the activities that the GC has? I saw mention of a scavenger hunt for kids, and this is the type of activity my daughter likes. Thanks!

 

[Nonsuch]

If I remember reading right VGC does not have DVD players in the rooms anymore.

Correct, the renovation has eliminated DVD players. It might be possible to request a player from Guest Services.

...Are there any options if we wanted to watch movies in the room?

A mobile device could stream a movie, and output with an HDMI cable to the TV -- some sort of adapter would likely be needed. The TVs are not connected to the internet (at least on my last visit), so they cannot directly stream movies.

 

[Nonsuch]

If you are staying at VGC can you participate in all the activities that the GC has?

VGC guests receive the same benefits as GCH guests, and you may participate in all hotel activities. Unlike some WDW DVC resorts, VGC does not have any dedicated services (registration, pools...) everything is shared with GCH.

 

[MikeRx]

We just passed ROFR today and will soon be calling VGC home! Thank you to everyone on this thread and those who posted on the purchase thread for all of your advice!
Mike

 

[Just Peachy]

We just passed ROFR today and will soon be calling VGC home! Thank you to everyone on this thread and those who posted on the purchase thread for all of your advice!
Mike

Congratulations! You will love VCG. We have only had our membership for three years so far, but have stayed at most of the DVC properties and the Grand Cali is our favorite. We are however, pretty biased toward Disneyland...

 

[Jperiod]

New VGC owner! Just waiting for our DVC account (deed was recorded on 9/1). We stayed in 5506, a 2 bedroom with an amazing view, 4 years ago and it was the best disney vacation we've ever had! We plan to stay in 1 bedrooms with our points though. Are the trees really high, covering the park view now?

Our contract was loaded with points expiring in May, before we can really use them. I'm debating between just renting them out as soon as I can, or try wait-listing for 10/3 (a halloween party night)? We'd take any size. Do you think that's unlikely to come through?

 

[FireflyTrance]

Welcome to VGC! I think a wait list for 10/3 is unlikely to work out. I've heard people have better luck just checking the availability tool multiple times a day, so there is a chance that might work if you are flexible on your dates. Otherwise probably best to rent them out.

New VGC owner! Just waiting for our DVC account (deed was recorded on 9/1). We stayed in 5506, a 2 bedroom with an amazing view, 4 years ago and it was the best disney vacation we've ever had! We plan to stay in 1 bedrooms with our points though. Are the trees really high, covering the park view now?

Our contract was loaded with points expiring in May, before we can really use them. I'm debating between just renting them out as soon as I can, or try wait-listing for 10/3 (a halloween party night)? We'd take any size. Do you think that's unlikely to come through?

 

[Just Peachy]

Our contract was loaded with points expiring in May, before we can really use them. I'm debating between just renting them out as soon as I can, or try wait-listing for 10/3 (a halloween party night)? We'd take any size. Do you think that's unlikely to come through?

Congratulations to you!

I don't think your chances will be very good with a wait list in October. When we got our contract to VGC it also came loaded with past points and we had already booked our next vacation with cash. So, we rented through David's and had them rented out in two weeks. I got enough rental $ to cover about 70% of our cash stay.

 

[TexasErin]

Congratulations to you!

I don't think your chances will be very good with a wait list in October. When we got our contract to VGC it also came loaded with past points and we had already booked our next vacation with cash. So, we rented through David's and had them rented out in two weeks. I got enough rental $ to cover about 70% of our cash stay.

I wish I was having that kind of success with David's. Mine have been listed for TWO MONTHS and nothing! I had BLT points and they rented those out in a couple of weeks, but not my VGC points.

 

[Jperiod]

I wish I was having that kind of success with David's. Mine have been listed for TWO MONTHS and nothing! I had BLT points and they rented those out in a couple of weeks, but not my VGC points.

Wow! What does that mean? People aren't wanting to go to VGC? Or does your point amount have to match exactly?

If you put them in David's, can you still try to rent them out yourself elsewhere while you wait?

 

[TexasErin]

Wow! What does that mean? People aren't wanting to go to VGC? Or does your point amount have to match exactly?

If you put them in David's, can you still try to rent them out yourself elsewhere while you wait?

The soonest out that I can make reservations is for June 1, 2018. Evidently there has not been a close match with the number of points that I have for anyone who is wanting to start a vacation after June 1 of next year. I really thought that people would be wanting to rent out those points since it is now less than nine months away. Very frustrating. Since I have listed the points with them, I hate to go to the trouble of renting them out myself when I have already rented out my BLT points with them. I am afraid of messing anything up.

 

[kollerbear]

Hi! WDW is my "home" resort, but we visited DL last October and I cannot wait to visit again with the rest of my family and try to stay at the Grand Californian!! I was wondering if anyone knows if there is generally availability 7 months out if you are ready to book right away? We would probably be looking for January (2019). Thanks for any tips you can offer!

 

[finchy3]

You will struggle for a studio, maybe a 1 bedroom if your online first thing.

 

[kollerbear]

You will struggle for a studio, maybe a 1 bedroom if your online first thing.

Thanks! So what I'm hearing is I will struggle for a studio but if I get TWO STUDIOS I'll be GREAT. GOT IT. Just kidding of course. Fingers crossed. Is Jan a relative low-season there like it is in WDW?

 

[franandaj]

I'm not sure there is a low season. Jan and Feb are very temperate months in CA and often the weather is very nice. I like going in February.