DVC Grand Californian re-opening Dec 6!

For us, this is a way for us to get a little Disney magic. We are within driving distance of VGC so it makes traveling there safer than WDW. We have family in the area so we will see them (socially distanced) while we are there. I don't care if the pools are closed as it will be too cold to swim. We are just looking forward to being surrounded by a little Disney magic.
Ironically; we just booked Dec 26-Jan 2 Aulani. We could do VGC, but ended up cancelling those for Aulani.

Did flight to Bay area this weekend via Southwest and wasn't bad with 1st flight out both ways. -- this is despite San Diego T1 - which is quite a zoo usually -- was quite manageable.
 
I will be surprised if the pools open. That is a large expense to shoulder by VGC only. Much as SAB didn't open for BCV only, only magnified quite a bit.

I think member dues go to the pool operations thus it should be open. Although I have no real knowledge of such financial intricacies of DVC. It’s really more of a hopeful thought.....
 


I think member dues go to the pool operations thus it should be open. Although I have no real knowledge of such financial intricacies of DVC. It’s really more of a hopeful thought.....
Member dues go proportionally to the pool operation. There are 900 units at GC hotel. You know how many units there are at VGC. You can do some rough napkin math for how much of the pool VGC pays for proportionally.

At best I would expect the smallest, cheapest to maintain pool. I would expect operating it to wipe out 2020 dues credits.

This is why Stormalong Bay did not open until YC was open to help carry the expense.

Everything dues pays for is fractional ay a shared property. At somewhere like Wilderness Lodge, the property is more DVC than hotel so paying for all of front desk operations and grounds and pool isn't a huge hit. At a resort like VGC, even though VGC already pays for fractional front desk, that is typically less than 1 full time CM at all hours, and that expense will be up with reopen. Pool maintenance and staffing is a big cost to GC normally and the VGC dues simply are not enough to open all of them, and maybe not any.
 
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Ironically; we just booked Dec 26-Jan 2 Aulani. We could do VGC, but ended up cancelling those for Aulani.

Did flight to Bay area this weekend via Southwest and wasn't bad with 1st flight out both ways. -- this is despite San Diego T1 - which is quite a zoo usually -- was quite manageable.

I hope you have a great trip. We just weren't willing to take the risk of getting sick and/or spending a lot of money to not be able to enjoy Aulani. Aulani is our home resort so we will visit again. Just not this year.
 
Do you recall when this changed for WDW? Was it on the day the Parks reopened? Or before/after? Or... is it still the same also? Thanks!

Holding is being waived for any and all trips canceled within 31 days, Someone posted that MS said we would get an email when they put it back to normal,
 


I booked a room on a Friday towards the end of January (16 expiring points, 6 bankable points). February use year, so I’m cutting it close.

My best friend from college lives 20min away in Irvine. She said kids can’t go out, the fires, the air quality, rise in covid cases, virtual school, etc.

Disney is good at what it does best- entertainment for kids. Hopefully, they’ll have activities and my friend and her kids (ages 14, 14 and 3) will be able to enjoy a Friday night there.
 
There's a new notification showing what will be open/available and what won't. For pools it will be the Mariposa pool.
https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/grand-ca-travel-information/
So there will be no dining at all open at VGC. I would have though they would at least have the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill open for grab-and-go and grocery items for people who want to cook in their rooms. Since Acorn Gifts & Goods will also be closed, there will be no options to pick up snacks at the hotel. DTD isn't far, but they don't stock grocery items needed for those who cook in their villas.
 
So there will be no dining at all open at VGC. I would have though they would at least have the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill open for grab-and-go and grocery items for people who want to cook in their rooms. Since Acorn Gifts & Goods will also be closed, there will be no options to pick up snacks at the hotel. DTD isn't far, but they don't stock grocery items needed for those who cook in their villas.

I think the problem is how to access that area. I think possibly through the Mariposa pool area, but definitely can't do it through the hotel.
 
I think the problem is how to access that area. I think possibly through the Mariposa pool area, but definitely can't do it through the hotel.
I know I've gotten to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill from VGC through the pool area, and there *might* be continuous outside sidewalk from the VGC section up to the outdoor fireplace and around that to the sidewalk that goes past Storyteller's Cafe (without having to enter the lobby).

Which brings to mind another question - where will check-in be located? There's not enough space in the VGC lobby, so I'm guessing it will have to be in the main lobby. If that's the case, there's no problem with access to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill (or to Acorn Gifts & Goods).
 
I know I've gotten to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill from VGC through the pool area, and there *might* be continuous outside sidewalk from the VGC section up to the outdoor fireplace and around that to the sidewalk that goes past Storyteller's Cafe (without having to enter the lobby).

Which brings to mind another question - where will check-in be located? There's not enough space in the VGC lobby, so I'm guessing it will have to be in the main lobby. If that's the case, there's no problem with access to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill (or to Acorn Gifts & Goods).

I'm guessing a portable kiosk outside VGC
 
I know I've gotten to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill from VGC through the pool area, and there *might* be continuous outside sidewalk from the VGC section up to the outdoor fireplace and around that to the sidewalk that goes past Storyteller's Cafe (without having to enter the lobby).

Which brings to mind another question - where will check-in be located? There's not enough space in the VGC lobby, so I'm guessing it will have to be in the main lobby. If that's the case, there's no problem with access to the GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill (or to Acorn Gifts & Goods).

I don’t think it’s so much about access as it is that they are run by Disney and they are not opening any of their locations.

With no cash rooms there to share in the cost, it doesnt make sense. But, without the park open, and nothing like that in the hotel, it is a limited experience.
 
I think the problem is how to access that area. I think possibly through the Mariposa pool area, but definitely can't do it through the hotel.
How did you come to that conclusion? From yesterday’s email only the children’s area will be closed, not the entire lobby.
Resort Dining, Amenities and Services:
  • Upon reopening, most dining, amenities, activities and services will be modified, limited in capacity or unavailable based on physical distancing and health guidelines. In addition, some areas and offerings will remain temporarily closed or unavailable. These include, but are not limited to:
    • Tenaya Stone Spa at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
    • All hotel dining including Napa Rose, Napa Rose Lounge, Storytellers Café, Hearthstone Lounge, GCH Craftsman Bar & Grill, and character dining
    • Acorns Gifts & Goods
    • In-room dining
    • Art of Craft Tour
    • Children’s lobby entertainment areas
    • Instructor-led fitness classes
    • Special classes and programs
    • Character experiences
    • Fountain Pool, Redwood Pool and waterslides
 
I totally agree about restaurants, I was talking about quick service and snacks.
Any of it. 200 people, maybe? With all of DTD open? I just don’t see how it would pay for itself to open. I get it. It totally sucks. But I think we knew if it opened it would probably be this way-DVC rooms only so folks could burn some points, but zero amenities.
 
Even opening the desk and a single pool is likely to burn through some of the surplus from closure. And QS and shopping is not dues supported at all - they run on their own P&L and have to break even based on actual revenue and expense.
 

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