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

[Mathmagicland]

Hi there! First stay at the Grand Cal approaching. I just did online check-in and there was a section where they asked if I would be bringing a vehicle (I am) and it showed a fee of $35 per night. I was under the impression that parking would be complimentary for DVC members staying on points. Am I mistaken, or will this charge just not appear on my final bill? Thanks

It won’t appear on your final bill. The online screens can’t differentiate between a paid stay and a DVC points stay.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We're planning to have our first VGC stay next June. I was looking at availability and so far, June is looking good for a studio. But the studios are all booked up for June 12th. Any idea if there's something going on that day? Other fully booked up dates are easier to figure out, like May 4th (Star Wars.) But June 12th seemed a bit random. Thankfully it isn't a night I need, but now I'm getting nervous about our dates and considering my first attempt at "walking" just to hopefully not lose the dates we need.

 

[lilsonicfan]

But the studios are all booked up for June 12th.

i know availability changes all the time but right now it doesn't seem booked up for that date? though, I tend to think if you CAN walk, why not.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I have never walked before. But I assume I just log in right at 8am and go to modify my dates, right?

And yeah, looks like it's no longer booked up. It was like that for at least a couple days so I thought maybe an event or something.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

We're planning to have our first VGC stay next June. I was looking at availability and so far, June is looking good for a studio. But the studios are all booked up for June 12th. Any idea if there's something going on that day? Other fully booked up dates are easier to figure out, like May 4th (Star Wars.) But June 12th seemed a bit random. Thankfully it isn't a night I need, but now I'm getting nervous about our dates and considering my first attempt at "walking" just to hopefully not lose the dates we need.

There seems to be occasional errors in the booking tool, from what I can find. I would book the rest of the days and then just keep checking.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I have never walked before. But I assume I just log in right at 8am and go to modify my dates, right?

And yeah, looks like it's no longer booked up. It was like that for at least a couple days so I thought maybe an event or something.

You don't have to do the actual modifications at 8am, as I understand it, especially if you are walking at 11 months and there's no chance someone can jump in front of you.

I like to refer to this post about walking: https://www.disboards.com/threads/walking-a-reservation.3901036/post-64413766 - although there is a very small typo in the first paragraph

Let's assume you want Nov 20, 2023 arrival to Nov 26 departure. Today, Nov 7, 2022, we are 11 months out from Oct 7, 2023. You could go online today and, if available, book the room you want for Oct 7 to Oct 13, 2023. That results in preventing anyone else from booking the room you have for the nights of Oct 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, 2023. That also prevents anyone from booking the room you have for any dates after Oct 12, 2023, until Nov 13,2023. Why? Because at 11-months out from any given arrival date, you cannot book any room that is already full for that arrival date, e.g., if you went online today and saw that the rooms are booked full for Oct 7, 2023, but open for all days thereafter, you could not possibly book a room for any of those open days.

It should say "until Nov 13, 2022"

 

[Andrea0710]

We plan on going June 9-14 of next year. The one bedrooms seem to be available now, but is there anything going on that would cause blocks of rooms to book up later? I checked the Anaheim Covention Calendar but did not see anything on those dates, so I am crossing fingers! Any advice!

 

[nalabear]

First two weeks of June are typically fine. Great time to go too; not too hot yet with June gloom hanging around in the AM

 

[Rex1993]

We went the second week of June last year and while the weather was great, Grad night was not fun! We had a gorgeous view of World of Color the first night and then the next two nights had DJs playing in California Adventure until until 1AM. The nights after that ended a bit earlier but the crowds were really rowdy in the parks the closer you got to the changeover.

 

[ClaraOswald]

You don't have to do the actual modifications at 8am, as I understand it, especially if you are walking at 11 months and there's no chance someone can jump in front of you.

I like to refer to this post about walking: https://www.disboards.com/threads/walking-a-reservation.3901036/post-64413766 - although there is a very small typo in the first paragraph

Let's assume you want Nov 20, 2023 arrival to Nov 26 departure. Today, Nov 7, 2022, we are 11 months out from Oct 7, 2023. You could go online today and, if available, book the room you want for Oct 7 to Oct 13, 2023. That results in preventing anyone else from booking the room you have for the nights of Oct 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, 2023. That also prevents anyone from booking the room you have for any dates after Oct 12, 2023, until Nov 13,2023. Why? Because at 11-months out from any given arrival date, you cannot book any room that is already full for that arrival date, e.g., if you went online today and saw that the rooms are booked full for Oct 7, 2023, but open for all days thereafter, you could not possibly book a room for any of those open days.

It should say "until Nov 13, 2022"

This is where I get confused.

I feel like I still need to modify each morning. So let's say today, I'm booked June 14th with check-out on June 21st (the farthest I can select.) Tomorrow, people can book through the 22nd. So don't I need to go on at 8am to make sure no one takes the 22nd?

Maybe I'm confused.

If that's not the case, then when exactly do I need to modify? (Our actual dates we want are June 17th - 23rd. Though I might get an extra day at the beginning and end for a while, in case we need adjust it a bit.)

We went the second week of June last year and while the weather was great, Grad night was not fun! We had a gorgeous view of World of Color the first night and then the next two nights had DJs playing in California Adventure until until 1AM. The nights after that ended a bit earlier but the crowds were really rowdy in the parks the closer you got to the changeover.

I wanted to go earlier in June but I'm super sensitive to loud noise like thumping music. So I'm hoping a June 17th arrival is late enough to miss grad nights! We went in late June last year and it was hot but we managed okay with breaks and I carried a small umbrella for shade. I would actually love to go in the Fall but it always seems even hotter then than in June.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I feel like I still need to modify each morning. So let's say today, I'm booked June 14th with check-out on June 21st (the farthest I can select.) Tomorrow, people can book through the 22nd. So don't I need to go on at 8am to make sure no one takes the 22nd?

Maybe I'm confused.

If that's not the case, then when exactly do I need to modify? (Our actual dates we want are June 17th - 23rd. Though I might get an extra day at the beginning and end for a while, in case we need adjust it a bit.)

I think the explanation is like this (assuming no rooms blocked out for maintenance or anything). Let's say for simplicity's sake that there are only 10 of your room type in the system.

Today (July 14, 2023), you book June 14, 2024, check out June 21. As a result of your booking, you have grabbed 1 of the 10 rooms, and no one can grab your specific room for a check in date of June 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20, 2024. The soonest that someone could check into your specific room is June 21 as that is when you'd be checking out.

This means that tomorrow, July 15, 2023, someone could book *a* room for June 15-22, 2024 but they would not be booking your room. In fact, in this example they would be competing for one of the remaining 9 rooms, but the 10th room is still yours because you're still in it as of June 15.

If you did nothing at all with your reservation, then in 7 days, on July 21, 2023, someone could grab your specific room and book it from check in June 21, 2024 all the way to check out June 28, 2024.

However, if at any point before July 21, 2023 you modified your reservation to push it out a few days, then the next time someone could check into your specific room would be the next check out date you have. You could log on on July 20, 2023 and push your dates out all the way to June 20-27, 2024.

So that is why you do not HAVE to modify every single day. As well, this is why you don't have to do your modifications right at 8am est. Of course, you could also modify every day, nothing wrong with that!

EDIT: this is for 11 month bookings, you don't have to modify every day because there is no one that can jump in front of you for that June 22 date for example. If you were booking a resort at 7 months then you do want to modify ASAP and often because an owner could jump in front and grab that room.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks! That makes sense now! And yay...I don't need to wake myself up at 6:55am (central time) the next couple days now. Ha!

 

[lilsonicfan]

Thanks! That makes sense now! And yay...I don't need to wake myself up at 6:55am (central time) the next couple days now. Ha!

I hear you! I walked a Jan ressie at VGC at 7 months (1BR, so easier to get than studio) and got up every day at 5am for 5 days to modify it since we are on the west coast. So stressful. I probably didn't HAVE to but it was good to be reassured.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I was looking at the room maps in @Nonsuch 's signature. Can anyone tell me why some of the rooms in the DVC wing are color-coded white instead of yellow?

 

[ehh]

I was looking at the room maps in @Nonsuch 's signature. Can anyone tell me why some of the rooms in the DVC wing are color-coded white instead of yellow?

They're hotel rooms, not DVC rooms.

 

[Rex1993]

I wanted to go earlier in June but I'm super sensitive to loud noise like thumping music. So I'm hoping a June 17th arrival is late enough to miss grad nights! We went in late June last year and it was hot but we managed okay with breaks and I carried a small umbrella for shade. I would actually love to go in the Fall but it always seems even hotter then than in June.

June 17 is probably late enough that there wouldn't be any issues with grad night. June can get hot but usually is quite pleasant. However, this year it was downright cold along the CA coast for pretty much all of June and early July. Very strange weather patterns this year. Fall is a great time to go. Yes, you can still get toasty days in October but the nights are almost always cool and comfortable.

 

[ClaraOswald]

They're hotel rooms, not DVC rooms.

Thanks. I didn't realize regular hotel rooms were in that same chunk. I mean, I knew the hallway to the left was regular rooms (we stayed in one last time.) But I didn't know -503 wasn't a studio. Same with 1511 and 1513. I assumed those were studios too.

June 17 is probably late enough that there wouldn't be any issues with grad night. June can get hot but usually is quite pleasant. However, this year it was downright cold along the CA coast for pretty much all of June and early July. Very strange weather patterns this year. Fall is a great time to go. Yes, you can still get toasty days in October but the nights are almost always cool and comfortable.

I LOVE "cold" which is why we also like to go in December/January/February. It was nice this February to be able to wear pants and sweatshirts in the evening. That's my ideal Disney weather. We haven't been in the Fall since 2010. It was late September/early October and temps were over 110. It was horrible. I know that was out of the ordinary but it sucked. I've also heard October is becoming one of the most crowded months now. Such a bummer because I do want to go back during all of the Halloween and Fall decorations one of these years. So I'll just have to deal. Now that we'll be staying at VGC, maybe that will make it more tolerable.

 

[Mathmagicland]

June 17 is probably late enough that there wouldn't be any issues with grad night. June can get hot but usually is quite pleasant. However, this year it was downright cold along the CA coast for pretty much all of June and early July. Very strange weather patterns this year. Fall is a great time to go. Yes, you can still get toasty days in October but the nights are almost always cool and comfortable.

Grad Night went through June 16 this year - many schools in the LA area go through that third week of June so Disney has a couple of Nights that week to coincide.

https://www.disneycampus.com/programs/field-trips/dlr/grad-nite-disneyland/

The days of the week for Grad Nights are pretty consistent year to year which might help with planning.

 

[upritbass]

It was late September/early October and temps were over 110. It was horrible. I know that was out of the ordinary but it sucked.

Actually, it is ordinary. It is known as a Santa Ana Condition and usually happens Sep-Oct.

 

[ClaraOswald]

The 16th was the 3rd Friday of June this year. And the 3rd Friday next year would be the 21st so that does make me nervous since our park days will be the 18th-22nd. I think I'll definitely plan to request a room on the pool side instead of parks and maybe that will help with noise. Maybe a lower floor would help too.