Grand Californian @ 7 months

[seanyred]

Does anyone have any idea if it is challenging to get a Studio at the GCV at the 7 month window. We plan on going in early October of 2011. If I can't get the reservation at GCV what are my other options? I assume just using points to stay at the other hotels.

[DisneyDudet]

I don't know if it is difficult to get a 7-month ressie at GCV. I do know that this isn't a big DVC resort, as they had to convert current wings of the hotel to it. Accommodations are quite high there, even for points, so that can work to your benefit.

You could use points on other lodging at DLR, but I don't find them a good use of your points. Yeah, you could, but I would pay out of pocket to stay at those resorts. They just aren't worth the points. They are nice and close, don't get me wrong, but just not worth it, to me.

[BrerGnat]

They did not convert an existing wing to DVC units at GCH...they built a new wing, which houses the DVC units as well as an additional 200 or so regular resort rooms.

Still, though, it's a smaller DVC property.

You probably won't have too much problem getting in there at the 7 month window for 2011, but I'd anticipate more difficulty for stays in mid-late 2012, after DCA is completed.

Oh, and early October is prime time for resort and package discounts, so if you can't get into GCH on points, I'd agree with paying OOP to stay at one of the on property resorts using a discount deal, especially if you need tickets. They routinely offer "5 nights for the price of 3" and "three nights for the price of two" type deals (which include room and tickets) at that time of year.

[Carol]

It can be difficult - especially if you are surrounding a weekend. I was unable to get a villa at 7 months out for the first week of December. They only had one of the days I needed available.

Another thing to know is you can no longer use your DVC points for a regular room at the Grand Californian. I personally think that stinks and have made it known to Member Services.

Your only other option is to use points for rooms at the Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. However, if you do that and a villa opens up - your points cannot be converted back over. They are locked and have to be used at either of the non-DVC resort.

AND - if you book points for California and have to cancel, the points cannot be put back into your bank. They have to be used in California.

Good luck. Call as soon as your window opens. The rooms available are extremely limited.

[BrerGnat]

In all honesty, if all you need is a studio, you're better off just booking a regular resort room at the GCH (or other DLR hotel) and paying cash. The regular rooms are larger than the studios. They are also in a better area of the resort (more centrally located...it's a LARGE resort). If you needed a 1 or 2br villa, it would make sense to use your points there, but for a studio, it's not a very good use of points.

And, don't know your situation at WDW regarding AP status, but if you are already a WDW AP holder and will be at Disneyland for more than 4 days, it's cost effective to just upgrade to the Premiere Passport. With that, you open yourself to AP discounts at the DLR resorts, which are plentiful and quite good in early October. As an example, I had a room booked for the first weekend in Oct. at the Disneyland Hotel, Theme Park View Concierge Level, for $312/night. That's a great rate! This was for a Friday and Sat. night too. Would have been around $272/night had I been there during the week. Standard rooms at the resorts with AP discounts start at $129/night in the fall (Paradise Pier). So, you can get quite a good discount with an AP. In addition, at DLR, AP holders get food discounts of 15% at all Disney establishments, 20% off merchandise, and various discounts at Downtown Disney, so it can save you quite a bit over a visit.

[seanyred]

Thanks for all the info. We are planning to stay a Sunday through a Thursday at GCV. And unfortuantly we will not have AP for WDW at the time so we will be buying tickets. We don't have a ton of points to work with so a studio is our only option if we are to use Points. However, I am interested in seeing if it would be cheaper to get one of the specials (Room and Tickets) next October. Does anyone know how early they release those specials?

[Carol]

Does anyone know how early they release those specials?

Keep an eye on the green disneyland (http://www.intercotwest.com/default.aspx) tab way up above and in the Disneyland forums lower down on the boards. You will see via the tab Fall/Winter specials for this year were announced late last month.

[BrerGnat]

DL discounts tend to be more "last minute" than WDW. However, early October is fairly reliable as a time with good discounts.