DVC at the Grand Californian

tarheelalum

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
I was wondering where are the studio rooms usually located at the Grand? Any opinions pro or con about them there? Thanks in advance!
 
When your looking at a map of DLR, the DVC rooms are located in the wing behind Pixar Pier, near Goofy’s Sky School & Corn Dog Castle. The location is great. It’s only a couple minutes walk to the lobby, which puts you close to the restaurants & the entrances to both DCA & Downtown Disney. I can’t even stress how much we love staying DVC at VGC. It really is our home away from home.

The only bad thing I’ve ever noted, was I didn’t like it when we had a 1st floor room because I found a few spiders in our room during the trip. I’m absolutely terrified of spiders. Since then I just request to be on a higher floor & I’ve never seen another bug in the room.
 
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I was wondering where are the studio rooms usually located at the Grand? Any opinions pro or con about them there? Thanks in advance!
You are going to get better traction, I think, on the DVC forum:

https://www.disboards.com/forums/dvc-resorts.187/

There are some good links to the rooms at GCV. I had some bookmarked but looks like I deleted them. The different room types are scattered along the GCV wing IIR.
 
When your looking at a map of DLR, the DVC rooms are located in the wing behind Pixar Pier, near Goofy’s Sky School & Corn Dog Castle. The location is great. It’s only a couple minutes walk to the lobby, which puts you close to the restaurants & the entrances to both DCA & Downtown Disney. I can’t even stress how much we love staying DVC at VGC. It really is our home away from home.

The only bad thing I’ve ever noted, was I didn’t like it when we had a 1st floor room because I found a few spiders in our room during the trip. I’m absolutely terrified of spiders. Since then I just request to be on a higher floor & I’ve never seen another bug in the room.

Are the higher rooms with a good view of DCA more points?
 




6504 is a great room! So much fun to watch World of Color in your PJs! Definitely check out the linked thread - there's a sample room request email in there that we use every time.
 
Keep in mind, there are only a hand full of VGC rooms that actually have a park view. I'm thinking 10 out of 50 at best. But, good luck and post if you have a great view.
 
The only real con I think of is that they're a bit of a walk from the lobby (at least our room was), part of it outside. Our "view" was of the wall that separates GCH from DCA. Even in spite of that, I loved it. After spending a lot of money to buy DVC points there I was really afraid of a letdown, but it blew me away.
 
We mostly stay in studios at VGC although the 1 bedroom is my personal favorite. It depends where you are wanting to be close to. VGC is very conveniently located to the pools, self-parking, gym, and lobby. It’s a bit longer of a walk than some of the regular hotel rooms to DTD and the DCA entrance.
 
The only real con I think of is that they're a bit of a walk from the lobby (at least our room was), part of it outside. Our "view" was of the wall that separates GCH from DCA. Even in spite of that, I loved it. After spending a lot of money to buy DVC points there I was really afraid of a letdown, but it blew me away.

Same here about being nervous. Our first trip was last year and we were blown away also! It’s just a great place to be, it really does feel like going home after a day at the parks.
 
After trying with 2 different companies to find a DVC studio at GC in early October, I can't find a thing. For future reference, is there a certain number of months out that you can rent pts there?
 
After trying with 2 different companies to find a DVC studio at GC in early October, I can't find a thing. For future reference, is there a certain number of months out that you can rent pts there?

VGC is the smallest DVC property, and the only one in California, so the rooms go very quickly, especially the studios. You basically need to try to rent right at the 11 month mark, so you really should be making the request well before then if possible so you are high on the list.
 
VGC is the smallest DVC property, and the only one in California, so the rooms go very quickly, especially the studios. You basically need to try to rent right at the 11 month mark, so you really should be making the request well before then if possible so you are high on the list.

And then hope a VGC owner picks up the request in the 11-7 month timeframe. I don't think most VGC owners rent out their points and also the most only use their points at VGC. I know I won't rent mine and I only use them there. I love staying there and I agree the higher level rooms that end in 04 are the best views.
 
There is a very limited amount of DVC studios and villas at Grand Californian. When renting, I'd request a reservation from the rental agency prior to the 11-month mark and, if necessary, pay the extra fee for home booking advantage.

That said, you can find last-minute bookings. We booked 4 nights in a 1-bedroom villa this past January, and I picked them up sometime in early December. I was just checking availability on the DVC site every day (we are owners at another resort) and three nights popped up! I waitlisted one more night, and got that on New Year's Eve, which was just two weeks before we traveled.

You can request a theme park view; there are not different room types when booking. We requested in January and got a nice view from the third floor!
 
There is a very limited amount of DVC studios and villas at Grand Californian. When renting, I'd request a reservation from the rental agency prior to the 11-month mark and, if necessary, pay the extra fee for home booking advantage.

That said, you can find last-minute bookings. We booked 4 nights in a 1-bedroom villa this past January, and I picked them up sometime in early December. I was just checking availability on the DVC site every day (we are owners at another resort) and three nights popped up! I waitlisted one more night, and got that on New Year's Eve, which was just two weeks before we traveled.

You can request a theme park view; there are not different room types when booking. We requested in January and got a nice view from the third floor!

I'll try to rent some points next year at WDW but at Disneyland it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. I'll just stay at the Disneyland hotel this year. Its just easier to book it and not worry about it. But thank you for your insight. If I ever decide to try to rent some points at the Grand I'll just bite the bullet and pay extra early.
 

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