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

[Snurk71]

Are guests allowed to still use pool facilities after checking out of room?

Yep. Can use them all day on day of check in and check out.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-Note2 using DISBoards

 

[CailinFig]

Yep. Can use them all day on day of check in and check out. Sent from my SAMSUNG-Note2 using DISBoards

Great! Thank you!

 

[Snurk71]

Great! Thank you!

You could probably change clothes at the fitness center. But we changed in the bathrooms up around the corner towards the villas (that's the best I can describe their location).

Sent from my SAMSUNG-Note2 using DISBoards

 

[cml1010]

We will be staying in a 2 Bedroom in July and can't wait! I know there is no guarantee, but we are going to put in our "requests" for room assignments.

Has anyone stayed in room 6500, 5506 or 5518? Would we be better off with a view of Redwood Creek Challenge or a view of WOC? I have seen many people posting that it is loud in rooms 6500 or 5506, so I wanted to see if anyone had any words of wisdom. Thanks in advance!

 

[Checkers]

We will be staying in a 2 Bedroom in July and can't wait! I know there is no guarantee, but we are going to put in our "requests" for room assignments. Has anyone stayed in room 6500, 5506 or 5518? Would we be better off with a view of Redwood Creek Challenge or a view of WOC? I have seen many people posting that it is loud in rooms 6500 or 5506, so I wanted to see if anyone had any words of wisdom. Thanks in advance!

We stayed in room 6500 in April 2013 and although it gives you a great theme park and WOC view, it is noisy. The door to the outside deck is located next to the villa, too, and it constantly bangs as people go in and out. My family staying in the 2nd bedroom found it very annoying. The villas are beautiful and I am sure you will have a great time!

 

[hjgaus]

If you get a Redwood Creek view you might get a slight view of DL fireworks off the balcony while turning towards the left! I wasn't able to sync to the music from the TV channel but just to SEE the fireworks was nice!!!

 

[bellazachmom]

We will be staying in a 2 Bedroom in July and can't wait! I know there is no guarantee, but we are going to put in our "requests" for room assignments.

Has anyone stayed in room 6500, 5506 or 5518? Would we be better off with a view of Redwood Creek Challenge or a view of WOC? I have seen many people posting that it is loud in rooms 6500 or 5506, so I wanted to see if anyone had any words of wisdom. Thanks in advance!

We had villa 5506 in 2011 & 2013 and we LOVED it!! We will be back in December and hope to get it again.

The view is beautiful - Mickey's Death Wheel is awesome day and night! We also watched WOC every night from our balcony off the master bedroom. You're a bit to the side of the show, but the convenience of snacks and bathrooms and the short walk home afterwards makes it worth it

There is a bit of park noise during the operating hours, but its not very noticeable and didn't bother us in the least - we have 4 kiddos and it was never an issue with naps or night sleeping. The only thing that caused me to even stop and notice were the service vehicles that are in the park when it's not open - some of the beep, beep beeps for vehicles backing up was annoying at 5:00am. Also, last year they were working on the Zephyer after hours so there was a very tall "cherry picker" that was loud as it went up and down but not enough to wake anyone. I only noticed it because I was awake. It was amazing to watch them work on it in the dark!!

Whatever villa you get will be wonderful! Have a magical trip!

 

[cml1010]

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I greatly appreciate it.

 

[boscoj]

On our last visit we had room 6500 and loved it! The view was awesome and even though it might have been a little noisy from the balcony, once we closed the sliding doors the noise was minimal....

 

[bdrobet]

What are the busiest weeks at VGC? Any input is appreciated.

Brian

 

[bethy]

As far as I can tell every single unit is booked for every single night year round. But I think the easiest times to book a room are most likely weekdays during September, January, February, and May in that order.

 

[Chereya]

There's currently a Travel Zoo deal for the Mandara Spa at Grand Californian:

What's included
For $99 (reg. $195), select a massage or facial (select service at time of booking):
Massage choices include: 50-minute Mandara hot stone massage with Frangipani nourishing hair and scalp treatment or an 80-minute Swedish massage
Facial choices include: 60-minute Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift facial or 60-minute Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing facial
Amenity access features the fitness center, sauna and steam rooms, relaxation lounge, private men's and women's changing and showering areas
20% off products by Elemis, Mandara and Bliss on same visit
Complimentary valet parking for five hours with validation

The fine print
Valid April 30 - Sept. 1, 2014. Appointments required; subject to availability. A 24-hour cancellation policy applies. Not valid Saturdays. Not valid on holidays or holiday weekends including May 23-26, July 4-6 and Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Must be 18 years old or older to receive spa treatments. Specific technicians and appointments subject to availability. A service charge of 20%, inclusive of gratuity, will be applied to the full value of the services.

 

[hjgaus]

The view for the 2 bedroom villa #3513 is of the poolside & is one of the BEST to see the DL fireworks show while sync to the music on TV! No need to leave the master bedroom just open sliding glass door and turn your desk chair around!! Surprising nice as it was let me just say this was the ONLY good thing about this HA room!! For some reason there were NO frying pans available to make our breakfast & as I made 3 phone calls to housekeeping thus taking them 30 minutes to realize there was NO drawer UNDERNEATH the oven to house the frying pans & eventually bringing them to ME!!! On a better note the BBQ outside was easy and a pleasure to use & wondering why not to many DVCer's take advantage of them?

 

[gavvy]

Hi
Does anyone know what the chances are at getting a studio at the 7 month mark for Jan 22-25?

 

[Nonsuch]

Does anyone know what the chances are at getting a studio at the 7 month mark for Jan 22-25?

Your chances are good

Only Jan 1, 2, 4, 5 (New Years) and Jan 15, 16, 17 (Star Wars Marathon) are not available in the month of January. Considering all DVC owners can book through Jan 6 (and it is still available), there seems to be "relatively" low demand.

Good Luck

 

[Longhairbear]

I waitlisted at 7 months out for a one bedroom for dates this month, mid week. It didn't come through. So we are not going. We now book the hotels instead for dates later in the year.
We haven't been able to get a villa in a while now. They really need to add more at DLR.

 

[Tropigal]

How often are room requests granted?

I put in our requests months ago for our 2bd villa in July. Just wondering or should I say **wishing** if we will get one we requested?

 

[gavvy]

Your chances are good

Only Jan 1, 2, 4, 5 (New Years) and Jan 15, 16, 17 (Star Wars Marathon) are not available in the month of January. Considering all DVC owners can book through Jan 6 (and it is still available), there seems to be "relatively" low demand.

Good Luck

Thanks - will be waiting at 8am to book!

 

[Nonsuch]

How often are room requests granted?
I put in our requests months ago for our 2bd villa in July. Just wondering or should I say **wishing** if we will get one we requested?

My requests are a list of villa numbers (usually about 12 of the 23 villas), and have received my first few choices many times
I have only once received a villa not on my request list, but that was only reserved a couple months in advance and checked in at 5PM.

Earliest original reservation seems to help, as does early check in.
Most of my reservations were made 11 months in advance, and I often check in before 7AM

 

[taaren]

There's currently a Travel Zoo deal for the Mandara Spa at Grand Californian:

What's included
For $99 (reg. $195), select a massage or facial (select service at time of booking):
Massage choices include: 50-minute Mandara hot stone massage with Frangipani nourishing hair and scalp treatment or an 80-minute Swedish massage
Facial choices include: 60-minute Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift facial or 60-minute Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing facial
Amenity access features the fitness center, sauna and steam rooms, relaxation lounge, private men's and women's changing and showering areas
20% off products by Elemis, Mandara and Bliss on same visit
Complimentary valet parking for five hours with validation

The fine print
Valid April 30 - Sept. 1, 2014. Appointments required; subject to availability. A 24-hour cancellation policy applies. Not valid Saturdays. Not valid on holidays or holiday weekends including May 23-26, July 4-6 and Aug. 28-Sept. 1. Must be 18 years old or older to receive spa treatments. Specific technicians and appointments subject to availability. A service charge of 20%, inclusive of gratuity, will be applied to the full value of the services.

Ooh, this is super tempting. I have a quickie trip in August when we're staying at the Marriott, but have a Saturday blockout date ... aww just saw the no Saturday clause. Sad panda.

I really want to do this when we're staying at VGC for our long November trip, but this deal might be to good to pass up!