Grand Californian waitlisted.

[Twinprincesses]

Ok today was our first day at the 7 month mark to book Grand Californian. We had to waitlist it. Now I am stressed. Do you think this will come through or should I just book through Disney Collection? I worry and stress way too much.

 

[keaster]

What size room were you trying to book and for how many days? From what I hear studios are the hardest to get and October is a busy month for VGC.

 

[Twinprincesses]

1 bedroom. For 4 days. I have never booked though Disney collection before so I am not even sure how that works.

 

[keaster]

1 bedroom. For 4 days. I have never booked though Disney collection before so I am not even sure how that works.

You would have to call Member services to book a Disney collection room. The points are quite high and you don't get a villa but a regular hotel room. For example a standard view room at Grand Californian during your time frame is 53 points/night Sun-Thurs and 66 points/night Fri-Sat.

Also you have to pay a $95 dollar non-refundable fee when booking Disney collection resorts.

 

[Twinprincesses]

And am I correct I cannot cancel that reservation if my waitlist comes through?

 

[keaster]

And am I correct I cannot cancel that reservation if my waitlist comes through?

According to the member website you can cancel your Disney Collection reservation without penalty up to 5 days before check in, here is the wording:

The following cancellation and modification guidelines are subject to change without notice.
Cancellation Window: Penalty:
5 or More Days Before Check-In All Reservation Points will be returned to the Use Year in which the reservation falls
4 Days or Fewer Before Trip Forfeiture of all Reservation Points

But also important...when you cancel a Disney collection reservation, those points CANNOT be used for a DVC reservation, but must be used for another Disney collection reservation. so you are correct in that if your waitlist comes through, you cannot use the cancelled Disney collection points.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

And am I correct I cannot cancel that reservation if my waitlist comes through?

You could cancel but the points are change to "reservation points" and would be returned as that and could not be used for DVC resort stays any longer.

FYI - no $95 fee for Disneyland resorts but it's still an expensive way to go. I'd give the waitlist time to work and would also look for individual day nights to book.

 

[keaster]

You could cancel but the points are change to "reservation points" and would be returned as that and could not be used for DVC resort stays any longer.

FYI - no $95 fee for Disneyland resorts but it's still an expensive way to go. I'd give the waitlist time to work and would also look for individual day nights to book.

That's good to know, I did not know that Disneyland resorts did not charge the 95 dollar fee!

 

[Twinprincesses]

Thank you so much. I will give it a few months. Thank you

 

[katmandad]

I have done four waitlists at the Grand Californian and only had one get approved. No guarantees one way or the other, but I would suggest a fall back plan. You can always make a reservation somewhere, and then cancel if your waitlist is approved.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

I’ve waitlisted many times with no luck. I have stayed there many times also but only at the 7mo, never from a wait.

 

[Shelly S]

Did you just waitlist the one day? The rest of your days are available so right at 8am est tomorrow book the rest of your days and waitlist just the one night. A one night waitlist is much easier to fill than multiple nights

 

[DebbieB]

I waitlisted a studio for October 14 to 19, don't have much hope but why not try. Have a cash reservation at Paradise Pier. Also waitlisted Friday night separately, Oct 19 to 20. I plan to go to a hotel near SNA but if the studio comes through I'll stay. My flight home on Saturday morning isn't until 10:00.

 

[limace]

I’d rent my points and pay cash for a reservation if waitlist doesn’t come through soon.

 

[dzd]

This is the reason I waited for a year and a half and paid double what I could have else where in DVC. I had a friend stalking the VGA for me and It would appear that he could never get anything. So when I finally got to buy my contract at VGA I converted our December Trip to a DVC stay. Im still 9 moths out and I couldn't get a full week in a studio. Maybe that 4th Resort in CA will have villas, because 48 units isn't cutting it.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

This is the reason I waited for a year and a half and paid double what I could have else where in DVC. I had a friend stalking the VGA for me and It would appear that he could never get anything. So when I finally got to buy my contract at VGA I converted our December Trip to a DVC stay. Im still 9 moths out and I couldn't get a full week in a studio. Maybe that 4th Resort in CA will have villas, because 48 units isn't cutting it.

Actually, much of the year you'd be able to get the studio right up until 7 months at VGC. It can be a booking frenzy at 7 months though! Early December is popular on both coasts and especially the weekend of the candlelight processional at DL. But otherwise booking there at 11 months is not an issue and like I said often surprisingly available until 7 months.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I have been successful on waitlists twice. 3 nights and 4 nights. Good luck!!!

 

[mustinjourney]

I haven’t had a waitlist fill, but I did successfully stalk the RAT and also used a sniping service. Check out www.******.com.

 

[PatMcDuck]

If you were hoping for a studio, I would say forget it, but a 1BR could pop up. I have booked there (VGC)several times at 7 months. Good luck!

 

[pineapplepalms]

I recently had a 1 day studio waitlist at VGC come through just a few weeks before we're going for the weekend. I was also stalking the RAT and would very occasionally see 2-4 days in a row pop up as available (usually a 1BR or 2BR), but it seems pretty rare. It does seem easier to get a 1 day waitlist filled and it might even happen just a couple of weeks before if your plans are flexible (we had booked another hotel using loyalty rewards with a good cancellation policy as a backup).