The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners & Lovers Group - 3.0

[KPeterso]

In one of the Facebook groups. Someone said they were at VGC in September and stayed in a 1-bedroom. They said it didn't have a pull out couch. It was just a regular couch. They were there with 3 adults and a child. They said the child slept on the small murphy and then the 3rd adult just slept on the regular couch.

Has anyone heard of a 1-bedroom NOT having a pull out couch?!

I was confused by that post. And the person never came back to really explain. If it had been us, I would have been going back to the front desk to ask for another room that fit us properly or to have some sort of additional bed delivered to the room.

 

[ClaraOswald]

There's another post about it today and someone in the comments said they also had a room with just a couch. She said it was 2nd or 3rd floor and the room ending in 522, so the one on the very end facing the park.

Someone else suggested maybe it was because the sofa bed was damaged and with an upcoming refurb, maybe they just put a regular couch in?

But that just seems bizarre for a room that is meant to sleep 5. I kind of wonder if the poster just didn't understand how to unfold the bed or something. Ha!

 

[ajiuo]

Yes, but:

1) I really don’t want them to make that many changes. So a refresh of the couch and beds, appliances that work, replace the carpet, put in a new shower head…. I’m good…

2) The Disneyland FWD agreement locks them into building NEW hotels and timeshare rooms, NOT converting current rooms.

3) Grand Cal does great on the hotel side.

4) They sell some direct points. I purchased 97 earlier in the year.

1) I actually hope that the changes are very similar to what they did to the hotel rooms… they kept the vibe while still making them seem new and fresh… we shall see. Perhaps we will get more info from the upcoming meeting.

4) lucky… i’ve asked about them several times and they wouldn’t even put me on a waitlist.. it’s hard to find smaller point contracts on the

 

[CWTC]

They sell some direct points. I purchased 97 earlier in the year.

Yup. We bought some direct earlier this year too - got lucky, right place, right time.

 

[AstroBlasters]

This worked for me yesterday afternoon when I was adding $300+ worth of stuff to my bag but waited until I got home to purchase so DH could decide on a shirt and now I can't get the double dip back. It has to be one discount or the other. Anyone else have
luck being able to cash in on using both since yesterday afternoon?

I have learned with Disney that if a discount stacks to hurry up and pull the trigger because often they are not supposed to stack and they will figure it out and fix the bug.

I’m sorry you didn’t catch it in time!

Keep the items in your cart and hope or a Black Friday sale!

 

[ClaraOswald]

1) I actually hope that the changes are very similar to what they did to the hotel rooms… they kept the vibe while still making them seem new and fresh… we shall see. Perhaps we will get more info from the upcoming meeting.

4) lucky… i’ve asked about them several times and they wouldn’t even put me on a waitlist.. it’s hard to find smaller point contracts on the

Yeah, I'd be happy if they went with the upgrades like on the hotel side. Especially the extra lighting.

Really...I just want the same vibe and style....with a murphy bed.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Does anyone worry that they might seriously cheap out on the referb swing as how this is the only resort they don’t sell points for?

I'm of the mind that they will not do this because of VDH and the fact that happy DVC owners are likely one of the best (unpaid) sales forces they have out there. I don't talk to everyone in line about my membership but I do wear a lot of DVC gear while I'm hanging out at DLR and I've had more than a few families ask what is that while in line at DCA or DL. Plenty of good conversations around the pools of Disneyland Hotel when they ask why we have the shiny DVC member bands too. I've recommend more than a few families go and check out the tour at VDH if they seem like a good fit for it.

If they do us dirty with a bad refurb at VGC, those conversations will be a lot less positive.......

I feel like at night it cools down enough to wear a SJ or light pullover/zip up.

Yea there is a wide season in So Cal where you have to layer for the early AM and into the evening. Like October to April but can vary widely even within a week.

I like to wear Disneyland gear at WDW and vice-versa

Another person who does this. I love it!

 

[CarolynFH]

Does anyone worry that they might seriously cheap out on the referb swing as how this is the only resort they don’t sell points for?

Remember, the owners are paying for the refurb, not DVC. Now, if the owners haven’t saved up enough in the Capital Reserves part of the dues budget, that might affect the quality of the refurb.

 

[ehh]

Confidence check: has any DVC refurb gone poorly? (at least when looked after the initial allergic reaction some have to change...)

Within my memory, some might not have gone as well as they could have, but I can't think of any where the general opinion of the resort worsened.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Confidence check: has any DVC refurb gone poorly? (at least when looked after the initial allergic reaction some have to change...)

Within my memory, some might not have gone as well as they could have, but I can't think of any where the general opinion of the resort worsened.

Careful asking this around here, lol.

From what I've seen on Disboards and elsewhere, there are always some who dislike a new style. But I can't remember seeing complaints about cheap materials, specifically, on a refurb.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I have no idea what has went into refurbs in the past for other places but since it’s a full refurb I really hope they don’t do what they did with VDH. The quality there is basically IKEA

 

[ehh]

Careful asking this around here, lol.

From what I've seen on Disboards and elsewhere, there are always some who dislike a new style. But I can't remember seeing complaints about cheap materials, specifically, on a refurb.

Definitely some individuals for every refurb who think it's a downgrade, and they'll be vocal. And they're not wrong, everyone has opinions.

Heck, I think all of the refurbs have been at least 'good' (some excellent), but I think each refurb had at least one thing that fell a little short (except maybe SSR?).

But general opinion? As far as I can remember, I think they've all been generally well received once the dust settles and people start staying in them.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Confidence check: has any DVC refurb gone poorly? (at least when looked after the initial allergic reaction some have to change...)

Within my memory, some might not have gone as well as they could have, but I can't think of any where the general opinion of the resort worsened.

Boardwalk “dethemeing”?

 

[AstroBlasters]

I have no idea what has went into refurbs in the past for other places but since it’s a full refurb I really hope they don’t do what they did with VDH. The quality there is basically IKEA

I believe in the Boardwalk and Beachclub refurb they kept all of the same cabinetry, so we should be in good shape there.

I will miss the border on the top of the wall though….

I’m guessing they will go more heavy into Chip n Dale…. and I can live with that.

 

[ehh]

Boardwalk “dethemeing”?

This and the BRV theming change were the two most likely candidates I could think of.

But even with these I'm not sure the general opinion is that the newer version is a downgrade.

So I made a thread+poll: https://www.disboards.com/threads/has-any-dvc-refurb-been-bad.3957091/

 

[NVDISFamily]

I’m guessing they will go more heavy into Chip n Dale…. and I can live with that.

I liked the tie in to the Grand Cal in the BRV refurb so if they could do something similar in a tasteful way at VGC that would be awesome.

 

[CarolynFH]

I have no idea what has went into refurbs in the past for other places but since it’s a full refurb I really hope they don’t do what they did with VDH. The quality there is basically IKEA

Ah yes, I’ve read that here. Since VDH was a new build, DVD has to wait for people to buy points there before they’re reimbursed through the points purchase price for the costs of building and furnishing it. But they’ll have seven years of Capital Reserves dues to save up for the soft goods refurb and 14 years to save up for hard goods, so owners can hope there aren’t any high-inflation years near the ends of those periods that make the savings insufficient to cover the desired quality of refurbishment.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I liked the tie in to the Grand Cal in the BRV refurb so if they could do something similar in a tasteful way at VGC that would be awesome.

I never stayed at BRV before the refurb but I really loved our room there last year. We'll see what I think of the 1-bedroom in January but based on videos, I suspect we will like it.

As long as VGC doesn't completely ditch the current style, I think it will be okay. I just don't want white walls and beige furnishings and zero craftsman style things.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I believe in the Boardwalk and Beachclub refurb they kept all of the same cabinetry, so we should be in good shape there.

I will miss the border on the top of the wall though….

I’m guessing they will go more heavy into Chip n Dale…. and I can live with that.

That’s good to hear.

I would be totally on board with chip n dale.

 

[NVDISFamily]

I never stayed at BRV before the refurb but I really loved our room there last year. We'll see what I think of the 1-bedroom in January but based on videos, I suspect we will like it.

As long as VGC doesn't completely ditch the current style, I think it will be okay. I just don't want white walls and beige furnishings and zero craftsman style things.

Yes! I agree. Please keep as much of the wood and craftsman details as possible. I’m hopeful they can do it a bit better than the test bedroom we have seen so far. The fact that they kept quite a few of the BRV wood elements and just cleaned them up gives me some hope. What I’m a bit afraid of loosing is the mosaic tile work in the bathrooms.