3DisneyKids
More Drink, Less Run...Since 2008
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2005
- Messages
- 7,936
Day 4
Our plan was for today to be our hang out at the pool day and then tomorrow morning we head down to San Diego for the remaining 4 days of our vacation. Yesterday I tried to see if we could stay here longer, but no luck. Tried again today, still nothing. Looks like it is not meant to be and today will be our last day at DLR.
But at least first we get to spend the day at the GC pool! And let me tell you, having hung out by just about all of the Disney pools, absolutely nothing compares with Grand Californian. I could go on and on, but let’s just say it is the best resort ever and leave it at that for now.
So we slept in this morning, had breakfast in our palatial estate, as we have come to call it, and Jeff and I took turns going out for a run. As runners, we both LOVE running the paths and walkways at WDW. No traffic, no dogs, and miles and miles of beautifully landscaped grounds to enjoy. However, at DLR—not so much. Of course, the size is the issue here. After the first tenth of a mile, you are off property and in Anaheim proper. Not so interesting for a run. Ah well. Knowing that I would soon be immersed back at the GC, I was ok.
However, when Jeff got back from his run, the first thing he said was, “We have to talk about our plans for today and tomorrow…” I had no idea where he was going with this, other than knowing that HE wants to stay. So I asked what he was thinking. He explained that he realized would couldn’t stay on points because they were booked, but what about getting a regular room and staying Concierge and actually paying cash, etc. It didn’t matter—he just wanted to stay HERE. For the entire week! This is so unbelievable because he is the one who is always saying that we have to break away from Disney, we need to do a non-Disney vacation and all of that. So I asked what got into him…
A couple of things, but basically it boils down to the Grand Californian. As soon as he got to the resort, he got what he calls “Four Finger Fever.” (Think Mickey hands—4 fingers—get it?) Plus, the idea of being able to stay at this amazing resort was just too tempting not to at least try.
So, we made some phone calls to see what could be done. The only thing DVC had available was the Grand Villa. Um, no, not happening. As much as I love this place there is no way I can justify a year’s worth of points for a couple of nights. And nothing available for cash either. 100% booked solid.
So we changed our plan only slightly. We were scheduled to stay another night and then we were going to wake up and head down to San Diego. Instead, we would stay in DLR for the day and do the parks with Jeff and then head south in evening, as opposed to the morning. Basically, we gave up a day in San Diego for an extra day at DLR.
Once that was sorted out, it was time for DTD and our hang out day!
As we were heading out, one of the CMs asked if we needed help with our luggage since we were moving rooms. Um, huh? Apparently, there was some confusion/miscommunication. When we were offered the 2-BR, it was only for that night. Since we booked on points and had reserved a 1-BR, we had to move to another villa for our second night. Ugh! I wish I had known that. I had enough points to just stay in the 2br for the second night and was willing to pay the difference in points, but it was a matter of availability. So, sadly, we had to leave our palatial estate in order to move to a 1-BR.
Now, here is where the CMs at the GC were incredible, yet again. They did *everything* they could to help us. They were so wonderful about it. They said that they would move everything for us while we were enjoying the parks, etc. And then I explained that this was actually our pool/resort day and they felt just terrible. But in true Disney style, they did what they could to make it ok. They handled the luggage transfer, kept our refrigerated items cool, and promised us the very first available 1-BR so that we would be homeless for the shortest amount of time possible. They took my cell number and promised to text me as soon as it was available.
Finally, we were off to DTD--
Like most other things in DL, DTD is smaller than World. But it has the same feel. The big difference, though, is that a lot of the shops are non-Disney, so that seemed odd to us. But I loved the choices for women’s Disney clothes here. Trendy and fun and not what you find in World. But then again, some things are the same—like the Lego store and World of Disney!
I also posted a bunch of pics here so that you can see other rooms of the GC. Some of them not only have a DTD view, but are literally IN DTD, as one a poster to this thread noted. Check out the balconies above the shops. Those are GC rooms! Now, I don’t *think* any of the DVC rooms are DTD view rooms, but I am not sure. I am sure one of the West Coasters will know and chime in.
And like with California Adventure, there is a special entrance to DTD from the resort. It is simply amazing.
Lunch was at the Rainforest Café which was overpriced but ok quality. Terrible service, though. When will I learn to say to NO to the kids when they beg to go? And btw, we didn’t have ADRs for anywhere, but we didn’t need them. Everything was half empty.
After lunch it was time for the pool. Mid-70s, hot in the sun, perfect. But I hadn’t received a text yet, so I was concerned. It was about 1pm. I had left a day bag with our bathing suits in it, but again, I really didn’t want to be homeless. We strolled back to the GC and no luck, room not ready. So we changed in the lobby bathrooms and went to the pool—which is where we parked ourselves from 1pm on.
Just such a perfect afternoon, I can’t even tell you. Made friends with all of the poolside waiters. I realized, though, that I didn’t have any sunblock—it was packed up with our stuff. So I went into the resort store to purchase a bottle. Upon coming out of the store, I ran into one of the CMs who had been helping us with the move and he again apologized about the room not being ready. I held up my bottle of sunblock and commented that so far it seemed to be the only thing we had to do without. Hearing that we had even been this minorly inconvenienced was all it took—next thing I knew, our bar tab for the afternoon had been taken care of! Again, Disney’s way of trying to make up for the miscommunication and the hassle of having to move.
This again spurred my husband to start the conversation about adding on more points!
We all had an amazing day at the pool.
Just before 4pm we got the text that our room was ready. Perfect timing as we were all feeling a bit sun-drenched and ready to head inside. Well, any inconvenience I felt about having to move after just one night was gone the instant I walked into our 1-BR Villa!
I mean, check out this view!!! Yes, this is the view from our room! Holy crap! (Note: Slight zoom was used in the first picture, but no zoom in the next ones.)
Evening was also downtime. Just a light dinner in the villa followed by a stroll through DTD. And we were so in love with our view, that we were happy to just sit on the balcony and watch the park go to sleep.
Our plan was for today to be our hang out at the pool day and then tomorrow morning we head down to San Diego for the remaining 4 days of our vacation. Yesterday I tried to see if we could stay here longer, but no luck. Tried again today, still nothing. Looks like it is not meant to be and today will be our last day at DLR.
But at least first we get to spend the day at the GC pool! And let me tell you, having hung out by just about all of the Disney pools, absolutely nothing compares with Grand Californian. I could go on and on, but let’s just say it is the best resort ever and leave it at that for now.
So we slept in this morning, had breakfast in our palatial estate, as we have come to call it, and Jeff and I took turns going out for a run. As runners, we both LOVE running the paths and walkways at WDW. No traffic, no dogs, and miles and miles of beautifully landscaped grounds to enjoy. However, at DLR—not so much. Of course, the size is the issue here. After the first tenth of a mile, you are off property and in Anaheim proper. Not so interesting for a run. Ah well. Knowing that I would soon be immersed back at the GC, I was ok.
However, when Jeff got back from his run, the first thing he said was, “We have to talk about our plans for today and tomorrow…” I had no idea where he was going with this, other than knowing that HE wants to stay. So I asked what he was thinking. He explained that he realized would couldn’t stay on points because they were booked, but what about getting a regular room and staying Concierge and actually paying cash, etc. It didn’t matter—he just wanted to stay HERE. For the entire week! This is so unbelievable because he is the one who is always saying that we have to break away from Disney, we need to do a non-Disney vacation and all of that. So I asked what got into him…
A couple of things, but basically it boils down to the Grand Californian. As soon as he got to the resort, he got what he calls “Four Finger Fever.” (Think Mickey hands—4 fingers—get it?) Plus, the idea of being able to stay at this amazing resort was just too tempting not to at least try.
So, we made some phone calls to see what could be done. The only thing DVC had available was the Grand Villa. Um, no, not happening. As much as I love this place there is no way I can justify a year’s worth of points for a couple of nights. And nothing available for cash either. 100% booked solid.
So we changed our plan only slightly. We were scheduled to stay another night and then we were going to wake up and head down to San Diego. Instead, we would stay in DLR for the day and do the parks with Jeff and then head south in evening, as opposed to the morning. Basically, we gave up a day in San Diego for an extra day at DLR.
Once that was sorted out, it was time for DTD and our hang out day!
As we were heading out, one of the CMs asked if we needed help with our luggage since we were moving rooms. Um, huh? Apparently, there was some confusion/miscommunication. When we were offered the 2-BR, it was only for that night. Since we booked on points and had reserved a 1-BR, we had to move to another villa for our second night. Ugh! I wish I had known that. I had enough points to just stay in the 2br for the second night and was willing to pay the difference in points, but it was a matter of availability. So, sadly, we had to leave our palatial estate in order to move to a 1-BR.
Now, here is where the CMs at the GC were incredible, yet again. They did *everything* they could to help us. They were so wonderful about it. They said that they would move everything for us while we were enjoying the parks, etc. And then I explained that this was actually our pool/resort day and they felt just terrible. But in true Disney style, they did what they could to make it ok. They handled the luggage transfer, kept our refrigerated items cool, and promised us the very first available 1-BR so that we would be homeless for the shortest amount of time possible. They took my cell number and promised to text me as soon as it was available.
Finally, we were off to DTD--
Like most other things in DL, DTD is smaller than World. But it has the same feel. The big difference, though, is that a lot of the shops are non-Disney, so that seemed odd to us. But I loved the choices for women’s Disney clothes here. Trendy and fun and not what you find in World. But then again, some things are the same—like the Lego store and World of Disney!
I also posted a bunch of pics here so that you can see other rooms of the GC. Some of them not only have a DTD view, but are literally IN DTD, as one a poster to this thread noted. Check out the balconies above the shops. Those are GC rooms! Now, I don’t *think* any of the DVC rooms are DTD view rooms, but I am not sure. I am sure one of the West Coasters will know and chime in.
And like with California Adventure, there is a special entrance to DTD from the resort. It is simply amazing.
Lunch was at the Rainforest Café which was overpriced but ok quality. Terrible service, though. When will I learn to say to NO to the kids when they beg to go? And btw, we didn’t have ADRs for anywhere, but we didn’t need them. Everything was half empty.
After lunch it was time for the pool. Mid-70s, hot in the sun, perfect. But I hadn’t received a text yet, so I was concerned. It was about 1pm. I had left a day bag with our bathing suits in it, but again, I really didn’t want to be homeless. We strolled back to the GC and no luck, room not ready. So we changed in the lobby bathrooms and went to the pool—which is where we parked ourselves from 1pm on.
Just such a perfect afternoon, I can’t even tell you. Made friends with all of the poolside waiters. I realized, though, that I didn’t have any sunblock—it was packed up with our stuff. So I went into the resort store to purchase a bottle. Upon coming out of the store, I ran into one of the CMs who had been helping us with the move and he again apologized about the room not being ready. I held up my bottle of sunblock and commented that so far it seemed to be the only thing we had to do without. Hearing that we had even been this minorly inconvenienced was all it took—next thing I knew, our bar tab for the afternoon had been taken care of! Again, Disney’s way of trying to make up for the miscommunication and the hassle of having to move.
This again spurred my husband to start the conversation about adding on more points!
We all had an amazing day at the pool.
Just before 4pm we got the text that our room was ready. Perfect timing as we were all feeling a bit sun-drenched and ready to head inside. Well, any inconvenience I felt about having to move after just one night was gone the instant I walked into our 1-BR Villa!
I mean, check out this view!!! Yes, this is the view from our room! Holy crap! (Note: Slight zoom was used in the first picture, but no zoom in the next ones.)
Evening was also downtime. Just a light dinner in the villa followed by a stroll through DTD. And we were so in love with our view, that we were happy to just sit on the balcony and watch the park go to sleep.
This is getting me psyched up for my trip in 1 week. 
The single rider line wasn't a real fast loader but if you happened to catch it when it was open it helped to not have to wait so long.
Only issue for us is airfare...for 6. 
