All of the pools at the Grand Californian closing 1/3/2017

[Syndrome]

Well, not the greatest news for anyone who has an upcoming stay at the Grand in early 2017 ...........

We have our first ever trip to DL coming up in January 2017 . Was able to get a whole week at GCV in a 1 bedroom villa using our DVC points !
Just got the dreaded "letter" today ..............

"Beginning January 3rd 2017 .......... the Fountain pool , Mariposa pool and the Redwood pool will ALL be closed until spring of 2017 . Including whirlpool spas , childrens pools, and cabanas will all be closed . Guests will be welcome to use any of the other Disneyland Resort Pools . "

WELL THAT'S JUST GREAT !!!!
I mean its cool that we can visit the Disneyland Hotel pools and all , but really ??? Closing ALL the pools at GC for a few months !!!! WHAT ?!?!?!
This has to belong in the "WHAT ARE THEY THINKING" folder right !?!?!?!?!

Yea .............this sucks !

 

[Darkbeer1]

Well, maintenance and resurfacing needs to be done. Better to do it in winter than summer, and they do offer an alternative, though more than likely you will have to go through the new security checks in regards to Downtown Disney.

Sorry for your bad news, and yes, Disney should announce these things a lot earlier than less than 2 months away.

 

[Syndrome]

True, I can completely agree with the timing of a pool refurb , but all of the pools at the same time !?!?! Holy cow !!!

 

[Darkbeer1]

Well, in Disney eyes, it is a lot easier to just lock the pool gates that service the area for safety reasons.

And this also impacts guests at the GCH that have used the pool area as a shortcut to get to the special DCA gate.

 

[meggles]

Bummer due to proximity of the pool to your room, yes, but the pools and slides at the DLH are much better imo.

 

[Laundress]

Sound awfully inconvenient. I would be bummed too.

 

[crazycatlady]

Uggg! I am sorry that this is happening during your visit! I totally understand your frustration. For the price of those rooms, there should be at least one pool open or there should've have been way more notice.

 

[rentayenta]

Ugh! I am so sorry. I would be bummed too.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Very bummering but fwiw it's beyond your normal "refurb". I expect the pool area will be undergoing a very big re-work, after all the entire hotel is undergoing an extensive refurb and the hotel rooms are being completely redone, as is the lobby (rumor is come summer for the lobby) and the pool area is included with all that. Who knows what it will look like come spring? (or lets be real, summer, it's disney after all and they move slow!) If the pool area is supper important have you looked into moving your ressie to another one of the Disney properties? The Grand is great and all but we love a pool and I would be miserable if I had to walk to another hotel to use the pools! (And, of note, the pool area is NOT used as a shortcut to the park. The DCA park entry path goes around the outside of the pool area, the 2 never meet, so I would not worry about that.) To stay up to date check on on the GCH thread here on the DIS Boards periodically, that's where I saw the latest rumors on the refurb. And it's totally happening, I was just walking through GCH this weekend and I saw a display showing what the new rooms would look like and explaining the refurb the hotel would be undergoing in the coming year.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Here is the shortcut I mentioned, some GCH use it, basically those in the Villas.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6982524

EDITED to add - The same shortcut is used by some GCH guests to grab meals at Whitewater Snacks.

 

[vinotinto]

Sounds like a huge amount of work being done? How long will they be closed? Was thinking about staying at Disneyland Hotel for April 2nd (early Spring), but now worried about that pool being totally mobbed.

 

[Snurk71]

I got the letter this past week too - I have a couple VGC renters in early 2017.

What needs to be done to Mariposa the one without the slide???)? They had that whole area torn up less than 2 years ago when we stayed there. The whole area was blocked off being redone - saw/heard bobcats in there every day of our stay. Only the slide and DVC pools (that's what I call them) were available.

 

[las3888]

We just got this letter yesterday. VERY BUMMED. We have a March 25 arrival. We booked exactly at the 7 month window, did our homework, checked to see if the pools would be warm enough to swim in even, because swimming is important to us, and now we get this. We probably spend almost as much time poolside as we do in the parks. How far away are the other pools? What kind of trek are we talking about? Are there shortcuts, or tips in getting there? I would highly consider re-booking somewhere else, but we are in a 1BR, DS is a very light sleeper and vacation isn't vacation when we are all in one room together and not sleeping. If anybody else has any suggestions, I'm open!!! I even poked around other Disney options in the area using our points but didn't see much, and RCI's information is confusing. And of course we already booked our a/f and would pay stiff penalties to do any changes or cancellations. VERY BUMMED....poorly done on Disney's part. I wish they could have given us more advance warning especially since this resort takes such advance planning to book. It would be nice if they would even just give us a small dining/drink credit to offset our inconvenience in having to trek to some other pool every day.

 

[las3888]

I want to add that I called DVC this morning and after being put on hold for quite a while they came back to say that AT LEAST ONE pool at the 3 DL resorts would be open during this refurbishment (ONLY ONE?). They said that all pools will go refurbishment and that basically they will rotate to the next resort when the first one is done and then the last one, but they didn't know the schedule as to which resort was first, next, etc. They gave me the main number for the GCH so I called. They didn't know much more, a nice operator was going to check with the recreation department but they aren't in yet so she is supposed to call me back. The operator was surprised because she said every year the pools go refurbishment and that they do have the capability of closing just one pool at a time, and in the last 5 years she has never seen all 3 pools closed all at once so she seemed a little surprised. I will try to post more info if I get it, and if anybody else has any info please advise!

 

[Syndrome]

We also booked at the 7 month exactly, and thought we had extensively planned on most scenarios of closings / refurbs .We were fully aware that we were planning on January and some stuff would be closed ..........
Was totally planning for at least one pool to go down for refurb, but ALL 3 at the same resort !!!
Even if its a bit chilly for swimming, we still like to lounge by the pools , and maybe take a quick dip , and we ALWAYS use the hot tubs . Now we have to trek to another resort for a hot tub and some relaxing by a pool ?!?!?! Bad choice of refurb scope and scale Disney . I can see 1 pool at a time, but beyond baffled that all 3 are closing at the same resort ! Really ...............how many other high end resorts could get away with this ???
Another thing that is upsetting to us, is not only are all the pools going to be closed, but the whole center pool area will likely be closed and fenced off. Eliminating any chance of peacefully strolling through the center courtyard, and obviously a huge detraction from ambiance .
As cool as the Disneyland Resort pools are ...............really not into trekking all the way over there EVERY time we want to take a dip in the hot tub / pool !

This is our 1st trip to DL (probably our ONLY) , and we are beyond bummed at this new development . It was not easy to score GCV 1 bedroom at exactly 7 months out, and for a whole week straight !
We too have been tentatively checking on staying off-site now . Not worth the huge amount of points , when off site will be almost as convenient ...............plus they have OPEN pools and hot tubs !
If it wasn't for purchasing DL tickets already, would prob. cancel the whole trip at this point .

AAARRRGGG ................just beyond frustrated at this point !

 

[las3888]

I just got off the phone from the person who called me back from the hotel. She was able to talk to the manager at the Recreation Department for the GC resort and they confirmed that all of March is slated to be down--all 3 pools. They said that the other two hotels WOULD have their pools open and possibly there would be some transportation available for guests, but nothing set in stone and it would be looked at further down the road.

Also, good point Syndrome, about the ambience. Is there anything offsite that remotely compares? I haven't a clue. But then again that would be at an actual cost to us, rather than using points too. I am going to write a letter....frustrated....

 

[bumbershoot]

If swimming were my priority I would head across the street to paradise pier. They have a very swimmable pool and a nice hot tub. And a slide (that doesn't empty into the pool). And it's likely closer to walk than to DLH.

We stayed at PPH during a pool refurbished and didn't find the walk to DLH (the only pool open to us...at least you get both resort pools as an option!) to be bad.

If a slide emptying into a pool and/or splashing around in a blob-shaped pool is your priority then go to DLH. (I like a rectangular pool, can you tell?)

Of course, DLH pool has Tangaroa Terrace and Trader Sams right there.

 

[rtravels]

Heads up if you're planning on staying at the Grand Californian.
I booked a couple of weeks ago and just got a letter in the mail yesterday saying all the pools will be closed from Jan. 3rd until sometime in the spring.
Also, construction will be happening as the hotel renovates rooms. The letter says they will keep the loudest construction between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In the meantime, you can use the pools at the other two hotels.

I've never stayed on property at Disneyland so this is a little bit of a bummer.
It would have been nice to know this when I initially made the reservation.

By the way, the rate for a theme park view room including taxes is 566 a night the weekend we're going in January.

 

[Syndrome]

We are also going in January, and its our first trip . Got the letter a few weeks ago about the pool closings, and its a bummer. Booked VGC in July , and have a 1 bedroom villa for 7 nights. Did not see the closing of ALL the pools coming !
Dont like the idea of making the journey to one of the other pools if we want to go swimming, in the hot tub, or just laying out in the sun. I do hear the the Disneyland Resort pools are the best on property, so if there is anything good about it, at least we can go over there (which you wouldn't ordinarily be able to do) .

 

[northshoremama]

I was a bit bummed about this...but since we are only there for a few days, I guess it works out for us. Gives us more time in the parks!!