Anyone use DVC for DL?

[tinkerbell6]

We're new to the DVC concept, and are seriously thinking about getting into it, but as west coasters we hit DL far more often. If we got involved in DVC, would it be feasible to use it for DL (Grand Californian) often, and WDW every 3rd year or so? We just don't think we'd make the trip out to WDW *every* year--then again, ask me again after we get back next month!

Lisa

 

[AZKathy]

We stayed three nights at the Disneyland Hotel on points. We paid 23 points per night and I felt that was kinda high since we could get a studio at OKW for much less per night. Our room was nice; it had a day bed with the two queen size beds and it had this wet bar area with a fridge; it overlooked the waterfall area.
I don't think I will do this again. We will just pay cash at one of the "neighbor hotels" or get a package and stay at one of the three Disneyland hotels. I will use my points at WDW instead.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Hi tinkerbell6,

Boy, does your post sound familiar. We live in "Southern" Vancouver and had the same concerns about how often we would go to WDW when DL is so much closer. After much consideration, we decided we would buy into DVC but only get enough points to cover our vacation pattern of going every two to three years. The points needed to stay @ DL are quite high and we felt it would be better to pay cash instead of using them. Another option would be to rent your points out (currently about $10 each) during the years you don't go to WDW and use that revenue for DL. A three night stay over the weekend using points at the Grand Californian would run 128 pts. for a standard room during value season. That's a rental value of $1,280. I'm sure you could reserve a room much less than that if you were paying cash. Bottomline, just get what you need for WDW to start with (you can always add-on later). Hope this wasn't too confusing!

 

[JimC]

We are planning on it for 2005. We very much like staying at the Grand Californian and will probably do concierge on points for the big DL celebration.

 

[DVC-Don]

We swapped points for our upcoming Grand Californian stay at DL.

 

[rsschneck]

We love how small DL is compared to WDW. We prefer to stay Monday through Friday and skip weekends all together (Lots of locals on the weekend).

The GC is BEAUTIFUL! The GC is very expensive. I don't think I would pay cash to stay there, but I would use points for a 4 night stay. After all it is walking distance to the parks, daily maid service, no taxes to pay on the room. I feel it is an okay use of points. Plus, once you are @ DL you don't need a rental car (saves money). Park hopper tickets are less expensive than WDW. Airfare will run you about the same, but takes less time to get there.

Everyone has to figure what is a good use of points. If it is an occasional use of points I think it is okay. If you are buying points to use mostly at DL than I would rethink the purchase.

 

[tinkerbell6]

So....it seems that if we would like to go to the GC every year, and WDW every 3rd year or so, then we probably *shouldn't* buy into DVC? I'm gathering that going to the GC every year would use so many points that the trip to WDW wouldn't happen at all. I saw somewhere that a 7-night stay at the GC in March for example, park-view room, would be close to 300 points!!
Yikes!!

We'd just love to stay on-site sometimes, but maybe we'd be better off using package deals for the DL trips, and saving up for the less-frequest WDW trips.

Our first real experience at WDW is coming soon...don't know if we can resist checking out Saratoga Springs' progress!

Lisa

 

[dcfromva]

tinkerbell6,
I didn't think we would ever do this, but then I took another look. We are staying at the Grand Californian on points this summer. It will be the first time we have done this. It is hard to tell what the cost of stays in points at the Grand Californian will be in the future. This is one aspect that is not locked in and is subject to change. I think you would have to analyze it each year to see if it is worthwhile.
The Grand Californian is one of my all time favorite hotels, I would be so disappointed if we couldn't stay there. (Cash or points, we have to stay there. ) We always stay in standard view, so all the prices I looked at were for the least expensive category.

I figure my points cost me out of pocket approximately $6.00 per point. The points for my GC stay are 29 points per night (We are staying Sunday through Friday for 5 nights in June). That equates to about $174.00/night.

Last year, we stayed at the GC on a discount rate of $179.00 per night plus tax and the resort fee ($7.00 per night) I forget what the tax was, but I believe when you add everything on, it was over $200/night.

So far this year, I haven't found any good discounts for when we are planning to go (it is a little early).. The lowest rate I have ever seen for the GC was an AP discount of $159.00 sun-Thurs (plus tax and resort fee) and $199.00 wkends (plus tax and resort fee). (An activated AP is necessary to make the reservation and currently, they don't go out very far--I think they cover March)

Expedia currently has a rate of $245.00 (plus Taxes & service fees: $42.86) per night for our dates which comes out to $287.86 per night...
The GC weekend point costs are pretty high, so I probably would not use points for a weekend visit.
One other thought I had was if you were thinking about going to WDW every 3rd year, how about getting fewer points? You could use banking and/or borrowing so that you only use your points for WDW trips.
Have you thought about what type of a unit you would need for your family and when you would most likely go on your vacation and how long would your trip be? (so you would have an idea as to how many points you would need?)
Example:
year 1. bank 150 points
year 2. borrow year 3's points, book vacation using year 1,2 and 3's points (450 points...)
year 3.
year 4. bank 150 points.
year 5. borrow year 6's points, book vacation using year 4,5 and 6's points (450 points...)
year 6.
year 7. bank 150 points.
et'c. et'c. et'c.
(I really like the flexibility of the DVC point system)
If you thought you get by on fewer points (than the minimum 150 purchase), you can't purchase through Disney, but you could purchase a resale.

-DC

 

[waltskids]

We used our points for the GC for 5 nights and the DH for 3 nights. Although the points are higher then DVC resorts; it was well worth it!

 

[NancyDVC]

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel on points. We couldn't get into the GC at that tiem it was booked. As for $$ value I didn't pursue that. I just enjoy being able to stay at DL without a cash layout!
By the way we loved the GC. Wonderful themeing, beutifully executed. We ate in all 3 restaurants and loved it. The Napa Rose is very pricey, but we ate with local friends who advised us that you can order off the regular menu in the lounge without haveing to get an entire meal. So we had an appetizer, salads and dessert. Great fun but as I said still pricey!

 

[tinkerbell6]

Thank you all for your insights, you've given us lots to think about! DH wants to ask about DVC when we're in WDW, and he wants to take a tour (I assume of SSR). One big factor for us is distance--DL vs WDW--we can drive to DL if we split the 20-hour trip into 2 days. It's a decent drive, we've done it twice already.

Can't wait to get to WDW!

Lisa

 

[ceejay13]

We have used points once and paid cash for the other 4 visits. It is certainly a better value to use them at WDW, but we are also GC lovers and can't resist a yearly visit. We actually have APs to both DL and WDW. The reason we have gotten them at DL the last couple of years is the great discount on the rooms. This is also the reason we now use our points at WDW and pay cash for DL. We alternate between my DH and I for the AP purchase at DL. Last year my AP cost about $200 but we got two DL vacations and got our theme park view room for $199/night which was almost a $100/night savings. In addition, you get a coupon for 20% off one purchase so we use either on a new collectible or for our major shopping at the World of Disney. Either way we save quite a bit. Finally, you get 10% off any other purchases which include many of the restaurants at the parks and at DD. I then got a 5 day for the price of 3 hopper for my DH. This saves our points for WDW so we get to enjoy both. Once you stay in a DVC resort you will be spoiled for life. The GC is absolutely wonderful and is my favorite hotel in the world but a DVC room is like having your own condo to go back to. We always get a 1 or 2 bdr and it makes for a whole new way to do a Disney vacation. Having said that it is true that you really should only buy into the DVC if you plan on visiting at the least every other year. It certainly isn't for everyone. Good luck on your decisions!!

 

[mikeymars]

Stayed at GC on points last summer. The good, so-so and bad:

Good:

- location, location, location. Can walk anywhere in Disneyland resort from hotel. That was nice given our experiences taking buses everywhere at WDW.
- Large, impressive lobby.

So-So:

- Service. Overall o.k., albeit front desk staff during evening hours had attitudes (yacked to their friends while clients waited in line; I wasn't the only person waiting who noted or complained about this).
- Pool: somewhat small and nothing particularly special (which was dissapointing given the "high-end positioning" of the hotel). Room key operated lock on door in fence around pool was broken during our entire visit. Slide isn't nearly as impressive as the ones at WDW pools, and given size of the GC the pool area gets crowded quickly.

Bad:

- Small rooms. I mean REALLY small. My wife couldn't believe how tiny our room there was compared to other Disney properties we've been in.

 

[kraymer]

The other option you should consider is renting your DVC points for $10/point and using the money to purchase a stay at DL.

 

[Blackunicorn]

We're in a similar situation. We bought into DVC with the idea that we would vacation at a Disney location every other year, with DL being the most likely destination because DH's family is in California. We're cheap and we like to stay at the Paradise Pier, which definitely costs fewer points than GC. However, it costs 29 points a week night in the off-season to stay at PPH--pretty pricey, when we can stay at our home resort for something like 10 points a week night. So now we're thinking about renting out our points, and paying for our stay with cash. DL doesn't really offer any special deals to DVC members, and is unaffiliated with WDW for all intents and purposes--Member Services wasn't able to answer any of our questions regarding DL. If we rent out our points, and pay for our room with cash, we can get something like one night free, plus 2 free character dining vouchers. Also, if you use the meal vouchers, they are not available to people who book their rooms using DVC points. Membership doesn't get any discounts on dining, shopping, etc. at DL like it does at WDW.

It is definitely true that you get the most value for your points at WDW, but the whole point of the timeshare for us is to be able to travel, and we liked that Disney also offers exchange locations all over the world. At the very least, I like that we can rent our points out and use the cash to pay for vacations if I don't like the way the points charts look. Anyway, that's my take on my DVC membership!

Dawn

 

[Dean]

You will save $$$ by not buying DVC or just buying enough points to visit the DVC resorts when you can. Just look for specials for DL. You could also rent points when you want to go to WDW for not that much over the true cost of owning, even if you did go every year.