Anyone used points to stay at DL hotel or Grand Californian?

[Debs Hill]

Just wondering if any of you have stayed at DL or GC hotel using points? If so, what sort of room/view did you get? For anyone who has stayed at both which would you recommend?!!!

 

[Steve BWV'99]

Hi Debs,


We used points last month at the GC and had a great time. I requested a "theme park" view but got a courtyard instead because we got the room at 1pm instead of waiting till 3. We enjoyed the courtyard room a lot, it was quiet except for the occasional monorail passing through, but you could eliminate that by closing the door.

I've stayed at both and prefer the GC hands down. Its newer and closer to the parks and Downtown Disney. It also has better hotel restaurants and nothing like walking out of the hotel to see Grizzly River Run right there at DCA! It reminds me of an elegant Wilderness Lodge.

We definitely will be staying at the GC again. Living in CA, it makes a nice alternative and quick trip option to use points.

 

[ceejay13]

I have stayed at both, also. We have only used points at the GC, however. I love both hotels but prefer the GC. In fact, we are going back in 10 days for a 4 night stay. We were there in January and asked for a theme park view, but got a 5th floor room overlooking DD, the World of Disney store to be exact. It was great. Although DD had only been opened for a week and was packed, when you shut the patio door you didn't hear any of the noise. We are paying cash for a theme park view for this next trip and I'll let you know what the view was like. I agree that the hotel is gorgeous and couldn't be in a better location for access to DL, DCA, and DD.

 

[GrammieMame]

Stayed at DL at end of March on points. I was told I would get a "standard" room with no view, and asked for an upgrade to pool view. They said it would be an extra $30 per night, but I got it and they didn't charge me. I had planned on GC, but was nervous when people talked about the noise factor. When I saw both, I was glad I stayed at DL. I like to feel like I'm getting away from the chaos of the parks after a long day, and GC is a little too much in the middle of things, and the pool at DL is fantastic.

 

[Niagara2]

We first got a standard view with a courtyard view and a monarail going by every few minutes. We finally got a beautiful view room and was quite happy. Pay the $ for the view!!

 

[TnRobin]

We too had a courtyard view. Matthew got a kick out of watching the monorail go thru. We never noticed any noise from inside the room, and from the balcony the noise wasn't bad at all. Our only complaint with our location was the distance to the elevaors, no real biggie, but the trek to the pool was a bit of a distance.

Would we stay again on points? In a heartbeat.

One note on the Grand Californian over the Disneyland Hotel. You must be a gueat at the GC in order to use Pinocchio's Wrokshop, the kids club. I asked why and the leader indicated it had something to do with Ca Daycare laws. (They are a licensed Day Care)

 

[Peter Johnson]

We stayed at DLH on points in September 1998. We asked for a park view and got one, on the 3rd floor, but I don't recall which tower it was. We also received a 5-day pass for each of us, which was more than the member guidelines said we'd get

We normally stay in a 1-br at OKW, so the room was small by comparison. DLH is not ( or was not then) themed like WDW resorts are. It was really just a "normal" hotel. There was also lots of construction going on, so it wasn't at its best. But having said that, we enjoyed it.

We decided not to go back to DL until DCA had been open at least 6 months, to give them time to work the kinks out. Right now we're planning on staying at the Grand Californian (on points) in May 2002.

 

[RLMS56]

Are park passes included when staying on points at the Grand Californian? I can't seem to locate a point chart either. Does anyone one? We are planning a trip for next June. I have read the 2002 chart isn't out yet.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

My 3 kids and I stayed at DLH 3 weeks ago for one night (the rest of our California trip we stayed at my sister's). I booked about 3 - 4 weeks in advance, and the GC was full.

We checked in at 8:30 AM but couldn't get into the room until 3 PM. We went to DL/DCA, then back to DLH to our room at 3 o'clock (9th floor, overlooking the front of the hotel) and swim for a couple of hours. Then back to DCA, then the room at 9 PM...we had a view of the DL fireworks, so watched them at 9:30 from our balcony (about a foot deep!). Checked out at 7 AM the next day, and spent the whole day (EE at 7:30 AM until midnight!) doing DL/DCA.

A few days later, we went to DTD with my sister, and walked around the GC. It looks great, and I'd love to stay there someday, but when I have more time.

 

[sueg]

We are booked for three nights at GC in August, on points. We are ending our "West Coast" trip (down from SF) in DL. I'm really unclear about the passes. We belong to DC and AAA, so I thought I would check out their prices. I'm not even sure if we want a hopper. While I'm really excited about our "California Adventure" (pun intended), I don't feel the comfort level that I have in planning for WDW.

 

[ceejay13]

As far as the previous question about whether passes were included when you used points, the answer is no. We visited in May and ended up getting Deluxe annual passes. I believe the 4 day hopper pass was around $160 per adult. We will be visiting twice in a year and got a 2 park AP for $199. This does have black out days. They are mostly holidays and Saturdays and we visit during the week. They also had 3 day hopper passes, but they must be purchased at the hotel. I hope you enjoy the GC as much as we have. We visited in January and had a room overlooking the World of Disney store in DD and then in May we had a park view. It was actually a 3rd floor room that was directly over the entrance into DCA that looked right at Grizzly Peak. It was outstanding.

 

[Niagara2]

We did a west coast trip for Easter and after flying 3000 miles decided to stay two weeks. One week on points at GC and one week on the coast and the beaches. We also got AP and feel we got the best value for 199. At the time we felt that they would only be used then......now these high coast to coast air sales pop up and we get thinking...cheap flights...AP......Hummmmmmm!

 

[Mooobooks]

My wife and I stayed at the Grand Californian on points for a week toward the end of April. A beautiful hotel, almost the equal of the Wilderness Lodge. And you WALK out the back door into the park, and then WALK across the Esplanade into Disneyland, or Downtown Disney. WELL worth the points (and it ain't cheap!).
We also had a courtyard view, which was disappointing. The monorail passed right by our window but we didn't notice it.

 

[demswalsh]

Last year we stayed at the DLH for 2 nights and we had a great room! Our kids could sit right outside our room, and watch the fireworks.

On Memorial weekend, we decided we would go to the GC. We reserved a theme park view, and paid $350/night, and we got a pool view with limited theme park. Also, at 1:00 am the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate. They let us go back to our room @ 2:00 am but the pool area buzzer sounded for 2 more hours. My kids ages 5 and 2 had just gone to sleep at around midnight, and the next day was miserable. Disney (after complaining) did comp us one night stay though.

Final coments: GC is nice because it is brand new, but DLH is by far superior. We just live 30 min from DL and DCA, so we are there almost every other weekend. We LOVE DCA!!