Disneyland on points?

[Jack]

Got afew questions, has anyone been to Disneyland and use points? If so where did you stay? Any advise on how to see the parks would also help.
Thanks
Jack

 

[sueg]

Almost two yrs. ago, we stayed for three nights, at GC, on pts. It was the perfect way to end a great 10-day California trip. We chose GC because it was the newest hotel, it was VERY close to California Adventure & got great reviews on these Bds. We were very happy with this use of points & would stay there again. We got 3 day hopper passes & felt like we covered both DL & CA in a thorough, but leisurely fashion. While DL is similar to WDW, I feel that it was different experience. I'm so glad we did it. As I sit at my desk, I'm looking at one of my favorite photos of DSs. They are standing in front of Soaring over California (a ride not to be missed) smiling at me. Youngest DS is wearing a "millionaire" hat, because we were there for the soft opening & both oldest DS & I made it into the hot seat. Our DL trip is a great memory.

 

[NancyDVC]

We stayed at DL Hotel two years ago. Unfortunately we couldn't get into the GC on points that week. We loved it! We ate at Goofy's (great character buffet) at the DL hotel and the snack/coffee bar, also all the restaurants at the GC (from economical to budget busting). You can walk through DD from the hotels to DL or DCA. The GC has a direct entrance into DCA. Or you can take the monorail from DD near the DL hotle which drops you off in Tomorrowland. The pools at the DL hotel were lovely.
We were in an older rooom as the resort was undergoing refurbishment. It was clean and roomy with a nice view of the resort pool and DD.
For more DL info I recommend www.laughingplace.com. They are real Disney fans who keep very up to date on all DL happenings.

 

[trishy]

There are quite a lot of specials that seem to be running non-stop at Paradise Pier (cheapest) and Disneyland Resort. Grand Californian is a little bit more. All three are nice. Disneyland REsort has a nice Peter Pan themed pool. Grand Californian has a fairly nice pool area. The concierge is not worth it in my opinion. There's a nice restaurant right outside the pool area at GC - "Storybook Cafe" - that is really nice. Paradise Pier and GC have a backdoor (walking path) entrance to California Adventure. I would say the hotel pick would depend on the amount of time spent in parks vs. hotel room (including pool time). Disneyland cannot be fully enjoyed in less than a full day. However, California Adventures can easily be done in a day with time to visit Disneyland after you've done every single ride at CA. Weekends are crowded. Wednesdays/Thursdays are best for Disneyland. Worth the trip though. Disneyland has no good parades right now, but California Adventure has the electric parade. Check the Disneyland/California Adventure site for all the info on what's running the day(s) you plan to go.

 

[Dizzie]

We stayed 4 nights at DL Hotel on points in Oct 2002. We really enjoyed the pool and the fish ponds. The kids fed the fish in the morning. At night they do a story on a waterfall which our kids liked. The room was clean and spacious.

While we were there DL was really crowded. We spent 2.5 days in DL park. DCA was not crowded at all on a Monday. We did everything we wanted to in a day at DCA. Downtown Disney is right next to the hotels and there is a lot to see, do, eat there.

We plan to go back sometime and my DH says we will stay at the GC. He said the lobby is great. If I wasn't planning to spend much time at the hotel I'd probably spare some points and stay at PP. They all have good proximity to the parks.

Currently you can get a 5 day park hopper pass for the price of 3 days. I think the offer is good until the end of the year, but the tickets expire 14 days after the first use.