DLH rooms on points - not sure what to do

[disneygrandma]

By the time our son made up his mind to go to DLR this summer for sure, we had already missed the 7 mo mark. We had wanted to stay 5 nts in a 2 bedroom villa, Sun-Thurs nights. The best I could do was W-Th-Fri nights. I'm waitlisted for Tues. This is in mid-July. I don't know what our WL chances are, so I'm thinking maybe we should get 2 rooms at the DLH. 2 standard rooms would be a total of 86 points per night, compared to 70 points for the villa. If I get Mon night also, then we won't have to worry about checking in or out of a room on Tues when we go in to the parks for the 1st time.

This is a lot of points! Will staying at the DLH be worth it? Our 2 yr old grandson is really in to castles, so I thought those castle headboards would really be neat. I've seen a few pictures of the pool area, but they don't show a whole lot. Is the DLH pool a good experience? Better than what we will have when we get to the villas?

MS said that they never know how many rooms DVC will be allotted in their inventory at the DLH. He did say that we should expect the standard rooms to be on the lower floors, and not be one of the rooms with the little daybed in it.

Does anyone have any experience with booking DLH standard view rooms on points? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience....where your rooms were located, etc.

We'll be in the area for 3 nights (S-M-T) before we check in to the villas. We plan to go to Knott's Berry Farm on that Mon. We're considering staying at the Knott's Hotel, or one close by, on Sun night, and then switching to the DLH for Mon & Tues. OR we might decide to rent a condo on the other side of Walnut St, across from DL. Overall, this might be a cheaper option, but I keep going back to the experience the kids will get from the DLH.

Are my expectations too high for the DLH? What would you suggest?

Thanks!

 

[taaren]

The DLH is lovely. I've used rented points there 3x to add a night to one of my VGC reservations when the extra nights I wanted weren't available (usually we get 5 nights, then end up adding a night or two on either end).

Every time, I've reserved a standard view and been upgraded to a "preferred view", which is usually 5th floor pool view. If you go to the DLR board there are lots of people to help you decide which tower you want, and requests are more easily met at the hotel than at the villas since they aren't booked to capacity like the villas.

However, I'd wait until 30 days out to book DLH on points. I've never heard of rooms not being available, and there's a chance your VGC waitlist might come through before then. Twice I booked the DLH on points within a few weeks, once within a few days before the stay.

 

[disneygrandma]

The person I spoke with at MS pretty much told me that requests don't do any good because Disney only puts the less desirable rooms in to the inventory for DVC to use at the DLH. In addition, I was told that DVC only gets a limited number of rooms that can be booked with points. Both MS & the Disney CM I spoke with, said that these rooms would fill up in July.

Any other opinions out there? I really want to hold off & give the waitlist another chnace. But I'm so worried that there won't be any availability left on the DLH rooms if I wait until 30 days out.

 

[nunzia]

This happened to me also..a son and family decided to join us after VGC was all booked up and at the time GC hotel rooms couldn't be booked on points so I booked DLH. They got a great room! Pool view. The points have gone up quite a bit since then, but it was still worth it and the DLH rooms are magical.

 

[disneygrandma]

The "just magical" is what I keep thinking about. That's the reason I think "just go ahead and book them" one minute, but then I think of how much it would cost. It would be 172 points to book 2 DLH rooms for 2 nights.
That would be borrowing everything we have, plus having to purchase an additional 9 points. If we stayed here Mon & Tues, then we would stay close to Knott's on Sun.

OR do we rent a condo across from the Mickey & Friends parking, and stay there S-M-T? That would give us more space, plus a W/D to use. That's the practical part of me talking. But there we would have a plain pool, not like the ones at the DLH. And no castle headboards with fireworks. Do I cancel our WL for Tues? Or keep it & then be double booked for Tues if it came through. The down side of the condo is the minimum nights to rent & the strict cancellation policy.

OR do we pick out a hotel close by & stay there those 3 nights. It would have to have a cancellation policy that would allow us to cancel on that Tues if our WL was filled. However, I just can't seem to find a hotel that doesn't have a lot of negative reviews on TA, and the cost on these comes pretty close to what the condo would be.

What to do? I need to just make a decision and move on, but I need your help. I appreciate the replies I have gotten, but would love to hear from some more of you. Also, I feel like there's a time bomb clicking down. What if I finally make a decision, but the availability for that option is gone? If this was the off-season, I wouldn't be too worried. But I keep thinking that this is mid-July, and it is peak season.

Please help! Thanks so much!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Don't forget, if your waitlist comes through, you can't cancel the DLH stay on points and use those points for your VGC waitlist. Once you use points to book at DLH, those points become reservation points and no longer available to be used at DVC resorts.

 

[disneygrandma]

Yes, I did read about that, and that's one of the things that makes this so much tougher. It would be a much easier decision if I knew we could switch if the WL came through.

 

[DebbieB]

The "just magical" is what I keep thinking about. That's the reason I think "just go ahead and book them" one minute, but then I think of how much it would cost. It would be 172 points to book 2 DLH rooms for 2 nights.
That would be borrowing everything we have, plus having to purchase an additional 9 points. If we stayed here Mon & Tues, then we would stay close to Knott's on Sun.

OR do we rent a condo across from the Mickey & Friends parking, and stay there S-M-T? That would give us more space, plus a W/D to use. That's the practical part of me talking. But there we would have a plain pool, not like the ones at the DLH. And no castle headboards with fireworks. Do I cancel our WL for Tues? Or keep it & then be double booked for Tues if it came through. The down side of the condo is the minimum nights to rent & the strict cancellation policy.

OR do we pick out a hotel close by & stay there those 3 nights. It would have to have a cancellation policy that would allow us to cancel on that Tues if our WL was filled. However, I just can't seem to find a hotel that doesn't have a lot of negative reviews on TA, and the cost on these comes pretty close to what the condo would be.

What to do? I need to just make a decision and move on, but I need your help. I appreciate the replies I have gotten, but would love to hear from some more of you. Also, I feel like there's a time bomb clicking down. What if I finally make a decision, but the availability for that option is gone? If this was the off-season, I wouldn't be too worried. But I keep thinking that this is mid-July, and it is peak season.

Please help! Thanks so much!

I would book the condo and get on the waitlist. I would not use all those points if you have to borrow all you have. Save them for another trip.

 

[taaren]

Wow 172 points?? For 2 rooms 2 nights? You should be able to get each room for $300ish/night, cash depending on the season. For that amount of points it might even be worth considering renting out 100-120 points, then pay cash for the room, then you'll have some points leftover!

 

[ToodlesRN]

We booked a night at DLH when VGC was fully booked I was told by the CM do the 7 day wait list then if it doesn't go through call and book DLH, she said I could even wait the night before to book DLH if I wanted to. Sounds like they will book a room if one is available? This was in May over Mother's Day weekend.

 

[disneygrandma]

I had already called Disney to see what the cash price would be. With AAA disc, 1 standard view room for just 1 night at the DLH is $443.43 with tax. Without the AAA disc, it's $492.57. So using our points would be cheaper than paying cash.

MS told me that VGC is the only DL resort they can book rooms with the cash disc. They can't check for cash availability until 60 days before the date we want.

So I'm just so torn. I don't want to use all those points....it would be borrowing everything thru our 2013 UY. But then there's that "oh-h!" factor of the DLH. The practical side of me says to get the condo & not have to worry about changing rooms a couple of times. We'd have much more space in the condo and be able to wash/dry our clothes without going to a resort laundry room. But then I really want our WL to come thru for the VGC 2 bdrm on Tues night. If we got the condo, I would cancel the WL. But what if we don't get the condo, and the WL doesn't come thru? What I wouldn't give for a crystal ball right now!

 

[PatMcDuck]

How much is Paradise Pier? I love PP.

I like all the DL Hotels, I am just saying, look into PP as well.

 

[disneygrandma]

I did look in to the PP. The standard view rooms were 33 points each, per nt. The cash price w/AAA disc & tax was $333 per room, per nt. The theme park views looked great, but more points, more money, and we need 2 rooms. I liked the bright, beachy look, but it didn't seem to have the same Disney feel to it that the DLH rooms did. The pool, although great, didn't seem to have as much of a WOW! factor that the one at DLH did. Overall, it is just a lot of money & a lot of points. I think if I was to spend that much, I'd just bite the bullet and pay extra for the DLH. As I said, I do like the bright, beachy look, and I think we'll plan on having the Surf's Up breakfast on our last day.

Since we would need 2 rooms at either the DLH, or PP, that's just a whole lot of points, a whole lot of cash. I've decided to book a couple of options, just in case. I would love to book the condo. I still like the idea of being in one spot for 3 nights, with a W/D so I don't have to spend time in a resort laundry room. But I'm still hoping our waitlist comes thru for Tues night, and there are pretty large penalties for canceling at the condo, as well as the minimum length of stay.

I made resv's at the Desert Palms for S-M-T. We all can stay there in a suite for less than the cost of 1 room at the PP. We have a 48 hr cancel/modify timeline to work with. Also, we're planning to go to Knott's on Monday, so I've reserved S-M nights there. Again, I can get 2 rms there (one is in Camp Snoopy) for less than 1 rm at the PP. Our 2 grandsons love Snoopy, so they'll be thrilled with that. Here we have to cancel before 3 days of arrival, but our 2nd nt (M) can be cancelled that morning for a full refund. Now we just need to see which way we want to go with this. I'll cancel 1 of these resv's shortly, as soon as our son & his family weigh in with what they want to do. I just didn't want to have that feeling of being pushed in a corner, and worrying that because it is July, we might be out of luck if we waited a long time to see what happens with our WL.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I really appreciate it.

 

[chasshan]

Hi,

I'm not a DVC owner yet, but have visited DLR many times. We've stayed at all DLR hotels, a few non-disney hotels right across from main gate, and in our condo timeshare nearby( which is too far to walk...we drove to DL parking...paid the daily fee....and then rode the shuttle).

I also have a big family...7 kids that always necessitates 2 hotel rooms or 2bd. condo/villa.

I totally understand your frustration and dilemma! Decisions, decisions.

With your grandson being 2yr old (assuming there are not other grandchildren?), I would not base your decision on what the hotel and pool experience will be for him.

Plan another trip in a year or two when he can really appreciate it and remember it. (and when you can book VGC at the 7 mo mark) At age 2, my kids were able to enjoy DL, but the parks were so stimulating that any time spent at the hotel or condo were usually spent napping/sleeping. July is the perfect time to swim, yes, if you aren't wanting to see it all, do it all in the parks, because with July crowds you will need to be there from opening to closing to fit it all in, in 3 or 4 days. When you do take a swim, I think for your grandson it will be more about the water and who is holding him/swimming with him. Sure, you could point out the themed areas and for sure the adults would enjoy it, but at that age I think for him it will be more about who is right in front of him and just having fun swimming.

So, after reading through your posts twice, this is what I would do:

Switching hotels/condos during a vacation is always more difficult than you think it will be; I would limit that as much as possible.

I would book the timeshare/condo for the fist part of your trip and then stay at VGC for the second part. Just drive to Knotts....we've done it and it's really not too far. I would keep your waitlist for Tuesday until your timeshare cancellation date. (assuming this is 30 days) Would you be able to drop one day from your condo reservation? If not, consider booking 2 separate reservations if they can be linked later, that way you can drop the Tuesday if VGC comes through for Tuesday.
If this plan is to iffy for you or your condo booking rules make this impossible, then I would just forget the WL and book your condo through Tues; then just really appreciate and look forward to those final 3 nights. Your "grand finale", so to speak.

If staying on property is important to the adults in your group, including you, then at the very least I would book some PP or DLH rooms...even both. You can always cancel at the last minute right? My thinking here is that you still have 5 months to go. You could watch for discounts, promotions etc and book new rooms, canceling the original reservation. This at least keeps your options open until your cancel-by date with your timeshare.

I would definitely not use your points for the DLH. I would let that one go.
You could take a whole separate vacation with those points!

Have you been to DLR before....and your son and his family?
For us with kids, especially young ones who may need some down time away from the parks, location is one of our biggest factors when visiting DLR.
VGC is the best spot to be, period! So convenient. Like you said, not the best reviews for nearby non-disney hotels, but you can certainly stay much closer than DH and PP, and avoid the crowds walking through DTD every night. We have stayed 4 times at Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites, right across the street from the main entrance. I mean, right at the crosswalk.
Yes it's old (like all the hotels on that st.), has exterior hallways, small indoor pool, and the worst free breakfast I've ever had, BUT, it has always been clean for us, good customer service, if not excellent, low-cost on-site parking, and VERY CONVENIENT. By the time we get to our rooms each night, we are ready to crash and have never had a problem with noisy neighbors or the exterior hallways. They have family type suites that are really just connecting rooms that will save you $ on booking 2 separate rooms, but you would have the privacy of two rooms. (I'm not sure about specific rules on posting prices etc, but I will say this, you could book a 2-room family suite for half the price of 1 DH room. That means you could save $660 for a 3-night stay.)

Now maybe this is not for you, and I totally get that, but it is another option and you can reserve a room/suite now and always cancel later. This plan would allow you to keep your WL right up unitl the last minute; 48 hrs I think.
I know from experience they would let you drop a night 48 hrs before.
Again, your VGC would be your "grand finale" for your trip.

(And of course there are other off-site hotels close by you could choose like BW and Marriott.) I only use the above because it's the one we've stayed in the most, and most recently(mid-July 2012 to be exact), and I know from past experience it has the best pricing when you are needing 2 rooms.

Well, don't know if I've helped or made it worse, but you seemed to be wanting multiple feed-back, so that's mine.

Regardless of where you end up those first few nights, I know you will have a wonderful trip!
Good Luck!
Shanna

 

[chasshan]

Hi again,

Just letting you know. It took me so long to write my previous post, that I missed your post at 9:20, so my long post was written before reading that.
It looks like you've reasoned things out and made some decisions.
Maybe my post will be good confirmation???

Shanna

 

[disneygrandma]

Thanks for your thoughts on this. We will have 3 of our granchildren with us, ages 2,11,14. The last time we were at DL was June of 2001. Our 14 yr old was 2 1/2. CA had just opened. We stayed in the GC in 2 connecting theme park view rms. Fabulous! So now our son's youngest will be the same age, and I think that's one of the reasons he wants to go this year. (Well, that and he will be getting extra vacay time from work.) If he had only told me the dates a week or so earlier, I could have got the villa at the 7 mo mark.

Yes, I agree, moving every night or so won't be fun. Plus, I want to be able to get in to the parks on EE mornings, and I don't see how that will be possible if we're checking out & checking in.

If we with the condo, I think it will be one that is across the street from the Mickey & Friends parking, so I believe we'll be walking thru DTD crowds at night. Or am I wrong on that? Would we be able to avoid the DTD crowd? If we go with the condo, and give up our WL for Tues, that would mean having to check out & in on Weds morning, when we want to be getting in to CA early for CarsLand. That's another reason why I really want that WL to come thru! I've even thought about booking 2 separate rooms at an off-site hotel, but keep one of them on what would be our actual checkin date. That way we could pile all of our things in to one room, and then come back later in the afternoon to check out. So pay for that extra night that we won't be staying there. Of course, that would be if the hotel room is cheap enough.

Speaking of WL's, it stays on until 7 days before the date. As for canceling the condo, all of the ones available on our dates have pretty strict rules about canceling or modifying, and it will end up costing a couple hundred of dollars, at the minimum, just to make any changes at all.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Desert Inn. I'll look in to it. As for the crowds in July, wer're planning to get 4 day park hoppers, and we want to get there early each morning. I was thinking we'd come back to the room for naps & swimming in the early afternoon, and then back to the parks in the evening. Do you think we would be able to get most everything in? I was also wondering about Sat morning. Would it be worth it to add on one more day to go Sat morning? I'm worried that the crowds will be so big that we won't be able to get anything done on Sat morning. What's your opinion on our plan?

Thanks again for all your ideas. I like to have everything booked, and this is just driving me crazy!