DVC points for staying at Grand Californian at Disneyland?

[misscampbells]

I am looking to rent some DVC points for our next vacation and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many points it would take to stay at the Grand Californian at Disneyland during June 2008? Also, would I be able to book 11 months out or would I have to wait for the 7 month window? I wasn't sure since it was just a hotel and nobody can claim it as their home resort yet.

Any help is appreciated,
Thank you,
Kathy

 

[1000th happy haunt]

The charts haven't been posted for 2008 yet, so this is based on the 2007 charts:

For a week in June weeknights (Sunday through Thursday night) cost 24points for standard view, 27 points for DTD view, 29 points for park view, 42 points for Concierge garden view, and 43 points for Concierge park view per night. Weekends (Friday and Saturday night) cost 39 points for standard view, 44 points for DTD view, 47 points for park view, 67 points for Concierge garden view, and 70 points for Concierge park view per night.

Point costs go up from June 29 through September 1 to 30, 34, 36, 50, and 54 for weeknights, and 48, 55, 58, 81, and 87 for weekends.

 

[CarolAnnC]

May I suggest purchasing a Disneyland AP and going for AP discounted room rates there? Will be much cheaper than renting points I am sure..

 

[disfreaks]

I was told by someone at DVC that you can book the Disneyland resorts at 11 months out from your departure date. I am hoping that is the case. I am going to book a few nights before we leave on our Panama Canal cruise! YEAH!!! The Grand Californian is a beautiful resort, but some people have said the rooms are smaller.

 

[Lynne M]

You may not save much money by renting points to stay at a non-DVC resort. In fact, it may end up being more expensive than paying cash.

It's true that you can save a lot of money by renting a reservation from a DVC member, but that's really only the case when you're staying at a DVC resort. Now, the DLR resorts point cost is pretty low, compared to the WDW non-DVC resorts, but I'm still not sure the value is there.

You may also find that it's difficult to find an owner willing to rent to you for a non-DVC stay. There's more than the usual level of risk there; if you decide to cancel, there are severe restrictions on the points (can't be used at DVC resorts), and the owner may effectively lose their points.

Look for seasonal or AP discounts. You'll probably get a much better deal, and you'll have a lot more flexibility if you need to change dates or cancel.

 

[global_mom]

We are doing 5 nights (S-Th) at GC in March of 08. It is 270 points for GC concierge with theme park view. You can book that cheaper with cash than for renting of points (most likely). We are doing it b/c we have double developer points to be used and already have a couple of WDW trips planned. In fact, are cancelling a ressie at OKW to do GC.

 

[funhouse8]

Whqat a great hotel. just wanted to remind you if you are staying here you can do a early morning power walk with a cast member before DCA opens. It was wonderful. We also were granted entry into the park 1/2 hour before other guest and got to ride soaring first. There were only a handful of hotel guest, I don't think anyone else knew about this expect us guests from this board . Got to love this board! Enjoy!

 

[Skallywag]

We have just booked 2 nights before our panama cruise next august in Garden View Concierge.

Has anyone any information or pictures they could let us have would love to hear if we have done the right thing - Hotel looks lovely but do not know much more as we are from UK and have not got much information.

Any tips would be so appreciated.

Just got off the phone to Disney booking this and hope it is worth it as waited 20 minutes (good job that call costs us nothing).

Brenda

 

[CarolAnnC]

We don't have our Grand Californian/Disneyland pix up yet from a couple of weeks ago, but if you Click Here you can view our pix from May 2006. We had a Downtown Disney View room with two queen beds. You will see several pix on page one and then more scattered thru the remaining 5 pages.

This time we had a King room with Theme Park view which was lovely. It also contained a sofa sleeper, plasma tv and a roomy balcony. When my DH has those pix up online, I will let you know.

BTW, the pool at GC has the most comfortable pool lounges I have ever relaxed on! They are so plush and comfy..

 

[global_mom]

We don't have our Grand Californian/Disneyland pix up yet from a couple of weeks ago, but if you Click Here you can view our pix from May 2006. We had a Downtown Disney View room with two queen beds. You will see several pix on page one and then more scattered thru the remaining 5 pages.

This time we had a King room with Theme Park view which was lovely. It also contained a sofa sleeper, plasma tv and a roomy balcony. When my DH has those pix up online, I will let you know.

BTW, the pool at GC has the most comfortable pool lounges I have ever relaxed on! They are so plush and comfy..

Your pics from May of 06 were great! It seems that it is not very crowded at the park or at DTD in the photos. Was that seemingly lower capacity typical of May at DL or was it
just due to the time of day (early morning?) that you took the pics?

 

[brkgnews]

I'm probably going to book a week at GC on points this use year -- I'm sure it would be much cheaper to do a cash deal, but I've got a ton of those develper/incentive points that turn back into pumpkins at use year's end.

 

[dragonflymom]

The 2008 points charts are available already, just not on the members' website yet. If you call MS and tell them the dates, they will give you the points. I called them 3 weeks ago and found that the points actually went down for the lowest season for both Disneyland Hotel and the Grand. There is no booking window for the DLR hotels. As long as the points chart is available to MS, they can put in a reservation request for you.

I know many people believe using points at DLR hotels is not a good use of points. However, I think that using points for a peak period reservation at the Grand is totally worth it. I used 106 points for a 3-night stay there during August when the hotel was totally sold out. AP rate during peak times is just a meager 10% off rack rate, unlike off-peak discounts of up to 50%. Paying cash for those 3 nights at the AP rate would have cost me $1080 before tax and resort fee which would add another hundred or two to the bill.

I agree that renting points though would not be worth it assuming you have to pay $10+ per point. I just want to point out that for members, it may be worth doing if you go at peak times when the hotels at DLR do not offer any attractive discounts.

 

[homeboycartel]

The 2008 points charts are available already, just not on the members' website yet. If you call MS and tell them the dates, they will give you the points. I called them 3 weeks ago and found that the points actually went down for the lowest season for both Disneyland Hotel and the Grand. There is no booking window for the DLR hotels. As long as the points chart is available to MS, they can put in a reservation request for you.

I know many people believe using points at DLR hotels is not a good use of points. However, I think that using points for a peak period reservation at the Grand is totally worth it. I used 106 points for a 3-night stay there during August when the hotel was totally sold out. AP rate during peak times is just a meager 10% off rack rate, unlike off-peak discounts of up to 50%. Paying cash for those 3 nights at the AP rate would have cost me $1080 before tax and resort fee which would add another hundred or two to the bill.

I agree that renting points though would not be worth it assuming you have to pay $10+ per point. I just want to point out that for members, it may be worth doing if you go at peak times when the hotels at DLR do not offer any attractive discounts.

And I have found that DVC can "find" rooms at DLH and GC when their CRO say it is booked for the class you are seeking in high demand times.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

The 2008 points charts are available already, just not on the members' website yet. If you call MS and tell them the dates, they will give you the points. I called them 3 weeks ago and found that the points actually went down for the lowest season for both Disneyland Hotel and the Grand. There is no booking window for the DLR hotels. As long as the points chart is available to MS, they can put in a reservation request for you.

I know many people believe using points at DLR hotels is not a good use of points. However, I think that using points for a peak period reservation at the Grand is totally worth it. I used 106 points for a 3-night stay there during August when the hotel was totally sold out. AP rate during peak times is just a meager 10% off rack rate, unlike off-peak discounts of up to 50%. Paying cash for those 3 nights at the AP rate would have cost me $1080 before tax and resort fee which would add another hundred or two to the bill.

I agree that renting points though would not be worth it assuming you have to pay $10+ per point. I just want to point out that for members, it may be worth doing if you go at peak times when the hotels at DLR do not offer any attractive discounts.

What are the peak times? My son just moved out to LA, and I would love to combine a Disney visit when I go out to see him. Thanks for any info!

 

[dragonflymom]

What are the peak times? My son just moved out to LA, and I would love to combine a Disney visit when I go out to see him. Thanks for any info!

Peak periods at DLR would include all the major school holidays such as spring break, Thanksgiving, winter break, President's Day week and summer (late June through Labor Day). One nice unadvertised perk of staying at one of the DLR hotels is that you get early entry any day it's offered (currently 4 days a week) whereas other park ticket hopper holders usually just get one day of early entry for their multi-day visit.

DLR hotels offer the greatest savings in Fall and in Jan/Feb excluding the major holidays if you're not using points but are paying cash. Currently their AP4 rate for annual passholders is a really great deal and I believe all the rooms are pretty much sold out at this rate. Concierge rooms are something like $189 at Paradise Pier, $239 at Disneyland Hotel and $269 at the Grand. They also have the 4th night free promotion going on where you pay 3 nights at rack rate and get the 4th night free, which represents a 25% savings. It would be a good idea to hang out at the Disneyland board when you do your trip planning as there is a lot of discussion on promotions, discounts, along with everything else. I've learned a lot there, especially since the Disneyland website is all fluff and not much useful trip planning content.

 

[ScottNBecky]

I'm very interested in what the points will be. Obviously not as high as they are presently.