Grand Calfornia gate question

[severtlaw]

I have a question I can't find answered anywhere on this board. I know from a prior thread you can trade unused WDW tickets for days at Disneyland. Each member of my family has 7 days remaining on a park hopper with no expiration date so we should be able to use these and not have to buy DL tickets, correct. My question is that all threads say this is accomplished at "the gate". We are staying on points at the Grand California which I now know has a private entrance to the park. Is this a gate which will permit me to switch out my tickets or will I have to go someplace else? How difficult is the process? Would I be better off just buying Disneyland tickets as we will be going back to WDW sometime.
Thank you for your time.

 

[disneychrista]

I don't think so. I think you will have to go to the Main Entry gate.

 

[SGDisneyFam]

Pretty sure you have to go to the ticket windows in the esplanade.

 

[skiingfast]

I have a very faint memory of someone doing this when WoC was new, the Summer of 2010. I can't recall the specifics of how it all went down.

 

[sonnyjane]

Pretty sure you have to go to the ticket windows in the esplanade.

While I don't know the answer to the OP's question about the GCH entrance, I can say that the above is incorrect. They do this transaction at the main entry gate, not the ticket booths.

 

[SGDisneyFam]

While I don't know the answer to the OP's question about the GCH entrance, I can say that the above is incorrect. They do this transaction at the main entry gate, not the ticket booths.

If thats the case then it should work at the GCH DCA entrance since the gates are all networked? No?

 

[sonnyjane]

If thats the case then it should work at the GCH DCA entrance since the gates are all networked? No?

Well, the fly in the ointment is that it's not a transaction they can do by themselves. Usually a manager/supervisor has to go and take care of the transaction. Not sure of the efficiency of doing that at the GCH entrance, where I usually just see two CM's. I don't know if they have a supervisor readily available like they do at the main gates.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, the fly in the ointment is that it's not a transaction they can do by themselves. Usually a manager/supervisor has to go and take care of the transaction. Not sure of the efficiency of doing that at the GCH entrance, where I usually just see two CM's. I don't know if they have a supervisor readily available like they do at the main gates.

That's my thought process as well.

At the main gates, you show your ticket and they call someone over. At the Grand entrance, there's no one to call over (at least not quickly).

 

[Disney Dreams]

I agree with sonnyjane and bumbershoot, but if it were ME... I'd try it at the GCH entrance on the first day. If it works, you're set for the rest of the trip. If not, you are delayed a little on your first day, but to me it would be worth it to be inconvenienced for one day to possibly make the rest of the days very easy.

- Dreams

 

[Huff]

If you are planning on going back to WDW then it may be worthwhile to take your WDW tickets to the Disneyland ticket booths and get credit for them towards an upgrade to a premier annual pass which is good at both DLR and WDW. They should credit you the full amount you paid for them, not just the remaining 7 days worth.

 

[bumbershoot]

Upgrading would only work if their tickets are inside of 14 days from when they bought them, though. You can't even upgrade them AT WDW if it's beyond that time period, even with the no expiration option added to them.