Grand Californian Observations

[mdsd8700]

My biggest pet peeve at GCV is that it seems NO rooms are every available before 4:00. It seems every time we go (mind you it's during the summer when it's probably pretty busy), we get checked in and do the dreaded lobby wait for hours. By 4pm there are so many tired and cranky travelers stacked up in the lobby that there are usually no chairs available. Once 4pm rolls around, SLOWLY but surely people are informed of their rooms being ready. We noticed this was the case every day of our stay (as we would walk through the lobby). I know that they don't guarantee the rooms any earlier, but I can't believe the maids can't start cleaning those early checked-out rooms by 8-9am???? We were out of our room by 6am the day we left!

I am sorry to hear that you have so much problems getting into your room before 4 pm! We are by no means frequent traveler's to DLR our last trip was a couple of years ago but we were able to get into our room VGC by 1 pm. I am not sure if were just lucky or not. We are going again this summer so we will see how it goes. I will keep my fingers crossed.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Yes, they send a text.

Thank you

 

[nunzia]

I really do love GCV--LOVE the proximity to the parks, DTD. The views are not great. We have had the theme park view before which is pretty nice, but it is pretty LOUD. We like to sit on our balcony in the late afternoon and while we got used to it, it's just not a relaxing atmosphere by any means. However, the view is pretty neat.

I am not a fan of the lack of nearby parking either, but given the lay of the land at DL, not much we can do.

My biggest pet peeve at GCV is that it seems NO rooms are every available before 4:00. It seems every time we go (mind you it's during the summer when it's probably pretty busy), we get checked in and do the dreaded lobby wait for hours. By 4pm there are so many tired and cranky travelers stacked up in the lobby that there are usually no chairs available. Once 4pm rolls around, SLOWLY but surely people are informed of their rooms being ready. We noticed this was the case every day of our stay (as we would walk through the lobby). I know that they don't guarantee the rooms any earlier, but I can't believe the maids can't start cleaning those early checked-out rooms by 8-9am???? We were out of our room by 6am the day we left!

For our next trip, we are looking at flights that don't arrive too early because we know the room won't be ready any time sooner than 4!

We have gotten into a room as early as 11 am and one as late at 6 pm..both Villas..regular rooms have been around the 2 pm range fairly frequently. We go to the park after checking in and leaving bags at front desk so it isn't that much of a burden to hang out at the parks until the rooms are ready. We do come in by train, so have usually had very little to no restful sleep (unless we go without kids and get a roomette) and we check in by 7 am so that wait until 6 pm can get long. Still, it is what it is and it's DISNEY so I won't just hang out in the lobby..I might hang out at the pool with a drink, or by the fireplace outside if I'm not at the parks. Maybe your crew could pack swimsuits in a day bag and do some pool time until the room is ready?
My biggest gripe about the Grand..and it is almost EVERY visit is that the plugs on the tub don't hold water..I've learned to check as soon as I get in the room so I can notify maintenance before bath time.