Hello From The Grand Californian!!

[CarolAnnC]

I am here in sunny California - ok cloudy in the mornings, lol - enjoying the many amenities of the Grand Californian. I am staying on DVC points and I am very pleased with my standard view room. It overlooks a garden area and the monorail passes straight through here! The hotel itself is beautiful, with a cozy lodge ambiance. It is very similar to the Wilderness Lodge atmosphere, particularly in the lobby area of the hotel.

There are two great pools, one of which has a water slide that families will enjoy. There are two hot tubs poolside, one of which was quite cold, however.

There are several dining options here, Storyteller's Cafe being my favorite! They serve an excellent breakfast buffet and the wall murals all tell a "story".

We are here for a week, and I actually used DVC points for half my stay and an excellent Annual Pass rate for the remaining days. I will be glad to answer questions and post more upon my return later this week!! Off to Disneyland Park now......

 

[SusanD]

We stayed at the Grand Californian last summer on DVC points. It was a wonderful hotel and close to everything. Not quite WDW but fun all the same.

 

[DaisyDebbie]

Have a wonderful time Carol Don't do too much capering, you might hurt yourself

 

[sueg]

We stayed at CG last Aug., on pts. Reading your post brought back all the great memories of one of the best non-WDW trips our family ever had. Don't miss Soaring Over California!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Hope you have a wonderful time. Sounds like it has been so far, and I am very envious. Enjoy.

 

[raidermatt]

We stayed at the GC on points last August and it was great! Glad your having a fun trip.

 

[RLevy29]

We stayed at the GC last month and it sounds like we had the same view. We also felt that the atmosphere was like WL. Our room was on the 3rd floor so we never had to use the elevator. Don't miss sitting down by the fireplace at night. It is so relaxing! Enjoy your stay!

 

[TnRobin]

Have a wonderful time Carol. Be sure to enjoy those fluffy white robes for me. I think that was my favorite part of the resort was wearing the robes to the pool.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Ty everyone!! There are two nice spots to sit around fireplaces - one inside and one outside. Very cozy..

I did spend one afternoon poolside, but intend to get out there one more time.

Downtown Disney is just steps outside the GC resort and there are a multitude of shops and excellent restaurants there!

More to come later..

 

[RobDoc]

Thanks for the report, Carol!

Have a great visit!

 

[tss2]

I hope to take my familiy and stay for a week also, but have wondered what you do for 7 days there since it is a smaller resort than wdw. I'd love to hear what non disney things you've enjoyed doing. Have a great time and I hope to be there sometime in the next few years enjoying myself too!!

 

[sueg]

We went to an Anaheim Angels game. We were able to see our home team (Yankees!) play the Angels. We really enjoy experiencing other baseball stadiums & had fun, even though the Yanks lost. Damn that rally monkey!

 

[CarolAnnC]

We spent Tuesday at Universal Studios Hollywood which is about 35 minutes from Disneyland without traffic. We arrived around noon, and stayed after the 6 pm closing there to visit Citywalk for dinner and shopping. Some of Universal was similar to Universal Florida and some of it was very different. I would highly recommend a visit there, however.

We are thinking about spending a day at Knotts Berry Farm but not 100% sure yet. Time is flying here, LOL! Some people also recommended Magic Mountain which is about an hour from here. Since Knotts Berry Farm is only 15 minutes away, that would be the place we would choose.

 

[nickglover]

We got stranded at the GC over 9/11 - I guess there are worse places to be stranded.

Here are some tips - go to the 4th or 5th floor above the lobby and go out on the public balcony for a great night view of the pools and CA - you can also see the Crystal Cathedral in the background if it is lit up.

Another great view of CA is from the stairs straight above where the wedding planning office is located.

Finally, get your hands stamped when you leave CA, change into bathing suits and then go back and ride the Grizzly Rapids several times before going to the pool and spa at GC (real good tip for cooler weather!).

Have fun!!!!

 

[Doctor P]

Thanks for the reports, Carol. Sounds like a great trip!

 

[Minybear]

I hope your enjoying your stay. I loved it at the GC. We especially loved the Story Tellers Cafe. I have one of their coffee mugs from their shop down stairs. I wish I was back there. The builder that built the WL and AKL also built the GC.

 

[ceejay13]

We also love the GC. In fact, we leave Tuesday for our 3rd stay. We used points for our 1st stay but paid cash for the last visit and the one upcoming. We had a theme park view last year and it was probably my favorite view of any of the hotels WDW or DL that we have ever had. The first stay we had a DD view and it was great fun, as well. Thanks for the post!