is it worth the vaction club points for the hotels?

[wadub56]

i am looking at going to disneyland CA for the first time since i was 5!! i am a vaction club memeber and i would stay at a on site property no matter what ...i would always pay for conviance....but so much has chanced over the past 20 some odd years....can someone who has been tell me....whats the closest hotel....do you walk in??? monerail????cleanest?? should i pay cash or use 22 pts a night for a studio??? which hotel to choose and time of year ...HELP PLEASE!!!!

 

[mtemm]

from the time I was a little girl, I wanted to stay at the DLH. I just loved that the monorail ran thru it...thought it was so cool. it never happend while living in so. cal, but summer 2005 dh and I went out for my high school reunion and took a side trip to DL. I did some research and learned its not really the same place that I remembered, and ended up staying at a good neighbor hotel. we were happy with our choice. If I did really want to stay on property, I'd choose the grand californian. Very close to everything...just steps to both disneyland and the california adventure. the disneyland hotel seems so far away now. and the monorail no longer runs thru it, although there is a stop not far away from the hotel (just make sure its not down for refurb, which I believe it is now).

 

[mdburd]

The monorail never really ran 'through the hotel'; it was merely adjacent to the original hotel property line. The monorail station has not moved--the property line of the hotel did.

As for an on-property stay being "worth the cost of points"... I've only ever stayed at two hotels on our Disneyland trips (+100); the Anaheim Hilton or the Disneyland Hotel; so I am perhaps not the best judge--I, personally, would use the DVC points for property stays, however.

 

[mlshields]

We have stayed at both the GC and the DH using our points - I actually preferred the DH - this is probably due to the fact that I think the GC is a beautiful hotel - I could stay at the Wilderness Lodge in FL if I wanted that kind of feel to it. I actually preferred the DH because I felt that you were more immersed in the Disney feel - I especially loved walking through DTD to the park and the anticipation. I found the walk to be approx 6-7 minutes and loved every minute of it.

You will get more bang for your points at the DH.

Enjoy!

 

[wadub56]

some people like this some people like that...haha ....
well the senerio is this i am a timeshare member and the way i look at it is for each point sold i can sell for $9-$11 a point...so avg each point spent cost me $10 .....rooms at the GF the nice disney hotel are 22 pts per night...is it worth $220 per night or worth the stay off site and sell the pts?

 

[samkj]

The GC will cost 24-39 (19-30 for DLH)for a standard view in the off season, or $240-390 per night at $10 per point. If I had the points paid for and wasn't going to use them at WDW then I wouldn't hesitate to use them. Staying onsite at Disneyland isn't as important as WDW, but still it makes the trip extra special. There are several motels within easy walking distance of the parks, but the quality of the walking distance hotels is not equal to Disney. However they are perfectly nice motels, we have stayed in several of them. The number one most important thing for us is less than 10 minutes walk to the gate with a clean comfortable room. The walk from the Disney hotels is easy. The monorail is (or will be available) but usually walking is the faster.

Why not price out the vacation paying for a room at the GC or DLH and decide if paying or using points is more cost effective? You said you definitely want to stay onsite, so the only way to know which route is cheaper is to price it for yourself.

 

[stampinshauna]

If you haven't already planned to use the points for something else, I'd use them at Disneyland. We used ours in September for a stay at the Grand Californian and had a wonderful time. It was nice not to owe anything upon check out. If you compare what you have to pay point wise for the Grand Californian vs Deluxe resorts at WDW, it isn't a bad deal. It isn't as good of a deal as using them for a studio in WDW, but I figure if I have the points, then I should use them.

Come on DVC, build us a Disneyland DVC resort SOON!!!

 

[TwingleMum]

I also am a DVC member and when I costed out points vs paying cash (even selling/renting the points) I found it was more cost effective for me to stay on my points. I wanted to stay at GC concierge ~ my theory I don't know if or when I'll get back to DL I want to do it "right". Costing it out keep in mind you don't pay taxes etc on the room which is also a big savings. It worked out very well for us. Plus I had no out of pocket expense and didn't have the hassle of renting points to some stranger. Have fun, enjoy! I can't wait for our trip in April!!!!
PS What cute Halloween Mickeys !!

 

[wadub56]

to use the points and stay onsite... see i am used to staying at WDW and off site their is the worst...but i hear that off site in DL itsn't bad as far as conviance...so i guess now its time to price this out...anyone have any hotels i should check into?


and yes DVC needs a place in CA!!!!!

PS what airport do u fly into?