Points used at Disneyland?

[jdkdorn]

Has anyone ever used their points at DL? We are looing at going next Jan to see my sister, who live 5 miles away, and thought to use our points to save some money. Has anyone stayed at the new California Hotel or the DIsneyland hotel? I would like to know how the points worked for you

Thanks
Judy

 

[Caskbill]

Yes, we stayed at the GF at Disneyland for 3-nights last October (2002).

It worked out great for us. It was the lower season and we got a standard view (got a free upgrade when we checked in), and it was 26 points/ night.

They've raised it for 2003, I see now that it's 28 points/night.

We loved the GF because they have their own private entrance right into the C.A. theme park right from the hotel.

It's tough to justify using those points for just a room when I think at what they'll get me at WDW, but it meant no out of pocket room expense (eg. a cash reservation) so it was worth it for that. For what I pay in dues it was about $85/night for 2002 which I thought was reasonable.

The other option of course is to try to rent points, and pay cash, but I don't think I would have come out much different going that way anyway.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Caskbill
Yes, we stayed at the GF at Disneyland for 3-nights last October (2002).

Is the GF at Disneyland the Grand caliFornian?

 

[dcfromva]

Caskbill,




I have a technical question regarding your stay at the Grand caliFornian? : did you have to pay the $7.00 a day resort fee on top of your points (or just points)?


-DC

 

[sueg]

We used pts. to stay at Grand Californian & it worked very well. There were no additional charges or fees.
We go to HH every Aug., but the yr. we went to CA, we went in Aug. & used our HH pts.
I know that many DVCers question the use of pts. for hotel stays, but it suited my family's needs & I would do it again.

 

[Califgirl]

We've stayed at the Grand Californian several times on points. It's a beautiful hotel and we enjoy staying there. The resort fee is waived when staying on points, however there is a charge if you valet park. Self parking is available.

Have fun!

 

[Noelle]

I've stayed at all 3 of the Disneyland Resort hotels. Not on points, since we just joined DVC. We live in LA and frequent Disneyland alot. So we spend a couple nights at different times of the year. Grand Californian is very nice and it's a very short walk from Disneyland. It does have it's own enterance into California Adventure. My favorite is the Disneyland Hotel. It's a longer walk. But the Pool area is really well themed. (Peter Pan & Captian Hook). Grand Californian's pool is pretty average with the exception of a slide in the shape of a tree. Disneyland Hotel also has the watershow and little remote control boats. The price is less than the Grand Californian too! Paradise Pier is the cheapest and it also has it's own private entrance to California Adventure. The walk to Disneyland is far, but you can cut through the Grand Californian's Lobby and it's not too bad. As far as the Hotel itself, it's more of a Highrise kind of hotel. But you can get great views of the Electrical Parade from many of the rooms.

 

[Caskbill]

Whoops......

GF?

Well, the C and F keys are pretty close to each other on the keyboard......

Sueg already answered the other question: There are no additional fees when staying on points.

Just watch out for the mini-fridge in your room at the GC (see, I can get it right). If you remove an item for more than 30 seconds it automatically gets charged to your room.

I took 4 waters out to put some dinner leftovers in, then put the waters back later. (Figured it wouldn't hurt if the water warmed up overnight). Got billed about $10 bucks. They did take it off the charge after I explained. They did it from the lobby, where they can use the computer to actually check the contents of the fridge.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I used points last year to stay at the Grand Californian. I absolutely love the location, and Storyteller's Cafe is excellent!! We upgraded our hoppers to AP's before leaving during our first stay in January 2002 and found ourselves returning May 2002 for a week long trip.

I also had a standard view room with overlooked the back with the monorail passing by. In hindsight, I think I would have upgraded and used more points for a Downtown Disney view next time!

 

[RLevy29]

We used points to stay at the GC last year the week after Easter. I felt that it was worth the points. If we didn't have DVC the rate would have been $285 a night. The points really helped. The location of the GC is great, the hotel is beautiful,and we also enjoyed the Story Tellers Cafe.I would stay there again in a minute!

 

[Sorcerer]

The GC is wonderful! During the Disneyana Convention 2001 I splurged and stayed a extra couple of nights at the GC before moving over to the less expensive Paradise Pier. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The PP was also nice, but not the same level as the GC. Storytellers Cafe was great - we especially enjoyed the Character Breakfast! Using points allowed me to afford something I wouldn't normally do...paying cash at the GC was just a bit too much.

 

[Mooobooks]

The ONLY hotel at The Disneyland Resort that compares to what we're used to at the DisneyWorld hotels is The Grand Californian. Beautiful, luxurious, and totally themed. And you walk out the back and into California Adventure. You walk out the side and into Downtown Disney. You walk a few more feet and you're in Disneyland. NO buses. NO boats. NO cars.
It's the best! And the Storyteller Cafe is wonderful.
I don't swim, so don't care about the pool, but if that's the most important thing in choosing your hotel, then stay at the Disneyland Hotel.