The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Owners Group

[DisneyHeather]

We were a party of 7 on our last trip as well (5 adults, 2 kids). We got a stretch limo from B&W Limo for the ride from LAX to GCH ($190). It was fun and all but it was a tight fit. Even though it is a 10 pax limo we had 6 bags of luggage. Our carry ons were with us in the limo, 4 bags in the trunk and 2 bags up front with the driver. We went home with 8 bags so I had B&W switch us to a 15 pax van ($175). It was much more comfortable, and cheaper, plus all the bags fit nicely. Not to mention everyone enjoyed riding facing forward too!

Thank you for your quick response. Do you know if B&W does Orange County airport too? That's where I always fly into. We will be 2 adults and 5 kids.

 

[jpeka65844]

We were a party of 7 on our last trip as well (5 adults, 2 kids). We got a stretch limo from B&W Limo for the ride from LAX to GCH ($190). It was fun and all but it was a tight fit. Even though it is a 10 pax limo we had 6 bags of luggage. Our carry ons were with us in the limo, 4 bags in the trunk and 2 bags up front with the driver. We went home with 8 bags so I had B&W switch us to a 15 pax van ($175). It was much more comfortable, and cheaper, plus all the bags fit nicely. Not to mention everyone enjoyed riding facing forward too!

Is that round trip or one way? We went with the Grey Line shuttle bus that last time and it was AWFUL!!!! We want to do a van or car service next time.....

 

[CrazyDuck]

Thank you for your quick response. Do you know if B&W does Orange County airport too? That's where I always fly into. We will be 2 adults and 5 kids.

Definately.... Check out this transportation thread for their contact info: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2318297

Is that round trip or one way? We went with the Grey Line shuttle bus that last time and it was AWFUL!!!! We want to do a van or car service next time.....

That is each way. The stretch will cost more $$$. You can get a regular limo for around $100 I hear... Also those quotes were from LAX, SNA will be much cheaper.

They loved the limo though... Also they stock it with iced water, soda, beer, scotch etc... So go nutz!

 

[bumbershoot]

For those of you that fly down what do you use for transportation from the airport? Do you use the Disney bus or the blue shuttle? There will be 7 of us so I was also wondering if it might be cost effective to maybe do a limo for our first DVC vacation or not.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I've used SuperShuttle to/from SNA. It was fine. There was only one person on the shuttle going to the hotel, and our hotels were next door to each other so that was no problem. I've also used them to or from ONT and LAX. The only problem with them is that they drive like bats out of.... And it's possible this has stopped since hands-free laws, but when I've been in the shuttles, they have a tendency to talk on one cell phone and text on another, while driving, on the freeway. Harrowing, to say the least.

We've also ridden Grayline's Disneyland Express (NOT run by Disneyland, FYI), and it was fine each time! The only issue we've had is that we tend to come in to LAX during their once-an-hour pickups, and that gets old, b/c Alaska and Virgin America, at least, get you off the plane and to your luggage really fast, and then there's nowhere pretty to sit and wait.

But with SNA it could be different.

 

[DisneyHeather]

Thanks for all the info guys it will be very helpful to me in making a decision as to what to us.

 

[ACDSNY]

Most trips we rent a car, but a few times we've used the Van taxi at SNA for 6 adults for a flat rate $45 each way plus tip.

 

[nunzia]

I've used SuperShuttle to/from SNA. It was fine. There was only one person on the shuttle going to the hotel, and our hotels were next door to each other so that was no problem. I've also used them to or from ONT and LAX. The only problem with them is that they drive like bats out of.... And it's possible this has stopped since hands-free laws, but when I've been in the shuttles, they have a tendency to talk on one cell phone and text on another, while driving, on the freeway. Harrowing, to say the least.

We've also ridden Grayline's Disneyland Express (NOT run by Disneyland, FYI), and it was fine each time! The only issue we've had is that we tend to come in to LAX during their once-an-hour pickups, and that gets old, b/c Alaska and Virgin America, at least, get you off the plane and to your luggage really fast, and then there's nowhere pretty to sit and wait.

But with SNA it could be different.

We've also used Super Shuttle several times with no issues...except for the holding on for dear life and me watching the road more than the driver thing like Molly mentioned. I'd like to find a decent way to get from a train station to the park. The cab from Fullerton was fine, but the stupid train not letting me in and missing the train from Anaheim to LAX cured me of that route...I think one of the smaller airports is right by where a train stops, so maybe I can look into that. Taking a cab ride from Anaheim to Union Station was not ideal.....

 

[jpeka65844]

That is each way. The stretch will cost more $$$. You can get a regular limo for around $100 I hear... Also those quotes were from LAX, SNA will be much cheaper.

We'd love to fly into SNA, but from Kansas City, there's no direct flight (and with kids, that's a MUST for us) and it's way more expensive. Of course, flying in to LAX is cheaper but takes longer. It's all a trade off, I suppose.....

$200 doesn't sound bad for limo service. Car service at WDW runs about $120-$150 depending on the size of the vehicle, so that sounds right.....

We hated the Grey Line. It took us longer to get from the hotel to DL than it took for us to fly from Kansas City to LAX. We can be into LAX by 9 AM Pacific Time so wasting 3 hours on a bus is silly!

 

[Davids-Coco]

The dedicated 2 bedroom still has a door between the living room/kitchen and the studio portion. In addition, it has 2 queen beds instead of the sofa sleeper. I love the dedicated 2 bedrooms when I have kids with us so we only have to watch the one entrance.

Now when I have just adults I like the lock-off so whoever is in the studio portion can come and go without disturbing anyone else.

My parents will be in the studio, so a lockoff is the best. They will want to come and go without disturbing our two sleeping in the living space. Thanks so much (to everyone who replied!)

 

[bumbershoot]

We hated the Grey Line. It took us longer to get from the hotel to DL than it took for us to fly from Kansas City to LAX. We can be into LAX by 9 AM Pacific Time so wasting 3 hours on a bus is silly!

3 hours on the bus? What on earth happened?

Once we were on the bus it was an hour, max, and that included stopping at DLH to deal with peoples' tickets.



Nunzia, the train wouldn't let you board? That's awful! And then they didn't dispatch a bus for the passengers that missed their connecting train to Anaheim? Boo on them.

 

[nunzia]

3 hours on the bus? What on earth happened?

Once we were on the bus it was an hour, max, and that included stopping at DLH to deal with peoples' tickets.



Nunzia, the train wouldn't let you board? That's awful! And then they didn't dispatch a bus for the passengers that missed their connecting train to Anaheim? Boo on them.

WELL what happened was I was standing on the platform as instrcuted to board the Ahaheim to LAX train to catch my train to El Paso (this was after the Expo..the family had gone back from Fullerton to Alb..our favorite route. I couldn't get from Alb home so took a more southern route) ANYWAY..the train pulls up kind of far down the track so I'm hustling to catch it..there is a front door open, like the engineer area?..so I think I shouldn't board there and go further down looking for an open door and an attendant. NONE..I'm actually pounding on doors and NO ONE. So I start hustling back toward the door at the engine car to just get on no matter if I'm supposed to our not and the train PULLS AWAY! Holy cow..I am stuck in Anaheim and have to get to Union Station for my overnight train. I got a taxi to take me all the way there..not much time to spare and it cost $75.00.
I'm hesitant to try THAT route again....but one of the early stops in that route is, I think, by one of the smaller airports, so maybe I could try that..really leery about that Anaheim to Union Station train....

 

[bumbershoot]

That's just horrible!

 

[8timesblessed]

OK I've read through many pages but not all, no time for that. I see alot of your have chosen to split your contracts. What advantage is there? Easier to sell off or pass onto other people? We have 8 kids so if we had 8 smaller contracts is that something we could gift to them in the future but now we could use all those points to get a bigger place? Will they all have the same use year?
We have a timeshare with another organization so I kindof know the ropes of timesharing.

We were going to hold off until going on our first trip in May but after reading that alot of you are surprised it's not sold out yet, makes me want to reconsider and maybe buying a smaller contract right now and hopefully being able to add later if we all really liked Disneyland.

 

[M4travels]

OK I've read through many pages but not all, no time for that. I see alot of your have chosen to split your contracts. What advantage is there? Easier to sell off or pass onto other people? We have 8 kids so if we had 8 smaller contracts is that something we could gift to them in the future but now we could use all those points to get a bigger place? Will they all have the same use year?
We have a timeshare with another organization so I kindof know the ropes of timesharing.

That really is the main advantage. Selling a package of 800 points is a much harder situation versus selling 8 packages of 100 points (or however you break down whatever points you finally end up with). You should also (if all was perfect.....) garner a better $ per point for the smaller contracts. If you're gifting a set number of points to each of 8 children you would definitely need to break the original contract into smaller bits as once sold, the contract is what it is, i.e. a single 800-point contract STAYS a 800-point contract for its life.

Have fun! We LOVE the VGC.

 

[MCSfromWA]

OK I've read through many pages but not all, no time for that. I see alot of your have chosen to split your contracts. What advantage is there? Easier to sell off or pass onto other people? We have 8 kids so if we had 8 smaller contracts is that something we could gift to them in the future but now we could use all those points to get a bigger place? Will they all have the same use year?
We have a timeshare with another organization so I kindof know the ropes of timesharing.

We were going to hold off until going on our first trip in May but after reading that alot of you are surprised it's not sold out yet, makes me want to reconsider and maybe buying a smaller contract right now and hopefully being able to add later if we all really liked Disneyland.

I know that it is easy to get excited about VGC when reading this thread. We love VGC and I am so looking forward to our trip home again this summer. But you are planning to go in 3 months. VGC is not going to sell out before you get there. IMHO I think that there is time for you to go and experience it and then decide if that is really what you want to do. But if you do decide that this is the way you want to go then I would break the points into more than one contract. I have 5 for VGC -- some of which are in 30 point increments. I did this for many reasons but one is that if our vacation patterns change in the future and we want to sell some of our points we can so more easily.

 

[nunzia]

I know that it is easy to get excited about VGC when reading this thread. We love VGC and I am so looking forward to our trip home again this summer. But you are planning to go in 3 months. VGC is not going to sell out before you get there. IMHO I think that there is time for you to go and experience it and then decide if that is really what you want to do. But if you do decide that this is the way you want to go then I would break the points into more than one contract. I have 5 for VGC -- some of which are in 30 point increments. I did this for many reasons but one is that if our vacation patterns change in the future and we want to sell some of our points we can so more easily.

...and yes, your points would all be the same user year and can be used all together to make reservations. They will be different contracts and will show on the website seperately, but you can use them together..If you happen to buy resale, you'd want to get the same user year as your other contracts to avoid confusion...I'm hoping they have another webcast soon or some new incentives as I'm kind of edging toward adding on. You should probably wait to make sure you love the place before buying in..I'll be there in May also!

 

[8timesblessed]

Well after talking with my DH we decided to buy in at 160pts and that would get us the 3 bedroom for 3 nights and then we have our other timeshare and will be getting 2 2bedrooms for the rest of the week. Once we figured out that we wouldn't need to spend a whole week there, it made getting less points seem OK and worth it for us. Thanks for all your help.

 

[ACDSNY]

Well after talking with my DH we decided to buy in at 160pts and that would get us the 3 bedroom for 3 nights and then we have our other timeshare and will be getting 2 2bedrooms for the rest of the week. Once we figured out that we wouldn't need to spend a whole week there, it made getting less points seem OK and worth it for us. Thanks for all your help.

Sounds like we'll be saying Welcome Home soon. You can always add on later if you find you need more points.

 

[jpeka65844]

3 hours on the bus? What on earth happened?

Once we were on the bus it was an hour, max, and that included stopping at DLH to deal with peoples' tickets.

Well, let's see:

Hour 1: Stopping at every other Grey Line terminal in LAX, dealing with tickets. I am not joking when I say this took AN HOUR.

Hour 2: In traffic; I dozed, thank goodness.

Hour 3: Stopping at all the other Good Neighbor hotels before ours. After all the other people had gotten off the bus, the driver noticed us still sitting there and said "Whoops, I forgot you! Where were you going?" We say "The Grand Californian" He says "OOPS! I should've dropped you off first!" Yeah, thanks pal.

Never again.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, let's see:

Hour 1: Stopping at every other Grey Line terminal in LAX, dealing with tickets. I am not joking when I say this took AN HOUR.

Hour 2: In traffic; I dozed, thank goodness.

Hour 3: Stopping at all the other Good Neighbor hotels before ours. After all the other people had gotten off the bus, the driver noticed us still sitting there and said "Whoops, I forgot you! Where were you going?" We say "The Grand Californian" He says "OOPS! I should've dropped you off first!" Yeah, thanks pal.

Never again.

Wow! That was a perfect storm of weirdness, most definitely.

From our experiences, the time to stop at the various terminals should be built into the schedule. It has been for us. We generally walk up to terminal 1 so we're first on the bus, and then of course we have to deal with all the stops, but since ticketing is *supposed to be* taken care of at DLH, it's just bizarre that they did it then!

And when we stayed at the Grand on this last trip, he specifically told us that we'd be first after the DLH stop (the previous trip we'd stayed at DLH, so that was simple).


Then again, we had a driver that was a few minutes late, because of airport regulations (I guess they have to check in at a "corral" before continuing to the terminals), and he was miffed b/c he thought those of us at the first stop had called to get into trouble. However, it was a group of cruiseline coordinators, because they had about 70 people to get to a ship and they needed to get the passengers out onto the island that the Express people were waiting on. So *they* called and made OUR ride a bit harder. Then at about terminal 4, someone else had called from there, and instead of just dealing with it, the grumpy driver was grumping about it loudly as he got out of the bus to load passengers and stuff. So...yeah, he was nutty. But at least he got all of the ticketing and dropping off done in the correct and usual order!

Sorry you had such a strange experience!