using points at DL

[lynetteSC]

hey! just booked a room at the Grand Californian for May with our developer points!!!

we have never been to DL before,so we are super excited!!!

are there any costs once we arrive? taxes? resort fees? etc??
this is the first time we have used our points (just closed last week), so this is all newto us!

also, if you have done this before ...can you purchase a meal plan at check-in?

sorry if this has all been asked before, i did try search and couldn't find anything about it!
THANKS!

 

[lisah0711]

hey! just booked a room at the Grand Californian for May with our developer points!!!

we have never been to DL before,so we are super excited!!!

Congratulations! You will love it.

are there any costs once we arrive? taxes? resort fees? etc??
this is the first time we have used our points (just closed last week), so this is all newto us!

Only if you charge something to your room or use valet parking. It is very nice if you don't and get that zero balance bill on check-out!

also, if you have done this before ...can you purchase a meal plan at check-in?

I don't think that DL has a meal plan. Or if they do, I don't know if it would be worth it. The dining experience at DL is totally different from WDW. Far fewer choices. You may want to check out the menus on allears.net.
sorry if this has all been asked before, i did try search and couldn't find anything about it!
THANKS!

Have a great time at Walt's original park! And welcome home!

 

[LOVETHATPOLY]

We just got back from the GC. It was our 1st trip and we used our DP. We had a blast. It is a beautiful resort. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[lynetteSC]

thanks guys! we are so excited! we will be celebrating ds's 5th bday and our 15th anniversary!

 

[CaptHomer]

We are doing the same thing in March with developer points. Go on Expedia and look at the price of the room for the dates you are going and see what a good value your DVC points are.

 

[kerickson]

thanks guys! we are so excited! we will be celebrating ds's 5th bday and our 15th anniversary!

We are going to be there on points May 3-8. We opted for Concierge because I had points I had to burn and Concierge won't be available (or the GCH at all) once the Villas are open. I wanted to try it just once to see what it is like.

My understanding is that you don't have to pay the resort fee but you do have to pay for Valet Parking (hoping that changes once the Villas are open).

Regarding a meal plan, DL has prepaid vouchers, but I don't think it gives you any kind of a discount, just allows you to pre-pay. Don't think it's worth it.

We will be celebrating my DD's belated 5th (her b-day is this weekend but we had to cancel our WDW trip for this week )

Have fun, it's a beautiful resort and you'll love how close everything is at DL.

Let us know if you have additional DL questions, or hop over to the DL board, they are very nice over there and super knowledgeable about everything Disneyland!

 

[helenk]

I used some of my developer points for Disneyland too, but since I used some at the SSR in November I am booked at the Disneyland Hotel from 5/3-5/8. This will by my first visit to Disneyland and I am excited.
I got some really good info from the Disneyland forum here. I read that generally this time of year the Electric Parade is only shown Friday and Saturday nights. I had some Marriott points so I booked the Fairfield Inn on South Harbor Blvd for 5/2, this way I can be sure to see the Electric parade. The last time I saw it was in WDW in 1999, it will be fun to see it again.
I checked the Disneyland site and the poster who indicated about the points being a good value is right. For my dates the Disneyland hotel is $355 per night before taxes.

 

[kerickson]

I used some of my developer points for Disneyland too, but since I used some at the SSR in November I am booked at the Disneyland Hotel from 5/3-5/8. This will by my first visit to Disneyland and I am excited.
I got some really good info from the Disneyland forum here. I read that generally this time of year the Electric Parade is only shown Friday and Saturday nights. I had some Marriott points so I booked the Fairfield Inn on South Harbor Blvd for 5/2, this way I can be sure to see the Electric parade. The last time I saw it was in WDW in 1999, it will be fun to see it again.
I checked the Disneyland site and the poster who indicated about the points being a good value is right. For my dates the Disneyland hotel is $355 per night before taxes.

We had Sheraton points so we are staying at the Anaheim Sheraton 5/8 so we can see Fireworks, etc too. Didn't want to pay the Chrand points for a Fri night
I heard the Electric Parade has been discontinued at DCA...I hope that's not true because I'd love to see it again, haven't seen it since I was a kid....

 

[nunzia]

I don't think the Electric Parade has been shown there for quite awhile. We saw it on 01, but not since then..They are now running the Pixar Play Parade in DCA.
I just got back last week and DLR is a huge favorite of mine, so if you have any questions, fire away!
I'm hoping to go back in Sept with VGC DP if possible.

 

[helenk]

I don't think the Electric Parade has been shown there for quite awhile. We saw it on 01, but not since then..They are now running the Pixar Play Parade in DCA.
I just got back last week and DLR is a huge favorite of mine, so if you have any questions, fire away!
I'm hoping to go back in Sept with VGC DP if possible.

Oh that's a bit disappointing, I would have loved to have the opportunity to see the Electric Parade again. Oh well, the Pixar Parade looked cute when I saw it on Samantha Brown's special. This is a whole new adventure for me so I am learning as I go!