Using points for Grand Californian Hotel?

[Inkmahm]

Am I blind or is there no 2009 point chart yet for the Grand Californian hotel at Disneyland? How far in advance can we use our DVC points to book rooms there? We're thinking of August 2009.

 

[JimC]

Disneyland is notoriously late in setting room rates for upcoming years. And if they do not know their price points they might not be willing to negotiate a contract with DVC. You could probably make the reservation at the old points with the warning that the point requirement will likely increase.

Another consideration is the new DVC section. If they are planning to open that up they may curtail the trades into the hotel portion of the resort.

 

[dcfromva]

Am I blind or is there no 2009 point chart yet for the Grand Californian hotel at Disneyland? How far in advance can we use our DVC points to book rooms there? We're thinking of August 2009.

I haven't seen them posted, yet. But several people have reported getting ressies for 2009--you should call member services and ask about it.

I believe you can make your Aug 2009 ressies right now.

 

[Inkmahm]

Disneyland is notoriously late in setting room rates for upcoming years. And if they do not know their price points they might not be willing to negotiate a contract with DVC. You could probably make the reservation at the old points with the warning that the point requirement will likely increase.

Another consideration is the new DVC section. If they are planning to open that up they may curtail the trades into the hotel portion of the resort.

Thanks, I'm trying to figure out how to get there either way. If DVC is open in August of 2009 I could just do a DVC reservation. If not, I can use my points. If neither of those are possible for a few more months, I can just book a cash reservation, I guess. In that case, I'd just offer my DVC points on the rent/trade board to ge the cash to pay the cost of the hotel. It just seems that making the reservation with points would be easier.

 

[DebbieB]

I believe Member Services has the chart for 2009. I would book as early as you can, I called for December a couple of weeks ago and even though disneyland.com showed room availability, there were no rooms for points available. I booked Paradise Pier instead. Keep in mind that once you make the reservation, the points become reservation points, which means if you change your mind they cannot be brought back to DVC.

 

[DVC Mike]

I booked GCH for May 2009. DVC MS has the point charts.

 

[jerseygal]

Would love to see the GCV point charts even though it is probably such a slim chance with only something like 50 units that a non GCV member will get a booking at 7 mos out! Never know though...They are all 2 BR units, correct? I'm sure that will be a really nice property!

Who knows, maybe after all the excitement dies down, 7 mos will be feasible!
I am hoping one day to do Hawaii and GCV! Will hopefully do GCV as a family!

Hawaii as maybe a 30th anniversary for DH and me! Only 5 years away, WITHOUT KIDS! My youngest hopefully will be "tucked away safely at college'"by then!

AH, something to "dream about"!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tozzie]

I believe Member Services has the chart for 2009. I would book as early as you can, I called for December a couple of weeks ago and even though disneyland.com showed room availability, there were no rooms for points available. I booked Paradise Pier instead. Keep in mind that once you make the reservation, the points become reservation points, which means if you change your mind they cannot be brought back to DVC.

They may not have had the Grand Californian available for points because the Villas are scheduled to open in the fall of 2009 and then you can't book points for the Hotel. I added on the other day and want to use my developer points there and my guide asked me what the time frame was for my trip because if it was after the opening I wouldn't be able to use them at the Grand Californian.

 

[DebbieB]

Would love to see the GCV point charts even though it is probably such a slim chance with only something like 50 units that a non GCV member will get a booking at 7 mos out! Never know though...They are all 2 BR units, correct? I'm sure that will be a really nice property!

I thought they were going to be all 2 bedroom lockoffs but I recently heard that there will only be 21 lockoffs, the rest will be dedicated plus 2 grand villas. Which means a studio or 1 bedroom is going to be really hard to get.

They may not have had the Grand Californian available for points because the Villas are scheduled to open in the fall of 2009 and then you can't book points for the Hotel. I added on the other day and want to use my developer points there and my guide asked me what the time frame was for my trip because if it was after the opening I wouldn't be able to use them at the Grand Californian.

I was looking for December 2008. I had expected since disneyland.com showed availability for all views that you could get a points reservation but that's not how it works. I am going to call back periodically to see if anything opens up but I doubt it because disneyland.com now shows no availability.

 

[jerseygal]

Read your contract again...

Mine says developer points can be used within 1 yr from date of contract at any of the three Disneyland Resorts...

I understood that Grand Californian Resort was included in the 3 Disneyland Resorts..I still believe that Developer Points can be used there as long the trip is completed within 1 yr from date of contract..

Good luck with booking..Developer Points are tricky..I am going to try as a first choice to use mine through Interval..I'll monitor how the request is going...I hope I get a "match"...We'll see..At worst worst case scenario, I can always decide to rent the points at SSR if a trade looks unlikely...The developer points must also be used at SSR within 1 yr from date of contract.

Good luck with Developer Points!They're valuable, and no one wants to let them go" by the wayside", that is for sure! Just takes careful pro-active planning and coordination with airfare!

 

[Inkmahm]

I can't book yet until I'm sure I can get the airline tickets for the time frame we want to go. I won those and it seems you can't book American more than 330 days in advance. We want to go mid-August next year so I have about a week or so to wait to be able to get the air first.

If the Grand Californian DVC is set to open in Fall, 2009, then we should still be able to use points for August 2009 if there are rooms available. If the points are fairly equivalent to cash (and I use $10 per share to calculate it) price then it won't matter much if I use cash or points. I can always bank the BWV points if we pay cash, or still sneak in a F&W festival trip next October . I just was thinking it would be nice to make the trip cost as little cash as possible (free airline tickets, points for the room, etc.)

 

[dcfromva]

I was looking for December 2008. I had expected since disneyland.com showed availability for all views that you could get a points reservation but that's not how it works. I am going to call back periodically to see if anything opens up but I doubt it because disneyland.com now shows no availability.

DebbieB,
Yes, I believe they are separate inventories. We were able to book the GC in July 2005 for the 50th anniversary using points when there was no availabilty through the main reservations...

 

[Laneychris]

We have GC booked for June 2009 using developer points.

 

[Inkmahm]

Read your contract again...

Mine says developer points can be used within 1 yr from date of contract at any of the three Disneyland Resorts...

I understood that Grand Californian Resort was included in the 3 Disneyland Resorts..I still believe that Developer Points can be used there as long the trip is completed within 1 yr from date of contract..

Good luck with booking..Developer Points are tricky..I am going to try as a first choice to use mine through Interval..I'll monitor how the request is going...I hope I get a "match"...We'll see..At worst worst case scenario, I can always decide to rent the points at SSR if a trade looks unlikely...The developer points must also be used at SSR within 1 yr from date of contract.

Good luck with Developer Points!They're valuable, and no one wants to let them go" by the wayside", that is for sure! Just takes careful pro-active planning and coordination with airfare!

I don't have developer points. I was going to use my BWV points.

 

[Inkmahm]

I just priced a Grand Californian standard room for August next year, Tues to Sat. With tax, it is $1,955. I called MS and the points for that room are 32 for S-Th and 50 for F and Sa so it would be 146 points for 3 weeknights and a Friday.

146 points vs $1,955 seems like a good deal to me. And I was always under the asumption that our points were best used at WDW. Huh.

edit: Ah, I see how it works. The hotel price per day is the same no matter which day of the week it is. For points though, 4 weekdays would be 128 . Three weekdays and a Friday is the 146 I calculated. Two weekdays and Fri/Sat is 164. All those point options have the same cash cost of $1,955. In all cases, the points seem to be a better value than paying cash.

Unless we get a 25% cash discout at the Grand California?

 

[kathrna]

Quick question... when you use points to book GC now (before the fall 2009 opening), you are just getting a regular hotel room, right? No bells, whistles. Just two beds and a bathroom? Anything like the studios at WDW with the kitchenette? I have not seen anything on the actual room description.

 

[DVC Mike]

Quick question... when you use points to book GC now (before the fall 2009 opening), you are just getting a regular hotel room, right? No bells, whistles. Just two beds and a bathroom? Anything like the studios at WDW with the kitchenette? I have not seen anything on the actual room description.

The Grand Californian Hotel (GCH) is a deluxe resort while the Villas at the Grand Californian (VGC) is a DVC resort. They are two separate things.

If you book GCH, you are getting a really nice hotel room.

 

[maburke]

You can request a room with a double (or queen, I don't remember) and a set of bunkbeds (that also has a trundle, so it sleeps five). Only a request, but we've done it twice on points, and loved it. Otherwise, I think you get a regular hotel room with two beds. Also, you can rent a fridge for $10 a day or something like that.

 

[DebbieB]

Here are pictures of the hotel rooms:

 

[dcfromva]

I just priced a Grand Californian standard room for August next year, Tues to Sat. With tax, it is $1,955. I called MS and the points for that room are 32 for S-Th and 50 for F and Sa so it would be 146 points for 3 weeknights and a Friday.

146 points vs $1,955 seems like a good deal to me. And I was always under the asumption that our points were best used at WDW. Huh.

edit: Ah, I see how it works. The hotel price per day is the same no matter which day of the week it is. For points though, 4 weekdays would be 128 . Three weekdays and a Friday is the 146 I calculated. Two weekdays and Fri/Sat is 164. All those point options have the same cash cost of $1,955. In all cases, the points seem to be a better value than paying cash.

Unless we get a 25% cash discout at the Grand California?

Inkmahm,
I'm glad you have it all worked out. I believe points work out best for us, too. Another item for your equation, if you pay cash there is an additional per night resort fee (We have not paid cash in ages so I'm not sure how much it is now--Expedia listed $13.80) It covers newspaper, self-park, local calls, high speed internet access and the fitness center. If you stay on points, the resort fee is covered. However points or cash, if you elect to valet park there is an additional per night charge.