Worth it to use points for Disneyland hotels?

[trampslady]

We are taking our first trip to DL (four nights before a cruise in April), and I'm currently booked at a Good Neighbor hotel (trying to be a bit conservative, since this is just the "pretrip" before a 14 night cruise!). Then, I started thinking of possibly surprising hubby with a stay at either Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian. It would be either 136 or 172 points for the four nights according to the current charts.

Any firsthand experience or advise? Thanks!

 

[slamommie]

I've used points for Disneyland stays for several years now and have had no problems. If this is your first visit to Disneyland, I would highly recommend staying "on-site", especially if you're there during Easter break. Took my parents and aunts in May 2005 and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel - they're first stay there - and complained that they are now spoiled and don't ever want to stay off-site again. The convenience and Disney hospitality simply adds to your overall experience. If you have the points, I'd say go for it!

 

[TravelingJen24]

the point usage seems to be very close to what it actually costs if you rented them out. If you have annual passport or AAA, though sometimes it is cheaper to pay for the room. We have considering doing both this year, but I think we will still pay. If you don't have either of those though, I would say go for it and use the points. At least there is no tax and I think that you get valet parking for free, but don't quote me on that. Have fun on your cruise.

 

[funhouse8]

I used points to stay at the Grand Ca, and let me say it was great. The entrance to the park it right in the Hotel. We got to go in the Am before the parks opened to do a power walk with the Cm and also in early to ride soaring first. The Hotel is just beautiful and the location can't be beat. What if you only stayed in the hotel for two night and enjoy the perks of Ca adventure those two days. That would be less points. Just a thought, whatever you decide have a magical trip!

 

[castleri]

Have used points for both hotels. The GC is beautiful but I preferred the DLH. It was less points and a much bigger room. I would stay there any time on points again. It was well worth it.

 

[winjos]

We used points (concierge level) for a short stay at GC. We had annual passes (lived in SoCal), so it was great just going through DCA, jump on a ride, and then head over to DL. We also liked the fact that we could ride the rapids ride and then go back to the room and change. Aaahhh dry clothes!

It can be challenging to get a room at GC. When we lived in SoCal, the planets had to be aligned just so in order to get a room at a decent price.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[JodyTG]

I'm a firm believer that it is worth it to use your points for whatever you want. We just used points for 3 nights at BWV followed by a 4 night Disney Cruise. Would it have been a "better" use of points to rent them out and then pay cash for our cruise? Not for us. Oh, we may have had some money left over if we'd rented out the points that we used for the cruise and paid cash instead, but our DVC points are there for our vacations. We didn't go into DVC "thing" thinking that we'd be saving money, but instead as prepaying for our future vacations.

So, anything you want to use your points on are, in my opinion, a good use of your points.

Okay...off soapbox...

 

[soarin'family]

I wholeheartedly agree! It feels so good to go on a vacation on points...no matter where! No hassle....no stress...I mean, we are all paying that monthly fee for a reason, right?
We have used points for DCL cruises twice and absolutely loved every minute of it.
For us, the hassle of renting is not worth it.

Amy

BCV
DCL
Poly

 

[aclov]

I used points at Grand Ca. a few years back and for me it was so worth it. I didn't have the money to pay cash and really wanted to stay at a nice hotel. DH really loved it and you can walk right into the Grand Californian park.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

We used points to stay at the Grand CA last June and it was worth every point to us and I even used up more points by booking a theme park view which we absolutely loved! It was so wonderful to look out over the park and the service at the resort was wonderful!

 

[disgirl]

I have to agree with the others here. We booked the GC in 2004 for 4 nights and also splurged for the theme park view, which we would never have done if we had to pay cash for the room. Now, I see it is even a better deal in that it costs less points for the rooms then it did back in 2004. We loved that hotel and def. thought it was worth it. I would say go for it and ENJOY! It is a beautiful hotel with a fantastic location for DTD and the parks.