Grand Californian Super Thread

[DisneylandFan22]

If you don’t take bags in the morning you can bypass the security line and pretty much get right to the esplanade.

 

[crvetter]

If you don’t take bags in the morning you can bypass the security line and pretty much get right to the esplanade.

If the security guards allow it. Sometimes I’m told yes and sometimes I’m yelled at (yes yelled) that there is a line for a reason.

I wish all the lines at Disneyland were explicit in allowing this. It’s my main gripe wdw managed this but here it’s not explicitly allowed.

 

[Teddydogno1]

If you don’t take bags in the morning you can bypass the security line and pretty much get right to the esplanade.

Maybe if they had a separate line for that, but there wasn't when we were there. And walking past all of those people waiting in the ONE line would not be a good thing.

Rob

 

[DizMe]

Regarding the in-room coffee pots, I ran across this article today

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/ho...ontent=Final&utm_term=Daily Wander Newsletter

 

[DisneylandFan22]

If the security guards allow it. Sometimes I’m told yes and sometimes I’m yelled at (yes yelled) that there is a line for a reason.

I wish all the lines at Disneyland were explicit in allowing this. It’s my main gripe wdw managed this but here it’s not explicitly allowed.

When we have stayed they have had a separate security entrance at the back of the courtyard. There was no line for it you just had to walk past the regular line that circles through the courtyard. The security yells out that people with no bags or strollers can come through.

 

[crvetter]

When we have stayed they have had a separate security entrance at the back of the courtyard. There was no line for it you just had to walk past the regular line that circles through the courtyard. The security yells out that people with no bags or strollers can come through.

I’ve seen the metal detector back there and always wondered what it was for. It’s never been used when I’ve been there. I’ll have to keep an eye out more to see if it is open.

My preference is a bag free line (or it is okay to go up the center) at all times of the day at every security line at Disneyland. Or simply upgrade the system to what WDW did.

 

[bookbabe626]

I’ve seen the metal detector back there and always wondered what it was for. It’s never been used when I’ve been there. I’ll have to keep an eye out more to see if it is open.

My preference is a bag free line (or it is okay to go up the center) at all times of the day at every security line at Disneyland. Or simply upgrade the system to what WDW did.

WDW’s scanners are so easy…just walk through, they’ll wave you over if you have a bag to check or something sets it off, otherwise just keep walking. The only delay is when people think you have to stop and wait for the CM to wave you through, instead of just following along single file in a continuous stream of people. I agree, DL should switch to this type of gate everywhere, it speeds up the process so much.

 

[pindecisive]

All in all, we enjoyed the trip and the location was good. But it is still a long way from everything and this is not really an $800 per night hotel.

We were there the same weekend and have basically the same complaints, except instead of being in an overpriced $800 a night room we were in a $2,400 a night 2-bedroom suite.

We got a standard room at a "deal" of $565/night (without tax) and the room itself wasn't worth more than $400 a night. Even with the deal it was wildly overpriced.

The perk of walking into DCA is nice and the EE is okay, but does it amount to $200+ dollars a day? For some it might, but for us? Absolutely not.

 

[AndrewC]

The rooms are so horribly overpriced and absolutely aren’t worth the price. I’ve never had service that came anywhere near justifying the price, I haven’t had problems, but the level of service to me is what I would expect in a $350-$400/night room, yet GCH is often upwards of $600/night.

BUT…. Three times a day back to the room for a quick shower before dinner, change into something different, or to drop off sunglasses and extra battery bank once it’s late enough in the day to not need them… it’s 1000x better than the walk to the DLH or PP… and I LOVE staying at the DLH.

There was once or twice I started walking past it because I was used to the longer walk, lol.

Needless to say, it’s very difficult now for me to decide on lowest end GCH room (lol, “low end”), or Adventure Tower (premium DD view) room… I do love the theme to the Adventure Tower and it just all goes to build the feel for me, especially if I’m trekking over for drinks at Trader Sam’s anyway.

I’ll often make more work for myself to make use the Grand’s entrance for the Halloween party by staying two night over there and then transferring over to DLH for the remaining two or three nights.

Now if the GCH gave you some premium benefits like being about to book the Chef’s counter a month early, or maybe even when you book your room (!) that would absolutely go a L O N G way to helping justify the cost. Little things like that could really make the guests feel like they’re getting something extra and special for the cost without it really impacting the bottom line for Disney… but at the same time, I suspect Disney would argue rooms sell themselves so why do anything extra?

I was a little annoyed we couldn’t get back into the grand at the end of the night during the Halloween party. If you left a bit early you could, but if you left at the end of the night, no luck. I didn’t get to attend last year… but I assume no change?

 

[nalabear]

We got a standard room at a "deal" of $565/night (without tax) and the room itself wasn't worth more than $400 a night. Even with the deal it was wildly overpriced.

The perk of walking into DCA is nice and the EE is okay, but does it amount to $200+ dollars a day? For some it might, but for us? Absolutely not.

You can't get a harbor drive motel at $200. Where would you stay for that price?

True, GC isn't a $500+ hotel; that's why we do VGC

 

[DisneylandFan22]

The rooms are so horribly overpriced and absolutely aren’t worth the price. I’ve never had service that came anywhere near justifying the price, I haven’t had problems, but the level of service to me is what I would expect in a $350-$400/night room, yet GCH is often upwards of $600/night.

BUT…. Three times a day back to the room for a quick shower before dinner, change into something different, or to drop off sunglasses and extra battery bank once it’s late enough in the day to not need them… it’s 1000x better than the walk to the DLH or PP… and I LOVE staying at the DLH.

There was once or twice I started walking past it because I was used to the longer walk, lol.

Needless to say, it’s very difficult now for me to decide on lowest end GCH room (lol, “low end”), or Adventure Tower (premium DD view) room… I do love the theme to the Adventure Tower and it just all goes to build the feel for me, especially if I’m trekking over for drinks at Trader Sam’s anyway.

I’ll often make more work for myself to make use the Grand’s entrance for the Halloween party by staying two night over there and then transferring over to DLH for the remaining two or three nights.

Now if the GCH gave you some premium benefits like being about to book the Chef’s counter a month early, or maybe even when you book your room (!) that would absolutely go a L O N G way to helping justify the cost. Little things like that could really make the guests feel like they’re getting something extra and special for the cost without it really impacting the bottom line for Disney… but at the same time, I suspect Disney would argue rooms sell themselves so why do anything extra?

I was a little annoyed we couldn’t get back into the grand at the end of the night during the Halloween party. If you left a bit early you could, but if you left at the end of the night, no luck. I didn’t get to attend last year… but I assume no change?

What do you mean about the not being able to enter GCH after the party? Last year we did the OBB and used the DCA entrance to the GCH after the party to leave.

 

[AndrewC]

What do you mean about the not being able to enter GCH after the party? Last year we did the OBB and used the DCA entrance to the GCH after the party to leave.

That’s great to hear! Maybe they changed it! In 2021 when I last went they were ushering everyone towards the main gates and said *everyone* had to exit from the main gates.

Again, I think if I had left 10-15 minutes early I would have been fine, but if you close out the park they didn’t let us go back into the hotel that way.

 

[AndrewC]

You can't get a harbor drive motel at $200. Where would you stay for that price?

True, GC isn't a $500+ hotel; that's why we do VGC

VGC?

 

[DizMe]

VGC?

Vacation Club villas at Grand Californian (time shares). If you're not a member, you can rent from one but it takes careful planning and they're very popular.

DLH has a whole wing now and currently, you can rent them like a regular room.

 

[StormyCA]

Do I think DGC is providing basic services commensurate with the current rack rate? No. I don't even think the 'discounts' you get make it worth the price, if all you're looking at are the 'hotel' services provided.

Of course, there's no excuse for shoddy service, bad housekeeping, or rudeness, whether you're at the Ritz Carlton or Motel 6. A clean room and politeness have no 'price point'. And I wouldn't expect less from Motel 6 in those departments than I would from the Ritz.

What makes it 'worth it' are the onsite extras: package delivery, early entry, and above all location, location, location. Plus for me (solo female), safety. I feel much safer walking through DTD to get to my room as opposed to walking down Harbor.

I've looked into renting points for VGC. It's not as easy as it may look, many are nonrefundable if you have to cancel, and it can require planning 9+ months in advance. And the difference for points rental (at that time) vs hotel rate wasn't all that huge. The advance planning isn't a biggie for me as I'm retired, but the chance of getting no or only a partial refund IS a risk I'm not willing to take. But as I say, it's been over 5 years since I've checked on points rental, maybe it's different now. If there's a guaranteed refund, I'd definitely be interested.

Another website has quoted the expected prices for the new DLH tower. The 'studio' rate (which looked like a regular hotel room) is $560-860 per night. Points expected to be $230.00 per point + taxes & maintenance fees with minimum 50 points. What that translates to in renting points, I have no idea.

 

[take36]

Do I think DGC is providing basic services commensurate with the current rack rate? No. I don't even think the 'discounts' you get make it worth the price, if all you're looking at are the 'hotel' services provided.

Of course, there's no excuse for shoddy service, bad housekeeping, or rudeness, whether you're at the Ritz Carlton or Motel 6. A clean room and politeness have no 'price point'. And I wouldn't expect less from Motel 6 in those departments than I would from the Ritz.

What makes it 'worth it' are the onsite extras: package delivery, early entry, and above all location, location, location. Plus for me (solo female), safety. I feel much safer walking through DTD to get to my room as opposed to walking down Harbor.

I've looked into renting points for VGC. It's not as easy as it may look, many are nonrefundable if you have to cancel, and it can require planning 9+ months in advance. And the difference for points rental (at that time) vs hotel rate wasn't all that huge. The advance planning isn't a biggie for me as I'm retired, but the chance of getting no or only a partial refund IS a risk I'm not willing to take. But as I say, it's been over 5 years since I've checked on points rental, maybe it's different now. If there's a guaranteed refund, I'd definitely be interested.

Another website has quoted the expected prices for the new DLH tower. The 'studio' rate (which looked like a regular hotel room) is $560-860 per night. Points expected to be $230.00 per point + taxes & maintenance fees with minimum 50 points. What that translates to in renting points, I have no idea.

None of the Disney hotels are worth the price if you aren’t a hardcore Disney fan or it’s for your kids. They should improve the service but this has been a complaint for years. We keep going and paying and Disney has not real incentive to change.

 

[crvetter]

Do I think DGC is providing basic services commensurate with the current rack rate? No. I don't even think the 'discounts' you get make it worth the price, if all you're looking at are the 'hotel' services provided.

Of course, there's no excuse for shoddy service, bad housekeeping, or rudeness, whether you're at the Ritz Carlton or Motel 6. A clean room and politeness have no 'price point'. And I wouldn't expect less from Motel 6 in those departments than I would from the Ritz.

What makes it 'worth it' are the onsite extras: package delivery, early entry, and above all location, location, location. Plus for me (solo female), safety. I feel much safer walking through DTD to get to my room as opposed to walking down Harbor.

I've looked into renting points for VGC. It's not as easy as it may look, many are nonrefundable if you have to cancel, and it can require planning 9+ months in advance. And the difference for points rental (at that time) vs hotel rate wasn't all that huge. The advance planning isn't a biggie for me as I'm retired, but the chance of getting no or only a partial refund IS a risk I'm not willing to take. But as I say, it's been over 5 years since I've checked on points rental, maybe it's different now. If there's a guaranteed refund, I'd definitely be interested.

Another website has quoted the expected prices for the new DLH tower. The 'studio' rate (which looked like a regular hotel room) is $560-860 per night. Points expected to be $230.00 per point + taxes & maintenance fees with minimum 50 points. What that translates to in renting points, I have no idea.

Tô your last paragraph the studios at VDH will be the same at VGC except they have a Murphy bed over the sofa sleeper. But they don’t look like a regular hotel room. The VDH will also have duo rooms which only sleep 2.

As for the price point I agree owners have gotten greedy with renting VGC to the point the cash is almost the same sometimes (I’m an owner there too). I expect VGC to go to a 25+ a point per rental and 20+ a point at VDH eventually. But it does seem to be that the owners on the west coast are charging too much right now.

Advantages to VGC over VDH is there is no transient tax (that I’m certain owners will pass to the renters) of about 2.30 a point and VGC parking is included.

 

[ClaraOswald]

You can't get a harbor drive motel at $200. Where would you stay for that price?

True, GC isn't a $500+ hotel; that's why we do VGC

I read it as them saying that staying at the Grand Californian was $200+ more a night than other places.
But maybe I read it wrong?

I've only stayed at the Grand Californian once so far and I LOVED it. But we had a friends and family discount so it came out to around $450 a night, I believe. I would not pay more than that out of pocket a night and we figured this would be a 1-time thing. (Of course, we fell in love and decided to get a DVC contract resale which makes it much cheaper in the long run now. But not cheaper than a Harbor hotel, of course.)

 

[CarolynFH]

Advantages to VGC over VDH is there is no transient tax (that I’m certain owners will pass to the renters)

My understanding is that the TAT will be paid directly to VDH/DLH by the guest at the time of the stay, so yes, owners will pass it on to the renters that way. The owners have no other choice.

 

[StormyCA]

Advantages to VGC over VDH is there is no transient tax (that I’m certain owners will pass to the renters) of about 2.30 a point and VGC parking is included.

Unconfirmed, but appears likely that a transient tax will be added for DVC members buying in to VDH. I wonder if the reason the VGC doesn't was due to a deal with Anaheim at the time. Anaheim isn't being super 'Disney friendly' right now so possibly they couldn't get the same deal for VDH.

From another website:
"Annual Dues will be $9.06 per point in 2023, and members will also be responsible for a transient occupancy tax of $2.73 per point. This tax rate has been expressed to several members by their guides but is not found in writing. There has only been a disclaimer a tax would be imposed. So for the time being, this tax rate is not confirmed in writing.

At a 50 point minimum buy in, that tax is going to add up.