Our California Welcome Home Trip (Plus a Detour to Knott's)

[NVDISFamily]

First 4 Nights and 3 Park Days – Disneyland Resort Third Gate -Knott’s Berry Farm

Pros:

• Knott’s Hotel Remodel – we liked the room. Great value at a little over 120 to 130 a night with fees and parking @ 15 a night.
• Sort of felt like we were in the theme park bubble at Knott’s.
• The kids loved the rides at Knott’s. The AP there are a great value and we are glad we have them to fill in our black out dates. We are also looking forward to taking advantage of them during a future trip.
• The food was solid and we are glad we got the food passes for a few of us. Great food at the Fireman’s BBQ place and a few others. Some were only so/so. Still, at two meals a day, will more than break even on the 160 bucks spent on them. Also got two drink passes and think these will more than pay off for themselves over time.
• Loved how you get the AP discount almost everywhere in the park and even outside of the park. Even my AM Starbucks out front got the AP discounts.
• Camp Snoopy was great. I didn’t realize how fun it would be for my kids. It’s also well lit up at night and has a special charm. It’s not Disney level of charm/theme, but it’s magical and we loved it.

Cons:

• The room was small and showed a few signs of age even being a recent remodel.
• The door was small and could not fit our stroller without being folded up.
• Nothing really opens up until 10am even the Starbucks out front.

Overall:

Glad we chose to check out Knott’s and make our welcome home trip even more special. It was a worthy detour/experiment and we’ll be supplementing our Disneyland trips/VGC stays with hotel stays in the Anaheim or Buena Park area to also add some Knott’s visits into the mix.

 

[NVDISFamily]

7 Nights and 6 Park Days – VGC (Grand Californian)

So, for some back story. My wife and I were married when this hotel was being built and we walked through it just after opening many times and always dreamed of staying here. Learning that Disney sold a timeshare and that the Grand Californian was an option in the program was what fueled our desire to join DVC and purchase at VGC.

I’m going to start with a list of Cons as it will be short:

• We had to leave.
• You can walk through DCA too fast and get your pass flagged so a supervisor has to let you in at Disneyland…
• If you are close like where we stayed, you will hear World of Color so much by the end of the trip your kids will have memorized the song order and it loses a bit of its appeal after hearing it multiple times each night.
• The rooms did have some wear, but nothing that lessened the magic of the experience. We might have been lucky that we were staying in the larger rooms (a 2BR and the 3BR).

And now for a list of Pros:

• It was magical and even better than our dreams. Walking from the park to the room was great and being there so quickly made my sore feet sing songs of praise after a long day. I really loved to cut through DCA on our days when we were going back from Disneyland as it’s a beautiful walk. Some nights we even got to ninja a few quick photo pass shots with no line(s).
• Seeing World of Color from the 3BR park view room = EPIC (but waring about the con noted above). Also the view of the park in general both during the day and night was amazing.
• The theme of the resort and the luxury of it too is top notch. Our family that joined us to visit or to stay was blown away by the resort. Even some family who is more reluctant to hang out and visit had no problem relaxing in the 3BR villa and enjoying the iconic view(s).
• The Craftsman Bar quick service rocks and never let us down.
• All of the staff at the Grand Cal was top notch. The piano player spoke with my wife who is a player herself and they had a great discussion of her favorite music both Disney and non-Disney. He played a piece from Rachmaninoff for her during our check in.
• We loved the pool. I wish I would have spent more time there.
• We got super lucky to visit during the grand opening of the new DVC member lounge. We love it! It’s way better than Epcot (sorry but the restroom in the lounge alone wins but it’s also better in other ways).
• I’ve already said it but it’s worth repeating. The location is amazing!

Overall:

What can I say… I just wish we had more points.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Photos

Has to be one of the most iconic views of any room in the program?



It's cool to look over and say to the family... and say there is our room!



More photos to come later. Need to get some work done

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Happy for you! You've definitely sparked an interest in DL and VGC in me that was simmering before, LOL.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Amazing view!! Was this your first ever stay at the Grand Californian? Or just your first DVC stay?

 

[NVDISFamily]

Amazing view!! Was this your first ever stay at the Grand Californian? Or just your first DVC stay?

It was our first stay at the Grand Cal and our first stay ever on our DVC points. Our first stay at any DVC was a quick trip last year to SSR to visit WDW as a family and check out some resorts over there. We rented a confirmed reservation and got a great deal (I think it was like 12 or so dollars a point as we made the reservation very last minute).

 

[ak517]

You can walk through DCA too fast and get your pass flagged so a supervisor has to let you in at Disneyland…

This happened to me when I went from DCA to DL to get some stuff out of a locker and then back to DCA <10 minutes later Nobody could tell me what the "wait time" was so as not to get flagged.

Thanks for the pro-con list, and glad you had a great time at VGC! I love a room with a good view.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I guess I didn't realize you bought VGC without ever staying there. We stayed for the first time (hotel room) in February and fell in love. I can't wait to take our first trip with our points! Sounds like you guys had a really good time.

 

[KPeterso]

Thanks for your pros and cons lists. I love our stays at VGC too. So Welcome Home (newish) neighbor. We are back there in July for 3 nights. Hoping for the similar view to what you had. We have had it several times in the studio over that direction.

 

[Huskerpaul]

First 4 Nights and 3 Park Days – Disneyland Resort Third Gate -Knott’s Berry Farm

Pros:

• Knott’s Hotel Remodel – we liked the room. Great value at a little over 120 to 130 a night with fees and parking @ 15 a night.
• Sort of felt like we were in the theme park bubble at Knott’s.
• The kids loved the rides at Knott’s. The AP there are a great value and we are glad we have them to fill in our black out dates. We are also looking forward to taking advantage of them during a future trip.
• The food was solid and we are glad we got the food passes for a few of us. Great food at the Fireman’s BBQ place and a few others. Some were only so/so. Still, at two meals a day, will more than break even on the 160 bucks spent on them. Also got two drink passes and think these will more than pay off for themselves over time.
• Loved how you get the AP discount almost everywhere in the park and even outside of the park. Even my AM Starbucks out front got the AP discounts.
• Camp Snoopy was great. I didn’t realize how fun it would be for my kids. It’s also well lit up at night and has a special charm. It’s not Disney level of charm/theme, but it’s magical and we loved it.

Cons:

• The room was small and showed a few signs of age even being a recent remodel.
• The door was small and could not fit our stroller without being folded up.
• Nothing really opens up until 10am even the Starbucks out front.

Overall:

Glad we chose to check out Knott’s and make our welcome home trip even more special. It was a worthy detour/experiment and we’ll be supplementing our Disneyland trips/VGC stays with hotel stays in the Anaheim or Buena Park area to also add some Knott’s visits into the mix.

So happy to hear you and your kids enjoyed Knott's! For me a trip to So Cal and Disneyland isn't complete unless we visit Knott's Berry Farm. Sounds like you found a great alternative for DLR AP black out days.

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

Great photos and lovely review - SO Happy you enjoyed your Welcome Home trip at such a gem of a resort. Happy to be your neighbors! . Now I just need to stay in that Grand Villa sometime! We've stayed in every other size of room and enjoyed. Just can't beat the quick access to the park especially with the new entrance. YAAASS!

 

[NVDISFamily]

Hi DVC Family. Sorry for not replying sooner. Been a hectic week back to work and such. I think sharing some more photos are in order 1st -

Sorry for the mess. It was a packing up to go home day. The 3BR had more than enough space to entertain and host people. It has enough charm to pull your guests into various areas of the villa that having up to 18 or more people in the room was no problem at all (and that 4th guest bathroom off the entrance = win).



The charm of the lights are awesome. And the wood. After stay at VGC, I can see why some people love this style and I really hope they don't go away from it during the remodel.






And a few more magical photos from our trip. Yea DVC is a expensive luxury product and we are lucky to do this. But I think the magic I was expecting was delivered and then some for the family.

Me and daughter enjoying World of Color







We loved the 2BR too. The pull down bed in the living room was a winner with my daughter. She also made it into a home for all of her friends.



The engineers had to stop by right as we got into our 2BR for the start of the trip and gave the kids these (a cool bit of magic) -

 

[NVDISFamily]

And some more interesting items of note:

• Turning a lemon into "magical" lemonade - Our first try ever try to go on Rise of The Resistance was "interesting". We waited through a respectable 40 to 50 min line, got all of the way into the ride vehicles and boom, lights went off for half a second and then emergency lights came on. We didn't know it at the time, but apparently a good chunk of the park had lost main power and was on generator mode. It was a fun experience to be stuck on the ride for a bit and have to have people come help to get us out. We were a bit bummed but we collected our fast pass and then had to decide what to do. Sadly they would not give us a pass for the next day. So after a quick dinner at the Red Rose tavern and with fireworks coming up, I had a lightbulb idea... Let's go jump into Big Thunder Lightning Lane just a few min before the fireworks go. It worked great. We had fireworks going off what felt just right in front of us going up the chain hills and while we were going around in the ride. And then when we got off the action was still going and we finished the show just off the exit with a solid view of the fireworks.
• Speaking of Rise, I think I've kind of mastered how the wait times work for the ride after spending way too much time on the Disneyland app over the weeks/months prepping for this trip. It seems like the ride rotates through periods of 60 to 80+ min wait times and then they will wait a while and drop the wait time to 35 to 45 min. During the next day after our "issue" we were seeing an extended period of 80 min wait and then I finally told @MrsNVDISFamily that we needed to just go for it and run over there and get in line. To our surprise even though the app showed 80 min there was no line up front and we could easily run well into the caves at this point. Right as we were getting into the line they dropped it to 40 min. We also used the "hack" where when getting on the transport we waited to be in the back and then stayed at the door. We then used the "always go left" rule to pass up a huge line on the right. Now this was because we had already taken a ton of photos the night before. We really liked the ride and it's worth a 40 to 45 min wait and using the hacks to skip some of the extra lines at the end are a win
• Lamplight was worth the hype. I'll try and go most trips if we are able to.
• The food at the DCA Food and Wine was legit. We loved the spicy cali cart.
• Ronto Roasters was solid. @MrsNVDISFamily didn't believe me when I said the veggie one was higher rated but when I got them she politely made me eat most of the meat one. My wife also doesn't drink tea, but she tried a sip of the Tatooine Sunset and said that she would gladly cheat on her no tea policy for this drink.
• Galactic Grill - man it's hard for me to admit I like food at this place now. It was so bad years ago... I actually have a memory of having one of the worst 11 to 13 dollar lunches here in the late 90s or early 2000s. We had a great lunch at this place on our last trip and this trip... an amazing breakfast. We loved the burrito, and I was thinking the sandwich would not be a hit. WRONG choice. I should have just ordered the breakfast sandwich. The burrito was solid (4.5 out of 5). But the sandwich... So tasty. I did like it with a bit of the hot sauce that was offered with the burrito. I think this breakfast sandwich + a quick trip to the DVC lounge for a double americano will be in my future for years to come...
• Overall, I love mobile order. We did gamble a few times and cut it close with our order windows so that's an issue we need to get better at. But overall being able to use line wait times to look at menus and make choices are a huge time saver for us. We also got lucky and landed a perfect ice cream pickup on Main Street just before the parade time and then enjoyed the new parade and our ice cream in my happy place right there at the end of Main Street near the Jolly Holiday seating.

I hope these walls of text are not too much. We loved our trip. Feel free to ask any questions about Knott's too. It's also awesome but I'm keeping this more Disney/DVC focused

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

That sounds awesome about Big Thunder during fireworks - nice.
I am fascinated by the endless different kinds light fixtures at Grand Cal that all work together. I just love them!
The only problem with the current furniture is it's too bulky in the smaller units. I'd be pro keeping the look but reducing the size. The 3 bedroom looks amazing. Love the pic of you and your kiddo watching World of Color - adorbs.
From most places at VGC you can hear it and "see" it but the angle doesn't work for you to actually enjoy it - looks like with the 3 bedroom you could actually see some (all?) the projections? That's amazing if so!
What a Welcome Home trip!!! So happy for you.

 

[ClaraOswald]

So do you think you're spoiled and will want to stand in the 3BR every time?? Ha!

 

[NVDISFamily]

From most places at VGC you can hear it and "see" it but the angle doesn't work for you to actually enjoy it - looks like with the 3 bedroom you could actually see some (all?) the projections? That's amazing if so!

From the two balconies on the top floor (fifth floor) guest rooms you have a great view of WOC with the one on the left (if facing the park) having the best view. This is where the family would gather on most nights to watch the show. But both are great, and mostly you can see the entire show. Also, at the vantage point of the room, being up there gives you a great view of the coaster and the large mickey wheel which are also part of the show. Additionally our Magic Bands worked fairly well with the show at this distance where they didn’t work too well from the viewing platform on the 6th floor. Views from the fourth floor balconies were okay with some obstruction. Views from the tall living room window was okay but the tree blocks a portion of the view.

So do you think you're spoiled and will want to stand in the 3BR every time?? Ha!

No. We don’t have enough points to do this on anything but very special occasions. Would much rather be in the 2BR for double the nights and also need to mix in some 1BR and studio stays to max the value. For the 3BR, might go for it when we are lucky to ninja in with our WDW points at 7 months. You do see some days open up from time to time under 7 months as the room just costs a ton of points.

 

[Chili327]

Photos

Has to be one of the most iconic views of any room in the program?

It's cool to look over and say to the family... and say there is our room!

More photos to come later. Need to get some work done

Is it just me or are the pics gone.!?

 

[ClaraOswald]

Gone for me too.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Is it just me or are the pics gone.!?

Yea weird. Does it not host them for too long if I paste them in? Should I find a image host?

 

[Chili327]

[URL]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YgLafmAT1iIU_hPnujzrkzw6-DKS6zdqqCXUNzCbPT90QJEUDeoGYt43JJH2hBo4SKRHFEyGq2N_6zJU04SUtGSpyyXZSWaroLSpCu4TAo9rIBHMIYN8w9dud0rfJaruDXu9oUmrmSFGGtYwCqAQr2waJzqKdoYsJbLB10O2qPCyL8vSyk1JZePVmDe2hhWLWpb7hTGipaVOkSr6uSfFkAqxAYJ4xGIbNa92FRfZUW0MPCCF4Ps-Btkj_kppOxM7JYId2ApzpcO4siUovLzywrqXJWmvqKdhKjSyDBNuvjrOa1LdO4Wgh3wzEsqfk-SGRXVnVWKEPp-YaqhPJCWjpbz_nXMnjlffJmsfpsrj4rWprRsmGU6eaJPec7jsw1S1Yp0BrcGkirVCdh6aFN4z-ifP3RiBeASblcDpBmaiB5K2HG1O5HINzy1P4y77c93CZOKoIw5BriXbYXSHVTPh1vQYRABK5G0fvJsWp0Tb5NT45t6jLTc98BDTyCl8yVvy9UQBQHjmm8KDJaTNNA7ZUxNx-Z496AxUuHXbm-gU35EHUStc6EvodPnTDw__tMFSd1M9eOLc1ZeHV05apDAiEeBRPAgrkrYKyr9s-_fqvrV7ttE57zAOYRGPmVXFBWf7IMHGJJiFv6s4XExXpBaC7j_Qcs_NtGZecjWT4TtlRKIi_5jbzBWjDoO2bLK0l9ebrElEFWkAHfC8_e-HpnWG7Z4Wzpz4ervH91Qk6SiPOGt0AkWeCLgWKeClYvmmr41NW7cdyLUoPYADXLSJHeWqbSVO0hPp9BVReO-SL6mXtDEfPcmHewkGGxb6GARh5JswEqSHJjpUpgVcRblHyz8u81zydkyxeyj-vc0JpjHBPb_FJTk7R5tI49-PwNBENFwZxIL5wsTcI5XlwZ5Q0Slb8iD9zWulhgP7f1CSULsAwGMcXIycHdKg1cnzgBxxpB3F_EPPphVz9Th43WwX-k9s=w1918-h1439-s-no?authuser=0[/URL]

Yea weird. Does it not host them for too long if I paste them in? Should I find a image host?

Do you host these elsewhere, or on this site?