As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Anyone stay here? What can you tell me about it? Is there a certain area of the hotel or room that we should ask for?
We are planning a September 2013 trip with my cousin, her hubby, her gorgeous little guy, my Mom and my family, WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!!!! We're looking at a two bedroom suite. I figure we'll put my cousins family in the master bedroom, the four of us will take the second bedroom with the two queen beds (hopefully, I'm going to request that when I make our reservation) and my Mom will probably end up in the living room on the pull out sofa. If anyone has stayed here, are you able to assure me these beds are comfortable? Friends of ours just stayed at BLT and their son slept on the pull out sofa, she said she thought it was a Tempur-Pedic mattress on the bed? If push comes to shove and it's not comfortable, I'll either switch with her or one of us will get to a Walmart or Target to pick up an air mattress. I don't mind sleeping on one as long as it means my Mom is comfortable.
Hubby and I have talked for years now about going to CA and Disneyland, I'm so glad we can work something out with cousin and her family. My only disappointment is we are doing it in September which means taking the kids out of school. We would have liked to make a CA trip a two week tour so we could really take in more of what CA has to offer, but maybe this trip will just encourage us to go again for a longer time.
I haven't been out to CA and Disneyland for a very long time. Last time I was there it was just Disneyland, nothing else, so I'm really excited for this trip. I can't wait to do California Adventure and the resort really looks amazing. It looks very similar to Wilderness Lodge although maybe a little more like the Grand Floridian as far as Spa amenities. We love Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian was gorgeous, although not necessarily our cup of tea. Anyway, Grand Californian looks amazing, we are all super, super excited.
Anything you can tell me about this resort would be fantastic!, thanks!!!!
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Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
I had a visit to the Villas at the Grand Californian last December. The resort is gorgeous! There are several restaurants on the property that are pretty good--Napa Rose is beyond pretty good. The spa is fabulous and the bar is lovely. Let me know what specific questions you have and I can try and answer them.
We absolutely love this hotel. We've stayed before in the hotel, then last August stayed in a one-bedroom villa, which was huge. We're back there in December in a studio this time. It's so convenient for the parks and we just love the theming of the place. If you can, definitely fit in dinner at Napa Rose - that is a superb place to dine.
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We stayed there back before there was a DVC wing. The hotel is very nice and was designed by the same fellow that designed the Wilderness Lodge I believe.
We had a one bedroom villa a couple of years ago and just loved it!!!! I know that there is now a dvc area that has opened which would give you a view of the nightly show at DCA but I don't know much about the noise level. We had a room overlooking the pool and it was just perfect. Not to loud but fun to look out and watch the scenes unfold below. I really don't think that you can go wrong no matter where you get a room!!!
Oh and my daughter slept on the pull out it was great, my son even slept on the pull out murphy bed and Loved it!!
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DisneyDeva
1989+1993 Carribbean Beach,1996 ASS+Dixie Landings,1998 DL,2000 CB Hurricaine Floyd!!,2001 DL,2003 CS,2004 WL,2005 POR,2006 seven night eastern carb. disney cruise!!!,2006 Halloween Liki Tiki,May 2007 off site Orange Lake,May 2007 AKL,Sept 2007 CS,Oct 2008 Halloween ASM,May 2009 PC+ a seven night eastern carb. cruise,Feb 2010 GCV,BCV + BLT Sept 2011; OKW 8/12;Kindani 9/13: POR 3/13; Jambo Club Level & SS 6/14; Poly studio 8/15, GF villa July 2016;Blt + AKK June 2018
Grand Californian is my favorite Disney resort. Better than any in Florida, IMO.
Just a word of warning that there are only 48 villas TOTAL and only about 20 of them will be bookable as Two Bedroom villas. (The rest will be Studios, One Bedroom and Three Bedroom units.)
With such a small number of rooms it's far from a given that you will be able to get a room at 7 months. It helps that September is a fairly slow month. But I would not recommend booking flights or making any other firm travel arrangements until a room is secured. VGC owners will get first crack at booking. And while they may not grab all 20 units at 11 months, only a small number will remain at 7 months. If there are 5 2Bs left at 7 months and 10 people hoping to book, half of them are going to be disappointed.
Be ready to book on-line right at 8am eastern. Be flexible with your dates if at all possible. And do not pre-pay for airfare or similar items until you have the confirmed reservation...unless you're prepared to make alternate arrangements if the villa is not available.
We stayed in a 1-bedroom at Grand Californian last month and really enjoyed it. My son had no complaints about the sofa bed, and my daughter slept comfortably on the pull-out bed under the TV (though it might not fit anyone much over 10).
Although it is not publicized, there is a viewing area on the top floor with a view of World of Color at California Adventure. Because it's on the "wrong" side the view is not as good as from the areas within the park, but if you see the show once within DCA and want to catch it again, it's easier than fighting the crowds. (I snuck up there one night after my kids and husband were in bed, for the 10:30 show.)
If anyone on your group is interested in architecture or history, I highly recommend the free Art of the Craft tour that is given several times a week. It shows how the resort was carefully designed based on the work of specific artists and artistic movements from the early 20th century. (I learned that all of the wood along the walls of the bar off the lobby came from a single redwood tree -- just one of the many details that most guests would never notice.)
Just a word of warning that there are only 48 villas TOTAL and only about 20 of them will be bookable as Two Bedroom villas. (The rest will be Studios, One Bedroom and Three Bedroom units.)
With such a small number of rooms it's far from a given that you will be able to get a room at 7 months. It helps that September is a fairly slow month. But I would not recommend booking flights or making any other firm travel arrangements until a room is secured. VGC owners will get first crack at booking. And while they may not grab all 20 units at 11 months, only a small number will remain at 7 months. If there are 5 2Bs left at 7 months and 10 people hoping to book, half of them are going to be disappointed.
Be ready to book on-line right at 8am eastern. Be flexible with your dates if at all possible. And do not pre-pay for airfare or similar items until you have the confirmed reservation...unless you're prepared to make alternate arrangements if the villa is not available.
Thanks for the advise! We really can't be too flexible with dates, my cousins husband has to put his vacation request in in just a couple of weeks. We were really hoping to do a late September date so our kids have time to get settled in school before we pull them back out. I might ask her if he can put in for the week we want plus the week before, just in case. Looking at the points calendar, September looked like we could get the best value for our points. Now I'm a little worried.
We are still very new to the DVC, anyone know what the least amount of points you can buy? I'd hate to buy points for GCH&S so we had access at 11 months but I also don't want to miss getting a two bedroom. Without us doing the room I don't think my cousin and her family could afford to go.
__________________
Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
We are still very new to the DVC, anyone know what the least amount of points you can buy? I'd hate to buy points for GCH&S so we had access at 11 months but I also don't want to miss getting a two bedroom. Without us doing the room I don't think my cousin and her family could afford to go.
You only get the 11 month booking rights for points OWNED at a given resort. If you buy 25 Grand Californian points, you can only book 25 points worth of stays per year at 11 mos.
Also VGC points are difficult to come by. The resort has been officially "sold out" for about 2 years now and Disney does not re-acquire points often. From what I understand there are dozens of people on a waiting list if/when DVC gets back any VGC points.
It appears to be rare for VGC to completely fill prior to the 7 month window. I was looking at some dates earlier today in the online booking system. Currently all room sizes are available for March and April 2013 which is just outside of the 7 month window now.
But what we can never know are:
1) Exactly how many rooms are available? Just because the online booking system tells me there is a 2B available for every night in March doesn't mean there are a lot of rooms. For some nights there could only be one unbooked room remaining.
2) The other thing we can't tell is how many people will be trying to book at 7 months. If there are 1 or 2 or 5 rooms available and 10 members trying to book, many will be shut-out.
There's nothing wrong with requesting vacation time and hoping for the best but again, I would never buy any plane tickets without that confirmed reservation. Targeting 2 or more weeks as possibilities certainly helps.
Thanks Tim! I sent my cousin and asked if it was possible for her husband to put in for two weeks now with the intention of only taking one of those weeks once we know which week we can go. I never, ever buy plane tickets until we're booked and I know for sure we're going. Since there are 8 of us I think we'll all book our airline at one time, probably put it on my Mom's card so she gets the points. I mentioned to them not to buy tickets without talking to me, but again, I think that's something we'll do all at one time.
Thanks for the advise. I'm glad you mentioned about the points, we've been thinking that in a year or two we'll need to add points and we were thinking about 80 points. I didn't realize that we would only be able to book with those 80 points if we bought them at a resort other than AKL (our home resort). I think I need to do a LOT of reading when the kids go back to school and I can actually think.
__________________
Me ~ Christina; DH ~ '92; DD ~ '99; DS ~ '06
My reasons for breathing!!! MGM Studios October 2007
The Passporter DVC Guide was recently updated and it's a really good reference. You can get it as an e-book. It helped me a lot, and answered a lot of my questions. Others here helped me with anything I was still fuzzy on.
Of course, you can always borrow and bank and use up to three years' points at one time. But if you have points from two different home resorts you can't combine them to make an 11-month reservation. You may only use the points for that home resort. You can combine contracts from the same home resort. I have an original and an add-on at BLT, for example.
My wife and I stayed there in May, and it is a wonderful resort! We also booked at 7 months to the day for an 8 day stay, and had to split our stay between a 1 bdr and a studio for 4 days each. It was already that booked up. The 1bdr was awesome, and the studio only slightly less so. This was also during a very slow time for the DL resort, so I would rate your chances as slim for getting a 2bdr. However, you might be able to snag a separate 1 bdr and a studio (they will not be connecting, and may even end up on different floors, but at least you would all be there). Keep your options open for that, and who knows, the DVC gods may smile upon you, and a 2bdr will still be available. Good luck!!
Now, about the resort. DVC is all in one wing, so the only request is pretty much whether you want a DCA view or a pool view. We got lucky without any requests and had an excellent DCA view from the 1bdr, and a so-so view from the studio. We watched WOC every night (they pipe the music in on the TV), and never had to fight the crowds. A big plus!
Napa Rose is not to be missed! We ate at the Chef's Counter, and had an absolutely wonderful meal. The only one better was Victoria & Alberts at WDW if that tells you anything!!
We did the mani/pedi at the spa this trip and also had a wonderful experience there. Highly recommended.The pools are only a short walk from any of the rooms (actually, pretty much everything at DL resort is a short walk!!). DD and DCA have their own entrances directly into the resort, so very convenient. DL is still only a short walk through DD.
Good luck with your reservation, and I would definitely agree with Tim that you do not make any other reservations until you know whether you have a room or not.
Grand californian is the nicest Disney hotel anywhere imho. Easy access to both parks and great restaurants. The beds are very confortable. It's just a fabulous place to stay
We have yet to stay at the VGC but are dying to go. We did stay at the Grand Californian hotel in 2007 before the villas were built and we loved,loved,loved it all. The hotel,the pool,DL,DCA all if it was so awesome can't wait to go back. Have a magical time !!
We haven't stayed here...yet. DH loves this hotel and we often will vsit the restaurants and rest in the lobby.
Napa Rose being a definite "must-do". It is simply food at its best.
Also, access to both parks is so convenient. If we can ever stop spending our points in FL, we'll make it here.
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We're looking at a two bedroom suite. I figure we'll put my cousins family in the master bedroom, the four of us will take the second bedroom with the two queen beds (hopefully, I'm going to request that when I make our reservation) and my Mom will probably end up in the living room on the pull out sofa. If anyone has stayed here, are you able to assure me these beds are comfortable? Friends of ours just stayed at BLT and their son slept on the pull out sofa, she said she thought it was a Tempur-Pedic mattress on the bed? If push comes to shove and it's not comfortable, I'll either switch with her or one of us will get to a Walmart or Target to pick up an air mattress. I don't mind sleeping on one as long as it means my Mom is comfortable. 
Anyway, Grand Californian looks amazing, we are all super, super excited.
MGM Studios October 2007
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We've stayed before in the hotel, then last August stayed in a one-bedroom villa, which was huge. 
We're back there in December in a studio this time. It's so convenient for the parks and we just love the theming of the place. If you can, definitely fit in dinner at Napa Rose - that is a superb place to dine. 
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