Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I should mention one year at the Grand Californian my sisters and myself were in a room overlooking the Downtown District. We must have been busy getting ready in the bathroom area because all of a sudden we realized those blackbirds had taken over the balcony and one second later they probably would have entered thru that open balcony door. I have also had some mean looking vultures on the Bay Lake Tower balcony that overlooks their tennis courts. ( Those rooms might be the smallest narrowest rooms ever designed by Disney due to the circular u-shape of the building ) Anyway those birds were so creepy I never opened the curtains. Anyway I prefer the Paradise Pier for many reasons already mentioned. Hoping that was the original question....
Originally Posted By tashajilek You actually had vultures on your balcony? I guess they must have taken a break from Splash Mountain.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I know people get tired after a day in the parks, but you must have been EXHAUSTED to attract vultures...
Originally Posted By gardenrooms lol! Vultures! I assumed they sealed up the DLH rooms to save on air conditioning which is good for the planet but... And I wouldn't be surprised if insurance is less with fixed windows and no balconies. Last time we were there the renovation was half done. We were in an old room - big, bright, balcony where I could crane my head and see the fireworks and could hear laughter and exited talking. DS was "upgraded", because he was getting married, into a remodeled room - lit up headboard and updated bathroom, but small feeling, dark, stuffy room. I should add I love the GCH and I too feel the magic there but can't afford to stay there every time. We are newish DVC members but as that is not our home resort will probably never get to stay in the villas unless we rent points, which I don't see happening, but I bet that would be a great place to stay.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I know people get tired after a day in the parks, but you must have been EXHAUSTED to attract vultures... << Literally LOL'd.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Sorry I was guessing, they were turkey vultures or turkey buzzards . I haven't noticed the "bird" problem at WDW in last few trips. Has Disney quietly been mixing birth control in bird feed stations? When I ask ; cast members tell me they are seasonal. Probably all that DVC construction scaring the bird population away. Anyway back to discussing DL Resort choices. But nice to have any type of lively conversation on LP.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Because I like to punish myself, just checked prices for December at DLH and my wife's birthday. With the passholder discount, after tax, $386.10 for one night. Not gonna do it. Ridiculous.
Originally Posted By darcy-becker That's why we're considering February for a stay at The Grand Californian.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder You got me curious so I checked. If you booked GCH right now for the middle of the week, non-holiday time for February, 2015, you'd pay in the neighborhood of $500 a night.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>you'd pay in the neighborhood of $500 a night.<< That is nuts. I've joined in with talking around here about how the parks are too expensive and all that, but it hasn't quite been enough to stop me from going a couple of times in the last few years. But $500 a night does the trick for me. I'm sure the day will come when I'm in SoCal for other reasons, and maybe my family will pony up for one-day passes. But the days of a vacation to the resort are over. To compare: I can fly my family to New York City and stay in a top-notch 4-star hotel in the heart of the theatre district for four days for the *same price* of taking my family to Disneyland for three days and staying at the GCH.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "That is nuts. I've joined in with talking around here about how the parks are too expensive and all that, but it hasn't quite been enough to stop me from going a couple of times in the last few years. But $500 a night does the trick for me. I'm sure the day will come when I'm in SoCal for other reasons, and maybe my family will pony up for one-day passes. But the days of a vacation to the resort are over. To compare: I can fly my family to New York City and stay in a top-notch 4-star hotel in the heart of the theatre district for four days for the *same price* of taking my family to Disneyland for three days and staying at the GCH." Yeah. I got the number from going to the site and checking, not from just guessing. Who in the world is paying that kind of money?
Originally Posted By darcy-becker Our stay at the GCH will be a one time thing. I usually stay at a bargain hotel on Harbour. And we will be splitting the cost four ways.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<( Those rooms might be the smallest narrowest rooms ever designed by Disney due to the circular u-shape of the building )>> I'm surprised to hear that. Our two-bedroom at the Bay Lake was about the same size as any other DVC we've stayed at with the exception of Old Key West. Our unit was located in the flat part of the U so the building shape was not an issue. Were you maybe in a studio? Was it located in the circular part of the U? I thought those areas were primarily used for the elevator lobbies. As for the cost of Disneyland Resorts, that is nothing new. You will pay at least that much to stay at the Grand Floridian or Poly, and almost that much for the Contemporary. And in Florida, there are no nearby non-Disney options (although the Disney moderate and value resorts are considerably lower in price... and size and amenities). Me thinks Disneyland folks have become spoiled over the years.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Yes my first BLT stay was way over by the tennis courts and was in the circular U shape so it was narrower... Now I get the lake view and it is better. I love the BLT to watch the monorail and all the different styles of boats as they arrive and depart for the day and the sunrise and sunset is incredible and the moon shining on the water... I can never sleep!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Speaking of prices You will think DL prices are a bargain when I tell you the price for one night at BLT Studio to fill in for one night I did not have enough points for... $655 with tax $736!!! For a studio lake view.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Yes my first BLT stay was way over by the tennis courts and was in the circular U shape so it was narrower...>> I looked at the resort map and see what you mean. We had a room in the interior of the U facing the courtyard with a partial lake and pool view. The inner wall on that part of the resort (one area like that on each side) was perfectly flat and so the circular design had no impact on room size. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://allears.net/acc/ResortMaps/contemporary.pdf">http://allears.net/acc/ResortM...rary.pdf</a>
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Me thinks Disneyland folks have become spoiled over the years." We'll disagree. Forget the whole Disney thing for a moment. My wife and I can afford it. It's just that $400 to $500 for a freaking hotel room is too much money. For over a dozen years we would gladly pay around $200 a night just to stay the one night for her birthday each year in December. There's wasn't anything all that "magical" or "Disney" about the room, it was just convenient to not have to worry about driving home, even if less than 30 minutes, and worked out getting to the park early the next day. To pay twice what we used to pay for no apparent reason other than there are other schmucks who pay it and run up the market price (just like admission prices), is being a fool with our money. We'll go elsewhere now, do something entirely non-Disney, and enjoy ourselves just as much. If anyone is at all familiar, there's a rather historic hotel in Pasadena called the Huntington. It has changed hands over the years, most recently from the Ritz-Carlton to the Langham. My wife loves Pasadena and this hotel. We've stayed there the last two years, and for half the price of what Disney now charges for anything. When DL costs twice as much as a Ritz/Langham hotel, there's something very wrong.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ^^^ Spoiled to the extent that you find the current price of on-site DL hotels outrageous when Disney has been collecting that kind of money for the WDW monorail resorts for years. And the WDW hotels are no more worth it than the DL hotels are. Want to stay at the Poly the first weekend in October? $520 per night standard view; $693 per night MK view. Maybe the Grand Floridian would be nice. $564 per night standard view; no other view available at that time. You could try the Contemporary... the "cheap" monorail resort. You can stay in the garden wing for $480; the tower Bay Lake view for $565; MK view for $626. How does Disney get away with it? LOCATION. I'm sure the Huntington is gorgeous, but is Disneyland across the street from it?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "How does Disney get away with it? LOCATION. I'm sure the Huntington is gorgeous, but is Disneyland across the street from it?" If Disneyland were free, and it certainly isn't, you'd have more of a point. The Huntington is a luxury hotel with all the amenities you can possibly need. The Disneyland Hotel is a place to stay because it's convenient, nothing else. And I don't get how you continue to equate refusing to overspend with being spoiled. Wouldn't that be the opposite?
