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MOUSELUVR
07-13-2003, 12:57 PM
Hi everyone....I am a serious "lurker" on the board for a long time and really enjoy everyone's insights and advice..so here goes. My sister and I are taking my 3 daughters to DL 7/23-7/28. We usually go a couple of time per year, but have never stayed at any of the resort properties. We are SUPER excited about staying at the Grand Californian and want to know all the "must do" things will staying on site. My daughter are 13,11 and 6. Any advice is greatly appreciated

miss bianca
07-13-2003, 02:13 PM
Definitely contact Vacation Planning (a free service to those staying at Disney Properties). They can help arrange free items like autographed pictures for the little ones or If there's any extra $$ in your budget you can have a variety of items left in your room. Mickey ears, plush toys, milk & cookies, etc.
check out this website :
http://users.easystreet.com/goodgirl/Vacation_Planning_Gifts.htm

Goodgirl (owner of the website above) is a wonderful person (she posts on laughingplace.com) and could also answer any additional questions.

I've had the milk and cookies sent to my sister and brother in law - it was about $18.00 and they loved it!

Vacation Planning can also make all your dining reservations and get your Fantasmic Balcony Seating Tickets.

There # is (714) 956-6833 or
E-mail vacationplanning@disneyonline.com

Right now there are super busy with Summer - so give them a day or two to get back to you.

julia
07-13-2003, 02:34 PM
Hello,

You might look into a late supper or a dessert at the Wine Country Trattoria one evening - it is a great place to get an outstanding view of the Electrical Parade. The food is good, it is Northern Italian cuisine, and reasonably priced.

The kids should definitely wear their pajamas to storytime at the fireplace at the Grand Californian! I am a grown-up kid and I like to do that, too!

You might take the opportunity to do a tour of the Grand Californian. Also, be sure to have the kids help you with all of the Hidden Mickeys that are hidden throughout the resort that is such a fun game, and it is addicting, too. (Be careful, you might find yourself looking for Hidden Mickeys outside of all things Disney, too, though).

Have a magical day!

Silrandil
07-13-2003, 04:06 PM
There is a resturaunt in the Grand Californian called the Storyteller's Cafe. Iv'e reccomended this before. The service is great, the food is awesome and, if you go there for breakfeast, there is a charecter breakfeast with Chip and Dale.

DopeyWife
07-13-2003, 09:56 PM
I agree. The Storyteller Cafe is a great place to eat.

MOUSELUVR
07-14-2003, 08:27 AM
Thank you so much for all your suggestions, we will definately try to hit them all!!! We can't wait...10 more days:D

tjrj
07-14-2003, 09:59 AM
Another good bet for dining at the GC-White Water Snacks. Down the corridor by the pool. I had an excellent fajita and another time a great burger-and, for Disney, it's relatively inexpensive. Re-fillable mugs are available for purchase there too.

Great rocking chairs by the fireplace. A great place to chill out even in summer. Nice lobby bar too-for some "adult time".

The toiletries are fabulous-I took home a bunch and they make great lil' gifts.

mom_rules
08-04-2003, 09:47 AM
Tell me more!!! We'll be staying Grand Californian-Concierge-Theme Park view at the end of September (Not toooo excited!)
Love to hear everything.

Mistress K
08-05-2003, 06:02 PM
Getting a concierge room at the Grand Cal is always a good idea. (My husband - Master K's- favorite part is the Rice Krispy Mickey Heads they leave in your room the first night). Depending on the size of your party, it can really pay off to spend the extra money to upgrade to concierge. If you figure in the cost of your breakfast, water, sodas and snacks in the parks, getting them for free in the lounge is a great perk! If you have a night free, it's always nice to go to the lounge to see the fireworks since they have the music piped in.

I agree that Storyteller's is a great restaurant, and Witewater Snacks is good for a cheap, fast meal (especially if the wait is long for the character breakfast at Storytellers), but Napa Rose is an unforgettable experience! Master K and I went twice on one trip! It's great for an "adults only" special dinner. I can't remember the age limit for Pinoccio's (the kid's club), but you might want to consider it to give yourself a treat.

Also, I never pass up the opportunity for an aromatherapy massage at the Spa! It's especially nice near the end of your trip when your muscles are tired from all the walking. Just make sure to give yourself time for a nap afterwords!

You might want to try to get into the Parade of the Stars with your kids. It's an unforgettable experience for them (OK, and for you, too)! Have fun!!! ;)

mom_rules
08-06-2003, 03:50 AM
We have also purchased premium annual passports. I can't recall seeing Napa Rose on the list for discounts at restaurants (I think almost every other one is on it). Can anyone confirm this?

Mistress K
08-06-2003, 12:35 PM
According to my Spring 2003 AP News, you're right -- Napa Rose is not on the list. (Still haven't gotten the Summer news yet ... hmmm.) Napa Rose is quite pricey (about $75 per person for a 4 course meal, more or less depending on the wine parings.) The Sunday brunch is less expensive though. If you want a similar dinner experience for less, try the Vineyard Room (above the Wine Country Trattoria at DCA.) The menu is prepared by the same head chef (or so I was told on our last visit), it's less expensive, and you get a 15% discount with a premium AP. If you call Vacation Planning Services, they can get you a "window" table (it's open air) during the Electrical Light Parade. Our waiter had the kitchen hold one of our courses until the parade was over so we could enjoy it. Hope this helps.:rolleyes:

Mistress K
08-06-2003, 12:45 PM
Hello again. I just called Disneyland Dining and asked, and they said you can get a 10% at Napa Rose with a Premium AP. (I thought it was wierd that they offered discounts at Granville's and Yamabuki, but not Napa.) Thier number is (714) 781-DINE if you want to check for yourself.

mom_rules
08-07-2003, 04:13 AM
Thank you for the information. I am considering switching our Napa Rose for Vineyard Room. What are my chances of the Electrical Light Parade playing the first week in October? What time would you suggest I make a PS if we want to catch this show?

Mistress K
08-07-2003, 01:49 PM
You can usually get parade info on disneyland.com if you go to calendar and put in your dates. However, I just tried it and the park schedules for the last week of Sept/ 1st wk of Oct. aren't available. I'd call the Vacation Planning number and see if they have the ifo. I want to say that we had reservations to sit 30 or 45 min before the start of the parade and they held our main course (we had bread, salad and our appetizer beforehand so we weren't starving). The park closed when the parade finished, so we had a nice quiet entree and dessert. Vacation Planning set that meal up for me. I'd try calling them and telling them what you want. They're really nice and accomodating. If you have to change your plans while you're there (on one trip we switched out the Vineyard Room for a second night at Napa), the concierge lounge attendants can get you reservations that the Dining line won't have available. They say they want everyone to be a VIP, but there are definitely some perks you can pay for!

mcdisney
08-07-2003, 02:19 PM
we too (me, my DH and 3 kids) are staying at GC-concierge, but in early Dec. - I was really going back and forth about which hotel and whether or not to pay for concierge but think it will be worth it. anxious to hear about mom_rules' trip in Sept.

mom_rules
08-08-2003, 04:15 AM
LOL-I'm really anxious to hear about my trip in September too!!
(Not that we're too excited!) I've heard a few good things but unfortunately I've read more "bad" things about it. I'm taking the wait and see approach-everyone's experience is different and since we've never stayed concierge anywhere before it will be a whole new experience for us.

I've sent my priority seating and "special surprise" requests to vacation planning. Is there a particular CM that you like dealing with or do you basically take whomever responds (I've never had a CM sign their name to an email response-just Vacation Planning Team)?

mcdisney
08-08-2003, 04:51 AM
last summer, my daughter and I stayed at DLH - concierge level. it was only for 2 days, but we loved it. the room was fairly large, the beds the most comfortable i have ever slept on at a hotel, all the disney/mickey details cute, great theme park view. we made sure we went to the concierge lounge often to grab drinks and snacks throughout the day - and it's very nice to have decent coffee right when you get out of bed, just a few steps down the hall.

i have never worked with a CM, though i have spoken with some really helpful people in reservations that i have given me lots of ideas/suggestions. i was told i shouldn't call the vacation planners until 30 days out from our trip, though i'm really anxious to do so - my oldest will be celebrating her 9th b-day while we are there.

are you planning on doing any non-disney things while in SoCal?:)

mom_rules
08-08-2003, 08:11 AM
Thanks for the positive concierge feedback!!

Yes, actually, we have tickets for Knotts and are
planning a couple of shopping excursions as well as
a day doing Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and
Fashion Island (we also have a trade show we are attending
at the convention center).

mcdisney
08-08-2003, 08:25 AM
for your "special surprise" requests that you mentioned, are you giving a dollar amount for the vacation planners to spend or did you request specific things?

Anthony
08-08-2003, 09:26 AM
Hello!

I saw the pics that were posted regarding the special goodies you can purchase. I was wondering what you all would reccomend for purchase. I am going to GCH in October and I would like to arrange some special things for my GF. How much notice do I need to order something?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Anthony

P.S. Sorry, one more ? Do you know what shows you can have reserved seating at if you are staying at GCH under the 'grand plan' package with conceirge?

mom_rules
08-08-2003, 10:32 AM
Yes, I gave them a "budget" amount for the entire stay.

At their suggestion, I provided the names, ages etc. of the
people involved, fav characters, preferred wines, etc.
The only thing I specifically requested was the monogrammed
mouse ears at the beginning of our stay, the rest is up to them.
I have not received a response yet but I will let you know.
This type of thing can be arranged 30 days in advance but
since I was getting my priority seatings in order I thought I'd
send them everything at once.

We are also Grand Plan (GCH concierge) with a AAA pkg.
The preferred seating is for a show of your choosing for
each park. (from what I understood you could use it for the
preferred seating area for a parade in DL and for Aladin in DCA for example). That's a good question for vacation planning also.

donatello3000
08-08-2003, 01:34 PM
Priority seating...

Where is it on the Aladdin show at DCA? And do you have to pay extra? If so, how much? We're staying at GCH again at the end of September.

Mistress K
08-08-2003, 09:35 PM
It's in the middle section of the Orchestra, just behind the center aisle that runs horizontally across the theatre. They're perfect seats, since there are "effects" that occur in the aisle (ala Lion King on Broadway). Especially nice if you have children since each row is raised there for better viewing, and kids can interact with CMs.

Yes, you have to pay extra to gurantee those seats. They do open them up to the general public about 5 min before showtime if there are any free. The seats are offered as a part of some of the vacation packages offered, and they also run dining packages that offer priority seating to the show. I'd call Disneyland Dining or Vacation Planing to find out specific details on the dining options.