Grand Californian Super Thread

[DisneyJamieCA]

We had a 3 bedroom corner suite, directly above the World of Disney entrance (closest to the parks) and we could see most of the fireworks from our balcony. But I would think a very limited number of rooms would be able to see them just given the layout of the hotel.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I thought I had seen many comments from people who could see them from their DTD view rooms?

OP has a standard view room (but I mentioned CL just in case they had a standard view club level).

 

[pepe3penelope]

Nothing official from Disney, but progress seems to be about 10% per month of 2017 -- so about 60% renovated. There are likely renovated rooms of all view types, but most of the standard view rooms at the front of the hotel are done.

The area in green has been renovated.
The area in yellow was being renovated in late May, and likely complete.
Some rooms around the lobby, and other areas are likely also renovated.
View attachment 248737


Try the main number: (714) 635-2300

Courtyard view are shown in brown.
Woods view are often the green (park view) rooms on lower floors or obstructed by trees (woods).
Booked in the woods/courtyard category, I would simply request a "woods" view -- of course I dislike rooms that face other rooms (most courtyard rooms).
My usual requests (no matter the view type) is: "Located near the elevators adjacent to Napa Rose".
(which is near the entrance to DCA)
View attachment 248738

Nonsuch, are the red rooms the standard view rooms? Are there any other standard view locations? Thanks!

 

[Nonsuch]

Nonsuch, are the red rooms the standard view rooms? Are there any other standard view locations?

While there is no official map, all the rooms in red are certainly standard view. Those will be the majority of standard view rooms, but there are likely standard view rooms in other areas.

 

[apple9117]

Appreciate the info here regarding renovations!

 

[Mom of a *Princess*]

Here's a current view of the renovations in the lobby. Right beside Acorns. Not as bad as I thought before I got here.

 

[losfp]

Nothing official from Disney, but progress seems to be about 10% per month of 2017 -- so about 60% renovated. There are likely renovated rooms of all view types, but most of the standard view rooms at the front of the hotel are done.

The area in green has been renovated.
The area in yellow was being renovated in late May, and likely complete.
Some rooms around the lobby, and other areas are likely also renovated.

So does this mean then that all DVC villas are renovated? We have a DVC rental booking for mid september, really looking forward to it

 

[Nonsuch]

So does this mean then that all DVC villas are renovated? We have a DVC rental booking for mid september, really looking forward to it

Yes, VGC has been renovated. I had a renovated 1-bedroom villa in early December 2016, it seemed most villas were already renovated at that time.
I posted photos to the VGC Superthread.

 

[hjgaus]

Yes although it was more a soft good renovation meaning they received new carpet, drapes sheers, new material on sofas and bed now is higher off ground with enough storage space underneath it plus new bedding.

I think the renovation work on the hotel rooms are MORE of a WOW impression than the villas at the moment.

Nothing will ever beat the space available in 1 bedroom villa or higher !! It really feels like a little apartment !

 

[MisterBubbles]

Just returned from a 3 night stay at GC and here are a few pics from lobby renovations. Not bad at all. Still able to enjoy the entire lobby. On the 5th there were high curtains and scaffolding and then yesterday we noticed that it was lowered, but could not tell what had been done. DVC studio was perfect.

 

[Angrose]

This was the scene when I walked through yesterday afternoon. The pianist was playing "Grim Grinning Ghosts." Loved it!

 

[Zooey]

Staying at GCH right now and yesterday they removed the only curtain that was up so the lobby is without obstructions right now. Not sure if they're finished but as of now it is clear and looks fabulous.

 

[MisterBubbles]

I am so curious what they are doing. We saw the curtain rise and lower over the course of a few days. Heard lots of banging one afternoon. Couldn't tell what was different afterwards. We even took a quick peek through the split in the curtains and could not determine what was being done.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

Staying at GCH right now and yesterday they removed the only curtain that was up so the lobby is without obstructions right now. Not sure if they're finished but as of now it is clear and looks fabulous.

Yes!! We just got home today, but luckily had one day without the curtain! It looks like they were doing something to the floor..could see through a crack in the curtain and all the workers were down on the floor lol. Well..whatever it is they were doing...it looks great now and so much better being able to walk straight through versus around.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

Just returned home this evening from a 6 night stay ..overall it was fantastic!! We did get to stay in a newly renovated room and omg they are LOVELY! The bathroom mirror is the best thing ever...for the ladies out there...your makeup will be flawless! Haha! A few issues with the room unfortunately. Nothing to ruin our trip, but just some things that shouldn't have happened ..especially with the price tag. First..our refrigerator did not work. We came in with some food to store and found out the hard way...lost all that food. Plus..they did not have any extra of the new refrigerators so they said they would have to send up and old one to place somewhere in the room since it would not fit in the actual spot. Sure..that is okay. Next..One of my biggest complaints in the drainage in the shower. The shower looks great so naturally day 1 my mom wanted to check it out and take a quick shower after traveling...welllll..the water kept rising! Super gross. Basically they let us switch rooms because they had no idea what the issue was and we honestly did not want to pay all that money and have a bum shower. Our next room had some issues as well ( we now had a working fridge..YES!!..but that wasn't it). At first the shower was ok..not draining super quickly but not filling up. By the next day however the drain had once again had it and was slowly starting to repeat what had happened previously in our first room...so we called maintaince. We asked if it was clogged and they said they would check. The amount of hair that came out of that drain was nauseating! After it was cleaned it drained just fine. It was a quick fix and seriously should be something that is standard. The drainage system is bad alone but without cleaning it..omg. Other than that..lol..it was great! Once we figured out what was wrong and how to fix it ..we had an enjoyable stay. The construction wasn't bad..the only complaint was the blaring fire alarm testing! One alarm lasted 2 1/2 minutes!!! Torture.

 

[MisterBubbles]

Just returned home this evening from a 6 night stay ..overall it was fantastic!! We did get to stay in a newly renovated room and omg they are LOVELY! The bathroom mirror is the best thing ever...for the ladies out there...your makeup will be flawless! Haha! A few issues with the room unfortunately. Nothing to ruin our trip, but just some things that shouldn't have happened ..especially with the price tag. First..our refrigerator did not work. We came in with some food to store and found out the hard way...lost all that food. Plus..they did not have any extra of the new refrigerators so they said they would have to send up and old one to place somewhere in the room since it would not fit in the actual spot. Sure..that is okay. Next..One of my biggest complaints in the drainage in the shower. The shower looks great so naturally day 1 my mom wanted to check it out and take a quick shower after traveling...welllll..the water kept rising! Super gross. Basically they let us switch rooms because they had no idea what the issue was and we honestly did not want to pay all that money and have a bum shower. Our next room had some issues as well ( we now had a working fridge..YES!!..but that wasn't it). At first the shower was ok..not draining super quickly but not filling up. By the next day however the drain had once again had it and was slowly starting to repeat what had happened previously in our first room...so we called maintaince. We asked if it was clogged and they said they would check. The amount of hair that came out of that drain was nauseating! After it was cleaned it drained just fine. It was a quick fix and seriously should be something that is standard. The drainage system is bad alone but without cleaning it..omg. Other than that..lol..it was great! Once we figured out what was wrong and how to fix it ..we had an enjoyable stay. The construction wasn't bad..the only complaint was the blaring fire alarm testing! One alarm lasted 2 1/2 minutes!!! Torture.

Sorry to hear about your shower and fridge issues. Hopefully they will be addressed throughout the resort. We were warned of fire alarm testing, but never heard it while we were there.

 

[ParkHopper1]

I am so curious what they are doing. We saw the curtain rise and lower over the course of a few days. Heard lots of banging one afternoon. Couldn't tell what was different afterwards. We even took a quick peek through the split in the curtains and could not determine what was being done.

Mostly new flooring. The rest in the lobby is just new paint and a freshen up and eventually new furniture. Not a complete noticeable redo like the guest rooms.

 

[TexasErin]

Sorry to hear about your shower and fridge issues. Hopefully they will be addressed throughout the resort. We were warned of fire alarm testing, but never heard it while we were there.

I have mentioned the plumbing issues and the "gurgling" sinks that we have had on a couple of visits. I did a search for "gurgling sinks" and Grand Californian and found that in a couple of reviews on travel websites (TripAdvisor maybe?). I also mentioned this in a survey that Disney sent me. The sinks have been loud enough to wake me up...and when you are in Disney, you need all the sleep you can get, lol. I think they are aware of plumbing issues and it must be too expensive or complicated to fix....Of course the issues brought up by a PP sound like maybe just clogged drains. I did call maintenance and they knew right away what I was talking about, but the issue continued.

 

[Davin_Felth]

How bad are the lines to get through security to Downtown Disney in the morning when heading over for EMH?

 

[MisterBubbles]

How bad are the lines to get through security to Downtown Disney in the morning when heading over for EMH?

Not bad at all. We went several mornings, once on an early entry, and never waited more than a minute or two. MUCH faster than the bag check lines at WDW. We went through it at several points in the day over 4 days and never had to wait. I did see a line about 10 people deep on the California Adventure side one morning before park opening, but it was moving.