Got back from VGC a couple of weeks ago and we had a couple of observations.
Our room number was 1502, a one bedroom, which is on the ground floor right across from the elevators. I was concerned that it would be too noisy, but it wasn't. The only time I heard noise from the hall was when I was in the foyer of the room. I was also concerned about hearing noise from the valet parking honking horns as they drive up the ramp. I only heard the honking a couple of times and it didn't disturb me.
We always request a ground floor room for the convenience of walking straight to our room without waiting for the elevator. We also have a nice patio, which is larger than the balconies and has nice plantings.
I had heard (in these forums) that you could add another day onto a five day ticket by paying a reasonable fee. Not so. We were there five nights and on the last day we wanted to go into the parks until we had to the airport. I went to the ticket booth, talked to a manager, went to customer service, and to the concierge desk at the Grand Californian. No go. They said there just isn't anything they can sell me since there is no six day ticket. My only option was to purchase a one day ticket. Just keep that in mind. There is no six day ticket.
We used the mobile ordering on the
Disneyland App for the iPhone for almost every meal in the park. Fantastic! We were walking up to the mobile order window and picking up our food, while the line for placing an order went out the door. We also got our DVC discounts automatically! Be sure to do this! By the way, the "inside window" for the Dole Whip at the Tiki Room, is now only for mobile orders.
We got MaxPass for all of our days in the park. There were only two of us so the cost was $20 per day. It kills me how Disney keeps on "plussing" the prices. However, being able to see all of the FastPass times and get FastPasses without running across the park is fantastic. Frankly, worth the money.
White Water Snacks at the GCH was closed for some type of remodeling. There was no indication when it was going to open again.
We used Pavillon.com to deliver groceries and it worked great. They delivered to the bell services and we picked them up when we got into our room. BTW, I was totally surprised when we checked in at about 1:00 PM and our room was already available! That rarely happens.
With the new security at the resort, guests at the GCH are checked through security at the hotel's entrance to Downtown Disney and the entrance to DCA. We never saw a long line. Never waited more than five minutes.
Storyteller's Cafe is now buffet dining only. There's no menu. I don't like buffets so this really disappointed me.
We always fly into Long Beach (from Salt Lake City) because it is such a nice, small airport. I checked ahead of time and the fixed cost for a taxi from LGB to DLR was $60. We took Lyte and it cost $30, including the tip. I'm pretty sure that the airport shuttles for two people would also have been more than Lyte. We took Lyte back to the airport for the same cost.
We had trouble with renting a car for a day at Alamo in the Paradise Pier Hotel. We were meeting some friends for dinner so we reserved a car. We picked it up before the office closed on a Saturday and returned it that night after the office had been closed. We parked the car where we were supposed to and returned the rental contract and the keys to the front desk at the PPH. After we got back I got an email from Alamo offering to extend our rental since we hadn't turned it in yet.
I responded with where the car was parked and that we had turned in the keys and paperwork at the front desk. I didn't hear back, but a couple of days later they charged our credit card for the six hours we had the car. I'm willing to bet that whoever was supposed to get the paperwork and keys from the front desk didn't do it. Watch out if you rent there.
We had a great time and I'd like to share one thing that I really enjoyed. We made reservations (which appears to be a good idea) for Lamp Lighter Lounge. I've heard that the food is eclectic and I wasn't disappointed. I had Crispy Piggy Wings which were quite spicy, but I liked them.
Looking forward to our next DVC trip next November.