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It's official - DVC is building timeshares at The Disneyland Resort in CA
Disney hotel to get grander
The Grand Californian Hotel and Spa will have 253 new units, including timeshare villas.
By SARAH TULLY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM Disney is expanding its high-end Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, adding 253 rooms, including its first timeshare-type villas on the West Coast.
It ranks behind Finding Nemo and the Tower of Terror rides as the most expensive improvements in the Disneyland Resort since Disney’s California Adventure opened in early 2001.
The improvements will increase capacity by about 30 percent – up to 998 rooms – at the four-diamond hotel that is the most popular of the three local Disney locations. The new buildings will reach up to six stories and stretch onto 2.5 acres south of the hotel, where a lawn, trees and parking lot used to be. The expansion is scheduled to be done in late 2009.
Disney officials announced details of the construction, which started a few weeks ago, during an event Tuesday morning at the Grand Californian.
Of the new units, 50 will be villas set aside for Disney Vacation Club, the company’s timeshare-like program that runs on a point system. Since the club began in 1991, Disney has opened eight club properties, but all are on the East Coast.
“We wanted to make sure the timing was right,” said Jim Lewis, the club’s president. “We just thought the stars were aligned.”
The club has proven popular with about 350,000 members internationally and has doubled in size since 2003. For a minimum of $16,700, members can buy into the club and pay an average of $500 to $600 annually for enough points for a week’s stay.
In addition to Disney properties, club members can stay at about 500 properties through Interval International, a timeshare network. Members can spend their points for Disney cruises, highend “concierge” hotels and adventure tours in other countries, including Costa Rica and Paris. Points can be used all at once, for shorter getaways or banked for longer vacations.
The announcement of the club villas comes at a time when other timeshares are being built in Anaheim and the surrounding area. The 14-story WorldMark Anaheim is on track to open early next year on Katella Avenue near Disneyland while a new 400-room timeshare complex is set to go in the Anaheim GardenWalk, an under-construction outdoor mall.
“It’s a greater realization of the timeshare market. That’s exciting and hopeful,” Mayor Curt Pringle said.
Villas will have kitchens, dining and living areas and laundry areas. An underground parking garage with 300 spaces, a new swimming pool and rooftop deck for watching fireworks will be part of the hotel expansion.
Rooms at the Grand Californian run between $300 and $425 in peak season, with suites costing up to $2,300 a night.
The City Council allowed a maximum of 1,000 rooms at the Grand Californian when it approved the Disneyland Resort expansion. No new council approval is needed. Disney sought approval of plans and permits from the planning department starting about six months ago.
The Grand Californian was part of resort improvements that included Downtown Disney, Disney’s California Adventure and the Paradise Pier Hotel.
The public part of the investment, $510 million in bonds, is being repaid partly with hotel bed taxes.
I would include the pictures but my TS4M's photo is not working.
ARTIST’S RENDERING: Disney’s 2.5-acre expansion of the Grand California Hotel and Spa – expected to open in late 2009 – will increase capacity by about 30 percent.
GROWING:
From left, a Disneyland Cast member, Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier clap as confetti flies during a ceremony marking the beginning of a 2.5-acre expansion project at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa on Tuesday.
News: Expansion planned for Disney's Grand Californian | disney, resort, hotel, vacation, disneyland - OCRegister.com
The Grand Californian Hotel and Spa will have 253 new units, including timeshare villas.
By SARAH TULLY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM Disney is expanding its high-end Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, adding 253 rooms, including its first timeshare-type villas on the West Coast.
It ranks behind Finding Nemo and the Tower of Terror rides as the most expensive improvements in the Disneyland Resort since Disney’s California Adventure opened in early 2001.
The improvements will increase capacity by about 30 percent – up to 998 rooms – at the four-diamond hotel that is the most popular of the three local Disney locations. The new buildings will reach up to six stories and stretch onto 2.5 acres south of the hotel, where a lawn, trees and parking lot used to be. The expansion is scheduled to be done in late 2009.
Disney officials announced details of the construction, which started a few weeks ago, during an event Tuesday morning at the Grand Californian.
Of the new units, 50 will be villas set aside for Disney Vacation Club, the company’s timeshare-like program that runs on a point system. Since the club began in 1991, Disney has opened eight club properties, but all are on the East Coast.
“We wanted to make sure the timing was right,” said Jim Lewis, the club’s president. “We just thought the stars were aligned.”
The club has proven popular with about 350,000 members internationally and has doubled in size since 2003. For a minimum of $16,700, members can buy into the club and pay an average of $500 to $600 annually for enough points for a week’s stay.
In addition to Disney properties, club members can stay at about 500 properties through Interval International, a timeshare network. Members can spend their points for Disney cruises, highend “concierge” hotels and adventure tours in other countries, including Costa Rica and Paris. Points can be used all at once, for shorter getaways or banked for longer vacations.
The announcement of the club villas comes at a time when other timeshares are being built in Anaheim and the surrounding area. The 14-story WorldMark Anaheim is on track to open early next year on Katella Avenue near Disneyland while a new 400-room timeshare complex is set to go in the Anaheim GardenWalk, an under-construction outdoor mall.
“It’s a greater realization of the timeshare market. That’s exciting and hopeful,” Mayor Curt Pringle said.
Villas will have kitchens, dining and living areas and laundry areas. An underground parking garage with 300 spaces, a new swimming pool and rooftop deck for watching fireworks will be part of the hotel expansion.
Rooms at the Grand Californian run between $300 and $425 in peak season, with suites costing up to $2,300 a night.
The City Council allowed a maximum of 1,000 rooms at the Grand Californian when it approved the Disneyland Resort expansion. No new council approval is needed. Disney sought approval of plans and permits from the planning department starting about six months ago.
The Grand Californian was part of resort improvements that included Downtown Disney, Disney’s California Adventure and the Paradise Pier Hotel.
The public part of the investment, $510 million in bonds, is being repaid partly with hotel bed taxes.
I would include the pictures but my TS4M's photo is not working.
ARTIST’S RENDERING: Disney’s 2.5-acre expansion of the Grand California Hotel and Spa – expected to open in late 2009 – will increase capacity by about 30 percent.
GROWING:
From left, a Disneyland Cast member, Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier clap as confetti flies during a ceremony marking the beginning of a 2.5-acre expansion project at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa on Tuesday.
News: Expansion planned for Disney's Grand Californian | disney, resort, hotel, vacation, disneyland - OCRegister.com
! We would probably buy enough points to stay for three nights in a two-bedroom each year, or something like that. We haven't been to DL since 2005, and that was only for a day because we drove up from Marriott's Newport Coast. But we flew to Orlando in 2005 and 2006 because we could stay onsite with a full kitchen at DVC! So this will be great and save on airfare for four!
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