More Questions from a Noobie Newb

[SwirlyGirly]

You guys and gals are a really helpful bunch and I really appreciate all the info I get here. But, I have more silly newbie questions:

1. When I stayed in WDW last year, we had an Atrium club room in the Contemporary. I was very pleased with the service and mostly pleased w/ the hotel. For DLP stay (Oct 21-24) I was going to stay in an Empire room at the NY Hotel, but decided to stay at the DL hotel instead bc I have 2 young princesses who would love to stay in a pink castle. I hope I made the right choice. :confused3 . Now I'm wondering if I should upgrade to the Castle Club. But if I do that, I'll lose the free meal deal that we got (which is substantial I believe and was a fab and unexpected bonus!). Also, the reason I liked the club floor in WDW was for the otherwise not-free breakfast and for the free drinks in the evening as we tend to drink copious amounts of wine (the adults, not the kids ;) ), so I felt that we were getting a good value. At DLP alcohol is not included in the Castle Club price and bkfst is free anyway. Also at WDW the club concierge made all our dinner reservations which is a nightmare at WDW, but not so much at DLP. So, I'm left wondering how much of a benefit is the Castle Club? Can anyone shed more light on this for me?

2. I read that you have to reserve a time for breakfast. I like to get up and out early. How hard is it to secure the earliest bkfst time at DL Hotel? How do I make the reservation? Should I expect a mob scene?

3. Has anyone used the babysitting service at the hotel? I was thinking it could be nice to have a romantic dinner w/ the hubby one night. If you've used it were you pleased with the service? How much per hour?

That's all for now! thanks again! :lovestruc

[cap'njack.]

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1. When I stayed in WDW last year, we had an Atrium club room in the Contemporary. I was very pleased with the service and mostly pleased w/ the hotel. For DLP stay (Oct 21-24) I was going to stay in an Empire room at the NY Hotel, but decided to stay at the DL hotel instead bc I have 2 young princesses who would love to stay in a pink castle. I hope I made the right choice. :confused3 . Now I'm wondering if I should upgrade to the Castle Club. But if I do that, I'll lose the free meal deal that we got (which is substantial I believe and was a fab and unexpected bonus!). Also, the reason I liked the club floor in WDW was for the otherwise not-free breakfast and for the free drinks in the evening as we tend to drink copious amounts of wine (the adults, not the kids ;) ), so I felt that we were getting a good value. At DLP alcohol is not included in the Castle Club price and bkfst is free anyway. Also at WDW the club concierge made all our dinner reservations which is a nightmare at WDW, but not so much at DLP. So, I'm left wondering how much of a benefit is the Castle Club? Can anyone shed more light on this for me?

I can't really help with Castle Club as I haven't used it, however from what I have read I personally don't think it's worth it unless you are going during a real peak time

2. I read that you have to reserve a time for breakfast. I like to get up and out early. How hard is it to secure the earliest bkfst time at DL Hotel? How do I make the reservation? Should I expect a mob scene?

At the Disneyland Hotel you don't need to make a reservation for breakfast however the earliest you can get there is 7:30. At all other hotels you make your breakfast reservations when you check in. Usually the earliest ones a very easy to get and the breakfast doesn't get busy until 7:45-8:00am

3. Has anyone used the babysitting service at the hotel? I was thinking it could be nice to have a romantic dinner w/ the hubby one night. If you've used it were you pleased with the service? How much per hour?

I haven't used it although may parents did when my brother and I were younger...I really don't remember anything about it though as it was 14 years ago :goodvibes

[lilacgems23]

does DLH look like a pink castle? ive walked past so many times but never noticed

[cap'njack.]

does DLH look like a pink castle? ive walked past so many times but never noticed

The DLH is the hotel you walk under to get to the turnstyles. The hotel entrance is on the far left as you are looking at the hotel before the turnstyles :goodvibes

[SwirlyGirly]

Thanks cap'njack.
lilacgems, I've never seen the hotel in person but it looks pinkish and palace like to me, and certainly will look awesome for my girls who are used to cityscapes and dull skyscrapers!

[Calumsmummy]

We stayed in Castle Club standard rooms with park view at DLH in May and we loved it!

Castle Club guests have their own private entry from the park, just take the lift using your key. Yes, theres a private lounge serving soft drinks, breakfast and afternoon tea every day AND you get VIP fastpasses if youre in The Castle Club rooms which is a huge bonus!
The rooms were gorgeous, with all the little details you'd expect. The whole trip was just magical from check in to check out and we were made to feel extremely special.

I guess its all down to personal choice at the end of the day, if I had the money, I would definitley stay there again, however, I do think that the free dining is a fantastic deal and if its not available with Castle Club rooms then I would think twice and probably still stay in the hotel anyway but non castle-club unless it was peak season and you could make the best use of the VIP fastpass. It'll be premium vouchers I guess for dining which means Inventions, Auberge, Cafe Mickey and Buffalo Bills are all included and thats just brilliant!

I'd say that theres no cons just pros and more pros in staying at The DLH. Its expensive, yes, but lovely. You have to go!

IMO Although the New York is a nice enough hotel, to me, it lacked the real warmth and spirit of Disney that the DLH had. I just felt the theming of The New York wasnt great. In saying that, it's definitely the best alternative to the DLH if youre on a budget.

If it were me, and I could afford it. I'd chose the Disneyland Hotel every time!

Best of luck :)

[SwirlyGirly]

Lots of info there Calumsmummy, thanks! I'm pretty excited over the eat-for-free w/ the premium vouchers. It's a real bargain for us bc we do tend to go to the nicest restaurants and it was a surprise to us that it was included.