$445 A NIGHT for GCH!! Are they serious?

[kyra's mommy]

I know, crazy, right? We couldn't even stay 2 nights at the GCH for what we paid 7 nights for at the Park Vue. I understand the "once in a lifetime" concept, but even as a once in a lifetime trip, we wouldn't do it ... besides, we spend most of our time in the parks and out and about anyway!

I absolutely agree.

 

[CrazyDuck]

I did do a search after her link didn't work--but there are are no rooms left to quote on March 17--except for Paradise Pier and Disneyland Hotel. It will only quote me for the other hotels. I usually pay around 300.00-350.00 to stay at the G.C. Which is the main reason we don't stay there that often! That and the fact that we actually like the Disneyland Hotel better (when not under construction, that is!).

It's there, it's still available... initially it will return results for DLH and PP but on the right you can manually select GCH!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

And for us, half the trip experience is the hotel we stay at. I think that is the issue--for some people this doesn't matter much, but to others it really does. I am a homebody at heart and really like to have my surroundings to be "just so" --especially when on vacation. We don't travel that much, so when we do it is great to have it be exactly what we expect for a vacation.

All the same we are not made of money and I appreciate a good deal as much as the next person! We have reservations for this summer at another hotel, but I am hoping that Disneyland Hotel comes out with some great summer rates that will help us make the switch.

I hope you find a good hotel for your one night in Disneyland, Kyra's mom. I am sure you will--that is the great thing about Disneyland...there are many options of motels and hotels surrounding it.

 

[Brewmeister]

A few weeks ago, I ran the numbers on a variety of hotels for early May, and using the Disneyland booking system to get a 4 night hotel only quote, I was quoted $1910 ($477/night) for a std. room and $2430 ($607/night) for a view room.

We, of course, went with the HoJo option.

Since people here had a difficult time believing the $445, I am starting to wonder if the system was lying to me or I was using it incorrectly. I just re-checked, and its still giving me the same answer, so how do you get it down to $300/night as some say they get.

 

[Disney Dreams]

There is a great line in "Sleepless in Seattle" in which the young boy asks his friend whose mom is a travel agent, "How much would it cost [to fly to Seattle]?" And the young girl who understands the flight ticketing system replies, "Nobody knows. It changes practically everyday."

That is similar with hotel rates. The season. The night of the week. How many night. They can ALL change the price.

Is one night at the GCH $445? If you find just the right night and ONLY that night? It appears so. But, to stay 5 nights does not equal $445 x 5, even though the math would suggest it would.

As for "worth it"...
I see ALL the time on these boards comments along the lines of, "A hotel room is only to sleep in and change our clothes." or "We will barely be in our hotel room at all." When DH and I went to WDW, we were going to stay at the cheapest on property motel for less than $100/night, but at the least minute we decided that we LOVE being in a nicer hotel that has amenities, that feels nicer, that has ambiance, and that we DO spend enough time in the hotel in between going to and from the Parks for it to matter. So we stayed AKL and loved every second of it with no regrets. I would have been upset if we had stayed where we originally planned because for us it IS more than just a place to sleep and change - it's home for the time we are there.

- Dreams

 

[disneyfan67]

The prices on the link you provided are $290/night but requires that you stay a minimum of 2 nights. The OP only wants to stay 1 night. So the $445 quote is correct if you go to www.disneyland.com and do a search for a "Hotel Only" room for the night of 3/17. She's not exaggerating!

You better believe she isn't exaggerating and I was going to book one night stay at the DLH before moving in to my 1 bedroom DVC villa I have reserved at the GC. For me to get one of the new style rooms I would have to book a preferred or premium view, this according to the CM on the phone, and it was almost 425 a night. It isn't cheap by any means and these prices aren't just high in Disneyland either. For example about two weeks ago my parents wanted to spend 2 nights at the Grand Floridian in WDW for their 50th wedding anniversary in a few weeks. Just for the standard room with AAA discount, it was $675 a night. It was ridiculous and while I have stayed there once on a great deal, I could never justify paying that price for a room there. Disney goes by the motto "what the market will bear". It's one of the reasons why I'm glad I bought into DVC and have it paid for. At least I can stay in nice room at any DVC hotel and not worry about the price.

 

[kyra's mommy]

For example about two weeks ago my parents wanted to spend 2 nights at the Grand Floridian in WDW for their 50th wedding anniversary in a few weeks. Just for the standard room with AAA discount, it was $675 a night.

Wow! That is shocking! Once upon a time prices like those were reserved for the uber rich staying at the Ritz in New York or Hawaii. I just think we have become "willing" to be package priced into ridiculous offers. It bothers me to think that regular families can never have the opportunity to enjoy the themed hotels at Disneyland. This is not sour grapes on my part, we get to travel alot and I have stayed there on a couple different occasions, and so I'm not feeling "poor me, we can't stay there." I feel bad that people who earn a normal living and are raising little kids are priced out.

This reminds me of something I heard the other day... it was about the buying power of the American family these day vs. in the 50's. I don't remember the exact numbers but I remember the point. Basically, the author of the article was saying that even though our salaries are drastically higher we can afford significantly less. That is sad.

 

[papamouse1]

You better believe she isn't exaggerating and I was going to book one night stay at the DLH before moving in to my 1 bedroom DVC villa I have reserved at the GC. For me to get one of the new style rooms I would have to book a preferred or premium view, this according to the CM on the phone, and it was almost 425 a night. It isn't cheap by any means and these prices aren't just high in Disneyland either. For example about two weeks ago my parents wanted to spend 2 nights at the Grand Floridian in WDW for their 50th wedding anniversary in a few weeks. Just for the standard room with AAA discount, it was $675 a night. It was ridiculous and while I have stayed there once on a great deal, I could never justify paying that price for a room there. Disney goes by the motto "what the market will bear". It's one of the reasons why I'm glad I bought into DVC and have it paid for. At least I can stay in nice room at any DVC hotel and not worry about the price.

 

[aristocat65]

And for us, half the trip experience is the hotel we stay at. I think that is the issue--for some people this doesn't matter much, but to others it really does. I am a homebody at heart and really like to have my surroundings to be "just so" --especially when on vacation. We don't travel that much, so when we do it is great to have it be exactly what we expect for a vacation.

All the same we are not made of money and I appreciate a good deal as much as the next person! We have reservations for this summer at another hotel, but I am hoping that Disneyland Hotel comes out with some great summer rates that will help us make the switch.

I hope you find a good hotel for your one night in Disneyland, Kyra's mom. I am sure you will--that is the great thing about Disneyland...there are many options of motels and hotels surrounding it.

I agree totally. Part of my vacation is staying in a nice hotel with nice surroundings. In past trips we would stay in hotels down on Harbour and drive a mile to the parks because I preferred the hotels down there. I'm very excited to be staying at GCH for our upcoming trip @$218/ night (PIN code). I would NOT pay $445 for the priviledge though, and for one night you'd be maximizing park time and hardly get to enjoy it.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Look up the Mandarin Oriental hotels and see what they charge/night. The one in DC was 750-1500 in July. Many people can not justify the expense, but if you go into the GCH and look at the front desk line, many people feel they can. For us, the hotel we stay in is part of the experience.

Jack

 

[dclfun]

We purchased DVC back in 1996 due to being a family of 6 and at the time, having no other options but to book two hotel rooms at WDW/DL or stay off-site. We still sometimes pay cash ( if there's a good deal) and stay at non-DVC resorts but gone are the days when we stay offsite. Of course this is at WDW where there is nothing as close as Harbor Blvd. to the parks. I'll admit that the resort is very important to me. When I was younger and my kids were preschool or younger, it's true that we spent very little time in the room. We spent all our time in the parks trying to max out our time and literally came back and crashed then got up to start another day the same way. Now I spend more time at the resorts and appreciate having nice and convenient surroundings. When DVC started selling at DL, we bought more points at GCH. We'll be staying 6 nights during Good Friday/Easter week this year and I could never have afforded to pay cash at a time when discounts are not likely. To each his own, though and a person's needs and desires may change throughout their lives as mine has. Everyone has a price point at which they are not comfortable and often it has little to do with income, but rather at what one perceives as what they're getting for their hard-earned money. I don't blame the OP at balking at the price she saw online or even at the lower rate she was quoted by an agent. For one night? No way would I pay that when your room may not be ready til 3-4pm and you have to be out the next day by 11:00? That's not even 24 hours!---Kathy

 

[decoy7375]

We had a price of $445 come up for the first week of May. The second week was $338. The morning after the "speculation" that the POTC4 opening "may" be on May 14 the days that were $338 were now coming up $380.

I charted out 2 weeks of rates for 1, 2, 3 and 4 night stays....starting and ending on all possible days....a bit of a math nut here

 

[decoy7375]

So,here is another thought....if they have rates in the $200 -$300 range for spring break dates...will they put out codes for May which is usually a slower time? If I book the $380 rate and they put out a code in a few weeks, will they adjust my reservation?

 

[lapdwife]

We stayed there this weekend. It was indeed very busy. Not sure what capacity it was at of course. It all comes back to "You get what you pay for"

 

[DmaxHawk]

Look up the Mandarin Oriental hotels and see what they charge/night. The one in DC was 750-1500 in July. Many people can not justify the expense, but if you go into the GCH and look at the front desk line, many people feel they can. For us, the hotel we stay in is part of the experience.

Jack

Well said, I agree. Similarly, when we stay on site, it isn't just a place to sleep. To us the Grand is an extension of the parks into our rooms. At risk of sounding corny, we are in the magic all the time.

 

[taaren]

So,here is another thought....if they have rates in the $200 -$300 range for spring break dates...will they put out codes for May which is usually a slower time? If I book the $380 rate and they put out a code in a few weeks, will they adjust my reservation?

I don't think they would adjust your reservation, but you could make a new reservation and cancel the old one ...

 

[Mackysmycat]

And for us, half the trip experience is the hotel we stay at. I think that is the issue--for some people this doesn't matter much, but to others it really does. I am a homebody at heart and really like to have my surroundings to be "just so" --especially when on vacation.

I agree. But we can adjust when and where we have to. This time, we are staying at the GCH because we can. And we're going to love every minute of it, and it WILL be part of our vacation. Another time, we may stay at PVI again, and although we won't be there as much as say the GCH I'm sure, it's still important that we are happy with the place and it's surroundings.

 

[Dziactor]

Glad i bought at VGC. Thats crazy.

 

[CrazyDuck]

Glad i bought at VGC. Thats crazy.

Ya wanna see crazy? Check out the cash rate for the villas!

 

[woody73]

I just checked online and the price for one night was $445!

Yikes.

Woody