Advantages for staying at Disney hotel

[magicalfoursome]

Thanks! I will use the GCH entrance if we are starting our day at DCA. Love these boards-- I have learned so much about DL and southern California!!

 

[sjs314]

When we went to DL a few years ago, I just had to stay at the DisneyLand Hotel in the main building since it had been a childhood dream of mine to go to DL. I enjoyed it very much the lobby is nice there were pictures of famous people who have stayed there. As someone mentioned we saw characters in the lobby, and Goofy's kitchen is right there for a nice breakfast. The walk to the parks is not too far, we found it pleasant and enjoyed passing the stores, ESPN and places to eat. The monorail is not to far a walk either.
There is just something special about staying in the orginal Hotel of DisneyLand

 

[cruise cruise cruise]

What Hound 109 said is correct. The first 30 minutes before DCA opens are key, as that is the time when using the GCH private entrance is most effective...and most private. As he said, after that, anyone can schlep back and forth through it. But if you use it, you can get on Soarin' early, or you can line up by GRR for Toy Story Midway Mania and a CM will walk you over to TSMM before 10:00 a.m. (or whatever the opening time is that day) and you get in that line a little sooner than the people coming in the front gates.

Help me understand this, I thought DCA opened to ALL 30 minutes early (Soarin available to ride as well as line up for TSMM by GRR) Do on site hotel guests get in an extra 30 mins early from the public? Do hotel guests get escorted to TSMM before the general public waiting by GRR?

 

[Sherry E]

Help me understand this, I thought DCA opened to ALL 30 minutes early (Soarin available to ride as well as line up for TSMM by GRR) Do on site hotel guests get in an extra 30 mins early from the public? Do hotel guests get escorted to TSMM before the general public waiting by GRR?

You are correct. The people in the line by GRR usually (not always, but usually) begin to get escorted over to TSMM a wee bit before the people waiting in the other line by the front of DCA. But the folks who get in that GRR-area line have a clear shot to it when they use the GCH entrance into DCA before the park opens, and fewer people in line ahead of them. Sometimes people find that if they go into DCA through the main gates, by the time they reach the TSMM line-up at GRR, there are already tons of folks ahead of them. I think it is more of a proximity issue - having a beter vantage point from which to head right into the GRR-TSMM line rather than walking to it from the main entrance, and therefore, getting on TSMM before lots of other folks. (At least that is what worked for us and a few others who have reported back here.)

But, yes, you're absolutely right - DCA has been opening 30 minutes early to everyone. I tend to think - though I don't know for absolutely sure - that the people who come in the front entrance probably head to Soarin' first, whereas the people who use the GCH entry probably are more focused on getting in that line for TSMM.

Again, I wonder what is going to happen now as far as letting anyone in early if DCA starts opening earlier than it has been. If it officially begins to open at 9:00 a.m., I wonder if they will still let people in 30 minutes early, or if everyone will be allowed in at one time.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

The monorail is not to far a walk either.

How far away is the monorail from the Disneyland hotel? You used to be able (years & years ago) to enter the park via the monorail. Can you still do this? Wouldn't it be easier than walking?


Alright, I give up. What does "GCH" stand for? I looked at the abbreviations list and couldn't find it.

 

[Sherry E]

How far away is the monorail from the Disneyland hotel? You used to be able (years & years ago) to enter the park via the monorail. Can you still do this? Wouldn't it be easier than walking?


Alright, I give up. What does "GCH" stand for? I looked at the abbreviations list and couldn't find it.

GCH - Grand Californian Hotel! The abbreviations take some getting used to!

 

[sjs314]

How far away is the monorail from the Disneyland hotel? You used to be able (years & years ago) to enter the park via the monorail. Can you still do this? Wouldn't it be easier than walking?


Alright, I give up. What does "GCH" stand for? I looked at the abbreviations list and couldn't find it.

Honestly I can not tell you the distance from DLH to the monorail, I know we only used it a couple of times since there was usually a rather large line leading to it and we just continued walking instead.
I liked DL do to its compact size after visiting WDW many times, was nice to be able to walk to the various areas and not have to ride a bus.

 

[Huff]

I have never been able to justify the high cost of staying onsite at Disneyland. This past year we made 14 trips to Disneyland. Each ranging from 2 to 5 days. All 14 we booked through Priceline and was able to stay at 3 1/2 star hotels each time with prices ranging from $35-$55/night. Even with the hotel's parking charge, Disney's parking charge and/or shuttle bus costs the total is still a fraction of the cost of staying onsite.

Hotels we stayed at like this were the Hilton, Red Lion, Holiday Inn Manchester and Crown Plaza. Gave us plenty of money to stay longer or pay for nicer dining etc.

For our upcoming Disneyworld trip we will be staying onsite if Disney releases free dining or substantial room discount. Otherwise we'll do the same and stay offsite through Priceline.

 

[Dobie]

Another lovely perk is Vacation Planning. They will make all your meal reservations for you. You can call them before your window opens and tell them where you want to eat and when, and they will make the ressies. So very handy!

 

[rentayenta]

Another lovely perk is Vacation Planning. They will make all your meal reservations for you. You can call them before your window opens and tell them where you want to eat and when, and they will make the ressies. So very handy!

What is the number to VP?

 

[nana50]

GCH mean the Grand Californian Hotel

 

[Dobie]

Vacation Planning Office
1-714/300-7520 (for guests staying at the Disneyland Resort Hotels)
Or email them at vacationplanning@disneyonline.com

 

[purpleorchids]

great info I was also wondering about this

 

[Anj]

How far away is the monorail from the Disneyland hotel? You used to be able (years & years ago) to enter the park via the monorail. Can you still do this? Wouldn't it be easier than walking?


Alright, I give up. What does "GCH" stand for? I looked at the abbreviations list and couldn't find it.

from the Dream tower, we could see the monorail. With our three little ones, it took about 4 to 5 minutes to get there. You do enter the park from the monorail. It only has 2 stops, one at the DTD (by the hotel) and one in Tomorrowland (right by the submarine ride). We used the monorail to get back to the hotel and a couple of times to get into Disneyland because we needed to pick up strollers each day, it was sometimes faster to walk through DTD and go through the main gates (where the stroller rental was) rather than use the monorail.

 

[HydroGuy]

How far away is the monorail from the Disneyland hotel? You used to be able (years & years ago) to enter the park via the monorail. Can you still do this? Wouldn't it be easier than walking?


Alright, I give up. What does "GCH" stand for? I looked at the abbreviations list and couldn't find it.

If you looked at this abbreviations list "GCH" is there! "DLR Abbreviations List" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520784

Here is a map where you can see where everything is (I made the DTD monorail station near the center)

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=33.8091055&lon=-117.9237592&z=18&l=0&m=b

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

If you looked at this abbreviations list it is there! "DLR Abbreviations List" - www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520784

Everytime I need to figure out an abbreviation, I get lost finding that thread and then finding my way back to the original thread I was in. Makes it difficult when there are 3 or 4 abbreviations that I need to translate within a post. I forget what the heck I was looking up! Still learning my way about here.

I tried to copy and paste the abbreviations so I could just print 'em out, but since there are links in there, I can't just paste it into a word document and then print.

Still learning my way around here.

 

[HydroGuy]

Everytime I need to figure out an abbreviation, I get lost finding that thread and then finding my way back to the original thread I was in. Makes it difficult when there are 3 or 4 abbreviations that I need to translate within a post. I forget what the heck I was looking up! Still learning my way about here.

I tried to copy and paste the abbreviations so I could just print 'em out, but since there are links in there, I can't just paste it into a word document and then print.

Still learning my way around here.

That is what "Favorites" are for in your Internet browser menu system!

 

[NMMickeymom]

We like staying at the resort for the magic and a more relaxing time. We just switched our reservation from hojo's to the DLH with the summer special. I instantly had a better feeling about our upcoming vacation (relaxation vs. frantic running around). The early entry, great pools, valet parking, room service, mickey shampoo, Disney planning shows on the TV (don't know why, it just gets me excited for the day to watch the in-room channels talking about the parks). The idea of wandering to our room after eating at Goofy's and Rainforest rather than hauling kids to the car. It is worth every penny of the extra ~$50 per night from hojo kid suite to DLH.

 

[gr8leg8]

My hubby is set on staying at the Disneyland hotel.

This is the sentence that jumped out at me from your post.
I would stay anywhere that would make my hubby excited to go back.

We have stayed at Red Roof/Motel 6 because I would rather have more days in the parks.

Then I learned about Howard Johnson (HoJo) here on the boards. Thanks guys!!

We loved the water play area. They offer an Entertainment book rate. $59 & up. They also have a kid suite if you would like more space. The walk is very do-able. It's nothing fancy, but I love that every employee offers you a genuine smile. We have reservation to return in Dec.

We have stayed at Portofino Inn & Suites in a kid suite. It is walking distance, but a long walk. There is a shuttle bus (ART). Many local hotels offer this for a fee.

For my 40th bday we splurged and stayed at Disneyland hotel. It was a last minute change. We ended up with a high floor view room on an AP (annual passport) rate of $200 per night. We stayed fewer nights than originally planed and used the early entry twice.

For most stays hubby would rather sleep in and I enjoy staying more nights.

Have a great trip