Answer kindly!

[Soaptopia]

This is my first post. I've been a member for a few days, but I've been reading other members posts for a long while! I just never felt the urge to sign up until recently.

I am planning a vacation to go to Disneyland, and I've been there many times before. I've always wanted to stay in Grand Cali Hotel, but personally I can't justify the cost! What are some things that really make it worth that much money! Should I just stay at one of the other Disney hotels?

 

[PatMcDuck]

I like all 3 of the hotels at DL, so look at PP.

 

[skiingfast]

I am planning a vacation to go to Disneyland, and I've been there many times before. I've always wanted to stay in Grand Cali Hotel, but personally I can't justify the cost! What are some things that really make it worth that much money! Should I just stay at one of the other Disney hotels?

That's a reall tough question because mostly it relies on taste. I would say the largest draw to the GCH is how close it is to the gates. It is really incredible to walk out and see the gates so quickly.

Not everyone would know this, it takes WDW experience, GHC is the most Disney hotel at DLR. It has some sprawl that you find at all the other Disney Park's hotels in the rest of the world. PPH + DLH are towers like you find at most urban hotels. Not to resort like.

 

[DizNee Luver]

I guess the other thing to consider is how much time do you plan on spending at the hotel, could you use the money in other ways for splurges (WoC, Fantasmic, souvenirs, nice dinners, etc). As much as I love the Disney hotels, I usually stay at one of the Good Neighbor motels & use our money elsewhere. We usually sleep & shower & occassionally swim at the motels, the rest of the time is at the parks. If you want to spend more time in your room or at your hotel/motel....then spending the extra will be worth it.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I agree with the PP who said this is a matter of taste. You will find a huge range of opinions on this topic. We have stayed at DLH and PP once each but never at the GCH. I know 4 families though who have stayed at the Grand. The main comment that each of them made was about proximity to the parks. They loved being so close. To me, if that's all I'm paying for, I don't really mind walking. They also commented on the beauty of the lobby. Again, I can see that without paying the high hotel rate. The third most common comment I heard from them was how small the rooms were; I find cramped rooms annoying with our family of four. Nevertheless, if I could find a really good rate on the Grand, I'm not ruling it out as something to try someday.

If you just want some extra Disney perks and the price of the Grand is really steep, you may want to consider either DLH or PP. The rooms we had in each of those places were very spacious, bright, and clean. We had a standard, non-view room in the PP. There were a few small Disney touches, nothing too stand-outish. It is the longest walk but not something I would complain about. We had a view room in the DLH, and we were in one of the recently renovated rooms (they all will be done soon). That was pretty awesome. Some of the nice perks of staying at Disney hotels are the early entry everyday it is offered and being able to have packages sent back to your room. We really loved our DLH stay.

We were happy to try the Disney hotels these two times and may try one or more of them again someday. It makes for a different experience than the many other times we have been, and we did take more time to enjoy the hotel grounds and amenities. We are usually mostly parks people. So if you can afford it and would like to experience something a little different since you've been many times, I say go for it. If you're not feeling particularly attached to the Grand though and really just want a Disney hotel experience, you may find yourself just as satisfied with one of the less expensive options.

 

[paape04]

We are going for our first trip to DL at the end of March. We decided to spend the money to stay at GCH mostly for the experience and proximity to the park. We didn't want to spend time waiting for shuttles after a long day at the park or if we just need to take some time away and wanted to go back later in the day we knew it would be a quick walk back.

I think there are so many options, you just need to figure out what is right for you family and enjoy the magic the Disneyland brings!

 

[Captain Hindsight]

Not to mention.. It is the only hotel on property built by Disney from the ground up...

 

[HydroGuy]

This is my first post. I've been a member for a few days, but I've been reading other members posts for a long while! I just never felt the urge to sign up until recently.

I am planning a vacation to go to Disneyland, and I've been there many times before. I've always wanted to stay in Grand Cali Hotel, but personally I can't justify the cost! What are some things that really make it worth that much money! Should I just stay at one of the other Disney hotels?

In addition to what everyone said about location, here was the view from our GCH room last July:

 

[Funball]

I want to stay ay GCH someday. hydro your photo is amazing. i want that exact view too!

 

[DahliaRW]

I think it depends on what you're looking for. My dh personally refuses to stay at GCH because he thinks the DLH has better Disney themeing (and it does in terms of incorporating characters and things like that in the actual rooms). We had a fantastic stay at DLH in January. The rooms are really nice and very good sized. It was one of the bigger 2 queen hotel rooms we've been in, and with 5 people that's a huge plus. I don't know if I could stay at GCH with 5 in one room...

 

[Soaptopia]

Wow Hydroguy! What a great view. Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm still thinking about everything. I'll talk to my fiance and see which hotel he'd like to stay in the most.

That view though, ohhhh!

 

[bumbershoot]

For us, it was worth staying there once to know that we don't particularly care for it. Now, I knew this already, but I had to show DH and DS.

That's a reall tough question because mostly it relies on taste. I would say the largest draw to the GCH is how close it is to the gates. It is really incredible to walk out and see the gates so quickly.

Not everyone would know this, it takes WDW experience, GHC is the most Disney hotel at DLR. It has some sprawl that you find at all the other Disney Park's hotels in the rest of the world. PPH + DLH are towers like you find at most urban hotels. Not to resort like.

If one's room were right at the exit, I could agree. However, I estimated the walk from our room to the exit (either the DCA exit or the exit into DTD to get to the esplanade to get to the DL gates) and it was almost exactly as long as it took to get from HoJo.

The walk from PPH means you go from your room to the elevator out the lobby to the crosswalk across the street into the Grand, and that's almost the same amount of walking we had from our particular room at the Grand.

So while the hotel is right there...not all rooms are!

To me, the best parts of the Grand are the public areas. But the rooms are the smallest and they are the darkest (big issue with me, as my light/dark vision was changed for the worse post-Lasik) and just not worth it.


Heck, we thought "yay we can ride Grizzly and go right up to our room to change!" Tried that on the last day. First, you drip ALL over the Grand. And then, with our room's placement, it would have been almost as fast to just go to PPH and it wouldn't have involved as much backtracking (which drives me batty). DS and DH were still turning blue when they got up to the room... Even if we get roped into staying there again, we'll still bring a change of clothes for DS instead of going back to the room...

 

[skiingfast]

Wow Hydroguy! What a great view. Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm still thinking about everything. I'll talk to my fiance and see which hotel he'd like to stay in the most.

That view though, ohhhh!

That is a pretty incredible view he got. But I wouldn't put that into your decision. Not all rooms get that view.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

Not all rooms get that view.

And none of the DLH or PPH rooms have that view! If you want that view you have to pay extra for a Theme Park View. Also request a room on the east wing, high floor. I think the Theme Park View's on the New/DVC wing are actually better (or atleast they will be once the construction is done in a few months). You can see Paradise Pier and WOC at night!

 

[skiingfast]

If one's room were right at the exit, I could agree. However, I estimated the walk from our room to the exit (either the DCA exit or the exit into DTD to get to the esplanade to get to the DL gates) and it was almost exactly as long as it took to get from HoJo.

I've seen you write this before. You should look at a map, because any room in the GCH is closer than the Hojo to the gates.

Now if time wise what you said is true, you walked from the GCH a lot slower than you did from the Hojo.

 

[HydroGuy]

FWIW, the room with the view was a theme park view rate on the 5th floor - so I paid more. It was in the east wing. For us the distance to the parks was amazingly short.

To DL?

Down the hallway to the east, down the stairs, and they drop out the fire escape door right by La Brea bakery and a 1 minute walk to security. Altogether about three minutes from our room to security. Tops. Maybe 2 minutes.

To DCA?

Down a longer hallway, down the elevator and then a 30 second walk to the DCA special entrance security. Altogether about 3 minutes. Depends on elevator.

From DL back to GCH?

If we were anywhere near Tomorrowland it was monorail to DTD and then a 3 minute walk to GCH from the monorail station and then probably 3 more minutes to get to our room.

If we were not near Tomorrowland then we walked back and this was the longest. All the way to the GCH lobby then backtrack to our room. Probably closer to 7-10 minutes.

From DCA to GCH?

Same as GCH to DCA. Three minutes.

One night I caught the final WOC at 11:15. It finished at 11:46. I hoofed it back to the room and was in bed at 11:51. Five minutes flat from WOC to my bed. I walked fast but did not run.

I can see how it would be frustrating to have a room in the west wing area or somewhere down a never ending hallway.

 

[Soaptopia]

Yeah, I don't think I'd stay at the Grand if I didn't pay extra for the theme park view. It'd be a waste to me, since I don't know about anything else in the hotel.

And in response to a post earlier about how much time we'd spend in the room, I would probably send more time than usual if I stayed at Grand as opposed to Hojo because of the distance, and I would want to get the money's worth. I've been to DLR sooo many times and crowds get me annoyed so it'd be nice to have the hotel right there to walk to, and look out the window at the park.

Right now I'm thinking of staying at HOJO or something and just saving that money for our honeymoon in WDW next year. I was just wanting to do something special for our 5 year anniversary (since we started dating), but any trip to DL is special.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I have stayed at all three many times, but our stand by favorite will always be the Disneyland Hotel--which I think is actually more resort like than Grand Californian, which is why many people like it.

Disneyland Hotel:
It has high towers with great views (GC does not have high towers due to building restrictions), and more spacious rooms. These rooms can be very good for families with 3 children, as there is plenty of space, unlike the smaller, darker rooms at the Grand. It has wonderful disney theme rooms, as seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGBbO5in_-k

These rooms feel more like the resort experience to me, as the views (from a premium view room) are amazing. Your really haven't lived until you have experienced a DLH room from a high view overlooking downtown Disney or the pool. It is incredible. My kids can spend hours looking out their window at the view.

The Grand California:
has smaller, darker rooms decorated in an arts and crafts style. This Hotel has an outstanding lobby and great location and great pool area. I like staying there in summer for access to the pool as well as the parks. We typically reserve a standard room hoping for the best there, but never (after all of these years!) have been upgraded to a better view. So we overlook the parking lot and entrance.

The Paradise Pier: bigger rooms (like DLH) with a beachy theme. Great views over California Adventure Park (including the Mickey wheel!). Very good space to spread out here. Much more chance of being upgraded to a better view room, and lower price. The pool area is more of a rectangle with a big slide, so not as good as DLH or GC, but you can use their pools if you like as a DLR guest.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

It is incredible. My kids can spend hours looking out their window at the view.

The Grand California:
We typically reserve a standard room hoping for the best there, but never (after all of these years!) have been upgraded to a better view. So we overlook the parking lot and entrance.

Well what kid would want to look out the window at Disneyland Drive... You have to pay for the Theme Park View or Downtown Disney View! Both of these views are great... With a Theme Park View you feel like you are still in the parks, and with a Downtown Disney View you can watch the fireworks at night!

The Disneyland Hotel is so Blah.... I'd describe it as Hojo's with Mickey Mouse wallpaper!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

The Disneyland Hotel is so Blah.... I'd describe it as Hojo's with Mickey Mouse wallpaper!

I guess you haven't been there in a while!