Any DVCers Ever Visit Disneyland and Where did you Stay?

[littlestar]

We've always wanted to see Walt's original park. So we're planning a July visit to see Disneyland and California adventure.

I checked our DVC member book and we've decided not to use DVC points for the hotel (the three in our DVC book listed are Grand Californian, Disneyland Hotel, and Paradise Pier). Anyway, with it being regular season for July, I think the points are too high compared to cash. I can get a AAA rate for all three hotels $187.00 for Disneyland Hotel, GC $239.00, and PP for $152.00 a night with AAA discount.

We're leaning towards Disneyland Hotel because of the history of the place and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything about Peter Pan (heard Disneyland Hotel has a lot of Peter Pan themed stuff).

Any thoughts on these three Disney Collection Disneyland Hotels? If you've been there, what did you think of the hotels?

 

[CarolA]

I stayed at Paradise Pier because it was cheapest! It was very nice and had short cut to California Adventure.

 

[tvwalsh]

Seven years ago I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. It was tired then. Nice, but tired.

Last year my daughter stayed at the new Grand Californian with her DH (using our points) She said there was no comparison. The pictures she sent, her description of the view and the location and the common rooms etc. was nothing short of a rave review.

This is a no brainer. IF you have enough points.

 

[mbhoxsie]

I haven't ever been to DL, but plan to go sometime in the next couple years...

When my family goes, we were thinking of making an II exchange and staying in Marriot's Newport Coast Villas....

According to legend, the Newport Coast Site was originally planned to be the Disneyland DVC site before it was sold to Marriot.. (Follow this link for more info if you are curious.. http://www.yesterland.com/ncv.html )

With II, I think it would actually be less points than staying a week at the DL Hotel or the GC, and we would still have the 1BR or 2BR suites with kitchen ammenities.... Not to mention that it is oceanside...

The only catch is that we would more than likely have to rent a car....

 

[robinb]

I visited last month and stayed at the Hilton via Priceline for only $47 per night. It wazs very close to the parks .

 

[AZKathy]

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel in 2000. Grand Californian was still being built. It was older, but still had the Disney Magic needed for a nice visit. We were there in late May, and the Neverlands Pool was absolutely FREEZING! I hope it is warmer for you in July.

 

[Caskbill]

First I hope you realize that practically nothing is the way it originally was when Walt first built the park. Except for the DL park itself perhaps, but even there the changes have been numerous, and the growth of trees and such have transformed it considerably. Everything outside the actual theme park boundaries is totally different. New Hotels, Downtown Disney, etc.

Since the original 1955 opening, streets have been closed, and the areas made into walkways. Downtown Disney added for example. California Adventure has been built in one of the old parking lots. I remember when you could drive right past the front entrance to the park. No more.

The Disneyland hotel is actually 3 separate buildings. It was only one building when first built. I'm not sure which one (if any) is the original building. Perhaps some local DVC members have more information.

The GC is closest, with it's direct entrances to DD and also private entrance into CA. The Disneyland hotels are next closest at the far end of DD, and the PP hotel is just a little farther with a short walk to DD. Unlike robinb's experience, I doubt you'll find any off-site hotels at that price range in July, but it never hurts to try if off-site is OK with you.

The GC hotel is similar in many respects to Wilderness Lodge at WDW.

Whether points or cash you'll enjoy staying at a Disney resort. There are many off-site hotels but the difference is just as much as at Florida being off-site or on-site in WDW. Being on site at DL and able to walk to/from DD from the hotels at Disneyland is a real treat.

Have a great trip. We'll be going back in Sep '94 before our passes expire. (Unlike WDW, park hopper passes at DL are only good for 2-years)

 

[geffric]

We stayed at Hilton Suites not very far away. We got a $50 per night rate from hotwire. We got the 3 day pass but 3 days was not enough for my family , we really needed the 4 day pass. My children loved the Matterhorn.

 

[KNWVIKING]

We stayed in the DL Hotel, which had recently undergone a major refurb. We were on the concierge floor,facing the parks,great view. We did the "Walking in Walts footsteps" tour- great tour, highly recommend it. We had been to WDW several times before we went to DL and quite honestly, DL was a let down. We will never return to Ca. with DL as our primary destination

 

[luckytso]

We visited last Xmas for 4 nights. We stayed at Hyatt via Priceline, paid $25 for an upgrade to a kidsuite, including parking and tax, was $80 a night. Great room (huge, with kid's separate bedroom, their own TV and bunk beds, microve and minirefrigirator, newly renovated) with a Pizzahut in the lobby. Decent bus service every half hour, first stop on and off and it was a great deal. Target is aross the street.

DL is different than WDW because it is so much smaller. We visited Grand Californian while there and did not think it was worth the price difference to stay there. There is not that much difference between on or off-site.

I am sure it is probably nicer to stay on-site. But I think the difference is marginal, with the amenities that we had, and the savings pretty covered all of our park passes and food, I would do it again for sure.

We like both WDW and DL. Some of their rides are much better done than at WDW. Plus they have a live Buzzlightyear show which is a big hit for little kids.

I much prefer on-site hotels at WDW, it has to be a super super deal for me to be offsite (i.e. the Courtyard Marriott in DD's $20.03 offer in August), but I don't care if I stay on-site or not at DL.

 

[castleri]

Stayed on points in 2001 3 nights each at GC and DH. GC is impressive and much like WL but we liked DH better. The room we had overlooked the pool area - 11th floor I think. It had 2 beds and a daybed and was much bigger that the on at GC. Also had a wetbar area with a mini fridge that actually held something and wasn't pre stocked with overpriced items. The one at GC was already stocked and had room for a couple of sodas extra. There was a sign saying that if you removed the contents you would be charged. They also did not have roll away cots and since we had 2 teenagers one male one female we ended up using the sleeping bag and "sleep mat' they had instead. At the DH they brought up a rollaway which we didn't need because of the full size daybed. Each hotel had good points and we used the pools at all three before we were through. At the time the points were less and I needed to use them or lose them so the trip only cost airfare $238 each, $? passes, $210 for a car for ten days and food. We stayed in Santa Monica, San Diego, and Ontario with my daughter's Marriott points and found some inexpensive places to eat off site.
The person who said it isn't the same is correct-I was there in 1955 the week it opened and while there this time took a ride the two miles down the street and then a right and a left and drove by our old house-very depressing. DL and CA and DD were great and I hope to get back again. It is different from what it was and from WDW and it still has the magic - at least for me.
Hope you have a great trip whichever hotel you use.

 

[littlestar]

Gosh, thanks for all the replies!

One airfare ticket will cost $169 total to fly into LAX and then I fly free on a companion ticket. So our airfare is basically $85.00 a person. This will probably be our "once in a lifetime trip" to Disneyland as WDW is where we go the most (thus our purchase into DVC).

We only plan on going to DL for five days and then rest up a few days back at home before going back to work.

Anyone ever use an offsite hotel at Disneyland for your park days and then switch to on site for the days you want to enjoy a resort? Or does it really matter at Disneyland like it does at WDW to stay at an "official" hotel with everything so compact? I know when at WDW I really noticed the lack of theming when we stayed offsite in the past. I do love Disney theming (that's why we bought DVC). I just wonder if the Disney theming at the Disneyland Hotels transport you into the magic like the WDW hotels do?

 

[WDWLVR]

For theming you can't beat the Grand Californian. It is a wonderful hotel and you definately feel like you are part of the magic. They even have their own entryway into California Adventure. We stayed their last February.

We have stayed at the Paradise Pier hotel as well and it is nice but not a lot of theming.

The next time we go we plan on staying at the Disneyland Hotel. I have stayed there in the past and it has definately been rehabbed since then. The pool looks wonderful.

I like to stay onsite whether here or at WDW.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Sounds like most of you guys are saying that it is not as important to stay on-site at DL as it is at WDW. Makes sense considering it is so much smaller. Just wondering if you really don't lose any of the magic by not staying in a Disney hotel. For example, do the Disney hotels have Disney information channels like WDW? Are there Mickey wake-up calls, etc. Anything you would really miss, especially if it is your first trip?

 

[WDWguruDH]

I have stayed in the Grand Californian, the theme is amazing, it was done by the same people that did Wilderness Lodge - our favorite theme at WDW.
As has been indicated, staying on-site at DL is no where near as beneficial as at WDW. There are actually off-site hotels that are closer to the parks. Staying on-site does gives you the "never leave the magic" feel, but you pay for it. Unless you really want the total experience or just want to use points, you can do far better off-site. DW and I are going to DL on May 2nd and staying at the Portofino Inn & Suites. We got a King suite for half the cost of a regular room at the DL hotels and it is actually about the same distance to walk to the parks.

 

[lodgelady]

We had a room overlooking the parks. The rooms are a bit larger than the WDW standard rooms, but the hotel ammenities were more like a hotel than a resort. The rooftop pool is lovely. We could see the fireworks from the hottub there one evening. Staff very friendly. Also, the resort has a private way into DCA which was very handy-so we didn't have to walk all the way around thru the DD area to get back. Have a great time!!!

 

[TnRobin]

Have you tried the Disneyland Board. When we planned our trip to DL, that is where we got alot of great information.

 

[NancyDVC]

We stayed at the DL Hotel on points in June, 2001. It was lovely. They were in the midst of refurbishing the entie hotel. I believe that our building had not yet been done over. The room was large with a refrigerator and a view of the pools and DD.
Remember both the Paradise Pier and the Disneyland Hotels were not built by Disney and therefore do not have the integral theming that the WDW hotels do. They have upgraded both with theming and amenities but they are not WDW.
The Grand Californian is a Diseny desigend and built hotel and themed much better.
We enjoyed our stay very much. The Neverland pool was lovely, as was the other pool. Goofy's Kitchen is a great restaurant with characters and buffet meals. The 3 restaurants at GC were great. The only drawback was the walk to the DL main entrance. My friend has trouble with her knee and the walk was a bit much for her. Remember the monorail lets you off in Tomorrowland so you miss Main Street if you take it over. The "side entrance" to DCA at the GC was good for getting back to our hotel. We loved the trip.
For more DL info try wwww.laughingplace.com. The folks there are terrific and have lots of up to date DL info.

 

[sueg]

We did our once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Calif. a few yrs. ago. We landed in San Francisco & drove down thru Calif., ending our trip w/ 3 nts. in DL. We stayed in GC, on pts. & loved it. We decided to use pts., because the CA trip replaced our Aug. HH trip, so using pts. made sense for us. The night before DL, we stayed off-property, at the Hilton, it was walking distance to Anaheim Angels stadium, where we caught a game. The deal at the Hilton was excellent. We are in Hilton Honors & got a family suite, which was larger than a 1 BD DVC unit. It included a really good buffet breakfast & was only $99 per nt. But we really prefer staying on property. We really enjoyed DL & still do little comparisons when we are at WDW. Pirates at DL is better, IMHO, & you can't beat the Blue Bayou restaurant, which overlooks the beginning of the Pirate Cruise, much the way that the restaurant in Mexico overlooks the beginning of that ride. And don't forget, Mr. Toad still lives at DL!