For value, we stay at the Candy Cane.
That said, we stayed at the GC once last year (sorry, can't tell you much about the others). Decor is fabulous--Craftsman style Yosemite lodge-ish. Our room had a queen and bunk beds (fun!) The pools were great--water slide and everything. We went as far as the lobby of the DL Hotel. The decor there was nice but not memorable. Maybe someone who has stayed there can be more specific.
You can eat at any of the restaurants, no matter where you stay, on site or off. We did eat breakfasts at the White Water Cafe in the GC next to the pool--good prices, at least we thought so, and quiet. It seemed as though not a lot of people knew it was there. Other than that, we ate at Goofy's Kitchen--fun for kids but pricey.
We liked the closeness of the GC, and you can get into CA through a shortcut, but you still have to wait in line to get into DL. You can get into CA from Paradise Pier, too, but I don't think it's really all that close. I guess, for us, if we had unlimited funds and wanted to stay in a beautiful environment, we would choose the GC again, but it will probably be several years before we can afford to do that again.
