Calling all Disneyland and Disney World fans

[Texasfan]

I will be traveling with my dd 7 and my parents towards the end of May beginning of June. We have been to Disneyland twice, but not to Walt Disney World. We have stayed at California Grand and Disneyland Hotel. We were not impressed with California Grand, but loved The Disneyland Hotel. Does Florida have a comparable hotel to the Disneyland Hotel? I know that the California Grand is a cross between the WL and GF.

 

[Stitch1404]

Disney World is a whole different ball game when it comes to hotels, there are so many more options! I would think that one of the moderates (Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, etc.) would be comprable to DL Hotel, but they certainly aren't the same. If you didn't like Grand Californian, don't go to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Tikiman]

I stayed at the Grand Californian this 4th of July weekend and it was nice but I like the Disneyland Hotel much better. I would not consider a moderate hotel comparable to the Disneyland Hotel. I would consider the Disneyland Hotel much like one of WDW deluxe hotels. There is not really one that looks like the Disneyland Hotel so go with a theme you might like when picking out a resort in WDW.

I would consider the Grand Californian much like the Wilderness Lodge but nothing like the Grand Floridian.

I am not sure why but the Contemporary kind of gives me that Disneyland Hotel feel. Maybe the Yacht or Beach Club.

 

[SB in KY]

Actually the Disneyland hotel would definately be a deluxe resort in my book....but can't honestly say there is a similar one at WDW....If I had to pick one I would say the Contemporary (monorail runs through the hotel, has comparable dining venues, a great arcade, good shopping, great vues....the pool is not as spiffy as the DL....although my kids did really like it).

Each of the WDW deluxe resorts except the CR is very themed....so I guess that is why the CR reminds me of the DL hotel....lots of Disney magic, but not one predominant theme.

The moderate hotel rooms at WDW are some bit smaller than the DL hotel and all have outside corridors and fewer amenities....not bad places, just not on a par with DLH.

I would suggest looking at the deluxes and selecting based on a theme that appeals to you and location (which would you prefer....monorail access or something in the Epcot area, a great pool vs more hotel theming, etc)

You might also want to consider a home away from home like Old Key West since you will be travelling with 3 generations.....that way you could have more living space and a kitchen and laudry, a jacuzzi tub, etc. There are just a lot more choices at WDW (but the down side to that is the decision is so much harder to make!!)

 

[ahappydisneymommy]

We have also stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and it is definitely a Deluxe hotel. I would have to say that the Contemporary reminds me the most of the Disneyland Hotel. But I think any of the deluxes (except maybe for AKL and WL) would work for you.

 

[lark]

Very hard question to answer without knowing why you liked the Disneyland hotel. I'd also be curious about why you did not like the Grand California. I think the rooms are definitely the same in terms of quality. The GC is closer and more convenient, particularly to DCA, and the service is just as good.

If it's the decor, then definitely stay away from the Wilderness Lodge, and probably the AKL and the Polynesian, as others have said. The Poly is much different thematically, but if it's the heavy theming you didn't like, that would be a safe bet.

None of the epcot resorts are really similar to the DH, except maybe the Swan and Dolphin, which are like the DH, in the sense that they are tall towers. Other than that, I guess I agree with those that say the contemporary.

 

[cjsmom5]

We typically do Disneyland once a year and WDW twice a year. We've stayed in the Grand California, the DL Hotel and Paradise Pier. We absolutely didn't care for the Paradise Pier. The Grand Californian had small rooms compared to the DL Hotel and we weren't impressed with the staff. We really liked the DL Hotel as the rooms were bigger and the staff seemed more family friendly.
Of the three the DL and Grand California would both fall in the deluxe category at WDW.

At WDW our favorite resort is AKL. We love animals and having a savannah view room ... and waking up to see a giraffe eating outside your room is amazing. That being said, if you don't like animals then this isn't the place for you.

The AKL offers some really nice kids programs (African music, cookie decorating, African savannah games, night vision viewing of the animals, flamingo feeding, African games by the pool, etc. although the pool theme isn't anything spectacular.

Keep in mind that WDW is much more spread out than DL. We always count on Disney transportation and haven't had problems but there are some who simply don't like it.

There are some nice hotels on the monorail that might be of interest, too. Each one has a different theme. Of the hotels that would offer comparable services to the DL are: AKL, Contemporary, Polynesian, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk. The Grand Floridian is nice but would be a bit above the level, themed completely different, than the Grand Californian.

We've found that we can get in one the deluxes at WDW for often less than what we pay at DL. In fact, this year we are paying just a little bit more to stay concierge at the AKL than we typically pay with a AP discount at the DL hotel. Plus, concierge at the WDW deluxe hotels is definitey a step above the one at DL -- from our perspective in WDW they offer more services and the food is much better.

The difference between WDW and DL is really tremendous. It all depends on what you want to do when there. If you will be in the parks all day then you might even consider looking into a moderate hotel. We have stayed at the POFQ and PORiverside. We really liked both resorts. The rooms are a tad smaller than the deluxes and they have full beds instead of queen beds and outside walkways instead of interior walkways. The POR has a sit down restaurant and a food court, POFQ has only a food court but is a sister resort to POR so you can use all facilities at both resorts just as if they were one big resort. We like the POFQ better as it is a smaller resort, the rooms were just finished being rennovated, there is only one bus stop and when it shares a bus with POR you are first on and first off.

I'm not sure any of this helps but if you have specific questions that I haven't answered be sure to send me a PM. I am extremely familar with both places so might be able to answer more questions for you.

 

[Texasfan]

Thank you so much for all of the responses. I do not think it really was the theme of California Grand that we disliked. The rooms just seemed more crowded and they were not very comfortable, especially the beds and pillows. We did enjoy the snack bar at the California Grand and actually ate there a lot when we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel.

The Disneyland Hotel just had a lot more to offer. The rooms seemed larger and the beds were a lot more comfortable. They have a great gift shop with a lot of classic Disney items. We also enjoyed having Chef Goofy at the hotel. The waterfalls were beautiful and we loved the night water show. It was so nice, because we could see it from our room. We also enjoyed the character shrubs and the Disney statues through out the hotel. My daughter also loved to drive the little remote control boats.

 

[cjsmom5]

It sounds very similar to our reasoning The "food court" concept, we think, is done better at the moderate hotels at the WDW properties. The Animal Kingdom Lodge -- which we truly love -- also has a nice food court.

As far as theme, almost all the resorts at WDW are better themed than the Grand California at DL. What you should do is take a look at the different properties. There is a photo gallery here. Then, depending on your budget, you can select the resort where you like the theme best.

If you plan to spend a majority of your team at the Magic Kingdom then perhaps the resorts on the monorail are better. While some like the theme at the Contemporary, we did not. The newly rennovated rooms, though, look better. The Contemporary has great shopping but the pool is ordinary and we think the food court is small. Still they have Chef Mickeys there which is similar to Goofys.

We prefer the Polynesian over the Contemporary. We like the Hawaiian theme and the pool area is around the volcano theme with waterfalls, etc. Plus the Polynesian has the waterfall affects similar to that at the DL hotel. The grounds are slightly similar but they don't have the wooden characters all around, though. Ohana's is a nice buffet type of restaurant similar, for breakfast, to that of Goofy's ...quite different for breakfast. They have a small food court and also have another sit down restaurant.

So, as you can see there are lots of choices. And, it is so much fun figuring out where you want to stay. Have fun!

 

[DonnaDavid]

What about the Swan/Dolphin? They're not heavily themed and they have the most comfortable beds on Disney property.

 

[daannzzz]

I have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, The Grand Californian and the Paradise Pier Hotel and many of the WDW hotels including the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Grand Floridian. I love the Grand California which is themed to the max but I still think the Disneyland Hotel is better because of the large rooms and the room decore is a bit more fun. But I really do like the more mured Disney themes in the Grand Californian and some of the WDW hotels. The deluxe hotels at WDW are all nice.
If you want a large room at WDW choose the Grand Floridian, The Polynesian or the Contemporary. The Grand Floridian is Victorian style outside and in. It is a hair to frilly for me but the room interiors are colorful with many Disney references and they are large and expensive. The Contemporary is more likt he Disneyland hotel as far as the exterior goes and the room size is big but the interior decore is not my style. These rooms are getting remodeled and will look nicer but still not real exciting. The Polynesian rooms are really large too and the older decore is nice but is being replaced with new deocre which is also nice. The Animal Kingdom Lodge and Wilderness lodge are both awesome but the rooms are the same size as at the Grand Californian. Both are detailed as well as the CG as well. The Yacht Club, Beach Club Boardwalk Inn are inbetween as far as room size goes and their themes are all east coast Cap Code style decore which we enjoyed.

 

[Ladyhawke10]

I've had some different experiences than some posted on here.

For one, I found the Grand Californian heavily (and beautifully) themed. Our AP rates often get us nights there for about 200, which is far less expensive than any of our concierge rates at WDW. We stayed at Paradise Pier two months ago for 99 (AP rate).

Paradise Pier I found a pleasant surprise--it was much nicer than I was expecting, and I preferred the decor, room and staff to the experience we had at the Disneyland Hotel.

I was really disappointed with the Disneyland hotel! I had wanted to stay there since I was a child, so I was very excited, and our room was literally the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in. There was one queen bed and about a foot maybe of space between the edge of the bed and the walls, and no other furniture other than the TV. I found out later that this is not the normal room size at DLH, so I apparently had a room that was spliced up by an elevator shaft or janitor closet or something...I mean, it was TINY. I did not find the staff friendly--the lack of friendly service was what really disappointed me. I have had the opposite experience at the Grand Californian. We stayed there over labor day and the staff was lovely. It was my son's birthday and they gave us a call from Goofy, gave him an autographed picture from Mickey, and gave me a tour of the concierge lounge. At AKL concierge, we never got so much as a verbal happy birthday for our birthday stay (noted on reservation)! At the Grand Californian, he got a button and all day CMs were saying happy birthday to him, in the parks and at the hotel, and we got an unanticipated upgrade to theme park view from a standard view.

I think the hotel is gorgeous and very comfortable. Nothing like the fireplaces, the children's storytime and relaxing under trellis's vined with rose and bouganvilla while relaxing in the jacuzzi (with California Adventures music and lights above you). Amazing!

As far as comparable WDW hotels, the Contemporary is definitely most like the Disneyland Hotel. (While the Grand Californian is definitely a more luxurious Wilderness Lodge). The Contemporary has monorail access, lots of shops like the Disneyland Hotel, and has that same Disney city feel to it. I would say it has about the same amount of amenities, with the added bonus of the lake at CR!

Some say the DLH is a cross between the CR and Poly because there's that Peter Pan element around the pool area at DLH. Poly is much more heavily themed, however; so I don't really see them as having much in common. Poly is more expensive than DLH. CR would be more comparably priced (at least it is cheaper than the GF or Poly, and would have those large rooms you're looking for).

I agree that AKL probably wouldn't be for you, but I have to say I find AKL's pool area of the most exciting onsite, because it is flanked by animals and looks like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It is very exotic and beautiful! Love those nights in the jacuzzi under the stars and half masked by African foliage planted around the tub....the theming there is just unbelieveable.

Have you checked pics yet to see what themes at WDW appeal to you?