Ok, so I talked to my dad today and he isn't sure what hotel he picked. He is going to be coming over tomorrow and I will be checking the printout that Disney has sent him to find out exactly what hotel he has booked. If it is the expensive one, I will be calling on Monday to see if we can change it to PPH. I am hoping that it is the expensive one and that we are able to change it. He is now struggling to pay for it...so, if we aren't able to take the burden off of him...don't know if the trip will happen. So keep your fingers crossed that we can still make this happen.
Remember, PPH is across the street in sort of a roundabout way, so it takes a bit longer to get back to the hotel (not much, but it can be daunting at the end of a long day) than to the GCH. But, it will less expensive than the GCH, you still be staying onsite so you'll have the Disney magic, you'll be able to send purchases back to the hotel so you don't have to carry them around in the park, and the rooms are generally bigger than the GCH rooms. You could get a standard room with two beds and those rooms always have day beds built in.
Or you could stay at the
Disneyland Hotel, which will be cheaper than the GCH by a big chunk - and remember, December is peak season for all the hotels so the GCH will be at its most expensive - but it will be a bit more money than the PPH. Usually, the DLH and the PPH are not
too far apart in price. Sometimes it's just a difference of $50 per night or something. With the DLH, even though it's not as close as the GCH either, at least it doesn't involve crossing the street. So basically, once you get off of the DLH property, it's one straight jaunt down the Downtown Disney path to the gates.
And the best part is that if you are able to change the reservation and switch hotels with no charge, you will still be able to enjoy the holiday atmosphere of the GCH even if you are not staying there. You can still go into the GCH lobby at night and enjoy the carolers performing by the tree, the guitarist sitting by the fireplace, the pianist, Santa, etc.
Make absolutely sure - in addition to asking the pointed questions about the dining that PHXscuba mentioned - that you don't have any kind of package. You don't have to go through a non-Disney company for it to be a package. Disney books packages too, through their regular reservation phone number (though they may technically handle the packages through the Walt Disney Travel Co.) - and sometimes the packages come with Hoppers and sometimes they come without Hoppers, so they may not seem like packages. Even if it does not seem like a package, it still may be. If it is a package of any kind - whether it appears to be or not - then there will likely be a charge to make any changes to the reservation. They are very strict about charging for changes or cancellations to packages.
When you call to verify where your father has you booked, if you find out that you can go ahead and switch hotels, tell them specifically that you want a "Room Only" reservation, or ask to be connected to Central/Room-Only Reservations. That's what you want. You don't want the Walt Disney Travel Company people. Anything beyond that can be tackled piece by piece (tickets, dining, etc.).
There are ways to cut costs down tremendously. If you didn't have the dining vouchers, even though it will be inconvenient to have to leave Disney property, you could always eat offsite. There are plenty of restaurants in that area, right across the street. Or, you could limit the number of table service restaurants you eat at while at Disneyland Resort and do mostly counter service.
And, as a last resort, even though it won't be a Disney hotel, you could still try to stay offsite at one of the Good Neighbor hotels that many of our DIS-ers stay in. That would shave off a tremendous amount of money from what your dad is paying. I think there are a couple of Good Neighbors that are more or less right across the street, like the Desert Inn & Suites, as well as maybe the Best Western. (I can't recall exactly which Good Neighbors are across the street.) It is something to consider since your trip will be a full week/7 days.
This trip may be once in a lifetime for you, so I hope you get to stay in one of the Disney hotels because it will be that much more special, but if your dad is really, really struggling with money, staying off-property could reduce what he is spending substantially. And you'd still have a wonderful time in the parks for 7 days!!
Bless your dad's heart for trying to give you and your family such a wonderful, special holiday trip to Disneyland. I think that is so amazing! I think HE is so amazing!
Most of the people who used to follow along with me forgot all about me, with the exception of a couple of them!!
But I definately want to get a mini tree for in the hotel to have the festive look in our "home away from home" this year for the holidays. So, I will definately have to look at the Disney site for the stockings and other things on clearence as well as maybe ebay. Then make sure I get some great deals and have a blast. I can't wait. I am just hoping that my tummy doesn't give me fits while I am there and I can enjoy myself. It would be the pitts if I went into a flare up and was sick the whole time, so I am trying my hardest to do everything I am supposed to do to make sure that I will be good to go in December...because like you said it is going to be here before we even know it...which is very scary since I haven't even bought the train tickets yet AAAHHH
I'm working my way backwards through the thread, I think I'm only up to page 60 though! But if I end up going in December, I'll definitely get through the whole thread. 
I can't seem to decide if I want to go in early December (my birthday is in December so that's a plus 
) or early next year. I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time deciding, lol!
