Hi. I stayed at the Grand Californian back in 2001 and again this past weekend before Christmas, December 21-23, when it was decorated beautifully for the holidays. The way I always describe the GC to those who have not seen it is that when you walk inside the spacious and cozy lobby with the high, high, HIGH ceilings and dark wood and dim lighting, it reminds me of a an
elegant yet rustic chalet in the mountains somewhere. It is the perfect hotel to stay at during the holidays, as one of our other members said, there are big comfy chairs and a fireplace and when we went, a gorgeous Christmas tree, and you just want to curl up with a beverage and good friends and chat. It is not the sort of hotel that you want to get OUT of. In fact, it is more the sort of hotel you want to stay IN. I keeping with the rustic lodge-ish theme, there is the Storytellers Cafe, which is a character restaurant featuring the moore 'woodsy' Disney characters like Meeko from Pocahontas and Brother Bear and Chip and Dale, etc. It is a great hotel. The rooms usually have balconies. The bathrooms have H20 bath products rather than standard Disney bath goodies. IT is very expensive at the GC, but part of that lends itself to the fact that you CAN walk right into Cal. Advent. and Downtown Disney from there, not to mention the fact that it is the closest hotel to
Disneyland. During the holidays, there are carolers who come every night and sing to the people relaxing by the hearth and in the lobby. If you can scrape up the money for it, I recommend it to everyone. Not that the other hotels aren't fun - they ARE, and I have stayed in all of them - but this one is just special. You'll know when you see it! Have fun!
but I am really looking forward to the option of just coming back to the hotel if the parks get too crowded for me.
