Disneyland Hotel or Grand California in March 2010?

[summer0407]

That is the question? I am new just found this place and already an addict great site!! I have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel before and we really enjoy it. I feel it's not to bad of a walk and overall really nice. I have never stayed at the GC but have always wanted to. I hear good and bad. I can get a standard room at GC or for about $175 less I can get a pool/resort view at Disneyland hotel. Which to choose? I know a lot of it is preference. I have a 5 1/2 year old and a 2 year old. I also am not sure which week to hit we will be driving there from northern cali and are looking at either March 3-6 or March 10-13 we will be driving through the night and plan to leave Sat early AM we will esentially have Wed-Fri at the parks. Just looking for opinions on both the dates and the hotels.
Thanks!! n

 

[Carter'sMommy]

I vote GC just because of the difference in the walk.

I have stayed at both properties and enjoyed both...but the walk to the DLH at the end of a long day can be somewhat of a drag. It does not help that you have to walk past ALL the shops in DTD and with kids ..... temptation sets in.

I know this might not work for you if you are bringing your stroller for the baby.

We stayed at the GC over our October 2009 trip and found some "secret exits" so that we did not have to walk through the hotel. We took the "emergency exit stairs"!!!! NOT the ones that were armed --- PLEASE to not take those!!!!!

We saw on the map on the back of the door that there were some stairs just a few doors down....so we decided to take them and see where they brought us... low and behold.... we popped out just by the walkway to the DTD entrance!!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

I vote GC just because of the difference in the walk.

I have stayed at both properties and enjoyed both...but the walk to the DLH at the end of a long day can be somewhat of a drag. It does not help that you have to walk past ALL the shops in DTD and with kids ..... temptation sets in.

I know this might not work for you if you are bringing your stroller for the baby.

We stayed at the GC over our October 2009 trip and found some "secret exits" so that we did not have to walk through the hotel. We took the "emergency exit stairs"!!!! NOT the ones that were armed --- PLEASE to not take those!!!!!

We saw on the map on the back of the door that there were some stairs just a few doors down....so we decided to take them and see where they brought us... low and behold.... we popped out just by the walkway to the DTD entrance!!!

We also did this with the exits. The ones are not armed made life easier since we could come and go. We were only on the 4th floor.

Jack

 

[summer0407]

Thank you. I have never been to the GC where exactly is the entrance I am just trying to figure out where I come in and out around DTD. I also know about the entrance to the park but I wanted to know where the exit is in regards to Disneyland. Thanks

 

[Heymy]

With 2 little ones, I still vote for the DLH. We stayed at GCH for DD's 1st birthday and yes it was beautiful and convenient, but for us, that was it. My 4 year old cannot get enough Disney and the DLH fills her void She can spend an hour each day just studying the bedspread (though this will change with the renovations). And then there's the Neverland pool...heaven for 2 Peter Pan lovers. So for our family, DLH will always be our first choice. But if you've never done GCH, it's a great experience!

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Comparing both hotels and thinking about the age of your children, I agree with the previous poster who said DLH. The main characters hanging around, Goofy's Kitchen, and the theme of the pool tip me that way. Once our kids hit their pre-teen years we switched to the Grand. They could earn a little bit of 'park' independence and the feel of the hotel was more to our liking as the kids got older. Truly, you can't go wrong at either location!

 

[kerickson]

We've stayed at both DLH and GC (haven't stayed at PP). If World of Color was showing by then I'd say park view at PP so you could watch from your room with the little ones. But, since I don't believe it will be open yet, my vote is GC. You just can't beat the convenience of bring steps away from both DL and DCA with little ones. Those extra DTD blocks do make a big difference IMHO. The GC also has nightly storytelling, my kids loved it. They also loved the GC pools and slides. We can't wait to go back in April, this time staying at the Villas!

Edit: my reference to PP was confusion between yours and another post. GC vs DLH I'd still say GC. We loved DLH for the pools and grounds, but the walk was tough, especially since we rented strollers and therefore couldn't take advantage of the Monorail in the mornings. We also went back to the rooms more for mid-day naps at the GC due to the proximity.
DLH rooms are a little bigger but a little more dated and the walls seemed thinner (or we just had a bad set of neighbors). The newly renovated rooms look nice, but I think they only have limited selection of those in one tower. Regardless, either hotel has many pluses, so which ever you choose I know you'll have a wonderful magical time! You'll just have to plan a return trip to try the other hotel!

 

[I'm_Wishing]

With the ages of your children I would guess that the DLH would be more to their liking. But it might prove that the convenience of the GC would be a great advantage. And I am assuming that this will not be your last trip to Disneyland so you will have other opportunities to stay in all the hotels at some point. We just joined DVC and one of our regrets is that we will not be staying at the DLH anymore. We are sort of nostalgic that the DLH was the original and tried to impart that memory with our children. You will enjoy your trip no matter what. For us, being on site ensures the magic follows you to your room.