Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier

[Danielle K]

I have booked a package at Paradise Pier and have been thinking about changing it to Disneyland Hotel. It will be $150 more and I am not sure if it will be worth it since they are going to be having construction at the hotel. I will be traveling with my 5 yr old for her 6th birthday,my husband and myself(my 30th birthday) . It will be the first time for us staying at the resorts hotel. PLEASE HELP!!!

Thank you!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I haven't stayed at either, but DLH is closer and more Disney themed. The Neverland pool is really neat as well. I personally would pick DLH over PPH.

 

[bumbershoot]

The pool looks neat, but unless the kids are good swimmers and otherwise qualify to go down the BIG slide (and I cannot remember what the qualifications are), it's just a big body of water with things to look at but not touch. My 5 year old was pretty annoyed that the pirate ship is for looking only, no playing. To go down the big slide you can't wear a life vest (at minimum) and he wasn't OK doing that, so we didn't even see what other qualifications there were, so that's a BIG chunk of theming we didn't see or experience. Ultimately it was a big, funky-shaped body of water with a tiny little slide for the Little ones. Cool to look at, nothing special for us to be in.

I found out LATER that there is a smaller pool with a beachy type area, and gosh I wish I'd really realized wwhat it was AND that it was open while we were there!

Even though we were in the closest tower to DTD, we actually felt that the walk from DLH through DTD to the esplanade was *longer* than the walk out the front of PPH, through GCH, and to the last half of DTD to the esplanade.

We got one of the smaller, no day bed, rooms at DLH; our PPH rooms have been bigger. Toiletries are the same from one to the other, just different "branding" on the bottles.

I liked our DLH stay, but since there are 3 towers and we weren't in the one with the lobby, it felt a bit "removed". I like walking through lobbies, and we were only there the day of checkin and checkout. I like being in the lobby at PPH for osme reason, even though it's nothing fancy.

Eh, to me they are fairly equal.

 

[Sherry E]

Given what Bumbershoot has explained about the pool situation at the DLH, if you do stick with your PPH plan, OP, you can still enjoy the DLH without being a guest there. As Bumbershoot explained, the toiletries (fun Mickey 'ears' bath products) are at both of those hotels, just with the different hotel names on them. You can still enjoy the grounds of the DLH and the mini-remote controlled Jungle Cruise boats, stroll around and see the waterfalls and koi pond, statues and topiaries, eat at Steakhouse 55 or Goofy's Kitchen, etc.

I like both the DLH and the PPH - though it has been woefully long since I have stayed at the DLH (but I used to stay there all the time pre-PPH and pre-GCH). DLH is the 'most Disney' of the 3 hotels, but I think the PPH gets a bad rap because: 1) PPH is across the street from the main hub of activity, and though the walk is reasonable while cutting through the GCH lobby, PPH seems like it is on its own little island; if it were on the same side of the street as GCH, I think it would no longer be the red-headed stepchild of the DLR hotel trio; and 2) PPH does not have any 'grounds' to speak of, and is basically just the hotel building and the parking structure and that's about it (hence, the cheaper price). But the sun/beach/surf/nautical theming is cute and the hotel seems bright and shiny, and the rooms are basically fine. I hae only had one iffy kind of stay at PPH, but the rest of my stays there have been good and I would definitely go back.

Either way, at DLH or PPH, you will have a great time!

 

[ballarinamom]

Does anyone know the construction schedule of the DLH? I have heard the extremes. "They are tearing the towers down", "Only new beds",...... We will be ther over Thanksgiving and would love to stay in the Dream Tower again

 

[Amy&Dan]

They are both very nice and I have enjoyed both of them (PPH three times, DLH around 8 times now). I prefer the DLH, I enjoy the Disney theming and I love the grounds. It also has way more dining options. The requirements for the DLH slide are that the child can swim. They need to be able to swim from where the slide dumps them over to the side of the pool, pretty standard for a hotel pool slide. PPH's slide empties into a trough as opposed to a pool so its good for non swimmers. However, its a very long slide so very young kids would likely to be too frightened to go down the slide at PPH. At least at the DLH, there is a small slide for non swimmers. I also love oversized hot tub at the DLH, and the fact that the pool bar has waiters that circulate and food that is always available from Crocs bits n Bites (PPH's pool bar has no waitstaff and I have never been able to find food to eat there as the place is always been closed for us).

For sure you cannot touch or climb on the pirate ship, my kids are used to that since most of the WDW resort pools have something in them that is for display/theming purposes only. We really enjoy the pool there and the quiet Cove Pool is also very nice. Its in the rear of the resort, right near the athletic club and the laundry room. It usually has a lifeguard during the day but not always. And the hours are shorter, I want to say its only open until 7:00 p.m. vs. the Neverland's 10:00 p.m. closing. But it has some nice tables and chairs as well as lounge chairs and in my book the best kept secret at the DLH, I think most people are like Bumbershoot, and have no idea its even there!

I don't find the walks that much different, although even with the GCH shortcut, I think PPH would be a bit further. But neither is a huge distance factor and the walks up and down DTD are very pleasant.

I had no idea the DLH was actually going under construction, I hope its not a torn up mess for our October stay!

Edited to add: Here is a link that shows what they are doing. The new rooms will be gorgeous!
http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/blog.php?b=449

 

[Amy&Dan]

Does anyone know the construction schedule of the DLH? I have heard the extremes. "They are tearing the towers down", "Only new beds",...... We will be ther over Thanksgiving and would love to stay in the Dream Tower again

From that link I gave it looks like it will start this August and be done in 2012. It looks pretty extensive but the towers won't be torn down. And I believe I read in another thing they will start with the Dreams Tower but not the whole tower at once.

 

[Delilah Bleu]

I have stayed at both the DLR and PP. We prefer Paradise Pier because the rooms seem more spacious and my daughter loves the water slide at Paradise Pier. The theming is more beach like but with Disney touches. My vote would be for Paradise Pier.

 

[Disneyland1084]

The rooms at PP are bigger than the DL. I'm going in Sept. and booked the PP. I stayed at the DL hotel last year, and it was ok. You can still enjoy the shops at DL hotel.


Can't wait for my trip. I SOOOO want to stay at Grand Cal, but not this time.

 

[Danielle K]

Thank you everyone for your response! We are so excited for our trip in late Sept. Does anyone know if they will be replacing the resturant that closed in Paradise Pier hotel soon? Also, is there a place to get food at by the pool?

 

[disneynerd420]

I'm staying at DLH in the end of sept, but I think I will eventually want to check out PPH

 

[annacali]

We were at DLH last week (stayed in Magic) and the only construction I saw was on the roof of the building housing Goofy's Kitchen. I didn't venture into the other towers but there was nothing else visible from the outside.

 

[DizMe]

DLH, hands down. The reason is the resort grounds and the feel. I just love DLH, with the giant Sorcerer's hat that lights up, the beautiful pools and landscaping, great restaurants/food/beverage places, characters onsite, gift shops, etc. The rooms are quite large. I haven't stayed at PPH since it was the Pan Pacific, but while I think it's a very nice option, I would miss the nostalgia of the original hotel and the beautiful grounds. I don't remember the rooms at PPH being any larger, but like I said, it has been a long time. Also, there are different sized rooms at DLH and we've always gotten the larger ones so I'm going by that.

 

[disney_dreaming_mom]

We really enjoyed our stay at Paradise Pier this weekend. The rooms were spacious and comfortable. The bed was comfortable and pillows were not too firm or too soft (just right!). The restaurant at PP was pretty good and the pool (which is on the 3rd floor) is a good size with a fun slide, spa, and a kiddie pool, which we loved having a toddler. There was just enough Disney theming without going overboard (subtle and classy). This resort was perfect for our family and we will definitely return. I have stayed at both the DLH and PP. Both are very nice. We liked the spacious rooms at PP and will be staying there on our next trip.

 

[Buttercup26]

I love the PPH, we stayed there in May and fell in love with it. The rooms are large, bright and airy. The walk is easy, cut thru the GCH.

The pool area is nice, not themed like DLH, but there is a regular pool, a toddler pool, the big slide and a hot tub. You can also see the fireworks from the pool deck, just walk down the end. You even see some of the fireworks from the pool, but the view from end of building is much much better.

The rooms on the 3rd floor, facing the pool have a nice patio area with table and chairs.

Whichever you choose, have a magical trip!