Disneyland Hotel questions

[NatalieMT]

I'm considering staying castle club when I go to DLP this Summer, can anyone tell me if it's really worth the extra cost at the Disneyland Hotel? My Dad has said he like to upgrade and doesn't have a problem with the money aslong as it's not being wasted.

I've stayed at the Beach Club in WDW on the special concierge floor before (won a dream so didn't pay for it) and it was absolutely lovely.

Would the stay at the Disneyland Hotel be similar to this, can anyone give more details of the perks?

 

[HolidayLover]

Quick question from me,, what time is the bar open till, do they serve snacks and if so what time do they serve them till?

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

I think the bar is open till 12, thought im not entirely sure.

 

[Danauk]

Castle Club at DLRP is no where near like club level at WDW. There are no food items provided througout the day and in the evening like at WDW, just soft drinks available, plus the lounge has much shorter hours.
The advantage of Castle Club though is it is busy is the unlimited VIP fastpass so you can fastpass rides without having to get fastpasses from the machines. However you can only use these between certain times (2pm-6pm I think.) and you do get one of these passes per day i nthe regular rooms. It does have its own lift down to the park though and the rooms you get are nice. I guess it would be special to stay there once to try it if money is not an object. I think I would probably try it once just to see (Castle Club was sold out when I booked our DLH trip), but as the Disneyland Hotel is so nice, you get breakfast anyway with a regular room I'm not certain if it is worth the extra or not.
I guess I didn't really help!

 

[hildasmuriel]

My understanding is that there is a sort of high tea served in the Castle Club lounge - tea and sandwiches I believe.
If you are going during summer then the Park will be very very busy in the early afternoon. Your VIP fastpasses will allow you to ride Peter Pan, Buzz, Space Mountain, Star Tours, BTM and Indiana Jones in the main park with very little queuing. In the Studios you could go on RnRCoaster, Flying Carpets and Tower of Terror.
You have dedicated check-in and, as has been mentioned, the lift direct to the Park.

These are the main advantages of Castle Club. It has been mentioned here (sorry forget who said) that Castle Club is officially 5-star accommodation, while the rest of the DLH is 4-star.

 

[A Small World]

we looked at the cost of a normal room at DLH and at the cost of castle club and decided that it wasnt worth it. The difference between the 2 was too much and we would have to drink a lot of free drinks and eat a lot of afternoon tea to make it worth while.

 

[nobby]

Benefits are:

- Direct lift access straight to the park entrance
- Vip fast pass - you can you use these two hours after park opening and up to two hours before closing. We worked out that this can avoid a day of queuing over a 3-4 day visit, so from that alone is worthwhile - and you can multiple ride
- Free soft drinks up to I think 10pm, plus afternon cakes and pastries although we have never done that
- Dedicated private breakfast area on the castle club floor with characters every day and a great view over the park.

Cost wise it works out 20-25% more than a regular package at the DH, so you need to do the maths as to whether it works for you.

Regards

 

[NatalieMT]

I'm sure I posted this in FAQs rather than creating a new topic, think I'm cracking up! Thankyou for all the helpful answers though, I now definitely have a better understand of what extras I'd get. Current thinking is we will most likely go for the Castle Club.

We like the idea of the special breakfast room, get up and out early! Plus with the direct park access and the VIP fastpasses given we won't be spending very many nights at Disney we feel like we'd maximise time better. We also like to return to the hotel in the afternoons to just replenish and rest, before going out again in the evenings, so the pastries around that time of the day would be perfect.

I do understand it won't quite be like the concierge level at WDW but still sounds pretty good to me. Trust me I can drink all the free soft drinks in the world and more ha ha!

 

[nobby]

Found this site which may be of interest.

http://www.haighgannon.com/castle_club_info/

As a matter of interest, when are you planning on going?

 

[NatalieMT]

Thankyou Nobby for the link, that's a really useful website actually, lots of good information there.

Current thinking is we will go end of June, for 2 nights sometime in the slot from 28th - 30th June when the price category falls slightly. I can get time off then, as can my Mum, it's before my Dad's peak business period and the little sister (I say little but she's 15 now) will be winding down with school then. Seems like a pretty good time! Will hopefully be confirming a booking early next week.

We haven't all been away together for years and years now and we'd like to make this a special trip, can't think of anything better than this.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Have a lovely time Natalie.

 

[NatalieMT]

Thankyou! I love your signature by the way, that song really made a breakthrough with me, I find it really inspiring.

I've had a really bad start to the year already (in hospital most of January so far due to Crohn's) and so it's nice to have this trip to look forward to. It's a really welcome distraction coming on here and planning too.