Disneyland Hotel vs. Grand Californian

[TikiTikiFan]

I am sure this has been discussed again and again here. But hey, can we discuss again because social distancing is making my day pretty dull?

We were planning on coming end of July/first week of August but our airline offered those of us with basic economy tickets the chance to change flights/get a flight credit if we cancel by the 30th. And I'm just not optimistic the parks will be at the normal that makes Disney magic for us by then.

So as a way of making this a less depressing decision, I'm going to splurge for the first time (!!) on an on-site hotel since we'll have more time to save if we go in November or December. I'm usually always too cheap to pay the price but I think this might help give me something to look forward to and take the sting out of postponing our trip.

Grand Californian has been on my bucket list for a long time but woosh, that's a steep price. The biggest appeal of it for me is the proximity to the parks and just the overall beauty of the hotel. I love the way it's decorated for the holidays so that's a big plus. We often visit the lobby on our visits and eaten at the restaurants inside so I'm more familiar with it.

As for the Disneyland Hotel, I'ver never set foot in it. I've been trying to gauge walking distance and seems just so far when I think about how far that walk is through Downtown Disney. Does that feel significant when going back and forth? Does it feel like it has the Disney charm? What about holidays decorations?

Are the pools heated? Enough to enjoy them in November or December? Anything else I should know? How large is the deposit they put on your credit card when you check in?

Any and all opinions welcome. Help enable me to splurge.

 

[midnight star]

I have not stayed at either one, but from what I have heard from others:
1. GCH is very very close. And there's that special entrance into DCA.
2. The lobby at GCH is beautiful during Christmas.
3. Fun dining options: Napa Rose, Craftsman Bar, Storytellers, Hearthstone Lounge

1. DLH is known for the pools and slides. And are popular. Though, not sure if they are popular in Winter lol
2. Rooms are more disney themed.
3. Close to the Monorail (if that is important to you)

 

[Sparky McGrew]

We're big fans of the Grand Californian. A few reasons why:

- The hotel's private entrance into DCA is very helpful.
- It's only a short walk to the DL entrance.
- When you need to take a break, it's quick and easy to walk to the hotel and then come back to the parks.
- The food at the hotel is excellent.
- Downtown Disney is right there.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I think the first question to ask is if you'll be doing activities at the hotels. You are only supposed to have access to the pool at the hotel you stay at so you may want to look at which one is most interesting if you plan to use them during your trip. The California Adventure entrance of the Grand Californian makes it significantly faster to get in/out which makes a huge difference if you're the type of person to return to the hotel mid-day. It's probably an additional 10ish minutes each way if you stay at the Disneyland Hotel. As far as Christmas decorations go, there's usually a few small trees and stuff at the Disneyland Hotel but you aren't walking through a large lobby like the Grand Californian so there's no towering Christmas tree and gingerbread display.

The Grand Californian is better for proximity and more "traditional" luxury while the Disneyland Hotel has lower prices and more "Disney" theming.

 

[cruisehopeful]

They are both beautiful during the holidays. I prefer Grand, but I think if I were you, I'd go with DLH. You have children traveling with you, right? DLH has the chance that you'll see characters in the lobby, Goofy's Kitchen, Steakhouse 55 if you want a really nice dinner or breakfast and the rooms are brighter/lighter.

To me, pools are way too cold at that time of year, but if you are coming from a cold place, you may feel differently.

I like Grand because of the easy access to/from my room. If I get soaked on Grizzly Rapids, it's easy to get to my room to change. I like to eat at Craftsman (formerly White Water Snacks) and I often have a nice view from my room. It's also been one of the loudest hotels I've ever stayed in anywhere. If I needed to spend a lot of time in my room, I would not want to stay there due to it being so loud.

To me, the walk to DLH is far, especially after a long day and when downtown Disney is packed it takes a long time to get through. The monorail is there, which can be an option, but often, the line to board it in Disneyland is really long and it can be quicker to just walk. DLH usually has a more festive feel for the holidays and feels/looks more Disney than the Grand.

I can't remember what the credit card hold charge is when checking in. I know they take one night's stay as the deposit when booking the reservation. When you do book, keep checking rates. Since we have no idea what the future will be for travel, they may end up with some good deals closer to check in.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I've stayed at PPH and they put a $200 hold on my CC for sundries at check in. Not sure if GCH is different.

I'm staying at the Grand for the first time in August (fingers crossed!) And another 11/26-12/3. I had to call and reserve since I was using a military discount. They place 1 day hotel on your credit card at the time of booking. Since then I've been calling and paying on both reservations when I have spare cash. It only takes a few minutes and it will make it much less painful when we get there. If you book online you should be able to pay on your balance on the website instead of calling.

Have fun planning- I'm sure it will all work out perfectly!

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

We have stayed at the Grand Californian once and loved it. While the physical placement of the hotel is super close be aware that depending on where your room is it can actually be quite a walk to get anywhere. Having said that one of my favorite memories is going on Grizzly river rapids and thinking well lets just hop back to the room and change into dry clothes. Well we did this and as we were walking back heading to the pier area we thought why not ride grizzly again, so we did got soaked again and went back to change again since it was so close. Going back into the park my wife and daughter yet again wanted to ride grizzly (it is one of their favorites) so they did. I tapped out but they had a blast and you guessed it went back and changed yet again. there were ALOT of drying clothes in the bathroom that evening lol.

The pool area is very nice but I am not sure if its heated or not. Napa Rose is fantastic. We had gotten a fantastic deal when we went and while we loved it I am not sure we would ever stay there again as it is usually just to expensive to justify.

We have also stayed at PPH and really enjoyed that as well, it is further to walk but for a bang for the buck measurement I liked PPH if you are really wanting to stay on property. We have not stayed at the Disneyland Hotel yet but would like to one day.

You will enjoy no matter what choice you make of that I am sure.

 

[MillauFr]

While the grounds at the Disneyland Hotel are nice I can't get past the exterior building has as much character as a suburban office building. They only Disney Hotel that has a worse look is the Contemporary in Florida.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I'd pick the Grand if I were in your shoes. We've stayed at DLH once, and while we still loved it, we missed the GCH everytime we walked by. There's something just luxurious about GCH -- the beautiful lobby, the balconies, the newly renovated bathrooms (I LOVE THEIR SHOWERS!). Either way you can't really go wrong, but for a splurge I'd say go big!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Xmas time at GCH! Beyond magical making it the ideal one time splurge imho.

 

[StarWarsNerd24]

While the grounds at the Disneyland Hotel are nice I can't get past the exterior building has as much character as a suburban office building. They only Disney Hotel that has a worse look is the Contemporary in Florida.

I would politely disagree with you on that. The towers of the hotel prior to the renovations in 2011 were maybe a tad more utilitarian in nature but I think the Disneyland Hotel looks quite nice now. As for the Contemporary Hotel in WDW that hotels architecture to me is amazing. The design of that hotel was very forward thinking IMO and I think it still works very well. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[DLgal]

Grand all the way. And honestly, there will likely be pretty deep discounts this fall.

 

[MillauFr]

Different strokes for different folks.

Yep. I am not a fan of the le corbusier brutalist architecture. I know he is revered in the community but I prefer the William Morris Arts and Craft style. I loved the Greene and Greene Gamble House in Pasadena. Probably why I love the Grand so much.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

Wow, it made me smile to log online this morning and see so many great responses. I love this board! Keep ‘em coming!

Both the pools look great! I wouldn’t swim in the winter but my son is Wisconsin born and doesn’t feel the cold one bit so he’d definitely take advantage. He’s the type of kid that wears shorts in a snow storm. I imagine the hot tubs are decent size at both?

 

[tenneycjt]

Ive stayed at both several times but for me its the grand, cuz location location location. It really makes a difference, Plus the customer service is awesome. The dlh is also good but half the time the monorail isnt running for one reason or another making it a longer trek for breaks. At the grand u can go to your room and just pop right into the parks.

 

[DLgal]

Wow, it made me smile to log online this morning and see so many great responses. I love this board! Keep ‘em coming!

Both the pools look great! I wouldn’t swim in the winter but my son is Wisconsin born and doesn’t feel the cold one bit so he’d definitely take advantage. He’s the type of kid that wears shorts in a snow storm. I imagine the hot tubs are decent size at both?

There are 2 hot tubs at the Grand, with one being very large. Just one at DLH and it's the size of the smaller one at the Grand.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

There are 2 hot tubs at the Grand, with one being very large. Just one at DLH and it's the size of the smaller one at the Grand.

There are two hot tubs at DLH, as well. One is up by the water slides and the other is down by the “big” pool.

As for the Disneyland Hotel, I'ver never set foot in it. I've been trying to gauge walking distance and seems just so far when I think about how far that walk is through Downtown Disney. Does that feel significant when going back and forth? Does it feel like it has the Disney charm? What about holidays decorations?

Are the pools heated? Enough to enjoy them in November or December? Anything else I should know? How large is the deposit they put on your credit card when you check in?

Any and all opinions welcome. Help enable me to splurge.

I’ve stayed at both many times, more times at DLH. DLH is our absolute favorite hotel. I love mid-century modern decor, so the DLH is right up my alley. I love the tea cup chairs in the lobby and the roaming characters. If you’re going during the holidays, they have the best Santa set-up. And it’s pretty hidden so every time we have encountered Santa, there has been little-to-no wait to see him. All of the towers have their own themed Christmas displays. Also, the above poster may be incorrect about the gingerbread display. In the past DLH has had its own gingerbread creation in the lobby, as well. We didn’t get to make our traditional Christmas trip this past year, hopefully they didn’t do away with that tradition while we were away!

My daughter loves the DLH pool way more the GC pool. And I know some people love the service at GC, but we’ve found it to be either really great or truly terrible during our stays. Our last stay was on the terrible side, and we decided it just wasn’t worth it to plunk the money down on a room there. So now we spend the extra money on the concierge rooms at DLH and we find the service there to be above and beyond.

As far as the walk goes, it doesn’t bother us. Walking through Downtown Disney is part of the magic and is probably why we don’t feel our aching feet until we are in the elevator on our way up to our room.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Also, the above poster may be incorrect about the gingerbread display. In the past DLH has had its own gingerbread creation in the lobby, as well.

I was probably wrong about the gingerbread display then. I think I may not have been in the main lobby of the DLH during Christmastime as an adult since my most recent stay was in April and I stayed at a Marriott during my last Christmas Disneyland trip. I'm also more likely to visit the Grand Californian when I'm not a hotel guest due to 5PM pin trading so the gingerbread display in the lobby there is far more memorable to me.

In the Grand Californian, hotel guests are more likely to pass by the lobby and see the display whereas the tower arrangement of the Disneyland hotel means that most guests don't really spend much time in the lobby other than check in/out.

 

[Disneylandmuggle]

I am sure this has been discussed again and again here. But hey, can we discuss again because social distancing is making my day pretty dull?

We were planning on coming end of July/first week of August but our airline offered those of us with basic economy tickets the chance to change flights/get a flight credit if we cancel by the 30th. And I'm just not optimistic the parks will be at the normal that makes Disney magic for us by then.

So as a way of making this a less depressing decision, I'm going to splurge for the first time (!!) on an on-site hotel since we'll have more time to save if we go in November or December. I'm usually always too cheap to pay the price but I think this might help give me something to look forward to and take the sting out of postponing our trip.

Grand Californian has been on my bucket list for a long time but woosh, that's a steep price. The biggest appeal of it for me is the proximity to the parks and just the overall beauty of the hotel. I love the way it's decorated for the holidays so that's a big plus. We often visit the lobby on our visits and eaten at the restaurants inside so I'm more familiar with it.

As for the Disneyland Hotel, I'ver never set foot in it. I've been trying to gauge walking distance and seems just so far when I think about how far that walk is through Downtown Disney. Does that feel significant when going back and forth? Does it feel like it has the Disney charm? What about holidays decorations?

Are the pools heated? Enough to enjoy them in November or December? Anything else I should know? How large is the deposit they put on your credit card when you check in?

Any and all opinions welcome. Help enable me to splurge.

I’m sorry but I don’t think the parks will be open by then.

 

[TikiTikiFan]

I’m sorry but I don’t think the parks will be open by then.

November/December?

Regardless of when the parks will open doesn’t really change my inquiry- we’ll just keep pushing our trip until we can go. They will open eventually and when they do we’ll be coming! And staying on-site is my way of taking the sting out of the disappointment of waiting.

So keep those on-site hotel opinions coming!