DLH or GCA: opinions please

[AZBeth]

Hi,

I am really struggling between these 2 hotels... I am really worried about DLH after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and honestly the reviews on TA for GCA are not much better... Can I get some reviews and opinions and pro/cons for each.

Also are the pools heated?

Thanks so much,

Beth

 

[4Vals]

when we stayed at the DLH and we really enjoyed it. the pools were awesome and yes heated. the staff was very friendly and we even had Goofy run up and hold the elevator door open for my 7 year old DD. that was a great surprise.

the Monorail being so close was a big plus. when you find yourself in the park and tired, going to TL and getting on the Monorail to DTD and walking the 3 minutes to DLH was nice.

the GCH is incredible and ther staff was very nice. we have to DD'S 7 and 4 and they loved it. we had the resort park view so whenever we were in the room the girls could look out over the pool or DCA. the rooms are not as big as DLH and they do not have the Disney Theme but it is awesome.
we put our girls swim suits on under their cloths and walked into DCA through the "private entrance" and went to the bugs life area where the water sprays up and all around. we let them run around in there and then went back through the "private entrance" and right into the pool. the pool here is great also and has a slide as well.

both of my daughters are really into the pin trading and a lot of the CM's at both hotels had the lanyards to trade with. the DLH is outdated and at night we could hear other guests and the A/C. at the GCH i cant remember hearing anyone or anything at night.

 

[Sherry E]

Hi,

I am really struggling between these 2 hotels... I am really worried about DLH after reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and honestly the reviews on TA for DGC are not much better... Can I get some reviews and opinions and pro/cons for each.

Also are the pools heated?

Thanks so much,

Beth

I wouldn't worry too much about Trip Advisor. If the GCH or the DLH were really horrible, you would hear more about it on these boards on a regular basis. Chances are that many folks on TA have only visited the DLR hotels once or twice, whereas there are many seasoned DLR hotel guests on this board who have much more experience. Also, the people who reported on TA probably had certain 'expectations' in their mind based on the price they paid, and so felt disappointed and posted a negative review. Quite frankly, many people don't feel that staying onsite is worth the money involved and resent it, so anything less than Four Seasons-quality rooms will be a let-down to them!

You kind of have to just have to decide for yourself if the DLR hotels are going to be part of the magic for your trip and if they will be worth the money for you.

The pros of GCH: Close proximity to the parks; elegantly rustic decor; huge, spacious lounge/lobby with hearth area; H20 Spa bath products in the bathrooms; great view of fireworks from some DTD-view rooms; Storytellers Cafe

The cons of GCH: Expensive; some of the GCH rooms are far away from the elevators; rooms feel a little small for the price you pay

The pros of DLH: Beautiful, lush grounds, waterfalls, koi pond, mini-Jungle Cruise boats, Goofy's Kitchen, memorabilia display wall, character topiaries, character statues or statuettes, very 'Disney' in feel; Mickey 'ears' bath products in the bathrooms; more spacious rooms with daybeds

The cons of DLH: Not inexpensive; a little dated; some areas show a bit of wear and tear; longer walk to the parks' entrances

The pros of both hotels are that you get the perks of staying onsite, which are: Early access to the GCH entrance into DCA, having your purchases in the parks sent back to your hotel (very handy), use of MM/EE on the days it is offered, and your own Key to the Magic - the room key with your name on it that can be used as a charge slip/card wherever you shop or eat in the parks.

 

[Zane21]

Here is my 2 cents...

We have stayed at a DLR Hotel 6 times....4 at the Paradise Pier and 2 at the DLH. We stay in a Family Suite when we go. It's our BIG splurge once a year...the GCH is just too far out of the range for us.

OUr stays at the Pier have been so much better. Nicer staff, cleaner rooms, more updated rooms, that big slide is amazing..(the BOYS LOVE this slide).

I am sure that the DLH is better than most hotels, but for us, we prefer the Pier.

 

[kari12177]

We love the GCH, we've only stayed there 2 times, but we had a DTD view and we loved it. We heard a great violinist and the slider door blocked out all the noise. We love how its close to the park and DCA. If we do go to DL again, we will always stay there.

 

[Whidbey5]

We've stayed in both hotels numerous times and enjoyed them. Grand Californian is my favorite (dh and I will be there in 27 days without the kids!). Don't worry, both are great!

 

[nunzia]

I think it depends on what you're looking for. I guess for little kids the theming at DLH might be better. We took all our grandkids to the GC and they enjoyed it alot, but of course they didn't know the difference. I'm not crazy about high rises, and I love the theming at the Grand and the closeness to the parks. I would always vote for the Grand.

 

[TravelinGal]

I'm of the mindset to get the best hotel one can afford. To us the hotel DOES matter.

I loved my last stay at the GC and based on that our family is staying there at the end of July. I have also stayed at the DLH and it was fine, but I didn't like how far it was from the park entrances.

Tip for GC --- request a room on the Napa Rose side! It will put you closer to the parks.

 

[DizMe]

I love both hotels! Since GCH is often quite a bit more $ than DLH, I prefer to get the nicest room at DLH which is generally about the same price as a standard room at GCH. I like a DTD view from Dreams tower best.

GCH is awesome too, though. I just prefer the rooms at DLH because they're bigger and you usually get a daybed, whereas you very well may not at GCH. I also don't like GCH's bunkbed rooms, but others love them. GCH has the wonderful lobby and environment, piano player, onsite activities for guests, mid-DTD location and CA entrance. DLH has things around it I love (monorail, Compass Bookstore, giant Sorcerer Mickey hat, and RFC), plus more affordable dining. I also like the grounds and layout better. I sometimes think whoever designed the GCH used to work in a lab with mice and mazes

 

[AZBeth]

THanks for everyone's imput... I think we may go with DLH this time.

 

[rappaport]

THanks for everyone's imput... I think we may go with DLH this time.

Isn't it nice that there really is no bad choice? We've stayed at DLH and PPH and enjoyed them both. Our DS11 is getting more "mature" now and less interested in the whole DL immersion, so we're staying at GCH this time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[goofswife]

We stayed at the GCH in June and had the lovely parking lot view with accompanying new construction noise on some early mornings. We had requested a daybed but the room did not have one. The hotel location is awesome, and we will stay there again solely for the location. We were close to everything---DL,CA, and DD. The perk of private entry into CA was not enforced when we stayed. During the entire 5 days, we were never asked for a hotel resort card to prove we were staying on property. In fact, people in front of us in the line on Thursday were calling their friends to tell them that the official entry into CA was too crowded so they were entering through GCH. A veteran AP holder also told us one day that he always used the GCH entry with his children although he never stayed on property. The rooms are very small for a quality hotel.

 

[Sherry E]

We stayed at the GCH in June and had the lovely parking lot view with accompanying new construction noise on some early mornings. We had requested a daybed but the room did not have one. The hotel location is awesome, and we will stay there again solely for the location. We were close to everything---DL,CA, and DD. The perk of private entry into CA was not enforced when we stayed. During the entire 5 days, we were never asked for a hotel resort card to prove we were staying on property. In fact, people in front of us in the line on Thursday were calling their friends to tell them that the official entry into CA was too crowded so they were entering through GCH. A veteran AP holder also told us one day that he always used the GCH entry with his children although he never stayed on property. The rooms are very small for a quality hotel.

The GCH entry into DCA is only exclusive in the mornings when DCA first opens. If you line up at around 9:30 or 9:45 a.m.-ish at that entrance, they let you in (you show your room key) and you wait by the GRR ride and then, if you wish to do this, a CM escorts your line over to the TSMM line before 10:00 a.m., where you have just beaten a mass of people to the line (which you will see a few minutes after you get in the line and after you get off the ride). That is why that entrance works so well in the morning - because you get a head start to TSMM over other people at the main DCA gate before DCA officially opens, even if just by a few minutes. But those few minutes are crucial! Late in the day, DCA is already open so there is no reason to make the GCH entrance exclusive and check room keys, etc. They only do that in the early morning. So anyone can come and go through it during the day. But if you want to get a jump on getting to TSMM and sometimes even being ON the ride before 10:00 a.m., use the GCH entry before 10:00 a.m.

Otherwise, it is just nice to have the GCH entrance to DCA for convenience purposes if you are staying at GCH.

 

[goofswife]

No one in our group was ever required to show a room key at the private GCH entrance even on the two mornings we were in line at 9:30-9:45. I did not see anyone else in line showing room keys either. On a Tuesday morning, we entered and stood in a line near GRR for TSMM. A CM escorted the line to TSMM in an orderly fashion, and I'm sure we were at TSMM by 10:00 if not earlier. That was great! However, on Thursday, the CM security guard kept the entire group behind a rope until exactly 10:00. The group moved, and many ran, to TSMM. We met a throng of people coming from the main DCA gate on the way. Apparently they'd been released before the people who'd come in through the GCH entrance. The veteran AP holder told us that he'd never before been held for TSMM at the GCH entrance as we were that day.
The GCH entrance is sooo convenient. It's easy to come back to your room for a little rest.

 

[Sherry E]

No one in our group was ever required to show a room key at the private GCH entrance even on the two mornings we were in line at 9:30-9:45. I did not see anyone else in line showing room keys either. On a Tuesday morning, we entered and stood in a line near GRR for TSMM. A CM escorted the line to TSMM in an orderly fashion, and I'm sure we were at TSMM by 10:00 if not earlier. That was great! However, on Thursday, the CM security guard kept the entire group behind a rope until exactly 10:00. The group moved, and many ran, to TSMM. We met a throng of people coming from the main DCA gate on the way. Apparently they'd been released before the people who'd come in through the GCH entrance. The veteran AP holder told us that he'd never before been held for TSMM at the GCH entrance as we were that day.
The GCH entrance is sooo convenient. It's easy to come back to your room for a little rest.

It is very convenient!

We had to show our room keys when we did the early entrance into DCA through GCH (strictly for TSMM purposes). I think, just as with all Disney situations, it all depends on which Cast Member you get - and that applies to which ones ask for the room key and which ones allow the line to get to TSMM early. Some of them are more by-the-book and others don't care. But I wouldn't want anyone to let their guard down and think they don't need to show their room key early in the morning and then be asked for it when they get to the DCA/GCH entrance. So I am just saying - be prepared with key in hand if you are using the GCH entry into DCA before 10:00 a.m., just in case!

Sometimes the CMs will even begin walking the line over to TSMM at 9:45 a.m. We got to TSMM a little before 10:00 a.m., and sailed right along, and then we saw the mass of people who had come in the main gate piling into the line behind us, and then the mass of people who were waiting in the line after we got out of the ride. Yikes! I would not have wanted to wait in that line even 5 minutes later than we did, because it would have been much longer and slower, and in the heat of summer - yuck. The TSMM line does move pretty quickly, but if you can get into it before throngs of other people do, why not use the GCH entry, right?

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have stayed at and enjoyed all three of the onsite hotels at Disneyland. The DLH is hands down my favorite, for the oversized rooms, pool area, grounds(the other two have very little in the way of grounds), Disney theming and dining options. To me, the distance is not a factor, our room at GCH due to its location within the hotel wasn't that much closer to Disneyland than our rooms at th DLH have been. For sure the lobby of the GCH will be closer, but your room may not! But the GCH is amazing, in my opinion it, and not the Grand Floridian in WDW, is Disney's flagship resort. I also love that the GCH has balconies. But for my family, the DLH is our sentimental favorite. I also love the fact that at DLH, you are guaranteed a third bed option. Either a daybed or rollaway (rollaways are free by the way). At GCH, you may get a bunkbed room (but taller teens cannot fit into those) or a daybed. If neither of those is available, you get a sleeping bag. For the price I pay, I want my son not on the floor.

My two cents on tripadvisor is that its a helpful site. However you have to take its reviews, especially reviews on Disney owned hotels with a grain of salt. Disney hotels are top dollar (even the value resorts in WDW are pricey compared comparable offsite motels). The prices and the very name "Disney" sets people up for what can be very high expectations. At any Disney owned hotel, you are paying for the location, the theming and the Disney name. Tripadvisor is a site often visited by deal hounds who can't get past the fact that for sometimes hundreds less, they could stay on Harbor in a room as close to the parks. To me, the onsite hotels are worth it and have never let me down in over 10 stays. Also, a bad review is always more likely to be posted than a good one. I like a lot of the amenities that the Disney owned hotels have (interior hallways, room service, themed pools with slides, bell services, and onsite dining choices. I also like being able to take advantage of early entry each day its offered and the package delivery. Even the Mickey wake up calls are worth some money shelled out for me! But if I was just looking for a place to stay and was expecting something in the hotel itself so out of the ordinary, I might be disappointed with what I paid versus what I got.

I'll further add that you generally see a ton of negativity on Tripadvisor on the onsite WDW hotels as well. And I have never had a bad stay at any of those either.

I'll also add that to me, being able to enter the parks through DTD vs. a busy city street is huge. I like not having to leave the magic behind. But if I was just basing my opinion solely on needing a place to lay my head, the pricetag of a DLR onsite hotel might make me write a different sort of review on the Disney hotels!

 

[DizMe]

I have stayed at and enjoyed all three of the onsite hotels at Disneyland. The DLH is hands down my favorite, for the oversized rooms, pool area, grounds(the other two have very little in the way of grounds), Disney theming and dining options. To me, the distance is not a factor, our room at GCH due to its location within the hotel wasn't that much closer to Disneyland than our rooms at th DLH have been. For sure the lobby of the GCH will be closer, but your room may not! But the GCH is amazing, in my opinion it, and not the Grand Floridian in WDW, is Disney's flagship resort. I also love that the GCH has balconies. But for my family, the DLH is our sentimental favorite. I also love the fact that at DLH, you are guaranteed a third bed option. Either a daybed or rollaway (rollaways are free by the way). At GCH, you may get a bunkbed room (but taller teens cannot fit into those) or a daybed. If neither of those is available, you get a sleeping bag. For the price I pay, I want my son not on the floor.

My two cents on tripadvisor is that its a helpful site. However you have to take its reviews, especially reviews on Disney owned hotels with a grain of salt. Disney hotels are top dollar (even the value resorts in WDW are pricey compared comparable offsite motels). The prices and the very name "Disney" sets people up for what can be very high expectations. At any Disney owned hotel, you are paying for the location, the theming and the Disney name. Tripadvisor is a site often visited by deal hounds who can't get past the fact that for sometimes hundreds less, they could stay on Harbor in a room as close to the parks. To me, the onsite hotels are worth it and have never let me down in over 10 stays. Also, a bad review is always more likely to be posted than a good one. I like a lot of the amenities that the Disney owned hotels have (interior hallways, room service, themed pools with slides, bell services, and onsite dining choices. I also like being able to take advantage of early entry each day its offered and the package delivery. Even the Mickey wake up calls are worth some money shelled out for me! But if I was just looking for a place to stay and was expecting something in the hotel itself so out of the ordinary, I might be disappointed with what I paid versus what I got.

I'll further add that you generally see a ton of negativity on Tripadvisor on the onsite WDW hotels as well. And I have never had a bad stay at any of those either.

I'll also add that to me, being able to enter the parks through DTD vs. a busy city street is huge. I like not having to leave the magic behind. But if I was just basing my opinion solely on needing a place to lay my head, the pricetag of a DLR onsite hotel might make me write a different sort of review on the Disney hotels!

Wow!! Exactly how I feel, right down the line!

 

[AZBeth]

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback... just to let you all know we finally decided on GCA. My DH and I could not decide and decided that any of the 3 on-property sites would be fine...so we showed our DDs various photos of each resort and they (mainly 7 year old, 4 year old liked them all, neither of them liked the PP pool area) liked the photos of GCA best... so decision made...

We were also able to get SWA Ding rate last week (thanks to the heads up here), so we now have tickets in hand...

Will be stepping away from the boards until we get closer to our trip but I am sure I will be back to get additional planning tips...

Thanks