DLH Room requests??? Where should I try to stay?

[MAMACARLA]

I have standard room reservations for DLH. The reservaton agent asked me if I had any special room requests but I didn't know enough to have any. I will be using a ECV while traveling the park (A few weeks after ankle surgery) and they said I could get an accessible room but it sounded like that was just a large shower - we prefer to have a bathtub.

I figure I can call back with specific requets and hope they are available.

What are the best standard rooms to ask for???

I've read sometimes you can get free room upgrades upon arrival. We are taking my little boys (4and 6) for their first trip. We are going because I broke my ankle on Memorial Day weekend and am spending the entire summer off my feet. One surgery when it happened and one more in early Sept. We are celebrating me starting to walk again and everything we are missing out over the summer. Point is we want to make the trip very special but staying in a reasonable budget (which is why we didn't book an upgraded room to begin with.)

We arrive on a Thursday morning and stay through Tuesday.

Any pointers on trying to get free upgrades??

Thanks so much : )
Carla

 

[Jenna319]

Request one of the newly renovated rooms in the Dreams Tower. The rooms are supposed to be gorgeous and the Dreams Tower is closest to Downtown Disney and least amount of walking.

 

[cutedisneygirly]

I would first request a room in the Dreams Tower. Howerver, if you cannot get a room there, the Magic Tower, which is where the lobby is located, is a nice alternative. Yes you will be looking at the parking lot, but you get a nice view of Disneyland and the fireworks to you right.
To help with an upgrade, mention that it's your boys' first trip and that you would like a really nice room and view to celebrate their first trip. Make sure to mention their first trip both while making your reservation and when you check in. It worked for my best friend at PPH for her husband's birthday.

 

[CableKC]

Request one of the newly renovated rooms in the Dreams Tower. The rooms are supposed to be gorgeous and the Dreams Tower is closest to Downtown Disney and least amount of walking.

We're going soon and will be staying at DLH.

I was planning on asking to stay at the main Tower where Registration is....are the rooms that much better and noticeable different to request a room at the Dream Towers?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We're going soon and will be staying at DLH.

I was planning on asking to stay at the main Tower where Registration is....are the rooms that much better and noticeable different to request a room at the Dream Towers?

The Dreams Tower has the newly renovated rooms (the whole tower has been renovated), plus it faces DTD or the Neverland pool and is the shortest walk to the park.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I have stayed at Disneyland Hotel many times, and have found that every time we have gotten what we paid for--meaning that if we paid for a standard room, then that is what we got. If we paid extra for the view room, then that is what we get as well. This is especially true in high season months like July, where the resort is fully booked.

That being said, there are standard rooms in every tower, so if you have a special request for a specific tower, then they do their best to honor it if they can. But keep in mind that even that doesn't always work out! I have had trips where I have paid for a view room and called twice to ask for a certain tower, and we were put into another tower. Sometimes they just can't do it, I guess.

The last time that happened, the CM told me that although the rooms are arranged days in advanced of your visit--if you get to the hotel early, that is your best chance of getting what you want. This doesn't mean that room will be ready early, but your name will be in their system earlier.

I would focus more on getting the room most accessable to your ECV, making your stay easier for you access. You could try calling the hotel and asking them what they think would be the best room for you in your specific situation.

Hope that helps! We will be there soon as well.
Lisa

 

[MAMACARLA]

Thanks for the replys so far!! I made the mistake of going to trip advisor and checking out the reviews for DLH. Please tell me that the rooms and hotel are not as bad as they say!!!! Just tell me they are a bunch of grumps!!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

We love the DLH ~ it's my fave of the 3 on site hotels. We've stayed there 3 different times *most recently earlier this month* I always request *but do not demand or expect* the Dreams tower and so far that's what we've gotten. We really enjoyed the "new" *remodeled* room we had for DD's B-day trip over the 4th of July weekend.

 

[splash5]

The last time we were there, we stayed in the main tower (where the registration is) and I felt like that room was more run down than either of the other two towers. I would choose another tower IMHO.

 

[jodeja]

Thanks for the replys so far!! I made the mistake of going to trip advisor and checking out the reviews for DLH. Please tell me that the rooms and hotel are not as bad as they say!!!! Just tell me they are a bunch of grumps!!

I think they are a bunch of grumps!

I was also surprised and disappointed by the trip advisor reviews of the Disneyland Hotel. We just stayed there for 5 nights last month and our visit was magical.
I showed my boys pictures of the renovated rooms and asked them if they liked them better (we've stayed there once before the renovation started so they know what the 'old' rooms look like). They both preferred the look of the old rooms. So, I didn't make any requests at all for room type. We got there about 10am. We were assigned a room on the 5th floor of the Magic Tower. Our room was very spacious and clean and lovely. Light and bright. The carpet was a bit worn in the high traffic areas, but I didn't really notice it until I looked at the carpet under the vanity, and it certainly did not impact our stay. We loved being able to open up the sliding glass door and let fresh air in. We did have a view of a parking lot, but there were several trees so it wasn't too stark and we had a GREAT view of the fireworks the one night we were in our room early. I would leave the tip for housekeeping on the empty toiletry tray in the bathroom and the housekeeper left me double the amount of cute Mickey topped toiletries! The bathroom set up was great: a separate little room with the toilet, then a separate room with the sink and tub/shower, and a separate vanity area with another mirror and the hair dryer and room to set up the coffee pot.
I love the Disneyland Hotel!

 

[MAMACARLA]

Thanks - I am feeling much better : ) I appreciate the positive reviews and the good advice - I called the DLH and spoke to a lovely woman who took my request for the new Dreams Tower. I think we will be OK - haha.

 

[Emmamouse]

The disneyland hotel is my all time favorite hotel, and I have stayed at some pretty great hotels in my life! I have read the tripadvisor reviews as well, and many of them are just grumpy. If you love all that is disneyland, you will love this hotel! I have also stayed at the Grand Californian twice, but I remain a diehard disneyland hotel loyalist.

 

[heatherleigh]

What time of year are you going? I didn't see that- not sure if I missed it, or you didn't post.

 

[DizMe]

I ♥ DLH!!! I have stayed in the Magic (main lobby) tower many times, and I never found it to be shabby. In fact, I used to always request it. Dreams is nice because you get a view room from almost any part of it, and even though they have standard rooms there, they still have a view (albeit somewhat obstructed) from almost every room. It's nice to step out of the tower and practically be in DTD. But it's also nice to be in the main tower, as it is convenient to so many things within the hotel itself. I also love the old rooms, and though the renovated rooms are beautiful and sleek, I have a soft spot for the fairytale-like older rooms. I've never had a great experience in Wonder...and I've not had a bad experience, just a lesser one...so that is my least favorite. The standard rooms there are likely to look out on a very uninspired view of the employee parking lot. Standard rooms in the Magic tower also may look out on a parking lot, but there's some landscaping as well and often a view of the fireworks. You also feel like you're part of the hotel whereas with Wonder, I felt like I was in the mother-in-law unit or something .

As far as making requests ahead of time, though, I've never seen that do me any good whatsoever. I don't think that information ever gets to the DLH desk and the best thing in my experience is to get there early and make your request directly with the front desk. That's not possible for us many times because we often fly down at night and we don't get in until 10 PM or so. No biggie; if it's important to us, we pay for the view we want. If that is not something in the budget or very high on our priority list that trip, then we just go standard and keep our fingers crossed that we get a good tower. Even if we get our very least favorite--Wonder with parking lot view--we still have a fabulous time.

 

[MAMACARLA]

We are going Sept 23 - Sept 28

We will be to the hotel by about 10:30 am so that should help in getting a Dreams room - but we will be happy with whatever we get (as long as it is clean and not smelly)

Thanks for the great advice! and perspective : )