First timer to DL and GC questions

[lwilliam]

We are one of the many DISers coming to California to
sail on the Magic and celebrate the 50th anniv. of DL.
I have some questions about the GC, please.
We booked a room with queen & bunks BUT we have a
very tall 13 yr. old and an 18 yr. old, is there a day bed
available in the other rooms with two beds?
Also, is there a laundry available in the hotel - we will be
visiting DL first, for 3 days then the cruise?
Also, (sorry) is there a place in the hotel to run and get
fountain sodas, such as a small food court?
Do you know of any tours that might leave the hotel, such
as a Hollywood tour?
We will not rent a car (and drive LA freeways, although my
DH thinks he wouldn't have a problem, oh yea!!).
Thanks, everyone. I KNOW I'll have more questions.

 

[only1mouse]

So, I don't know that I can answer too many of these, but I will take a stab.

When we stayed at the GC we had 5 people (2 adults and 3 children - two 8 year olds and an 11 year old) We had a room with two queens, and there was no day bed. The kids all slept on the floor using Sleeping Bags that the hotel's provide.

According to this comparison http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dlr/detail/hotelOnsiteCompare?id=DLRHotelsComparisonPage2004 they do have laundry available.

There is a great little snack shop/rest. located back by the entrance to DCA called Whitewater. They are very resonably priced and offer hot food as well as packaged food.

Not sure about the tours, I always rent a car.

Which cruise will you be on? My family, DH, DS, DD and I will be on the Aug 13th cruise

 

[Elk34]

We stayed at GC in bunk bed room in August. I guess it depends on how tall, very tall is. When I was 13 I was 6'3 and I would not have wanted to try to fit in the bunk beds. I'm 6'9" now and I can't fit in any beds but that's another story.

My 5' tall, 9 year old daughter fit in the bunks ok but I don't think I would do the bunks next year. They just aren't real long. I think you would be better off with 2 queens.

Be sure to get the refillable mugs in Whitewater. I'm sure the teanagers can go through a lot of soft drinks. And, you can use them for coffe in the morning and they are a good souveneir.

As far as traffic goes, we never really had any problems.

 

[ahutton]

You might try a couple of the tour companies to see where they pick up. I know when we went (long time ago) that we did a tour that picked us up at the Disneyland Hotel. We did a Hollywood Tour (some stars homes, Chinese Theater), had lunch at Farmers Market and then went to Universal Studios. At Universal the thing we had got us on the tram tour, and then we had time to see 2 or 3 other shows. This was in the mid-80s - I'm sure Universal is much larger now and I know we didn't see most of what they had to offer, but it was enough to get a feel for Hollywood.

FYI - DH worked for a while at Paramount Studios in their IT department on the lot. He said it is not widely known but they offer tours too. Maybe call an information number and see about the tour? He said is was a lot of fun - they were given an afternoon off to go. Saw the Entertainment Tonight set, Star Trek Voyager was filming that day, saw where they did some street scenes for Austin Powers...