GC-CL worth it?

[mommadjones]

We are planing a DL vacation for Aug 2014. We normally do WL-CL and love it. I was wondering if anyone has done GC-CL and if so what are your thoughts? Im not sure when we will get back to the west coast so I thought it would be a nice end to our two weeks in Cali. Also is it really worth the extra to upgrade to the preferred/park view? Thanks for any reviews you can give

 

[wallawallakids]

I think it depends on what is "worth it" to you. I have stayed in GC but never WL. (Although I hope to someday if I can get hubby to give up BWI!) I have heard that GC is nicer but very similar to WL. It is certainly very convenient to be so close to the parks and have your own entrance into CA, but in comparison to WDW, all the hotels are close! I think it was nice to stay at GC once and I am glad we did it, but IMO it doesn't hold a torch to the DL hotel. I just think that the DL hotel personifies DL. It has a ton of cool artifacts and I love the theme. For the price of the rooms, I always go there. That being said, if you love WL I think you will LOVE GC. The theme is perfect for CA, the rooms are very nice, the pool is great, food is yummy at both Napa Rose and Storyteller's cafe, and the CM's are nice. My only huge complaint is that there are no rollaways. (That might not be an issue for you though. We have 4 kids and instead of roll aways they give sleeping bags which were very inconvenient as I had a kid sleeping on the floor the entire visit which you would not expect for a one bedroom suite at that price!) As far as if it is worth the money I think that is really something only you can decide. Good luck and have a great trip. I think you will love DL. It is my hands down favorite place to be in the whole world (even though I live so much closer to WDW! )

 

[DizMe]

I have stayed concierge several times. Is it worth it? That really is hard to answer!! Sometimes, it absolutely is! And sometimes, it just is not. The current prices don't make it a worthwhile expenditure over regular rooms unless you have a lot of people in one room and/or you will be spending a lot of time around the hotel. They have food and beverage offerings all day, but if you are busy in the parks you won't be taking advantage of that. The food is good but not fabulous (although my girls love love love the chocolate dipped strawberries!).

I won't discount the idea that there is a real coolness factor in staying concierge. The lounge is a great area to hang out, has activities in the evening for kids, offers a great place to relax and is very convenient when you want something to snack on or drink. We stayed there when my mom, who was elderly and required a lot of rests, went with us. It was great to have a place she could go to and have someone bring her coffee etc and hang out while the kids did more exploring in the parks.

If you have 4-5 people in the room, it can be a lot more reasonable to pay the extra money for concierge, but for a couple it isn't worth the extra cost unless you just like it.

For me, concierge is worth it when I have the extra money, when I will be in the hotel often and when it isn't a huge amount over regular rooms. I go to DL frequently and I enjoy resting in the hotel so that figures in for me. If I was in the park all day, I wouldn't bother with concierge. There is much better food for less money around the resort.

 

[mommadjones]

Thanks for the info. It would be five of us for four nights. My kids will be 3,6 and 16. Does anyone know what the offerings are? If there is a link with this info? I googled but found nothing comprehensive.

 

[DizMe]

Thanks for the info. It would be five of us for four nights. My kids will be 3,6 and 16. Does anyone know what the offerings are? If there is a link with this info? I googled but found nothing comprehensive.

There is a thread somewhere that shows all 3 concierge lounges for the DLR hotels. I'm not sure whether or not it's in a sticky at the top of the page. I'll see if I can find it for you.

 

[DizMe]

Here you go! http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2181963&highlight=all+3+concierge

With 5 of you it would be great. It's nice to have that available in the mornings for breakfast and snacks/beverages to take into the parks. They have a great "lunch" offering that includes little sandwiches. There are always Uncrustables, too. They have cookies and hot appetizers plus a dessert buffet at various times of the day. In the evening you can get wine, beer, or liqueurs, although you sometimes have to ask for the latter.

For 5 people, the extra price can be somewhat offset by the convenience and amount of food offered. You can easily make the food from concierge into all 3 meals, but the problem is mainly whether or not you want to go back to the hotel to take advantage of it.

 

[snesguy]

I've stayed at CL at WDW but never at DL even though I've been to DL a lot. I've wanted to but I just didn't feel it was worth it to me. I probably wouldn't need them to help me book reservations. I usually eat out (parks, Downtown Disney, or offsite) for lunch and dinner. Where I get value out of CL is having a fast breakfast so I can get the family to early entry and since I usually have many short visits as opposed to fewer longer visits I don't have to deal as many days with the breakfast problem.

White Water Snacks (in the Grand Californian) is my go to breakfast spot for an early fast breakfast but when I've gone (not lately in summer) they opened at 7 AM which would not be early enough in August for a 7 AM EMH so I would consider Club Level for a trip in August if you are early risers and want to hit EMH every day. I wish Disney would open up Steakhouse 55 at the Disneyland Hotel early enough for a breakfast before EMH. I really liked Steakhouse 55 for breakfast but it's just not open early enough.

You could get the family up early and drive a couple of blocks to get to a restaurant for breakfast but that takes quite a bit more time and getting everyone up that early is a challenge.

Room service is another option for a non CL breakfast but it can get pricey if you do it every day.