GCH Standard or Disneyland Hotel Pool/Resort View?

[WishUponAStar3]

Hi DIS'ers! I'm trying to decide between a Standard View room at the GCH or a Pool/Resort View room at Disneyland Hotel for my upcoming 1-night stay in June. (GCH standard is slightly more expensive than Disneyland pool/resort view, but it's a minor difference.) Which would YOU choose??

 

[Amilo]

Hi DIS'ers! I'm trying to decide between a Standard View room at the GCH or a Pool/Resort View room at Disneyland Hotel for my upcoming 1-night stay in June. (GCH standard is slightly more expensive than Disneyland pool/resort view, but it's a minor difference.) Which would YOU choose??

When I booked my trip, the GCH was an easy choice since I'm not traveling with kids I thought it would be the better.choice.

 

[Malcon10t]

I prefer the DIsneyland hotel myself.

 

[BensWife]

I have not stayed at the DHL, but I would go with the Grand all the way because of the proximity to the parks. You can't beat being that close to the action! Plus, it is an amazing hotel. If you only have 1 day, then being close is nice - especially if you go go go during your one day, it is nice to not have to walk so far back.

 

[94bruin]

For such a short stay I'd probably do GCH because of proximity. However, if I were to stay longer, I'd do DLH for the pool.

 

[ktlm]

Depends on what is important to you, they are both great places. GCH has the entrance right into CA which is terrific- that is it's biggest selling point for that hotel if you ask me. It is a very beautiful hotel, but to us, since we are WDW vets, it is pretty much a scaled down version of WL. I think we would be a lot more impressed with it, if we had not stayed at WL a bunch of times. DLH has bigger rooms. We've done the DLH pool view rooms, and really liked the pool view we had from our room. DLH has the Trader Sams bar. DLH has the monorail slides and one other slide if you have littles, but DD got bored with those really fast. The lines are too long for the short slides. We can go to the public pool with a slide in our town, and it is a better slide with a shorter line. They look good, but don't expect them to keep a kids interest for long.

We always wind up picking the DLH because we like the rooms and room size and we like that it feels totally different from anywhere at WDW, but I don't think you can go wrong with either. Now, if it were a GCH theme park view room, I would say that probably can't be beat- but I've never been able to make myself cough up the extra money to do that one!

 

[WishUponAStar3]

Thank you all for this super helpful feedback!!

 

[tiggeroo42]

I liked the rooms sooo much better at the DH and would choose it again over GCH. I didn't think the distance was an issue at all. Getting out of the GCH can be like working your way out of a maze depending on where your room is, so it felt like the same travel time to me, even with a small child!

That being said, the DH was a lot more spread out and less themed to me. You have to get out of your building and walk to the restaurants, pool, etc., while GCH is more condensed and everything is right there and perfectly themed to go together. Not sure that matters if you're only staying one night, but you really can't go wrong with either!!!

 

[calicat]

I prefer the GCH because of the sliding glass doors/balconies. The DH windows don't open and I like the ability to let fresh air into my hotel room

 

[DarthMole]

For such a short stay I'd probably do GCH because of proximity. However, if I were to stay longer, I'd do DLH for the pool.

I agree. Unless there's something pulling you toward the DLH, go for the Grand and the close proximity to the parks.

I prefer the GCH because of the sliding glass doors/balconies. The DH windows don't open and I like the ability to let fresh air into my hotel room

This is a good point you don't hear brought up often. The location and lobby are so hyped up I forget the rooms have balconies.

 

[rentayenta]

Hmmm.....I like the standard rooms better at the DLH but I like the GCH better if that makes sense. The GCH is more resort but you cannot go wrong with either. I have been lucky 3x when booking the DLH standard room and was upgraded to a DTD view. The thing with the DLH and a good view is you really can't enjoy it so much as there isn't a balcony. That's not the case with the GCH.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

These are some great points that I hadn't thought of- thank you all!!

 

[whoever]

GCH. It just gets it done.

 

[MichaelaF]

I always think it's funny when people cite proximity to the parks as being their main reason for choosing GCH. To me, DLH is still darn close, and actually kinda a nice walk across DTD to get to the parks. But then, I grew up going to WDW where everything is far away, so I suppose it's relative.

Personally, I'd choose the DLH, just because it's more my kind of theme/style, but I haven't stayed at either to say. I have stayed at the Wilderness Lodge at WDW and it was...nice, but not my style. I definitely hear the person who mentioned balconies, though. I do like balconies!

 

[Pooh2]

Just called to book our first Disneyland visit. The CM told me that you can take the monorail from DH right into Tomorrowland? Had not read that on the boards but sounds good! Are there long lines for the monorail throughout the day?
I almost went with GC as people say it is so much closer but the CM was so enthusiatic about DH, that I went with that.
Good luck with your choice OP!

 

[MermaidMommy]

Just called to book our first Disneyland visit. The CM told me that you can take the monorail from DH right into Tomorrowland? Had not read that on the boards but sounds good! Are there long lines for the monorail throughout the day? I almost went with GC as people say it is so much closer but the CM was so enthusiatic about DH, that I went with that. Good luck with your choice OP!

The monorail stop is in Downtown Disney. The DLH is the closest hotel to the monorail stop, but the monorail doesn't actually go to the hotel itself.

 

[Malcon10t]

The monorail stop is in Downtown Disney. The DLH is the closest hotel to the monorail stop, but the monorail doesn't actually go to the hotel itself.

It used to go to the Hotel, until they moved the hotel....

 

[Pooh2]

The monorail stop is in Downtown Disney. The DLH is the closest hotel to the monorail stop, but the monorail doesn't actually go to the hotel itself.

Ahhh.. How long would you estimate the walk is to the monorail?

 

[Malcon10t]

Ahhh.. How long would you estimate the walk is to the monorail?

From the Sorcerer's hat to the Monorail, a minute? 90 seconds?

We walk from the Sorcerer's Hat to the DTD entrance/exit of GCH in 4 mins, and to the bag check tent for the esplanade in 7-8 mins.

 

[Kristina4109]

The last time time I stayed at the DLH, we went back to the room to pack our bags and check out. On returning to the parks, we encountered a LONG line at the monorail.

We also booked and paid for a standard room, and wound up with a Fantasy Tower room with a gorgeous view of the pool and hotel courtyard.

I absolutely love the GC - California Craftsman is my favorite style of architecture. But the rooms are not that exciting. I prefer the DLH rooms, especially with that fabulous headboard.