Grand Californian standard room or Disneyland hotel club level?

[take36]

Stayed at all 3 Disneyland properties many times and will stay at all of them again. GCH is objectively and subjectively the better hotel (luxury, decor, amenities, location etc) but Disneyland Hotel is in my heart and I am sure I am not alone!

 

[DisneylandFan22]

When I stay at GCH, I ALWAYS request (and get) a room close to the elevators. There is no view worth that walk for me, and most of those rooms way down are view rooms. Tip: there are very few rooms at GCH that don't have nice views of some sort.

We tend to go over the same concept of debating hotel preference on this board, but honestly, they're both wonderful hotels, each unique in its own way. Sometimes I stay at one, sometimes the other. It depends on your party, your age sometimes, your personal taste, price/whether or not there's a good deal, amenities you prefer, and so on.

Yes, we stayed in a standard room on level 3 and it was right next to the elevator and stairs. The kids liked to race up the stairs and see if they could beat us on the elevator. Once we got in the hotel it was no issue at all getting to the room. It felt like a great location for also being the cheapest option.

 

[Malcon10t]

For the people who love DLH and didn’t really like the GCH what are your thoughts on the distance from the parks? We last stayed at GCH and loved the proximity. We are going to be staying at DLH to save some coin and the distance is what makes me nervous.

It's 4 mins from the Security tent to the GCH entrance to DTD. For us, that is a non-factor.

 

[take36]

It's 4 mins from the Security tent to the GCH entrance to DTD. For us, that is a non-factor.

I sometimes find the GCH security slower despite less guests as there are 2 lanes vs DLH/DTD has more (maybe 6?) lanes. Frontier Tower adds another few minutes if you are (un) lucky to be there. I personally love Frontier Tower because of the Big Thunder Ride model and my kid always wants to see it no matter which tower we are at.

There is no real bottleneck until after Catal so if you are at DLH you can make up a lot of time by walking faster before the congestion hits. Club level in both is fantastic but ultimately I do not really see the value given the proximity to DTD and the great quick service at both DLH and GCH.

Since you never have done GCH I say go with that. Trying new things is always amazing and I think you will be blown away by GCH. Take advantage of the spa, try the pool and see if it is for you in the future.

 

[Chili327]

Aren't any of the DLR hotels closer than any of the WDW hotels to a park entrance??

 

[Malcon10t]

Aren't any of the DLR hotels closer than any of the WDW hotels to a park entrance??

The DLH is just a little closer to the park entrance than the Contemporary is to Magic Kingdom. (.49 mi for WDW and .42 for DLH). The PP is .5 miles to DL, but .13 mi to the DCA entrance.

 

[twodogs]

The DLH is just a little closer to the park entrance than the Contemporary is to Magic Kingdom. (.49 mi for WDW and .42 for DLH). The PP is .5 miles to DL, but .13 mi to the DCA entrance.

And GCH is 0.0 miles to DCA!

 

[Pluto468]

I sometimes find the GCH security slower despite less guests as there are 2 lanes vs DLH/DTD has more (maybe 6?) lanes. Frontier Tower adds another few minutes if you are (un) lucky to be there. I personally love Frontier Tower because of the Big Thunder Ride model and my kid always wants to see it no matter which tower we are at.

There is no real bottleneck until after Catal so if you are at DLH you can make up a lot of time by walking faster before the congestion hits. Club level in both is fantastic but ultimately I do not really see the value given the proximity to DTD and the great quick service at both DLH and GCH.

Since you never have done GCH I say go with that. Trying new things is always amazing and I think you will be blown away by GCH. Take advantage of the spa, try the pool and see if it is for you in the future.

Thanks! I'm excited to be so close I remember when GCH was being built, and I've wanted to try it since then.

 

[twodogs]

For the people who love DLH and didn’t really like the GCH what are your thoughts on the distance from the parks? We last stayed at GCH and loved the proximity. We are going to be staying at DLH to save some coin and the distance is what makes me nervous.

It is going to feel further, especially late at night after a long day of many steps in the parks. For some, that is worth it because they love the DLH or because it is saving some money or because the GCH was booked. For others, us included, I want to save those steps for the parks.

 

[RoseColored97]

Per the GCH Superthread, the furthest room is ~.36 miles (1900 feet) away from the entrance of Disneyland. Most people will not be placed in the furthest rooms away, but that is practically the same as the DLH at .42 miles away.

 

[DizMe]

Per the GCH Superthread, the furthest room is ~.36 miles (1900 feet) away from the entrance of Disneyland. Most people will not be placed in the furthest rooms away, but that is practically the same as the DLH at .42 miles away.

This is true. Our very first stay was in one of those rooms and it was a long walk with 3 little kids.

That's why I am very adamant now in my request for a room close to an elevator bank. Sometimes I'm a little farther away than I'd prefer, but as long as I'm not at the end of a dead-end corridor I'm fine. *Note: the maps they have at the front desk to show you where your room is can make it seem a lot closer to the elevators or lobby than it really is. If you book GCH and are worried about a long walk, be sure to request a room that isn't in an end corridor.

Even if you end up in a room with a longer walk, it's still an indoor walk on carpeting rather than outdoors on pavement.

I've stayed at almost every hotel/motel around DLR and vastly prefer walking back to DLH or GCH to anything off property. But it does feel like a lot shorter walk to GCH at the end of the day.

 

[Pluto468]

If you are staying Club Level and planning to use the lounge regularly, ask for rooms near main lobby elevators. Otherwise, you’ll have quite the walk to get to the lounge.

Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping to be as close to the lounge as possible.

 

[ClaraOswald]

During out recent trip, I think we were in the farthest away room. I'll attach a picture with our room circled in blue. We were on the 2nd floor. I think the walk was definitely farther than when we normally stay on Harbor. But being inside for a lot of it as well as in DTD just made it more pleasant. (And now we know that going into DCA would have been a lot quicker if we'd used the new entrance.)

The only time the walk was a bit "meh" for me was at night when DTD crowds were heavier. But thankfully the walk through that area isn't very long. It would be longer in those crowds to get to the Disneyland hotel though.

If we're going to compared the farthest away GC room....we should compare it to the farthest away DLH room as well. I wonder how different that is. I think the new DVC tower will be pretty far.

 

[DizMe]

During out recent trip, I think we were in the farthest away room. I'll attach a picture with our room circled in blue. We were on the 2nd floor. I think the walk was definitely farther than when we normally stay on Harbor. But being inside for a lot of it as well as in DTD just made it more pleasant. (And now we know that going into DCA would have been a lot quicker if we'd used the new entrance.)

The only time the walk was a bit "meh" for me was at night when DTD crowds were heavier. But thankfully the walk through that area isn't very long. It would be longer in those crowds to get to the Disneyland hotel though.

If we're going to compared the farthest away GC room....we should compare it to the farthest away DLH room as well. I wonder how different that is. I think the new DVC tower will be pretty far.

ClaraOswald, I see on the map in your post that there is an elevator near the turn to your corridor. Was that available for guests? (Elevators are marked with an E on the hotel map and some have a red AED as well, which means it has an automated electronic defibrillator).

 

[Malcon10t]

ClaraOswald, I see on the map in your post that there is an elevator near the turn to your corridor. Was that available for guests? (Elevators are marked with an E on the hotel map and some have a red AED as well, which means it has an automated electronic defibrillator).

Yes, that elevator is available, we used it frequently as we preferred rooms in the high 230s facing the drive. It was a nice feel there.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yep, that's the one we used. And if we had known we could have used that Paradise Pier entrance into DCA, it would have been pretty darn close.

 

[Aurora0427]

That is great that you enjoy the rooms, a lot of people do and some do not. In our opinion, they are dated. We did not stay DVC, we don't do timeshares. This was a Courtyard-Woods view room category that faced GRR near Soarin'. Dated meaning dark, wood paneling that is always going to show age faster, small bathrooms, less counter space, less insulation from the hallway. We had a room with a tub rather than a glass shower, which didn't help it feel updated. We paid rack rate booked through the Disneyland website (I want to say $800? per night for the room), so it's not like we were put in a less desirable room because we booked third party.

The GCH has the location, grounds, pool, cabanas, restaurants, CMs, and lobby going for it that make it unique and special. The rooms, however, are not one of the reasons that the hotel stands out from the rest which is fine, but it is what it is. I hate being negative, so I will say that the room was clean and the beds were comfortable. The Chip and Dale painting was cute, but doesn't hold up when compared against Disneyland Hotel's lighted/musical headboard.

I didn't take pictures of issues in our room because it didn't bother us enough (and again, I hate being extra negative), but it had similar on the wood when staying there (taken from trip advisor). Not completely obvious or impacting functionality, but I would consider this to be dated:

Dark rooms with ambient lighting:

We just stayed at the DLH on Saturday, having stayed at the GCH in December, and our room at the DLH was hands down the winner. Huge, loved the updated rooms, and we loved the bathroom setup…. I loved having the toilet separate from the shower and the vanity. My kids and my husband went nuts over the DLH, and sitting by the pool drinking tropical cocktails ordering dole whips cannot be beat. We’re staying at the GCH again next week and it will be interesting to compare the two so close together.

We were NOT impressed with the rooms at the GCH- like you, we found them worn, dark, and small. The drinks by the pool were really bad. We did love the lobby and the proximity to the parks. I think in the winter, especially at Christmas, I give a slight edge to the GCH, but we absolutely fell in love with the DLH next weekend and cannot wait to go back. It’s the perfect warm weather hotel full of historic Disney magic.

 

[DizMe]

We just stayed at the DLH on Saturday, having stayed at the GCH in December, and our room at the DLH was hands down the winner. Huge, loved the updated rooms, and we loved the bathroom setup…. I loved having the toilet separate from the shower and the vanity. My kids and my husband went nuts over the DLH, and sitting by the pool drinking tropical cocktails ordering dole whips cannot be beat. We’re staying at the GCH again next week and it will be interesting to compare the two so close together.

We were NOT impressed with the rooms at the GCH- like you, we found them worn, dark, and small. The drinks by the pool were really bad. We did love the lobby and the proximity to the parks. I think in the winter, especially at Christmas, I give a slight edge to the GCH, but we absolutely fell in love with the DLH next weekend and cannot wait to go back. It’s the perfect warm weather hotel full of historic Disney magic.

You know, that's probably a huge part of the draw to one or the other hotel. I usually go when it's cold so I love the GCH with its big fireplaces, cozy lounge and huge but homey lobby. It's especially beautiful during the holidays. But when the weather is hot, it doesn't have the same appeal.

DLH is the winner for warm-weather vibes. With the pools, Tangaroa and Trader Sam's, and the tropical feel, it's fantastic. I love the huge windows in the rooms when I'm looking out at the pool and palm trees or DTD with the parks in the distance. I don't love it nearly as much in the winter, though.

 

[Aurora0427]

You know, that's probably a huge part of the draw to one or the other hotel. I usually go when it's cold so I love the GCH with its big fireplaces, cozy lounge and huge but homey lobby. It's especially beautiful during the holidays. But when the weather is hot, it doesn't have the same appeal.

DLH is the winner for warm-weather vibes. With the pools, Tangaroa and Trader Sam's, and the tropical feel, it's fantastic. I love the huge windows in the rooms when I'm looking out at the pool and palm trees or DTD with the parks in the distance. I don't love it nearly as much in the winter, though.

. Perfectly stated. I’m really regretting now booking the DLH for next week…. The temperatures keep inching up. But my sister has always wanted to stay at the GCH, and I do think we will absolutely love the short walk to the parks with my little nephew. I’m really going to miss those tropical drinks though. We may have to meander over to Tangeroa Terrace for a snack.

 

[RoseColored97]

We just stayed at the DLH on Saturday, having stayed at the GCH in December, and our room at the DLH was hands down the winner. Huge, loved the updated rooms, and we loved the bathroom setup…. I loved having the toilet separate from the shower and the vanity. My kids and my husband went nuts over the DLH, and sitting by the pool drinking tropical cocktails ordering dole whips cannot be beat. We’re staying at the GCH again next week and it will be interesting to compare the two so close together.

We were NOT impressed with the rooms at the GCH- like you, we found them worn, dark, and small. The drinks by the pool were really bad. We did love the lobby and the proximity to the parks. I think in the winter, especially at Christmas, I give a slight edge to the GCH, but we absolutely fell in love with the DLH next weekend and cannot wait to go back. It’s the perfect warm weather hotel full of historic Disney magic.

YES! The bathroom setup is amazing. The Mickey hands holding the lights also help!