Grand Californian Super Thread

[Nonsuch]

Hi all, I read a few of the more recent pages but can someone tell me what room requests I should put in if I want 3 separate beds (my 2 kids don't share a bed very well)? I assumed 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair (per the DLR hotel website), but is it better to ask for 2 Queen Beds and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair?

Short Answer: Request a room with a Day Bed

Long Answer: Not being able to book specific bed configurations is an issue with all 3 DLR hotels
There are 4 bed configurations:
(most common to least common)

1. 2 Queen Beds and Sofa (love seat size, does not fold out)
2. 2 Queen Beds and Day Bed
3. King Bed and Twin-Size Sleeper Chair and Sofa (love seat size, does not fold out)
4. King Bed and Twin-Size Sleeper Chair and Day Bed

GCH has not published exact numbers, but based on various posts and informations from CMs:

• there are 1000 rooms
• 700 rooms have 2 Queen beds (1 and 2)
• 300 rooms have Day Beds (2 and 4)

I read that folks seem to like rooms by the Napa Rose elevator, but I also wanted to ask if the rooms by the Napa Rose elevator are quiet. DH is a light sleeper, but I also don't want to walk really long hallways at the end of a very long day. We have just a standard view room as I didn't want to pay extra for the view but I'm willing to pay more if it gets me a better location and quieter room.

The rooms near the Elevators adjacent to Napa Rose are quiet. While sound proofing is quite good, light sleepers should avoid DTD View and Park View facing Pixar Pier -- these rooms also have the longest walk.
View types do not insure a better location.

PS We don't check in until after 10 pm due to a late night flight so I am willing to pay more to upgrade to a better "view" if it means we'll get the room we want instead of leftover standard rooms!

Unfortunately, late check in will put you at a disadvantage for room assignment. While rather inconvenient, you might consider a room switch starting with your second night. Club Level rooms generally get rooms on the 5th or 6th floor and likely preferred assignment. The dedicated Club Level registration (outside the lounge on the 6th floor) closes at 10 PM.

 

[smiles33]

Thank you so much, Nonsuch! I really appreciate your insight and helpful feedback. Yes, I realize coming in so late means we're left with whatever rooms are available that time of night. We'll see what we get and whether we feel like changing rooms the next day. We usually take a mid-day break to nap or relax at the pool anyway.

Thanks again!

 

[wareagle57]

Is there still a "secret entrance" into the Downtown Disney area? I'm guessing not since you now how to go through security. What about to get back in?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Is there still a "secret entrance" into the Downtown Disney area? I'm guessing not since you now how to go through security. What about to get back in?

If you’re talking about the gate by World of Disney yes. When I was there it was only open sometimes and it has a security setup as well.

 

[wareagle57]

If you’re talking about the gate by World of Disney yes. When I was there it was only open sometimes and it has a security setup as well.

How do I find that? What am I thinking of sounded like it needed to be accessed by a certain staircase somewhere.

 

[ParkHopper1]

Is there still a "secret entrance" into the Downtown Disney area? I'm guessing not since you now how to go through security. What about to get back in?

Negative. Reports are that that fire exit door leading directly into DTD is now alarmed. There is a secondary security checkpoint gate that enters DTD right behind Starbucks/WOD but that is only ever opened for peak overflow situations or special groups and is not generally accessible by the public that you can count on.

 

[Brittney Cornwell]

I am going Memorial Day weekend with our baby for her first trip. We reserved a standard room. However, I am debating calling and switching to a better view. That being said--- what are the chances of getting a better view then of the parking lot without paying? Is it worth it to call and request for a room with a view? What would I say? Also, is it possible to wait till trip to and ask to see how much an upgrade would be? If I put in a request for a king bed does this lower odds of room with a view? Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your knowledge. This will be our first trip to Disneyland where we stay on property and we are so excited!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I am going Memorial Day weekend with our baby for her first trip. We reserved a standard room. However, I am debating calling and switching to a better view. That being said--- what are the chances of getting a better view then of the parking lot without paying?

While there are no guarantees without booking what you actually want, room upgrades to a a better view are common as they sell WAY more "Standard" rooms than they have actual standard rooms.

 

[Diszona]

Hi all, I read a few of the more recent pages but can someone tell me what room requests I should put in if I want 3 separate beds (my 2 kids don't share a bed very well)? I assumed 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair (per the DLR hotel website), but is it better to ask for 2 Queen Beds and 1 Twin-Size Sleeper Chair?

I read that folks seem to like rooms by the Napa Rose elevator, but I also wanted to ask if the rooms by the Napa Rose elevator are quiet. DH is a light sleeper, but I also don't want to walk really long hallways at the end of a very long day. We have just a standard view room as I didn't want to pay extra for the view but I'm willing to pay more if it gets me a better location and quieter room. Thank you!

PS We don't check in until after 10 pm due to a late night flight so I am willing to pay more to upgrade to a better "view" if it means we'll get the room we want instead of leftover standard rooms!

We had a two queen plus a daybed room this week and it worked very well. Plenty of space, particularly with all the under the bed storage they have now.

 

[Tanner208]

Hi all, I read a couple of pages but I had some additional questions I didn't see answers to. This is my first trip with my family (Me-DH , DW, DS 8, DD 5, DD 3) and we booked 5 nights from May 12th - May 17th - standard room directly through Disneyland website. When is a good time to call and ask to see if an upgrade is available or request to see if a certain view is available? At check-in? A week before arriving?

Any room # recommendations too? Thanks =)

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hi all, I read a couple of pages but I had some additional questions I didn't see answers to. This is my first trip with my family (Me-DH , DW, DS 8, DD 5, DD 3) and we booked 5 nights from May 12th - May 17th - standard room directly through Disneyland website. When is a good time to call and ask to see if an upgrade is available or request to see if a certain view is available? At check-in? A week before arriving?

Any room # recommendations too? Thanks =)

Like a free upgrade?

 

[patyoung]

I was there last week and ready to snap some picture of construction progress, but it looked exactly the same as the previous pictures and I never noticed any activity there, so its definitely moving slow. I will say that we rope dropped DCA once and went maybe 20 minutes later the other DCA early morning and in neither case did we have to wait in a line for the GCH security entrance which was a nice surprise.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

Hi all, I read a couple of pages but I had some additional questions I didn't see answers to. This is my first trip with my family (Me-DH , DW, DS 8, DD 5, DD 3) and we booked 5 nights from May 12th - May 17th - standard room directly through Disneyland website. When is a good time to call and ask to see if an upgrade is available or request to see if a certain view is available? At check-in? A week before arriving?

Any room # recommendations too? Thanks =)

We've only stayed at GCH once, (but thanks to the suggestions on this thread) requested low floor, near Napa Rose elevators. Would have preferred a King bed, however for us the view was more of a priority. We faxed and called the request approximately 3-4 days before our arrival. Although we had Standard room booked, we received a Courtyard/partial DTD(view of Starbucks lol)/monorail view room. (3415) In general at Disney hotels, we typically have better luck just requesting the room location instead of saying "upgrade". YMMV!

 

[smiles33]

We had a wonderful 3 night stay this past weekend (Thurs night to Sun). I had requested a room with a daybed and a quiet location via phone about 2-3 weeks before our check-in. I didn't specify Napa Rose elevators as I wanted the daybed so my DDs wouldn't have to share a queen bed (they kick each other and then end up waking everyone up!).

We also didn't arrive until 10 pm as we flew in after work on a Thursday. Frankly, I wasn't optimistic we would get any of our requests. Surprisingly, the friendly CM was able to get us a quiet room with a daybed and an upgraded "Woods View" room. She said she had to get approval, so she did disappear for a few minutes in the back.

We got 3401 and I loved the room. It was 2 queens and a daybed, spacious, clean, and far better than the DLH room we had on our last trip. I also thought CMs were so much nicer, funnier, and service-oriented than when we were at DLH. Our room was around the corner from the Napa Rose elevators. The only time I ever heard noise was when a group walked by with young children who were very excited/happy. It was surprisingly quiet!

We always walked over to the Esplanade for EMH at DCA as the dedicated line was super long and went beyond what I could see when we walked by on Friday morning for EMH at DCA. But on Sunday, since we were so tired and didn't get up until 7 am, there was no line when we went there closer to 7:40.

I saw people at the pool but we napped each day during our break instead of going to the pool. We also picked up sandwiches and Root Bear Floats from Whitewater snacks for a treat one day. DH and I also had dinner at Napa Rose and loved it. Joe the bartender is an artisan! We told him what we liked and he made us specialty cocktails! I definitely recommend dinner (or at least drinks!) at Napa Rose.

 

[Tanner208]

We've only stayed at GCH once, (but thanks to the suggestions on this thread) requested low floor, near Napa Rose elevators. Would have preferred a King bed, however for us the view was more of a priority. We faxed and called the request approximately 3-4 days before our arrival. Although we had Standard room booked, we received a Courtyard/partial DTD(view of Starbucks lol)/monorail view room. (3415) In general at Disney hotels, we typically have better luck just requesting the room location instead of saying "upgrade". YMMV!

I really appreciate the feedback! This is super helpful. =)

 

[Nonsuch]

...This is my first trip with my family (Me-DH , DW, DS 8, DD 5, DD 3) and we booked 5 nights from May 12th - May 17th - standard room directly through Disneyland website...

You might want to add bed and bath types to your request

2 queen beds and a daybed will likely be the best bed configuration for your family.
Most rooms have a shower only, but there are some rooms with a tub/shower (likely a small number).

 

[wareagle57]

What is the closest car rental location to the GC? Either by foot or by uber. And we want to rope drop the morning of our checkout. We are moving offsite and doing some other things in the area, thus the need for the car. With the GC hold our bags for us while we go to the parks until early afternoon when we plan to leave and go get the car?

 

[dieumeye]

With the GC hold our bags for us while we go to the parks until early afternoon when we plan to leave and go get the car?

Yes. Just talk to the bell desk.

 

[flyingjay]

Has anyone ever done last minute walk-ups to the GCH? I have friends up here in Canada that have gone and and say they have received deeply discounted prices when they walk up. This is something we would be able to consider as I'm staying with my Aunt near Fullerton in mid April. If I could get a discounted rate to stay on site and get an EMH in that would be pretty awesome.

If that's something that's available...any idea what time of day they'd offer rooms at a discount? Anyone have experience with this...or can you point me to the right thread?

 

[crvetter]

What is the closest car rental location to the GC? Either by foot or by uber. And we want to rope drop the morning of our checkout. We are moving offsite and doing some other things in the area, thus the need for the car. With the GC hold our bags for us while we go to the parks until early afternoon when we plan to leave and go get the car?

I would say the closest for you would be the Alamo at Paradise Pier (used to be in DTD). Just walk across the street and in the lobby of Paradise Pier (but might be more expensive).

https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/locations/us/snan72-downtown-disney.html

Also GC should have no problem holding your bags for the remainder of that day.