Grand Californian Super Thread

[OneThree]

We were gifted a one night stay at GCH by a very generous friend. This will be a very short trip and we will probably only have a one day ticket for Disneyland on a Friday (which is not an EE day) so what is the best rope drop strategy for Disneyland? We have other travel commitments so cannot change the DL date.

I can’t remember the last time we had reservations that did not correspond to the given EE park. I feel lost.

 

[earlymorning]

Is the fitness center open 24/7?

 

[Nonsuch]

Is the fitness center open 24/7?

Yes

 

[maleficent55]

Does anyone know what mattresses they use at GCH?

PlanDisney says it is this one:
https://beautyrestguestpurchase.com/mattresses/beautyrest-pillow-top-deluxe#faq

But then there is also a Plush Top on that site that also says it is from Deluxe resorts. Is that one from
DLH?

I read a few threads with not completely positive reviews. Anyone have one and can comment?

I took a picture last time because I have to buy it (still have t yet though!)
It’s this

 

[twodogs]

I took a picture last time because I have to buy it (still have t yet though!)
It’s this

Thank you!! Now I need to find someone who has purchased it to give a first hand review. I read some other places online that folks purchased it and felt it was not as good of a quality as the ones in the hotels. UGH!

 

[maleficent55]

Thank you!! Now I need to find someone who has purchased it to give a first hand review. I read some other places online that folks purchased it and felt it was not as good of a quality as the ones in the hotels. UGH!

oh no! When i posted it in the grand californian group, people that bought it commented on it and said they loved it!

 

[twodogs]

oh no! When i posted it in the grand californian group, people that bought it commented on it and said they loved it!

Well I like your answer that you found!! I really want the same mattress as in the resort, and I will be very happy that you read some good reports! Was this in the DVC section of the boards (if you recall)

 

[maleficent55]

Well I like your answer that you found!! I really want the same mattress as in the resort, and I will be very happy that you read some good reports! Was this in the DVC section of the boards (if you recall)

No it was a Facebook post

 

[bfrosty]

Any recommendations for quieter room requests? Not DVC, just normal hotel rooms. Last visit was a bit loud at night...light sleeper here. LOL TIA.

 

[Epump]

We were at GC last week and had a very quiet room! It was a Woodland/Courtyard view. Room 5304!

 

[BunnieGene]

We’ve always found that monorail garden view rooms are the quietest.

 

[bfrosty]

^^^^Wow! That's were we stayed a few years ago...guess we just stayed at a bad time...think graduation parties were going on, we heard loud music all night long...seems like it came from DCA or Downtown Disney. Our courtyard room, we could see Soarin. Nice.

 

[DisneyAndreaM]

Almost every 2 queen room we have had included the day bed, but I do always ask for the day bed at check in IF we don’t get the king room. We are a party of 4, so technically we don’t “have” to have the day bed by the booking criteria (as parties of 5 do), but we have always been given it (so at least my girls can avoid sharing a bed!). If you want to be sure of the day bed and you are a party of 4, people have added a phantom child to the reservation (don’t add an adult unless you want to pay the nightly fee for an extra adult beyond 2 in the room), to make it a party of 5. I have never done this. We just ask nicely for the day bed at check in and it has worked out.

In our connecting rooms last weekend, one had the king with sleeper chair and fold down bed, and the 2 queens room did NOT have the day bed (but we didn’t need it since my parents were using the2 queen room).

Back from our most magical trip ever. Didn’t get the 5th sleeper, but was upgraded to park view (I think), overlooking the GC entrance to DCA—room 5347. Originally had woods-courtyard booked. I could see the Main Street train station, Space Mountain and Grizzly Peak. Watched the fireworks a couple of nights from the balconyy. Kids slept great in the same bed because they fell asleep so quickly, and those mattresses and pillows are

 

[LWcalif]

I'm happy to report that the attendants at the pool last week were issuing wristbands! It seemed like there were more chairs available throughout the day than the last time few times we were there, when nobody checked to see if you were a hotel guest or not.

 

[mrsashbaugh]

Hello! Can anyone tell me anything about this area of the hotel on level 4? Thanks for any information you have.

 

[sparkhill]

Hello! Can anyone tell me anything about this area of the hotel on level 4? Thanks for any information you have.

Not sure what you are looking for, but that area is just down the hall from the DVC rooms, largely away from the bulk of the regular hotel rooms. The area has a separate elevator and is very convenient.

 

[mrsashbaugh]

Not sure what you are looking for, but that area is just down the hall from the DVC rooms, largely away from the bulk of the regular hotel rooms. The area has a separate elevator and is very convenient.

Thanks for the bit of information.

So our first night here and sadly not living up to our expectations of being at least comfortable. Our room was hot when we arrived. The TV had a weather station on and not the Welcome family message. Silly I know, but a little thing I was looking forward to seeing upon arriving. So back to the hot room, we have the air turned all the way down to 65. We left for a bit to walk Downtown Disney and grab some food. Come back to our room and it's still pretty warm. We have our house set to 73 and it's much cooler than this (we're in 3 digit weather in AZ too). I've tried to search this thread to see if other had any mentions of their rooms being warm, but nope. I talked to reception and they offered to bring two fans up to our room. So that's what we did. An electrician will come up tomorrow to check it.

 

[sparkhill]

That sounds disappointing, especially for the premium pricing the Grand Californian charges. Hopefully, you can either get your issues sorted out or move you to a new room.

I do think the hotel has slipped a little over the past year or so, and I do hope it is temporary. Consider escalating to one of the managers, who seem better equipped to address these types of issues.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We were gifted a one night stay at GCH by a very generous friend. This will be a very short trip and we will probably only have a one day ticket for Disneyland on a Friday (which is not an EE day) so what is the best rope drop strategy for Disneyland? We have other travel commitments so cannot change the DL date.

I can’t remember the last time we had reservations that did not correspond to the given EE park. I feel lost.

You may have already had your question answered, but in my experience, rope-dropping Disneyland on a non-EE day is not much different from rope dropping Disneyland on an EE day. It's a little more crowded, but ride order, etc. is about the same. You just need to get there early so you'll be one of the first in line. It's different from doing DL on an EE day when you don't have EE. We frequently rope drop DL on Sundays when we stay on property even though Sunday is not an EE day for DL.

We always do Fantasyland first, though, whether or not we have EE, because Peter Pan or die. Your plan may be different if you like to do something that's not usually open for EE first.

 

[StarlitNight05]

Thanks for the bit of information.

So our first night here and sadly not living up to our expectations of being at least comfortable. Our room was hot when we arrived. The TV had a weather station on and not the Welcome family message. Silly I know, but a little thing I was looking forward to seeing upon arriving. So back to the hot room, we have the air turned all the way down to 65. We left for a bit to walk Downtown Disney and grab some food. Come back to our room and it's still pretty warm. We have our house set to 73 and it's much cooler than this (we're in 3 digit weather in AZ too). I've tried to search this thread to see if other had any mentions of their rooms being warm, but nope. I talked to reception and they offered to bring two fans up to our room. So that's what we did. An electrician will come up tomorrow to check it.

Did they fix it for you? That sounds awful!