Grand Californian Super Thread

[DisneylandFan22]

I am looking at a trip with 6 people. 5 is the max for a regular room but it looks like getting 2 standard rooms is actually cheaper than a 1 bedroom suite. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, is there any possibility of getting a room discount by calling directly? The time we are going falls into a time where there is no discount. I emailed to ask if it was a possibility and they said I should call. I’m wondering if anyone has ever had any luck with that? We are Magic Key holders.

 

[twodogs]

I am looking at a trip with 6 people. 5 is the max for a regular room but it looks like getting 2 standard rooms is actually cheaper than a 1 bedroom suite. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, is there any possibility of getting a room discount by calling directly? The time we are going falls into a time where there is no discount. I emailed to ask if it was a possibility and they said I should call. I’m wondering if anyone has ever had any luck with that? We are Magic Key holders.

I would get two rooms if is is cheaper, especially because you get two bathrooms (which for us with teens would be heavenly!) and you get real beds instead of the sofa bed in the suite. We have stayed in the 2 bedroom suite, and while it was nice, my kids slept on a pull out bed, and there were 2 bathrooms (we had 6 ppl). It was nice if you want to do Club Level though, because that is charged per room (not per person), so you pay double for Club level if you have 2 rooms, versus a suite which only counts as one “room”.

You can request connecting rooms, but there is no guarantee (and you do have to have an adult as the lead guest in each room (don’t know if kids are in your party or not). Are you all adults or some kids? Ages of kids?

 

[DisneylandFan22]

I would get two rooms if is is cheaper, especially because you get two bathrooms (which for us with teens would be heavenly!) and you get real beds instead of the sofa bed in the suite. We have stayed in the 2 bedroom suite, and while it was nice, my kids slept on a pull out bed, and there were 2 bathrooms (we had 6 ppl). It was nice if you want to do Club Level though, because that is charged per room (not per person), so you pay double for Club level if you have 2 rooms, versus a suite which only counts as one “room”.

You can request connecting rooms, but there is no guarantee (and you do have to have an adult as the lead guest in each room (don’t know if kids are in your party or not). Are you all adults or some kids? Ages of kids?

Thank you. Yes, 2 kids.

 

[twodogs]

The only discounts that I know about that you have to call for are the Military resort discount. We always have to call for the pricing and availability when we are able to use that (when traveling with my parents). Other discounts should be visible and bookable online, including MK discounts, as long as you are signed into your account when checking hotel prices. I guess it never hurts to call and ask, but I believe all discounts are online other than military, for the hotels.

 

[twodogs]

Thank you. Yes, 2 kids.

For 4 adults and 2 kids, I would definitely do 2 rooms. In the one bedroom suite, all of the adults would be in one bedroom and kids in the living room on the sleeper sofa, or 2 adults would be on the sleeper sofa. For me, neither of these is ideal! When we travel with our 2 teens and my parents, we ask for (and almost always get) connecting rooms. Our girls stay in our room with us, and my parents have their own room and bathroom. When we took our girls and our nieces last year, we put all of them in one 2 queen room (the older two are 18, so they were the "adult" on that room), and DH and I had the connecting King room (and our own bathroom!). Worked quite well. With two rooms, you will also get two mini fridges instead of one. Two coffee makers, and two balconies at the GCH, which is nice extra space also, versus the 1 bedroom suite.

 

[gardengirl2790]

Does anyone know what time the GCH security line opens into DTD?

 

[LilyJC]

Does anyone know what time the GCH security line opens into DTD?

7am

 

[gardengirl2790]

7am

Thank you!

 

[torchlight]

Does anyone know what time the GCH security line opens into DTD?

Opened at 6:46am when I was there about 5 weeks ago.

 

[Pluto468]

I am looking at a trip with 6 people. 5 is the max for a regular room but it looks like getting 2 standard rooms is actually cheaper than a 1 bedroom suite. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, is there any possibility of getting a room discount by calling directly? The time we are going falls into a time where there is no discount. I emailed to ask if it was a possibility and they said I should call. I’m wondering if anyone has ever had any luck with that? We are Magic Key holders.

On our last trip I booked 2 rooms because we wanted the 4 beds and 2 bathrooms (We ended up having 2 daybeds, too.) I called after I made the reservation online to request connecting rooms. It's good to call again the day of your trip or the day before to remind them of the request.

 

[joseph821]

On our last trip I booked 2 rooms because we wanted the 4 beds and 2 bathrooms (We ended up having 2 daybeds, too.) I called after I made the reservation online to request connecting rooms. It's good to call again the day of your trip or the day before to remind them of the request.

Always call with any requests. Great advice.

 

[twodogs]

Opened at 6:46am when I was there about 5 weeks ago.

It opened at 6:45am on this past Saturday. Frustratingly, the security line on Sunday from GCH to DCA didn’t start moving until 7:15am (and they you are held at secondary ropes inside the park until 7:30am for EE and until 8am for regular entry). I was frustrated because everyone in the line expected 7am and that didn’t happen. The CMs were walking up and down the line yelling (yes…) to have your room keys out and all bags open, a full 15 minutes before they actually opened the security lines. We still made it in fine as we were near the front of the line, but others may not have had the full EE time if they were further back in line.

 

[gardengirl2790]

Opened at 6:46am when I was there about 5 weeks ago.

Great! Thank you!

 

[gardengirl2790]

What time should we line up at the GCH gate for DCA on an EE morning? How long are the lines? Is it better to go to DCA’s main gates instead?

 

[torchlight]

What time should we line up at the GCH gate for DCA on an EE morning? How long are the lines? Is it better to go to DCA’s main gates instead?

Keep in mind you have three options for DCA EE:

1) Downtown Disney to DCA Main Gate
2) GCH Gate to DCA over by Napa Rose (enters DCA by Grizzly River Run entrance)
3) "Pixar Place" gate to DCA over behind DVC wing (enters DCA by Golden Zephyr)

I haven't done DCA EE from GCH, personally. But I feel like I've read in several places that the GCH gate isn't great sometimes for DCA EE. I've read that the gate doesn't open until EE starts, so unless you are at the front of the line, you will spend some EE time just waiting to get through security.

The Pixar Place gate works the same but might be less utilized and faster moving, so you might consider that alternative, although it doesn't place you into the park in as convenient of a spot for popular EE attractions.

Going through DTD to the main entrance may be the best option if maximizing your EE time is the goal. It will give you the standard method of getting mid-way into the park and waiting at an EE rope before EE actually begins.

The GCH entrances are still great, though, for any other time, in my opinion. So nice to more easily zip back and forth to your room for breaks and such if you're in DCA. Their recent decision to close the Pixar Place entrance at noon is super disappointing to me, although you can still use it to exit after noon - just not re-enter.

 

[maleficent55]

It opened at 6:45am on this past Saturday. Frustratingly, the security line on Sunday from GCH to DCA didn’t start moving until 7:15am (and they you are held at secondary ropes inside the park until 7:30am for EE and until 8am for regular entry). I was frustrated because everyone in the line expected 7am and that didn’t happen. The CMs were walking up and down the line yelling (yes…) to have your room keys out and all bags open, a full 15 minutes before they actually opened the security lines. We still made it in fine as we were near the front of the line, but others may not have had the full EE time if they were further back in line.

There should really be a remedy for this

It isn’t right to pay premium prices and then stress that you can’t get in on time to utilize EE to its full extent

 

[gardengirl2790]

Keep in mind you have three options for DCA EE:

1) Downtown Disney to DCA Main Gate
2) GCH Gate to DCA over by Napa Rose (enters DCA by Grizzly River Run entrance)
3) "Pixar Place" gate to DCA over behind DVC wing (enters DCA by Golden Zephyr)

I haven't done DCA EE from GCH, personally. But I feel like I've read in several places that the GCH gate isn't great sometimes for DCA EE. I've read that the gate doesn't open until EE starts, so unless you are at the front of the line, you will spend some EE time just waiting to get through security.

The Pixar Place gate works the same but might be less utilized and faster moving, so you might consider that alternative, although it doesn't place you into the park in as convenient of a spot for popular EE attractions.

Going through DTD to the main entrance may be the best option if maximizing your EE time is the goal. It will give you the standard method of getting mid-way into the park and waiting at an EE rope before EE actually begins.

The GCH entrances are still great, though, for any other time, in my opinion. So nice to more easily zip back and forth to your room for breaks and such if you're in DCA. Their recent decision to close the Pixar Place entrance at noon is super disappointing to me, although you can still use it to exit after noon - just not re-enter.

Thank you so much for the comprehensive information. I had no idea about the Pixar Place entrance. I think we will use the main gate, I’m paying a premium to stay onsite, and time is money.

 

[twodogs]

Just remember if you use the main gate, you still have to deal with the security line from GCH to DTD. That line gets extremely long very early, but at least when we were there last weekend, that security started moving at 6:45am. That said, we were in line about 6:35, and our place in line was that the line was almost all the way back to the secondary metal detector over by the WoD store and then behind us, the line snaked back around on itself all the way back up the sidewalk again. All before 6:45am.

 

[gardengirl2790]

Just remember if you use the main gate, you still have to deal with the security line from GCH to DTD. That line gets extremely long very early, but at least when we were there last weekend, that security started moving at 6:45am. That said, we were in line about 6:35, and our place in line was that the line was almost all the way back to the secondary metal detector over by the WoD store and then behind us, the line snaked back around on itself all the way back up the sidewalk again. All before 6:45am.

 

[gardengirl2790]

Wow! Sounds like we will need to be in line even earlier than anticipated. Thank you for the heads up, it’s very helpful information!