Grand Californian vs. WDW Resorts

[challer]

For those in the know, where would the Grand Californian Resort stack up against your Top WDW resort, whatever it may be?

 

[nurse.darcy]

I think that the Wilderness Lodge reminds me of the Grand Californian in many ways. However, the GC is a bit more upscale - but only barely. And the lobby at WL is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. The GC isn't close there by a longshot.

My top WDW resort would have to be anything in the Epcot area - Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club. . .I have to say, if I was to put them in order as to my favorites it would be like this:

Beach Club
Yacht Club
Grand Californian
Boardwalk Inn/Wilderness Lodge

 

[monkeygirl]

I agree. GC is very similar to WL. I am not sure of the exact size of the standard room at GC but it felt smaller. GC's lobby is beautiful and the huge fireplace with comfy chairs in front of it, is very relaxing. My top resorts would be:

AKL
Poly
GC
BC
WL

 

[biolabetty]

The GCH and WL had the same architect. I must like his work because those two are my favorites. I felt the GCH was a little step above WL, of course GCH is my absolute favorite of all so maybe I'm prejudiced.

 

[StrwLady]

I agree with other the GC us very much like the WL but the GC is a tiny bit more upscale. The 2 were so much alike my memory confused them. When in the WL gift shop I swore that the check out desk was on the other side of the room. And when at the GC I swore there was an arcade right out one of the lobby doors!

If going to DL and you can afford the GC I say go for it. Especially a theme park view. It's amazing to open your sliding glass door and feel like you could reach out and touch a ride and hear the sounds of park fun! And when you close the doors you can't hear a peep!

Ok now I'm missing DL. We have been the past 2 years March but this year it wasn't possible.

 

[BCV23]

I think the GC is simply stunning. Arts and Crafts is far from my favorite architecture in general but that resort changed my mind. It is sooo beautiful.

We haven't stayed at WL but the rooms at GC while small are well designed IMO. For instance the desk can double as a table unlike the newer designs at WDW. The closet is quite roomy compared to the new designs at WDW.

The service at GC is excellent and there are nice touches like turndown for all rooms. When we checked in, I was expecting a letter. The young lady checked and it wasn't there so she said it must be in the mail room which apparently is downstairs somewhere. She said she would check on it. Five minutes or so later, she hand delivered it to our room.

On the flip side, I tried to buy a couple stamps at the front desk early one am. The young man who "helped" me said they didn't have stamps but that there were stamp machines right down the hall. But then he told me if I didn't have the correct change to go to the fast food place because "we are not a bank." The girl standing next to him look appalled. So I went to the machine and sure enough didn't have the exact change I needed. Despite his admonition, I went back to the desk which is much closer than White Water. He was gone and a different CM gladly provided the change I needed. But that is typical DL to me. Most CMs are wonderful but you get the very occasional one who is just nasty. I figure he was a frustrated actor wanna be.

Anyway, I would go back to GC in a heartbeat. Stunning resort.

 

[CoolPool]

Of the DLR resorts, the GCH is the only one that comes up the standard of what Disney did in Florida in terms of "theming." That you feel you are someplace other than Anaheim and the theming extends from the bathroom in your room to the pool to the restaurants to the bellman who greets you outside. That said, the rooms are smaller than DLH (another good hotel) and PP (nice views on the DCA side). Almost all of the rooms are not large enough to accommodate a daybed; though some one on the DLR boards said there are a few standard view rooms that have them that look out over the front roof I believe.

I agree with BCV23 about CMs.

Its my favorite DLR hotel hands-down. My usual haunts at WDW are Poly (10+ visits) and AKL. I'd love to stay at Beach Club one day too but I keep getting pulled back to the others. Anyway, I'd compare the GCH to AKL in terms of room size.

 

[disney-super-mom]

I agree with what everyone else has said. The also think GCH is most like the WL, although more upscale. But what gives the GCH a big edge is it's location.

On one side of the GCH is Disney's California Adventure park.....and I'm mean it's literally right there. That's why there's a private entrance and turnstiles right there at the hotel.

On the other side of the GCH is DTD.....and again, it's literally right there.

And then you can take a two-three minute stroll through the east end of DTD, and you're at the front gates of Disneyland.

The only bad thing about the GCH.....it's so expensive, I can't afford to stay there!

(We do love the PPH and the DLH though, because like CoolPool said, they have larger rooms.)

 

[Snurk71]

The one thing I think GC lacks is "grounds", at least I don't really remember any. The rooms are all connected to the same building, in the middle of the U of the building are the pools, and DTD is outside one side and DCA is outside the other side.

Not that I'm complaining. I'd take DTD and DCA being right next to the hotel over "grounds".

 

[MommyBuzz909]

But I think considering that when the built the GC, they had almost NO room at all to build it, but it's beautiful just the same. I think WDW needs to think about putting hotels up that connect to the parks like the GC does.....

 

[kirstyw82]

I've stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and GC and I would definitely say the GC is the only one that stacks up in terms of what you would expect of a disney hotel. The Grand Californian is superb in terms of theming and is a very elegant resort and I loved the location. I would highly recommend staying here, I had a fabulous time.

 

[Amy&Dan]

The hotel itself, as far as rooms, amenities, service is on par with a WDW resort. We loved the GCH, I agree it really does remind of WL. However, the difference is in the Disneyland Resort itself. Its very compact, situated within a large city so you have to realize there aren't really grounds to speak of at any hotel but the Disneyland Hotel and even those grounds are small by WDW standards. The pool area of the GCH is very nice, however while its 3 pools, they are all connected and so there is no quiet pool and no grounds to speak of at all. While at the pool however, you have some lovely views of some of the rides at DCA, the Sun Wheel in particular is lovely at night from the pool area. You just never leave the magic and the parks when you are at DL since they are right there. And the DTD area of DL is much nicer in my opinion, not as big but lots of nice live musical acts out during the day and nght to enjoy. It feels more upscale and not as touristy as the DTD in WDW and since GCH is right there, its easy to enjoy as much as you want.

On the flip side of the size issue, you'll never wait for a bus, monorail (unless you just want to ride the monorail, its more of a ride anyway) or boats. DTD is just out your door. The parks are a 2-5 minute walk away. You can ride Grizzly River Run, get soaked, and be up changing your clothes five minutes later. Disneyland is about the parks and not so much an out of this real world resort experience. Its wonderful, just like WDW but in a whole different way.

The GCH is the only Disneyland onsite hotel, built and designed by Disney. It shows in the lobby in particular. Its a truly lovely hotel. I love the DLH but thats just a sentimenal favorite of mine, the first Disney vacation I Took with my kids was to the DLH so its special. But the GCH is really in a class all its own at Disenyland and has the same feel of a WDW resort in many ways.

 

[JB2K]

Of the DLR resorts, the GCH is the only one that comes up the standard of what Disney did in Florida in terms of "theming."

There is a reason for that...

The namesake Disneyland Hotel was not originally built/owned by the Walt Disney Company (instead, it was built by oil millionaire Jack Wrather whose media holdings included the Lone Ranger and Lassie franchises), because Walt Disney had dedicated so much of his financial resources into making DL a "go", he was willing to get into an "exclusive" arrangment with a non-Disney entity just so DL could have their hotel when the park opened for business.

One of Michael Eisner's successes for WDC was after Jack Wrather's death, Disney bought the entire company (just so they could get control of the original hotel which bears the Disney name).

As for Disney's Paradise Pier hotel, it was designed/built by the Japanese as the Pan Pacific Hotel (it also holds a distinction of being one of very few buildings in the Western Hemisphere to have a 13th floor!).

As for the GC (like someone said, earlier), it was the first "true Disney hotel" in California to be built from the ground-up.

I'm sure we'll see more "theming" as DVC begins to take-off, out west...

 

[brergnat]

I am going to flat out say that the GCH is the ONLY Disney hotel (on the continental U.S) to provide a true "Deluxe" experience.

I think it is better than the Grand Floridian, from pictures I've seen and accounts I've read of stays there. Although, to be fair, I've never personally stayed there.

We stayed at GCH, concierge level bunk bed room in October 2007. For comparison, I've stayed at WL (as recently at Feb 2007 but also for my honeymoon in a honeymoon suite). I've also stayed at Contemporary, as far as the Deluxe hotels at WDW go. I've also stayed at a standard room at GCH.

The GCH excels in the following areas:

-Pool area: the chaise lounges have terry cloth covered THICK cushions on them. ALL the chairs! They have a pool bar and waiters who come around to take your order, and they deliver the drinks to your chair. The pool area is enclosed by a gate, and requires a keycard to enter. Keeps all the "pool hoppers" and locals OUT. WDW needs this at their pools...In addition, the pool at GCH has a panoramic view of Paradise Pier. While you are swimming, you can literally see people riding the roller coaster and sun wheel. At night, it's stunning. However, it's completely private from the other side (i.e. people in DCA can't see you). I don't know how they pulled this design off.

-Room amenities: The beds have down comforters, triple sheeting, and everyone gets turndown service. The towels are fluffy and nice. The beds are comfy, even the bunk beds, which are much larger than the ones found in the WL bunk bed rooms. The closet is large enough to set up a pack and play and then CLOSE the door, which is great when you have an infant who needs a quiet place to sleep. The rooms are wonderfully soundproofed, both in the walls and the glass used on the patio doors. Even with a theme park view, when you close the door, you hear NOTHING. That can't be said for any WDW hotel I've ever stayed at.

-Concierge: The concierge lounge here is very nice and well set up. The food is FABULOUS! The selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, artfully cut up and arranged, was especially good. I loved that they never ran out of food and people were civilized, for the most part. There was no hoarding of or attacking the food, as I've heard happens at some other concierge lounges. At night, they had hot food offerings from Napa Rose and the desserts were works of art! They also had nighttime entertainment in the lounge. There was storytelling in pj's (kids were encouraged to come in their pajamas and bring their pillow...it was cute). There was also a guy who played a guitar and did sing a longs (again, a little pajama party). They served hot cocoa and cookies to the kids during this. It was a nice touch and very fun.

-The Lobby: There is a huge fireplace that is better than the one at WL, IMO. It is actually a "hearth" and you feel like you are sitting INSIDE the fireplace. It's very cozy and there are even kid sized rocking chairs. In addition, the piano player at the GCH is awesome. There are a couple, but what I love is that they play piano classical versions of Disney tunes. It's very sophisticated, but still has that Disney touch. The lobby is just as nice as the WL. In my opinion, it is just as themed. However, the theme is a bit more obscure. You are supposed to feel like you are in the redwood forest, and the exposed beams of the walls and ceilings creates a tree canopy (trunks and branches) effect if you really look closely. It's visually interesting while at the same time not being as "in your face" as the theme at the WL (which I also love, by the way). It's a very classy lobby. I love the floral pattern in the marble floor and how it runs into the rug. When viewed from above, you can hardly discern where the marble flooring ends and the rug begins. It's really neat. This lobby is a favorite place of mine to hang out to relax during my day trips to WDW. It's so nice and cozy, and usually empty!

-The Spa! The Mandara Spa inside the hotel is worlds above and beyond the spa at the Grand Floridian. Perhaps this is because it is run by an outside company, but I don't mind. I did not get the same aloofness and snotty attitude that I got from the CM's at the GF Spa. And, for what you get for the money, the Mandara Spa is so much better.

People comment about the lack of grounds. There are two courtyards in this hotel. One of them is HUGE and grassy and features walking paths and floral arrangements, as well as benches to sit down. The other is a circular one, where the monorail goes by overhead. While not as large and expansive as some of the areas at WDW hotels, there is actually MORE outside space at this hotel than at the WL (if you don't count the trail to Ft. Wilderness) CR, and BWI and certainly more than AKL.

In general, I find the service and atmosphere to be superior to that at the WDW hotels. I really think that they hit the nail on the head at GCH in terms of what a Deluxe hotel *should* be...

 

[BCV23]

bregnat, the GF still triple sheets the beds. All the concierge levels at WDW that we've stayed at do as well. The Polynesian (and probably the CR) used to do so for all rooms in the good old days and I do miss that. The beds at the Polynesian, GF, BCV and AKV are the match of GC IMO.

The pool has to be gated at the GC because it is so close to two parks. While realizing the reason, I didn't care for that at all. Much prefer the lovely view from the Polynesian pool across Seven Seas Lagoon. Also love the grounds at the Polynesian and GF in particular. The larger courtyard at the GC is now becoming in part DVC. I did like the chaises at the GC.

I do think the lobby at the GC is beautiful. I love both that hearth and the one outside. But I didn't like that every am there were dirty glasses littering the space outside. I've never seen such carelessness at WDW.

I doubt that the GC concierge guests are a different breed than those at WDW. Most guests are polite. The few that aren't get all the ink.

 

[DizOz]

We stayed at GC and WDW in December and loved both. Must say the GC is much more up market and the quality of the rooms and size was better than WL.

We also had dinner at both restaurants at GC and WL and the quality of food and service was good at both but again GC was superior. Unfortuantely it was alittle cool at GC to try out the pool but must say my 2 DD had a great time in the WL pool.

The other things I loved about GC was the proximity of Disney Downtown and the parks. Walking out the back door to GCA was fabulous and the girls really loved it.

The loby of the GC is no match of the majesty of the WL, which is aew inspiring by its size and uniqueness.

Saying all that we had a great time at both locations and was made to feel part of the disney family at both.

 

[KirklandTutu]

I love WL, but GC is a large step up, not a tiny one imo.

The only things that the GC is missing are expansive grounds and lake activities...but look at the tradeoff with DTD and CA right there.

We haven't stayed concierge at either one, but the beds and linens at GC are definetly a step above, along with the robes and little extras that are in the room.

I would also have to say that in general, the service is also a step above. The WL was just fine, everyone nice and everything was fine...but GC just seems to go the extra step. Not sure if it's available with the other DL resorts, but if you stay at the GC, you automatically get the use of concierge-like trip planning people...that group of people has helped me to no end the last time we stayed there. They can help you get the coveted Fantasmic seating and holiday tours.

Even DH thinks so, he's refusing to go to the DL Hotel or Paradise Pier the next trip...and he's a cheapskate.

 

[Missus Toad]

GC is a huge step up from WL, IMO. That's not a knock against WL, but a statement of how great GC is. It is a true deluxe hotel with gorgeous Arts and Crafts theming, excellent restaurants and top tier service. That plus the fact that you are seriously steps away from DL and literally in DCA make it one of my all-time fave hotels, Disney or otherwise.