Help me keep the dream of the DLH

[TheColtonsMom]

With all the construction and the fact that we have a standard room which according to DLH front desk gives us a very good chance of ending up in the wonder tower that is under construction, I am thinking now is the wrong time to fulfill my decades long dream of staying at the DLH. I mean a real DREAM I have thought about since i was small always begged my parents back then.

Our reservations are paid for but I spoke to WDTC about the possibility of switching to one of the other on site hotels (we cannot spend any more money on accomadations or we will starve to death during our DLR stay) Neither Hotel has rooms available for the price I already paid for DLH - Cheapest room available at PPH is a preferred view room that has a view of THE CONSTRUCTION for $100 more than my room at the DLH. Upgrading to a guaranteed renovated room in one of the other towers is even more than switching to PPH.

Do I stay with what I have or give up being onsite? I know the decision is ours alone but I would appreciate some input.

Is staying in the DLH now going to ruin it for me forever? I am so very torn as I have looked forward to this stay for a very long time...this is supposed to be THE DREAM TRIP. We have never stayed on site we have never been to DCA never had parkhoppers or more than a day and 1/2 at the parks. although I have been frequenting the happiest place on earth on a semi regular basis since the early 70's.

I am very afraid that I will get to DLH and once I am assigned my room and walk to it through the construction I will end up standing at the front desk crying and asking if there is anything they can do. I'm crying now just thinking about it. This is not how I want to start our dream vacation or my son's first trip to Disneyland.

How bad is it really? Am I blowing this all out of preportion? I have read the blogs I have read every scrap of info I can find and I still don't know? I have read peoples horror stories and stories from people who thought it was no inconvinience at all. I am so confused.

For the price I paid I could move offsite and use the balance to buy at least a partial dining plan in order to avoid the $50 change fee
and have more money when we are in the parks, but I just don't know.

Help me please.

 

[Sherry E]

I just posted in your TR about the PPH and how you might want to reconsider that!!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

With all the construction and the fact that we have a standard room which according to DLH front desk gives us a very good chance of ending up in the wonder tower that is under construction, I am thinking now is the wrong time to fulfill my decades long dream of staying at the DLH. I mean a real DREAM I have thought about since i was small always begged my parents back then.

Our reservations are paid for but I spoke to WDTC about the possibility of switching to one of the other on site hotels (we cannot spend any more money on accomadations or we will starve to death during our DLR stay) Neither Hotel has rooms available for the price I already paid for DLH - Cheapest room available at PPH is a preferred view room that has a view of THE CONSTRUCTION for $100 more than my room at the DLH. Upgrading to a guaranteed renovated room in one of the other towers is even more than switching to PPH.

Do I stay with what I have or give up being onsite? I know the decision is ours alone but I would appreciate some input.

Is staying in the DLH now going to ruin it for me forever? I am so very torn as I have looked forward to this stay for a very long time...this is supposed to be THE DREAM TRIP. We have never stayed on site we have never been to DCA never had parkhoppers or more than a day and 1/2 at the parks. although I have been frequenting the happiest place on earth on a semi regular basis since the early 70's.

I am very afraid that I will get to DLH and once I am assigned my room and walk to it through the construction I will end up standing at the front desk crying and asking if there is anything they can do. I'm crying now just thinking about it. This is not how I want to start our dream vacation or my son's first trip to Disneyland.

How bad is it really? Am I blowing this all out of preportion? I have read the blogs I have read every scrap of info I can find and I still don't know? I have read peoples horror stories and stories from people who thought it was no inconvinience at all. I am so confused.

For the price I paid I could move offsite and use the balance to buy at least a partial dining plan in order to avoid the $50 change fee
and have more money when we are in the parks, but I just don't know.

Help me please.

I guess it comes down to your expectations. It's not going to be perfect. We stayed in June before the construction began on the grounds just to have the experience once. I paid for what at that time was called a "view" room, and we were really fortunate to get one of the renovated rooms in the Dream Tower. We chose to spend some of our time there enjoying the grounds, the room, and other hotel amenities and had a really lovely time. It was a different type of trip for us since our focus is usually just the parks. There was some construction going on, but it didn't bother us at all.

In September my brother stayed at the DLH with a reservation for a standard room. He was placed in the Wonder Tower. He asked really politely for anything else and was told no. He complained to me about having to walk all the way around to the back of the Wonder tower to enter every time. He complained about the dust and "rubble" of construction in the lobby. He said his room was "kind of lousy", and they heard construction (I'm guessing from outside) whenever there was daylight. He was so disheartened by the experience, that he and his family left one day early. (I never would have done that, but, hey, that's him.)

I don't know the current state of the Wonder tower or the grounds, but I know that construction is ongoing. If you know/think that construction noises, visible construction, detours, an older style room, etc. have the potential to ruin the trip for you mentally or emotionally, then don't do it. If you can go in with the attitude that it's the DLH and it's your dream and you're going to just be happy to be there no matter what, then go for it. To be honest, though, my plan for my family and myself is to not go back to the DLH until the construction is complete. It costs so much money, why pay all that for a less-than-the-usual-Disney-standard experience when I can save up and pay around the same (ok, probably more by then) for the "full" experience? There are lots of nice hotels near Disney, many of them within walking distance of the parks. You can use the money you save to eat at restaurant you might not normally think you can afford, to buy a special souvenir, or to start saving up for a future Disney trip at the DLH.

 

[tholczer]

I totally know what you mean about wanting the DLH experience. We love it there. What about upgrading your room and staying for less nights? Then transferring over to hojo? The other option is to call every day, a few times a day, until you get a cancellation at the PPH.

If you have to compromise, don't let it ruin your vacation. Come up with the best option that suits your budget and know you are doing the very best that you can. You will have a wonderful time with your family, no matter where you are sleeping

Tracy

 

[TheColtonsMom]

To all who have answered thanks for your input - the thing that set me off into drama queen land yesterday was a post (not here on DIS) about a trip last week during which the woman had to hand her child to her DH over a pile of construction materials then the adults had to climb over them as they were directly in the path outside the doors.

This horrified me from many standpoints including safety esp since we are paying so much to stay there, safety should be the minimum you would expect.

The construction was no surprise to me, this womans story horrified me. There is no good reason that even for a moment construction stuff should have been on the path so that you couldn't even get around it.

We have decided that we are going as we originally planned and just like every other thing like weather & crowds the construction will not mar our holiday.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We have decided that we are going as we originally planned and just like every other thing like weather & crowds the construction will not mar our holiday.

Good for you! If you go in with a good attitude and don't let things get you down by not expecting everything to be perfect, then you will be fine. Just be happy that you're at the DLH and Disneyland. If it doesn't live up to the standards you hoped for, then you'll have the perfect excuse to plan a future dream trip sometime when the construction is all done.

 

[skiingfast]

Sherri, I'm really glad you are sticking with plan A. Have a great time. I'm sure you family is going to enjoy themselves.

 

[ConnieB]

With all the construction and the fact that we have a standard room which according to DLH front desk gives us a very good chance of ending up in the wonder tower that is under construction, I am thinking now is the wrong time to fulfill my decades long dream of staying at the DLH. I mean a real DREAM I have thought about since i was small always begged my parents back then.

Our reservations are paid for but I spoke to WDTC about the possibility of switching to one of the other on site hotels (we cannot spend any more money on accomadations or we will starve to death during our DLR stay) Neither Hotel has rooms available for the price I already paid for DLH - Cheapest room available at PPH is a preferred view room that has a view of THE CONSTRUCTION for $100 more than my room at the DLH. Upgrading to a guaranteed renovated room in one of the other towers is even more than switching to PPH.

Do I stay with what I have or give up being onsite? I know the decision is ours alone but I would appreciate some input.

Is staying in the DLH now going to ruin it for me forever? I am so very torn as I have looked forward to this stay for a very long time...this is supposed to be THE DREAM TRIP. We have never stayed on site we have never been to DCA never had parkhoppers or more than a day and 1/2 at the parks. although I have been frequenting the happiest place on earth on a semi regular basis since the early 70's.

I am very afraid that I will get to DLH and once I am assigned my room and walk to it through the construction I will end up standing at the front desk crying and asking if there is anything they can do. I'm crying now just thinking about it. This is not how I want to start our dream vacation or my son's first trip to Disneyland.

How bad is it really? Am I blowing this all out of preportion? I have read the blogs I have read every scrap of info I can find and I still don't know? I have read peoples horror stories and stories from people who thought it was no inconvinience at all. I am so confused.

For the price I paid I could move offsite and use the balance to buy at least a partial dining plan in order to avoid the $50 change fee
and have more money when we are in the parks, but I just don't know.

Help me please.

Is this going to be your last trip to Disney for a long time? If not, then perhaps the timing is not right to fulfill that dream right now. I personally think you will be very disappointed that the stay does not live up to your dream. Construction is ugly, noisy, sometimes even smelly depending on what phase they're in. None of these are ideal for a visit to me.....if I were paying that kind of money for a room I would not be happy to have to put up with construction.....and for it to be a dream, well, that means all the more you need to set yourself up for success not very real potential for failure.

If this is the last time you see yourself coming to Disney for a very long time, then I would probably stay because to not fulfill your dream ever is probably worse than it not living up to everything you want it to be.

 

[Susie63]

While I agree that construction is never convienient or nice to look at...it is necessary.We went to Disneyland for our first time in February. We had never been to any Disney property and we were so excited. Dreams tower had been under constuction for a few months and I got so caught up in getting a new room. I booked a premium view with a DTD view for the first two nights and then moved to a standard view for the last six nights.I was sure we would get a new room....and we did....for the last six nights.
Our first room was in Wonder Tower and while I was dissapointed when we checked in, I wish I could have stayed in the old room for the whole trip. You could feel the nostalgia in the room. We loved Tinkerbell and her fairy dust and the beautiful carved TV armoire. We loved opening the balcony doors and even our little pigeon visitor whole strolled in uninvited.If you get a chance to experience one of the older rooms...take it. The next time you go to the DLH you won't have the option.
The new rooms are nice.....but in the end it is just a hotel room with Mickey mouse accessories.

 

[bumbershoot]

To all who have answered thanks for your input - the thing that set me off into drama queen land yesterday was a post (not here on DIS) about a trip last week during which the woman had to hand her child to her DH over a pile of construction materials then the adults had to climb over them as they were directly in the path outside the doors.

This just seems really unlikely. I would probably have a very hard time believing it. And if I did encounter a situation, I would turn right around and get a CM immediately. I wouldn't hand over my son and keep on going.



I wonder if the PPH construction view you were told about is actually the DCA construction? Their view rooms look into DCA, and that's right about where Ariel's ride is being made. (I love PPH, I'd take that over DLH, but then I've stayed at DLH as a child and adult, and know how I feel about it as an adult already)