Help please! Just can't decide which hotel to go for!

[Mazzy]

Hi!

We are visiting Disneyland for the first time in August 2008 - seems a long way off, but lots of research to do.

I'm trying to decide at the moment which hotel to stay in, it's a toss-up between The Disneyland Hotel and The Grand Californian.

We are two adults and two teenagers - they will be 13 and 17 next August so room size is important and I'm wondering if there is any difference in the rooms size in these two hotels?

I love the 'Disneyness' of the Disneyland Hotel, it looks more themed, but also the Grand Californian is in a better location, and with it being August the parks will be busy, so I'm just wondering how long it would take to walk from the Disneyland Hotel, and whether the monorail is likely to have high queues during peak season?

Which hotel would you choose for a family with two teenagers visiting the parks in August, staying for 4 nights?

Thanks for any help with this!

 

[my3kids]

The DLH rooms are larger. You are also more likely to end up with a day bed in addition to the queens.

The walk isn't much from DLH, honestly. It is not at all like WDW.

 

[dletz]

I've never stayed in the DLH and though I have been in one room there, and have seen 2 rooms at GC I couldn't tell you which is bigger. I think GC is probably more convient. It's extremely easy to get to DCA from GC, just go through the gate. If DCA is open you can walk through DCA (if you have hoppers) to get to DL, otherwise, you just walk out the hotel and past world of disney and you are at the entrance plaza. When we stayed there, we would follow the hallways through towards disneyland, and walk down the stairs and out the door at the back of the building where the Anne Geddes store is now. You come out next to the far end of World of disney. It was convient for us (unfortunately you couldn't go up that way). It's not a long walk through DTD to the entrance there though.

I personally don't think taking the monorail saves a ton of time. It's a nice ride, but it can get crowded in the morning and take a while to get on. If they are running round trips, the people on the monorail are not required to get off, so it sometimes not many people can get on in the middle of the day. In the morning the lines can be long as they usually only have a few turnstyles open, whereas at DL they have a lot more, though the lines are longer. It really is a toss up as to which one you will get in quicker, I would assume that you would come out faster in one over the other about half the time, but never know which will be faster ahead of time.

 

[Mazzy]

my3kids - thanks for your input, a daybed would be great, do you have to request one or are they already in the rooms, do you know?
Also, do you have to cross a road to get to the parks, I'm a bit confused by the maps I've seen.

dletz - from what you have said I would imagine it is quicker to walk. Did you have bunk beds in your room? Do you happen to know if they are adult sized? Thanks for your help with this.

 

[my3kids]

I think most of the DLH hotels have the 2 Q and a daybed. At GCH they won't guarantee one even with a party of 5, so I think there are not many there.

If the bunks are like they are at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Walt Disney World they were regualr bunk beds...your teens would be fine.

There is no road to cross. We walked out of the DLH and were right at Downtown Disney. We strolled down the pedestrian way to the entrances to the parks. If you are in the Bonita Tower at DLH it would be a little farther, just as if you are in a back area of GCH it will be a little farther than a room near the DDT area.

 

[Mazzy]

my3kids - thanks, it's good to know there is no road to cross, as it sounds as though the monorail may take longer than walking. I'm certainly leaning more towards the Disneyland Hotel now, if the rooms are larger and they have a daybed, also the fact that it was the first hotel at Disneyland, and is very well themed it is looking more appealing by the minute.

 

[Another^Dimension]

The Grand Cali is a beautiful hotel... but for room size, price and value and still a lot of convenience.. I think the DLH is better.
The DLH also has some suite rooms too, I think.


The Grand Cali actually has an entrance into DCA... but the DLH is also quite close to the parks and DtD.
The DLH is maybe 10 minutes walk further than the Grand Cali to the main entrances to DL and DCA.


If you choose the Disneyland Hotel, please don't hesitate to visit the Grand Californian anyway.
It is fun to explore or just hang out in relaxing and cooling off..., and has 3 nice pools (which you can also use if you are staying on property, bring your room key), a wonderful and comfortable lobby, 2 fireplaces (1 inside, 1 out), a beautful all wood very comfortable and relaxing bar (the Hearthstone!) and 3 wonderful places to eat. White Water Snacks being the best-eating-deal on property in the eyes of many! Many of my friends and people I know.


Have fun!

 

[MATTERHORN]

As you can see by my countdown, we LOVE the Grand. So that is my vote. I could give you tons of reasons, but you'll just have to trust me. My girls love it there too! They are 5 and 3.

If you can save a bit at the DLH, then maybe that might work for you. It doesn't for me because we have a double stroller and it's too hard to fold it all up and hold onto 3 kids on the monorail just to get to the DLH. And at the end of the night, it's a long walk for us. When we stay at the DLH, I always pass the Grand on the way back and kick myself for not staying there!


Andrea

 

[Mazzy]

Ooooh thanks for more opinions, now I'm undecided again.

AnotherDimension - I didn't know that we could use the other hotel pools, so thanks for that info. We need to toss up whether we want somewhere closer, or can put up with the 10 min walk to get more room and a daybed.

Andrea - yes I can imagine passing The Grand when you are tired out and wishing you were staying there, and with the weather being hot in August as well, oh it's so hard to make a decision, but even though my two are teenagers they still get tired and the less walking the better. I guess we won't be spending that much time in our room, and the convenience of being able to walk straight into the parks and DTD too might just top the Disneyland Hotel's themeing - this may well be our one and only trip to Disneyland as we are from the UK, so it might be worth spending the extra to make our trip truly memorable, I've seen some pictures of the rooms with a theme park view and 'wow' is all I could say!

I'm swinging towards the Grand Californian now, unless of course, anyone can convince me otherwise?

 

[my3kids]

If you love the theme park view, you might want to throw the Paradise Pier into the mix. Have you seen those views? I think I read here those are the largest rooms on property.

Oh one more thing I LOVED about the DLH. The toliet is in a seperate room. That water closet made all the difference in getting ready because with a whole group, more than one person at a time reall could be using the bathroom facilities.

 

[evilqueen71]

We've stayed at the GC for the last three years and absolutely love it. I love the rooms. With the queen size beds and the bunk beds. The kids love the bunk beds. The hotel is just amazing and love the entrance to the DCA. You can always take a shortcut and walk through DCA to get to DL. We stayed at the DLH the first year. The GC is just beautiful. Our boys now 7 and 5 love the breakfast with Chip and Dale and Pluto. They spend so much time with the kids. Its so great. We've never stayed at PP but do the Lilo and Stitch breakfast and that is very nice and the hotel looks nice too. Hope this helps you out.

 

[50thisyeartoo!]

I haved stayed at all of them. They are all clean, nicely decorated. I think if you prefer to be a little closer to DL or DCA the GC is the best bet. Paradise Pier is further away than the other two. The DL Hotel is my favorite because it is the oldest. The rooms were redone a few years ago and they are very nice and comfortable. My daughter and family are staying at the GC again this July; I personally can't see spending the extra $$ on the room when I would rather have the $$ for souvenirs...and collectibles from the park. I love walking thru the GC Hotel and looking at the antiques in the display cases. My vote is DL Hotel. For value and location. I LOVE walking thru Downtown Disney. Sometimes there are outdoor musicians. There is so much to see. AND the Monorail one way trip is near the DL Hotel. I know that is going away when they start to remodel the Monorail.

 

[Mazzy]

my3kids - PLEASE!!!!! Don't do this to me! I did see some pics of the Paradise Pier Hotel views, but took that one out of the equation as it is further away. Good news about the DLH bathroom, will keep that in mind thanks.

evilqueen71 - thanks for telling me how much you love the GC, yes the bunkbeds look great but having read other posts about them, they are suitable only for children under 11, so that's my giant teenagers out of the equation, but we can manage with two doubles. We did the Stitch breakfast at WDW and DD loved it, so we may possibly book the one at paradise pier for her if we can stretch to it.

50thisyeartoo - I agree that the GC is expensive, and was initially leaning more towards the DLH, but now I've seen further photos of the GC and read more about it, it's definitely screaming out to me - 'book me now'!

Thanks so much for your input everyone, I think I've pretty much decided on the GC now - thanks again, you've all been fantastic!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi Mazzy,

They're all fun to stay at. The official Disneyland Resort position is that there is no pool switching, so I just thought I would let you know.

Here are some descriptions of the hotels with pics of their rooms. Hopefully that will also help you make a final decision.

Grand Californian Hotel -
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=841225

Disneyland Hotel -
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=8295554#post8295554

 

[scrappy910]

We stayed at the DLH last weekend. We loved it!! We were in the Sierra Building and had 2 beds plus the daybed. My daughter and her family were in the Marina Building and only had 2 beds and no daybed. Don't know why the difference, we both booked standard view rooms. We did get upgraded to a pool view (maybe because we were using DVC points).

If you stay at DLH don't forget to check out the pool at night and look for Tinkerbell.

Carol

 

[Another^Dimension]

The official Disneyland Resort position is that there is no pool switching, so I just thought I would let you know.

Everytime we have stayed on property we were told our room key was good for all of the hotel pools on property.

The last time being in February, when staying at the Grand and the CM who checked us in encouraged us as resort Guests to also check out the Neverland Pool at the DLH and also check out the new California Streamin' water slide at the PPH pool.

Just wondering...

 

[Mazzy]

Thanks for the links MaryJo - great pics!

Scrappy910 - glad you enjoyed the DLH, it looks great but the GC has won us over.

AnotherDimension - don't worry, we will probably only have time to use our own pool anyway, as we have a lot to pack into 3 days, but thanks for letting me know.

I just showed the pics of both hotels to DH and we are agreed on the GC now, and I even showed him the rates, he must like the look of the hotel very much, as he didn't flinch!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Everytime we have stayed on property we were told our room key was good for all of the hotel pools on property.

The last time being in February, when staying at the Grand and the CM who checked us in encouraged us as resort Guests to also check out the Neverland Pool at the DLH and also check out the new California Streamin' water slide at the PPH pool.

Just wondering...

I've called the three hotels and have been told no pool hopping, but have also seen GCH guests using the Neverland pool. I don't think PPH guests can pool hop, and don't think DLH guests can use the GCH pool.

Having said that, though, I also am aware that Disneyland will say one thing over the phone, and have a more flexible policy in real life. Glad you were able to use all the pools.

 

[my3kids]

Paradise Pier guests can use the DLH pool. I don't think anyone can use GC except guests there.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Just know that at the Grand Californian its two queens and a sleeping bag or one queen and bunk beds. They don't have rollaways or daybeds. The DLH on the other hand won't guarantee a daybed but if you don't get one, they have rollaways for free. We have stayed there five times and I believe had a daybed three times and used rollaways the other two. My daughter actually thought the rollaway was more comfortable and so for one of those stays we asked for a rollaway even though we had the daybed. The daybed is just a wooden armed sofa that you can take the back cushion off to make a bed that is more like a cot. I am not actually sure the daybeds would be long enough for a teenager. The DLH rooms are nice and oversized, PP's are too. And PP has a daybed that is more like a small sofabed. The back folds down to reveal a mattress type thing underneath. I think all three hotels have their advantages:
GCH: Location, location, location!
DLH: Magical Disney theming and Neverland Pool (both of which your kids are probably too old to care about!) and large oversized rooms and a guaranteed option for a third bed, be it daybed or rollaway.
PP: Large rooms, the cheapest of the three and an incredible pool slide in a very ordinary pool. I am not sure if PP has rollaways but all the rooms have the daybeds. Mary Jo has a picture on the sticky/link of resort hotels that shows the PP daybed unfolded.

PP has the least amount of dining options of the three if that is important to you. Both GCH and the DLH have a pool bar type thing that serves food options. At GCH its Whitewater Snacks (gets rave reviews) and at the DLH its Crocs Bits n Bites. PP has not had their pool bar open either of the times we have stayed there but both of those stays were in mid September during off season. Still that was a bummer because I wrongly assumed we could get the kids something to eat at the pool one day.

Good luck with your choice, good for you planning early!