Help With Hotel Choice Please

[TAKitty]

I read the DL tips page and looked at all the hotel stuff and I still can't find the information I am looking for.

We are planning a future trip to DL and I like to stay onsite. Do any of the hotels have the monorail right at the hotel?

Can you actually walk to DL?

I guess I wonder which hotel, of the three onsite, is actually better. I know that GC is the nicest, but I know that expense doesn't always been better.

Thanks!

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We stayed at PP in 05 They are all just a short walk to get to the entrances of the 2 parks.

The Mono-rail when running is in DTD near DLH but still a walk.

GC has an entrance into DCA that you can cross the street and get to from PP as well . We used this alot during the days to get back and forth to the rooms from both parks as we had hoppers.

It's only about a 5min walk from any hotel to the other then through DTD to get to the square that has both park entrances in.

 

[abby]

Better depends on what you are looking for. if you have kids, I would suggest DLH because it is the only one that is real disney magic. If it's an adult only trip and you want to be pampered a little go with GC.

 

[daannzzz]

The monoral is, as said above, near the Disneyland Hotel. To walk from the farthest room to the monorail station would proabbly be 7 minutes or so. The closest would be 3-4 minutes. You can use the monorail when stayng at the paradise Pier Hotel but the walk would be 10-15 minutes. The Grand Californian is close to the parks and does not require hemonorail and in fact you would be walking away from the parks to use it.
Here is a nice overead view.

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/dlmp.html

 

[honeymom]

I disagree with DLH as being the only place to get the Disney Magic. It's kind of like saying the the Contemporary is the only place to get it at WDW. We hated the DLH and look forward to staying at the GCH - it is kind of like a slightly more upscale Wilderness Lodge. We like theming, not specifically just having a bedspread that has Mickey on it and an overcrowded/freezing pool like we experienced at the DLH in 2002.

DLH is closest to the monorail, however. But it is not right there the way it is at the 3 monorail hotels at WDW. I think it used to go closer to the hotel (at least I remember taking it right up to the hotel before the park was reconfigured to add DD and CA).

 

[disney-super-mom]

All three on-site hotels are nicely located and an easy walk to the parks. None of them is longer than a 15 minute walk (at the most) to the front gates.

We stayed at the Paradise Pier just a couple of months ago, and it took us about 10 minutes to walk to the front gates of Disneyland (we cut through the Grand Californian). We also used the Grand Californian's private entrance to gain access to California Adventure (any guest staying at one of the Disney owned hotels can use this entrance).

The nicest of the three hotels is of course the Grand Californian. It has beautiful theming, decor, and is in the best location in relation to the parks.
However, their rooms are a bit smaller in square footage compared to the rooms at the DLH and the PPH...but...their rooms also have small balconies with a couple of chairs and a small table. Most rooms at the DLH and the PPH do not have balconies (although at the DLH you can open a sliding glass patio door to kind of get the feeling of a balcony, but you're actually still "inside" your room).

DH and I would LOVE to stay at the GC, but we haven't had the opportunity yet. Maybe on our next trip. We really did enjoy the DLH when we stayed there, and we had a BLAST when we stayed at the PP!!!

You really can't go wrong with any of them. Look at some pictures of them, and then go with what looks the best to you.

 

[XTinabell]

I was given the advice of a friend about this exact matter. She told me that never again would stay on site at DLR because the onsite hotels are actually a longer walk to the parks than most of the friendly neighbour hotels. The only hotel since the refurb that is actually apart of the park is Grand Californian. This is the only one I would stay at otherwise I would go with a friendly neighbour hotel. DLH used to have the monorail run right up to the hotel but not anymore since the refurbs. My advice to you is stay at GCH, don't bother with the other hotels if you want a quick walk.

 

[honeymom]

I was given the advice of a friend about this exact matter. She told me that never again would stay on site at DLR because the onsite hotels are actually a longer walk to the parks than most of the friendly neighbour hotels. The only hotel since the refurb that is actually apart of the park is Grand Californian. This is the only one I would stay at otherwise I would go with a friendly neighbour hotel. DLH used to have the monorail run right up to the hotel but not anymore since the refurbs. My advice to you is stay at GCH, don't bother with the other hotels if you want a quick walk.

Your friend is right on the money. We made the mistake of staying at the DLH the last time and will be at GCH our next trip.

 

[disney-super-mom]

We loved the DL hotel because it's so convenient to the monorail! We stayed in the Marina tower, and from the lobby it was literally a three minute walk to the Monorail station.

We loved the PP hotel because it has the best park views, and because of the pool deck (no, it doesn't have a fancy theme, but the pool is nice and warm, the slide is a blast for the kids, even for the kids that can't swim yet, and it has a great view of the fireworks with the music and narration piped in - AWESOME!)

We love the Grand Californian (even though we haven't stayed there yet) because of it's gorgeous lobby, theming, rooms with balconies, and the location can't be beat!

 

[fidoprincess]

We love staying at the DLH when the monorail is running because we do the early entry and skip the long lines at the gate and the walk from DLH to the monorail is really the shortest of all walks except into CA from GC. The rooms are bigger than the other two and we can be guaranteed 2 queen beds with a sofa sleeper and also get a rollaway for free and have it fit nicely in the room and still not feel cramped. We like the Sierra Tower, upper floors downtown disney view since many nights our kids go to bed early and we can at least watch the fireworks from our room. The kids love the pool the most out of all the hotels and we enjoy the grounds too, feeding the koi at the waterfalls and doing the remote boats and always eat at Goofy's at least once.

PP has a spectacular view! I love the view from the uppermost floors looking at the theme park and we can also get a 2 queen room with a daybed but NO rollaway allowed because the rooms are smaller than DLH. That is a dealbreaker for us because our 2 kids fight over the daybed-they both want it! The pool is just okay and there are no grounds and the walk is really quite a bit farther, an extra 5 minutes or more with little kids. Not a big deal for adults but at the end of a long day with kids, it seems like forever to go all the way through DTD even cutting through GC and then you have a big street to cross doing that so we don't stay there as much.

GC is really really nice but has tiny rooms IMHO. The only rooms you can get with 2 Qs and the daybed are standard view rooms that overlook the driveway of the hotel. There are less than 10 of these rooms I think and you are NEVER guaranteed anything! You can pay for the view though but then you will have a choice of 2 queens only-overlooking DTD or a king room either view or a queen with bunk beds and a trundle. You can NEVER get a rollaway, they give you a sleeping bag instead. So...if space is an issue=DLH, price=PP, close=GC! The prices are usually like this(cheapest to most expensive) PP(standard=no view), DLH(standard=no view), PP(parkview),DLH(pool/resort view) then GC city/courtyard view, DTD view, pool/resort view.

If we were on a budget and didn't care about the pool, I would pick Best Western Park Place Inn! You can not get much closer than that and the 2Queens minisuite have a fridge/micro and double sofabed!

What ever place you decide, make your reservations asap! People are booking 6 months ahead at least for the resort hotels. For June we booked in Jan and for Nov we booked in June and when we tried to add one more night to November's trip in Sept, we could not get it!!

 

[JRDisneyClan]

As a DVC member, I'm sure you're familiar with WDW. DLR is different from WDW in that the entire DLR will fit inside the MK parking lot. It would probably take longer to walk from Once Upon a Toy at WDW DTD to the far end of WDW DTD West Side than it would to go from PP, DLH or any of the good neighbor hotels across Harbor Blvd to the main entrance square of DL/DCA and back. Disney property & magic aside, there's very little difference in walking time/distance to the park.

You can walk to DTD, DL or DCA from any of the places listed. The DL monorail station outside of the park is equidistant from DLH & GCH, a few minutes more from PP. From GCH, you'd have to backtrack from the DL/DCA entrance to get there. Whatever Disney property you come from, unless the monorail is sitting right there & you can just walk on, it will take you longer to wait for the monorail, board it, ride it in & disembark in Tomorrowland, than it would if you walked to either main entrance (from that station to either front entrance, it's a 6 - 8 minute walk).

GCH - 5 min., even less to DCA because there's a DCA park entrance attached, puts you right at the entrance of Grizzly River Run in the Grizzly Peak Rec Area & great if you want to ride GRR, get soaked, freeze your butt off walking through the GCH lobby to change in your room & go right back to DCA with dry clothes. Similar to WL & AKL in design & structure with the open air lobby looking up to all of the different levels of rooms, just different decor.

Park Vue Inn, 1570 Harbor Blvd. - 6-8 min. depending on stoplight, directly across the street from a tram drop-off area. 1 to 1 1/2 minutes waiting for light to change, cross Harbor Blvd., walk through tram drop-off, go through security, main entrance square.

Ramada Main Gate, 1650 Harbor Blvd. & Fairfield Inn, 1460 Harbor Blvd. - 1 to 1 1/2 min. to stoplight in front of the Park Vue Inn

Alpine Inn, corner of Harbor & Katella - 8-10 min., same side as DLR, far corner of parking lot behind DCA, just behind the perimeter fence...you may even be able to cross through the fence, not sure

DLH - 10-15 min. depending on which of the 3 towers you're in, oldest Disney property, don't know what the rooms look like these days, fairly new pool area which is pretty big, seems bigger than the main pool area at SSR, but it might be how it's structured vs. the open SSR pool area

Portofino Inn & Suites, 1431 Harbor Blvd. - 12-14 min., across Katella Ave. from Alpine Inn

PP - 15-17 min., directly across the street from DCA...walk towards DLH, past the monorail station, through DTD, past GCH, through security, main entrance. Haven't checked recently if the entrance to the PP section of DCA is still open or not; crossing the street may get you into DCA quicker if it is.

Staying onsite & walking through DTD, even if it's a couple minutes longer still gives you the "feel" of being at WDW, no stoplights to wait at, busy streets to cross. It's much more condensed & has fewer shops, etc., but you're still on property with shops, restaurants, etc. right there with Disney prices to make you feel at home

Great advice & review by fido about the rooms, prices & reservations! You can always check the DVC Disney Collection pts. chart for rankings.

 

[funnygarcia]

The private entrance for PPH into DCA no longer exists. It was removed a few years ago to save on staffing.

I've heard of people at PPH walking thru the Grand's lobby, enter thru the Grand's entrance into DCA.
Or walk thru Grand and exit into DTD and walk to the plaza/backtrack to monorail.

 

[TAKitty]

I really want to say thanks for all of the helpful information! This has been one of the most helpful boards! I am used to WDW, and I thought the monorail went to one of the resorts. I know that we will make a great decision based on all of your experiences! THANKS!!

 

[snowy76]

The private entrance for PPH into DCA no longer exists. It was removed a few years ago to save on staffing.

I thought that was the case -- but the new planning video mentions it. I remember doing a double-take b/c I distinctly heard PP mentioned. Anyone know what that's all about?

 

[terryX]

I thought that was the case -- but the new planning video mentions it. I remember doing a double-take b/c I distinctly heard PP mentioned. Anyone know what that's all about?

You have to go through the GCH to use their private entrance. You will need to show your hotel keys as well.

 

[suzannen]

Question - we are just starting to plan a trip for next summer and had thought we'd stay at the GCH since last time we stayed at the DLH. Well, because of what I learned from this thread, I told my 12 year-old DD that there was a good chance she'd have to sleep in a sleeping bag. She was not too happy with that idea. Since the double queen rooms seem to be so scarce, what is the possibility that we would get one of the queen rooms with bunk beds if we are only 3 people? She'd happily do that. Any suggestions on what to ask for or what view or how we'd need to upgrade so we don't get a sleeping bag? Otherwise, I guess it's back to DLH.

Thanks for all of this wonderful info!!