Honeymoon trip...need help choosing resort...

[danissmart]

My fiance and I are getting married next july, we are taking a two week honeymoon, with the first week being in Hawaii. Coming back we will be staying at DL for 4-5 days. We are both WDW addicts, we go at least once a year, but this will be our first trip to DL. I am way more excited about the DL part of the trip then the 8 days in Hawaii, so I want to make sure we get it right.

We are looking for a resort style hotel, are the onsite options the nicest in the area? Which onsite is the nicest? I see the GCH is the most expensive, but is it nicer then the DLH? I have so many questions to ask over the next several months, but I think this is definitely the first part I need to figure out. So any opinions you guys have would be really helpful. Thanks

 

[pixiewings71]

If I was honeymooning, I'd go with the GCH for sure. It's gorgeous!!!!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

My dh and I honeymooned to DLR back in 2000. We could only afford to stay off site during that time..........however if I had to do it again today and had the money I would stay at GCH for sure!

 

[gatorfreud]

I have stayed at DLH and GCH and the GCH is much nicer - it is almost identical to WL in WDW if you have been there.

DLH is pretty nice too, so if you can't afford the GCH then I think DLH will be nice. Haven't stayed at PPH.

As a WDW vet, if you usually stay onsite at WDW, you should definitely stay onsite at DLR for your honeymoon. Although we stay off site at DLR sometimes, it seems to me more like a "theme park visit" when we do it that way. When we stay onsite at DLR it seems more like a "vacation" to me.

Napa Rose Chef's counter dinner was AWESOME! Ask for seats 5 and 6 when you book.

Enjoy!!

Kim

 

[avalon451]

Ok, that sounds like a FABULOUS honeymoon! How perfect! 8 days to relax in beautiful Hawaii (that's where we honeymooned, too, loved it!) and then when you're nice and recovered from months of wedding planning, hit the fun big time in DL!

If money is not an object, I would definitely stay at the GCH. It is truly lovely, and the closest to everything. I'd go for a Downtown Disney view (you can see the fireworks there from your balcony) and get concierge service. Have dinner at Napa Rose downstairs, at the chef's counter.

If money IS an object, there are some nice hotels offsite in walking distance. I would recommend Howard Johnson as the nicest one on Harbor. Get a Disney view room and a 7 minute walk to the gates for 1/3 or better of the price of GCH. Check their website as you get closer to your dates and you might find that they have their fantastic Entertainment Rate available ($79 a night for a premium room!) : http://www.hojoanaheim.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14

The other 2 Disney hotels are also nice, but like GCH, they are much more expensive than offsite, but about the same quality as HoJo, and about the same distance away, too.

I'd also highly recommend you check out Hydroguy's tips thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483 It's as good as any guidebook you can buy, and it's especially helpful for WDW vets who don't know much about DLR yet. On the subject of guidebooks, though, a lot of us here like the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland, for reference and some good tips and guidelines.

Hope that helps, and have a wonderful time planning!

 

[disney-super-mom]

I would pick the GCH if I could. It's just such a beautiful hotel and the location can't be beat. But if I wanted to spend just a little less, those newly revamped/decorated rooms that they have now started adding at the DLH look SWEET!

So don't count out the DLH. The new rooms look AWESOME! And the rooms at the DLH are larger. Plus the grounds at the DLH, with all the waterfalls and koi ponds, is very romantic.

Edited to add a few pictures for you.

Renovated Disneyland Hotel rooms will feature headboards with fiber optics that depict Sleeping Beauty Castle. Ummmm, try to imagine the rooms with a king bed though instead of two queens.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I wouldn't count out the DLH either or the PPH for that matter. The DLH has lovely grounds, a truly quiet, nice, low key, separate quiet pool (called the Cove Pool) and both Steakhouse 55 and Hooks Pointe are nice places for a romantic meal. The GCH is for sure lovely, but its generally so much more than the DLH it can sometimes price itself right out of the ballpark. I also like PPH, its the cheapest of the three and very nice.

I do not agree that PPH and DLH are on par with the Hojo. And I like the Hojo very much. But the DLH and PPH are full service hotels with a lot to offer above what the offsite places can. And while they may not be quite as close to the parks, DCA in particular as the GCH, the walk up DTD is much nicer than the walk up Harbor.

If you are a WDW lover and used to staying onsite, stay onsite at DL. Its your honeymoon after all. I think any of the tree hotels would offer plenty.

Wow, just saw those pictures of the new DLH rooms! Once those are done throughout the hotel, I'd say the DLH will have even more going for it.

 

[pinktink83]

Disney-super-mom...I think you just convinced me to stay at the DLH instead of the GCH for our anniversary in Feb! I love those headboards and the koi ponds DO sound romantic. I'm very excited now that we can spend waaaaaaaay less $$$ and still have a nice, romantic trip w/o resorting to the HOJO to save money, lol.

 

[danissmart]

Thanks for all the responses, I am still a little on the fence. Those new rooms at DLH look really fantastic, and I was looking through the pictures of DLH on wdwinfo, and the grounds do look wonderful. If there was a way to guarantee that we would be getting a renovated room at DLH, then I think that is for sure where we would end up. Those headboards look amazing, I know its such a small thing to base a hotel choice off of, but its the little things that make a vacation memorable I think. What kind of price difference are we talking about between DCH and DLH, I am finding it hard to really price them right now, because we are so far away from our trip.

 

[three_kids_mom]

Wow - are all the rooms that nice in DLH? We have rooms booked there in October...I didn't expect it to be that nice....I hope I am in for a pleasant surprise!

 

[Amy&Dan]

The rennovations at the DLH just started this month. So anyone staying there in the next year, I wouldn't count on a rennovated room. I can't remember how long they said the rennovation would take, but its a large hotel, with three towers and they will be doing some work on the outside of the building too.

I am going this October and I am not counting on one. But I would love it if I did get one!

 

[DSNY4ever]

If there was a way to guarantee that we would be getting a renovated room at DLH, then I think that is for sure where we would end up.

If you do go for the DLH, I suggest that you ask them to note that you would like to stay in one of those rooms if possible. And somehow bring up that it is your honeymoon- we did this on our WDW honeymoon and it got up bumped up at both our hotels (but the WDW hotels are bigger and it was not a crowded time of year). We felt stupid saying "FYI it's our honeymoon" but if it doesn't come up when you call to make the request maybe tell them that it is your honeymoon and ask if there is anything special you could add to your reservation or any suggestions that they have for an extra surprise (then even if you can't afford what they suggest you can just say you'll think about it and then at least they know you are celebrating your honeymoon and might note it on the reservation)- it's still no guarantee, but it could help!

Congrats!

 

[gatorfreud]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that none of the renovations were going to be done until.... can't remember exactly... next year sometime? Seemed a long way off to me, like next summer?

Kim

 

[ScooterL]

If you have the money I'd go with the GCH - it's a beautiful hotel, and I think as honeymooners they will treat you very well!!!

Otherwise, for me it's a toss-up between the DLH and the PP. Personally I prefer the PP - I think it's much more reasonably priced, the rooms are nicer as compared to the current rooms at the DLH (if you could be guaranteed a renovated room it might be different, though), and the decor appeals to me more than the decor at the DLH - I like the beachy theme.

I live in So Cal, so I'm jealous of the week in Hawaii part of it!!!

 

[disney-super-mom]

To help your chances of getting a newly revamped room at the DLH, you would need to ask for the specific tower that they are now working on, but I can't remember which tower that is. Perhaps Amy knows which tower they are working on right now. Amy, do you remember?

But, yeah, I hear everyone on those new rooms with those AWESOME headboards. They are SWEET!!!