Hotels of Disneyland question

[Leshaface]

We have a party of 5 going to Disneyland Nov 19-22.

We have stayed at the Disneyland Hotel twice and have been able to fit 5 people in the room, 4 in the two queen sized beds and one on the couch.

I was looking at rates to book online, and the itinerary did allow me to have 5 people to 1 room in any of the three hotels.

However, when I called to inquire on the phone, they said they don't allow 5 people to a room?? I would need to get 2 rooms or a suite?

Has anyone else had these issues before? Should I just book online, where it allows me to have 5 people in one room, or should I call back and see if I get a different representative on the phone??

I'm willing to pay 900 for a room for five people but not close to 2000 where 4 people will be in one room, and one person will be in the other room!

 

[Sherry E]

I had a few questions for you! I saw your $900 figure (which reminded me of how very costly it is to stay onsite!!). Was that $900 figure for the DLH or the PPH? It's a 3-night stay, correct? And is that the price you got after the current discount that DLR is offering (I think it's 20% off of PPH and maybe 25% off DLH or more than that)? And is it "room only" or does that include Hoppers too?

Sorry for the questions - I was just wondering because I was looking into staying onsite again too (after a 2-year break from staying onsite) and I wondered what kind of prices I am facing after the discount sets in!!

Anyway, as to your question...I don't know what's happening these days at the DLH but in the past it seemed like the fine print always indicated that DLH or PPH rooms could accommodate up to 5 people. Almost all of the PPH rooms have a daybed/pull-out thing, and I thought almost all of the DLH rooms did too?

 

[Leshaface]

I had a few questions for you! I saw your $900 figure (which reminded me of how very costly it is to stay onsite!!). Was that $900 figure for the DLH or the PPH? It's a 3-night stay, correct? And is that the price you got after the current discount that DLR is offering (I think it's 20% off of PPH and maybe 25% off DLH or more than that)? And is it "room only" or does that include Hoppers too?

Sorry for the questions - I was just wondering because I was looking into staying onsite again too (after a 2-year break from staying onsite) and I wondered what kind of prices I am facing after the discount sets in!!

Anyway, as to your question...I don't know what's happening these days at the DLH but in the past it seemed like the fine print always indicated that DLH or PPH rooms could accommodate up to 5 people. Almost all of the PPH rooms have a daybed/pull-out thing, and I thought almost all of the DLH rooms did too?

Hi Sherry!

Here's the rates I pulled for 3 nights, 5 people, room ressie only.

Paradise - Standard - $696.00 --> $800.40 with tax
Disneyland - Upper view - $888.00 --> $1021.20 with tax
GCH - Standard - $924.00 --> $1062.60

This is with the 20/25% discount they are currently having.

Costco is cheaper right now for park hoppers: $199.00 4 day parkhoppers with, I believe, a $50 dollar gift card. Must use all four tickets before May 31, 2011 with blockout days: 12/17/10-1/1/11

For 3 nights, Paradise isn't too bad! But for a few hundred more, we could be at GCH!!!

I've never stayed at PPH, but the Disneyland Hotel FOR SURE has that pull-out option!

And when I went to 'book', it allowed me to have 5 people over at the GCH?!? I'm just scared to book online, then go to the hotel to find they don't allow 5 people in the rooms, even though I was able to book 5 people!!! Sigh, didn't know booking a room could be so difficult!

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Sherry!

Here's the rates I pulled for 3 nights, 5 people, room ressie only.

Paradise - Standard - $696.00 --> $800.40 with tax
Disneyland - Upper view - $888.00 --> $1021.20 with tax
GCH - Standard - $924.00 --> $1062.60

This is with the 20/25% discount they are currently having.

Costco is cheaper right now for park hoppers: $199.00 4 day parkhoppers with, I believe, a $50 dollar gift card. Must use all four tickets before May 31, 2011 with blockout days: 12/17/10-1/1/11

For 3 nights, Paradise isn't too bad! But for a few hundred more, we could be at GCH!!!

I've never stayed at PPH, but the Disneyland Hotel FOR SURE has that pull-out option!

And when I went to 'book', it allowed me to have 5 people over at the GCH?!? I'm just scared to book online, then go to the hotel to find they don't allow 5 people in the rooms, even though I was able to book 5 people!!! Sigh, didn't know booking a room could be so difficult!

Thank you so much for that info. It's funny - as many times as you can stay onsite and 'get used to' the prices - if that's possible - when you skip a year or two and then revisit the idea of staying onsite, the prices seem like they are so much higher than they were!! I don't know if it's just my perception of the whole thing, but I'm looking at those PPH prices, thinking "Yikes! That is way more than it was," when in reality it may not be that much more. I think I just have sticker shock! I honestly think I just had a much better discount the last time I stayed onsite, and that made a big difference in price. This year, the really good discounts have mostly expired or you have to have an AP and wait for the good rates to show up.

But, really, looking at those rates you posted above...anyone who is thinking about staying at the DLH may as well stay at the GCH for just a little bit more money. That's not a 'bad' price for the GCH for 3 nights, compared to what it would normally be during later in the holiday season. And yet the PPH seems so much higher compared to what it usually is. That 15% tax really brings the amount up much higher, doesn't it? And then there is the resort fee on top of that (only for the rest of this year but in 2011 the resort fee will be gone). Hmmm...something to ponder.

I don't blame you for being reluctant about booking online with the question of the 5-person accommodations looming. I think I would probably want to call again and pray that I got a different CM, then mention what the website says. I always thought that PPH and DLH could handle up to 5 people and that number would be okay. If it's not a package for a fixed number of people, with a fixed number of Hoppers involved, then I don't see why the CM on the phone would have told you the room can't take 5 people. Very interesting.

 

[goldies 5]

You were told wrong. I just booked a room through Disney for 5 people. Any of the three hotels will let you do this.

 

[goldies 5]

We were also guaranteed a room with the sofa sleeper or whatever it is called at the GC. The CM told me they automatically do this now for 5 people. We had ressies at the DLH first but changed and we had 5 scheduled there. PP accomodates 5 with a sofa sleeper too.

 

[Leshaface]

Sherry - they're getting rid of the resort fee next year?? I wonder if they're just going to 'include' it in the rate of the room and just say that the resort fee has been waived??

And you're right! That 15% adds so much to the rate, then add the resort fee on top of that!!

The rates are not too bad, considering it's a weekend at the beginning of the Holiday layover! Not just to decide where to stay! Decisions, decisions..


Goldies - thanks so much for confirming this! I can never understand why the customer reps are told so many different things, then the actual workers at Disneyland! I should have just called GCH, PPH, and the DLH just to ask if they took 5 people/room. But you just saved me a call so thank you!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry - they're getting rid of the resort fee next year?? I wonder if they're just going to 'include' it in the rate of the room and just say that the resort fee has been waived??

And you're right! That 15% adds so much to the rate, then add the resort fee on top of that!!

The rates are not too bad, considering it's a weekend at the beginning of the Holiday layover! Not just to decide where to stay! Decisions, decisions..


Goldies - thanks so much for confirming this! I can never understand why the customer reps are told so many different things, then the actual workers at Disneyland! I should have just called GCH, PPH, and the DLH just to ask if they took 5 people/room. But you just saved me a call so thank you!

Yes - starting in 2011, the Resort Fee is gone! But you're right - I wouldn't be shocked if the room rates hike up to make up for the difference. What's supposed to be happening is that the DLR hotels are going to go back to the old way of doing things - this is what they did when I used to stay at DLH all the time in the late '80s and into the '90s - they are going to just charge a daily fee for parking. And if you don't have a vehicle with you (like you get dropped off or take a shuttle or something), you won't have to pay for parking!

The current Resort Fee - as I was always told by the hotel CM's - was supposed to include parking, Internet use, spa access, a daily newspaper, etc. However - there are many of us who need none of those things when we stay at one of the 3 hotels and would rather not have to pay $13.80 per night for something we won't use. It wasn't fair. I really, strongly think that only the people who need to use certain services should have to pay for those services. We shouldn't all have to pay.

In the old days, the DLH would simply charge you for parking IF you needed to park, and they would make you put down a deposit for the phone in the room but you would get it all back at the end of your stay if you didn't use it. So you wouldn't be paying for anything you didn't use/need. In this day and age of everyone having a cell phone, not many people will be using the in-room phone to make outbound calls, but maybe the hotels will still want a deposit for that just in case. Not sure. In any case, I think the parking fee is going to be $15 per day.

 

[KCmike]

That's interesting about the GCH and the five person rule. This past summer you could request the sofa sleeper but you weren't guaranteed it. This was shocking to us! If they run out of rooms you would be given a sleeping bag for the 5th person. There are not many sofa sleeper rooms. I think it was somewhere in the 100 or less. Maybe fewer I really can't remember the number. With all this being said we loved the GCH. We did get the buy 3 get 2 free deal though which made it worth it for us. The hotel is all about location.

 

[DahliaRW]

Yes, I was told the parking fee would be $15/day when I reserved at the DLH for February. I'm wondering if they're going to charge for internet, didn't think to ask.

We have 5 booked in one room at the DLH and had no issue doing so.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm curious about the Internet and how that will be handled as well (once the Resort Fee is gone). Even though I don't go online when I stay onsite, we certainly have many DIS'ers here on the board who do (they report to us live from the scene!!). So that would impact a lot of people, I'm sure.

It's interesting - when I was just on the DLR site I plugged in some different dates at the PPH to see if there was a price difference. First I had myself arriving on a Friday in December and leaving on the following Monday, and I came up with the same rates Leshaface came up with, basically (actually, I think the December rate for 3 nights [Fri. - Mon.] was $5 more than what Leshaface got for November at the PPH). But when I plugged in dates that had me arriving on a Sunday in December and leaving on the following Wednesday, it was just about $100 cheaper!!!

If ever there were an argument for staying onsite on weeknights and not directly over weekends (aside from lighter crowds), the money-saving aspect is a BIG one!!

 

[goldies 5]

KCMike- Yes, I actually was expecting the opposite, you get what you get. But the CM said we are actually guaranteed that room, because we had 5 people. I didn't even ask for one of those rooms, fully expecting to possibly need a sleeping bag. So it was a nice surprise.
She also said the rooms are assigned out 2 weeks in advance and that people aren't going to be , as easily anyway, requesting upgrades once they get to the hotel.
I didn't ask for any requests, I was just given this info. But she did say, I don't have to worry about that particular room not being available, when I check in regardless of time of day.

 

[Grim_Grinning_Girl]

I just stayed at the Disneyland Hotel (Magic Tower). We were two adults and a child, had a couch two queen beds, and the room was huge! So were the beds. You could easily fit 5 adults, but I would feel sorry for the couch person because the couch was pretty hard.

Honestly, not to sound sneaky but even if they give you a hard time about having 5 adults that place is so huge that front desk will never know, just don't have all 5 people go to the counter with you. And housekeeping is so busy they won't know either. You really don't run into them except for sometimes in the hallway, but even then I really don't think they'll notice or rat you out. Just be respectful and keep the room fairly clean and organized, no wild rock star parties!

 

[Leshaface]

I just stayed at the Disneyland Hotel (Magic Tower). We were two adults and a child, had a couch two queen beds, and the room was huge! So were the beds. You could easily fit 5 adults, but I would feel sorry for the couch person because the couch was pretty hard.

Honestly, not to sound sneaky but even if they give you a hard time about having 5 adults that place is so huge that front desk will never know, just don't have all 5 people go to the counter with you. And housekeeping is so busy they won't know either. You really don't run into them except for sometimes in the hallway, but even then I really don't think they'll notice or rat you out. Just be respectful and keep the room fairly clean and organized, no wild rock star parties!

The only thing is, we DO have wild rock star parties!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

And you're right! That 15% adds so much to the rate, then add the resort fee on top of that!!

To those doing their budgeting, I believe I read that the Anaheim city council just tacked on an extra 2% to the hotel resort fee brining it up to 17% on November 1.

 

[Sherry E]

To those doing their budgeting, I believe I read that the Anaheim city council just tacked on an extra 2% to the hotel resort fee brining it up to 17% on November 1.

That would be me - I'm budgeting and trying to crunch numbers and pick dates for a PPH stay, and I thought I had it all figured out down to the penny, including the Resort Fee. Did they just raise the tax to 17% on the Resort fee only, or is it 17% on the whole hotel bill?

 

[goldies 5]

oops!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We have a family of 5 (we have 3 kids) and we have stayed at both the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian many times.

I have actually found that I get a cheaper price when I book online through the Disney website (and I always plug in all 3 kids with their ages there) instead of calling an agent. Could you do that?

The only time I ever have a problem with having 3 kids in a hotel room has been when we have stayed at a Hyatt or I book through Expedia--which seems to have stricter rules about it than even the actual hotels do.

 

[jenpace]

I don't if it's changed but we've stayed at the DLH a few times in the past with 3 adults and two kids and have gotten rooms with 2Q + daybed and had them bring up a roll away bed. My dh is 6' 6" and there's no way anyone would/could want to try and share a Q bed with him

 

[blackjackdelta]

KCMike- Yes, I actually was expecting the opposite, you get what you get. But the CM said we are actually guaranteed that room, because we had 5 people. I didn't even ask for one of those rooms, fully expecting to possibly need a sleeping bag. So it was a nice surprise.
She also said the rooms are assigned out 2 weeks in advance and that people aren't going to be , as easily anyway, requesting upgrades once they get to the hotel.
I didn't ask for any requests, I was just given this info. But she did say, I don't have to worry about that particular room not being available, when I check in regardless of time of day.

Boy, things have changed since we were there in August. The rooms were only assigned at check in and no one was gauranteed a room type other than a view if you paid for it. This has to be much better to take the worry out of it. Hopefully they sated this on your confirmation email.

Jack