is it worth getting a view room at the dlh?

[VWCat]

Disneyland Hotel:I'm torn,standard..view...anyone?

 

[shyboy72]

I'm going to be staying there for the first time and I chose view. I've stayed at the GC and got the DTD view and I loved it. So its all preference.

 

[abby]

We have stayed at DLH twice, the first time we had a standard room, we were in the Marina tower and overlooked the parking lot. However, we had somewhat of a view of the fireworks. the second time we had a standard room and I requested a large room with two queens and a day bed and they upgraded us to a pool view. Nice large room, great view. That was a Jan trip. I really liked both rooms, but we were not really in the room enough that the view of the pool mattered. depends on what's important to you. I don't think you can reserve a Downtown disney view, I think the view rooms are booked as either pool or downtown disney. That might matter to you.

 

[cruiser2two]

We stayed at the DLH last week. Booked a standard room. When we got there (around noon) we asked for an upgrade to room with a view of the fireworks if possible. We got a 6th floor room in the Bonita tower with a view of the pool area, overlooking the waterfalls and a view of the Mattherhorn and downtown disney off to the right. Would have had a perfect view of the fireworks (but we went to the park to see them anyways). We really lucked out as you couldn't have asked for a better room at a standard room price!

 

[wendypooh22]

We have stayed at the DLH several times now and have always stayed in the Bonita tower with a great view of the pool and waterfalls and the matterhorn... From our room we were able to watch the fireworks on the nights that we weren't in the park... This is our favorite tower to stay in because I love to see and hear the waterfalls (especially at night). For me the extra $$ was worth the upgrade...

 

[fidoprincess]

We love the DLH! Our favorite view is the Sierra Tower DTD view and I am willing to pay the extra for it especially if you get a deal like stay 4 nights and get one free or the gift card deal. I usually do it if it is around $30 per night but not at $100 per night! Don't forget to budget the extra resort fee into your room rate plus the tax because all that adds up too. But...there is no guarantee that if you pay for the view, you will get THAT view of DTD and the resort. You either get standard (parking lot) or resort/pool view. I am not happy to pay extra and get a pool view. It is pretty but not that pretty to me. My kids go to sleep early since we hit the parks early and we spend a great deal of the time in our room so I like the view looking over DTD. I like watching the action of all the people walking and seeing the mountains of DL and almost always, DH and I watch the fireworks from the room. We usually keep the kids up once to see the fireworks and fantasmic but the rest of the trip, they are just too tired so to us it is really important to have the view. I think whether it is worth it depends on how much time you spend in the room. It practically kills me to go back to the hotel at 8 or 9 when DL is open til midnight so having a view is a small perk for me. There is only one way I know to guarantee the DTD resort view if you book a certain package deal that includes concierge but we are talking at least an extra $150/night-so not worth it for me and my "eat like birds" kids.

I have heard others say that they were high enough in the Bonita Tower (view room overlooking waterfalls) to see the fireworks too. Once when we paid for a standard, we had the waterfall view but we were on a low floor and could not even see the pool. That was nice though because the waterfall is so pretty and sounds so nice, it blocks out all the noise. Another time, we had paid for a view and the hotel was full of cheerleaders and we got upgraded to a suite in Sierra overlooking the pool. I was soooo bored with the view at night when the kids were in bed but they loved it. They were always checking out the pool to see how many people were in it and it the slide was open.

I don't think you can go with the expectation that you might get an upgrade. When they are full, you get what you paid for! If you are going at an off time and see they still have lots of availability left, I might chance it and pay for a standard view in hopes of an upgrade but not be disappointed if I don't get it. You have a better chance getting a nicer room by checking in early and I mean early like 7 or 8 am! Many times we drive down and arrive late at night staying somewhere else and then switch over in the morning just to check in early and save a bit of money. There are some "special" standard rooms that are nice and face inward toward the pool but are just on lower floors and sometimes have something blocking the view so they can not charge for a view room. Mostly I am thinking of either the lower floors in Marina or Bonita but there are a few in low floors in Sierra. There is just no way to know until you get there and ask nicely! Many people have said they liked the standard view of the Marina Tower because they could see the fireworks from their rooms too.

The only way we have been "sure" to get the DTD Sierra Tower view is to book months ahead-even as much as 6 months and have them note our request on the reservation. Then I call and "remind" them a few times and then call 2 or 3 days before we come and make sure they have our request noted on the reservation. Since I have been doing this, we have always gotten the DTD view and honestly, I would have been really really disappointed if we didn't! I was surprised to find they did not note our request on the reservation more than once so I was glad I was obsessive and called several times.

The other "trick" we do is say we have 2 adults and 3 kids even though we only have 2 kids. I know it is a "little white lie" but we are paying per room and not per person so we are not "cheating" Disney out of money. My kids are opposite sexes and will NOT share a bed. By saying we have 5, we have always requested and received a room with 2 queens and a daybed. Then the kids fight over who gets the daybed so we call housekeeping and get a free rollaway too and every one is happy! (At the same time, we ask for a coffee maker too!)

If you are paying the extra to stay at the DLH take advantage of the fun stuff they have to do. Try and feed the koi on Tu or Th at 9:30! Have guest services make reservations to do early entry at build a bear-so fun! Eat dinner at Goofy's after a nice afternoon break in the pool and then head back to DL. We love this! If is so nice to be swim and work up an appetite and run up to the room and change and be at Goofy's in jsut 15 minutes! Drive the remote jungle cruise boats at least once. Ask for autographed pictures at check in and birthday buttons if someone is having a bday. Have a great trip!

 

[thmar]

Great suggestions, fidoprincess...thanks!

 

[VWCat]

It's done..booked the view room,resort view!!!...

 

[honeymom]

We once booked DTD view. While it was beautiful, the extra noise (and we were pretty high up) really bothered our dd and we switched to a pool/resort view. We liked that much better.

 

[lulubelle]

Wow, Fidoprincess, you summed it up really well. We have stayed at all three on-site hotels and paid for standard and view rooms. Have been upgraded in standard rooms a few times (yeah!) and stuck in what we paid for a couple of times - standard. If the view is important to you, pay up front. If you are happy with whatever room you get, take your chances and book a standard. These days I pretty much only book the view room as I have become spoiled.

Have a wonderful trip VW Cat!

 

[3for Me]

If you are paying the extra to stay at the DLH take advantage of the fun stuff they have to do. Try and feed the koi on Tu or Th at 9:30! Have guest services make reservations to do early entry at build a bear-so fun!

Not to hijack this thread, but could you please explain the Build a Bear comment?? Not like we don't have too many already, but I know my kids will want to go. Do you need to make a "reservation"? Is it because it is really busy? We are staying at DLR in June, but not concierge...is it still possible to call GS and do this? What do we ask them to do exactly?

Thanks so much - I am a WDW pro, but a DL novice!

 

[Lives4Disney]

Not to hijack this thread, but could you please explain the Build a Bear comment?? Not like we don't have too many already, but I know my kids will want to go. Do you need to make a "reservation"? Is it because it is really busy? We are staying at DLR in June, but not concierge...is it still possible to call GS and do this? What do we ask them to do exactly?

Thanks so much - I am a WDW pro, but a DL novice!

Build A Bear Early Entry??

Hi 3for Me .....

I'd like to know more about this, too! We will be checking in to DLH in less than 2 weeks - all that was available when I booked was standard view, so I read this whole thread & I will be fine and happy with anything but parking lot view. (That may bum me out) I would gladly pay for any upgrade if available.

What about this Build a Bear early entry??? I thought it was only GCH concierge. How exactly do we book this?

THANKS!!

Lives4Disney

 

[TwingleMum]

Great thread and very informative. I can't wait to stay at DH in less than 10 days!! YEAH

 

[fidoprincess]

For Build a Bear Early Entry (available to any of the 3 hotels guests) just call the hotel directly and ask for guest services and they will make a reservation for you. It can not be done too far ahead, a month out at most I think, but if you get someone that doesn't know, be persistent!

It means that you can go into the store at 9am instead of 10 when it opens to the public. I have heard all kinds of rumors regarding a minimum purchase but we have never had anyone tell us that. Then again, we always buy something! We have been at least 6 times and each time, you get a little something extra like a brush for free just because you are a disney guest.

The best thing though is beating the crowds as the store is very popular and the lines get to be quite long. I think they only take about 10 kids but we have been the only ones more than once and it was just fantastic. My kids are shy so it is nice not to have other more aggressive kids push them out of the way at the dressing tables and the "bath"!

Look up the bab website before you go to see if they are having any "special events" like a new release. These usuallly start on Saturdays I think but many times, they have extra promotional giveaway items. My kids have gotten cute "walkman" radios and some other stuff simply by going on those special days.

When you go over for your reservation, they say get there a bit early, a CM (usually from the Grand) will have a clipboard and meet you outside. They check off your names and give you name tags and as soon as everyone has arrived, they open the store and you get to go in. There are always coupons too in the local anaheim magazine that you can pick up around the area for $5 off but if you have Disney Visa (and spend $50-easy to do with more than one kid!) you can get 10% off. Don't forget too that you can ask for extra bows at the checkout. They have tons of them in every color and that is the first thing you will lose!

Still ,don't forget to try and do the koi fish feeding too. It is a great experience for kids and we have been all over and done many similar things but never on such an "intimate" level with such nice people. The fish really do come up out of the water and gently take the food from the kid's hand. It is quite a memorable experience and so few people ever do it, my kids have had multiple turns.

Lives4Disney, count on a parking lot view if all they had left was standard. Standard means parking lot! You will either be in the bonita overlooking the employee parking lot (I think) or in the marina tower which over looks the other main parking lot but you can sometimes see parts of DL and the fireworks from your room. Maybe you will luck out and get something else but I don't want you to be disappointed.

lulubelle, That is how I am now too, I just pay the extra within reason and get what I want although we have gotten the great AP deals like last Jan $89/night so I could not really complain about the standard view but hated that I actually begged for an upgrade and ended up with the lower floor bonita waterfall view. I don't like being at the check in CMs mercy-lol!

honeymom, We had that problem once and realized at the end of our stay that it was a problem with the sliding glass door. It was not closing properly and the noise from ESPN Zone, the sports announcer, nearly drove me insane and actually woke me up around 4am. Now I know to always double check that the door closes tightly and if it works well, you hardly hear a sound.

When I get into my room at the DLH, the first thing I do is check the sliding door, the remote(is it even there?), and the lights to make sure they all work. Then I call housekeeping and ask for the free rollaway, the coffee maker and let them know if there are any problems like needing new light bulbs or if something is dirty-hey it happens in the best of places. Within minutes, all the stuff arrives with a smile and off we go! Some people complain about the elevator in the Sierra Tower but remember there are 2, one is just a short walk down the other end of the hall.

You will all have a wonderful time! I wish I was going.....

Oh, one more tip, the cove pool area has a small playground structure in the sand and sometimes the big pool is too cold and sometimes this one is warmer and always less crowded. If you MUST do laundry for some reason, the washers and dryers are located here so you can hang out at the pool and let the kids play while you do the wash and have a pina colada from the bar-yup, while they won't come around and serve you like a "real" resort, you can get one and carry it to the pools.

Finally, the little coffee shop/bakery place sells cereal in bowls, bananas and milk and even has plastic spoons-easy but watch out for the brownies, they are addictive! I would not recommend room service but this is quick and easy to feed the kids in the room while you shower and dress.

 

[Lives4Disney]

Fidoprincess!! Thanks for all the fabulous last minute tips! We are all here recovering from the awful stomach bug that has hit in a mega way and haven't even started packing.....we leave for San Diego next Friday afternoon - check in at the DLH the following Wednesday. This is great info. It's helping me thru this misery at home.....I will pray that there is a cancellation or something so I am not stuck staring at the parking lot!! I had tried to book DLH for this March trip since before Xmas and it was not available at all, then thru Getaway Today I found standard available. She called for an upgrade, but none to be had at that point.

Thanks for that great BaB info too. I will call soon and see what I can work out.

Lives4Disney

 

[VWCat]

thanks for all the great info

 

[fidoprincess]

You are all so welcome. I hope you have wonderful trips!

I thought of a few more tips. Hopefully you already know this but staying at the DLH gives you early entry into the park every day it is offered-4 different days but now I can not remember which ones so check around for those. All the times we've stayed there and only once did the cm tell us! That means even if you have a park hopper with one early entry, it does not matter, you can go to all of them!! This is so worth doing because fantasyland gets so crowded quickly and I don't think any lines are harder to wait in than peter pan and dumbo!

Some people really love the whole feel of walking through the gates the first time and that is fine but sometimes you just want to get in as quick as you can so the monorail worked best for us! The security lines were shorter than at the main gate and you can really get a jump on the crowds going in that way. It is soooo fast from the DLH.

When you check in, the hotel cm will give you a small white paper called a "charge slip" and that is the paper you will need to get in for early entry. We always ask for two! One for me and one for DH because sometimes we have to split up and it helps to each have our own. For example, say dd and I are ready and go in for ee at 7 but Dh and ds are not ready until 7:30, he can still do EE with his own paper. Also, once in DL there is a "hotel guests" entrance for the monorail so you skip the line, very helpful if you have to run back quickly for something.

The charge slip also lets you charge your purchases to your room and you can have your stuff sent over to the hotel. Note though that you can not get it until the next morning so don't sent your kids very favorite toy he just bought! I love sending the pictures we buy (or get free with our Disney Visa) so they don't get wrinkled carrying them around. They hold the stuff at the bell desk out front of the main entrance.

Don't forget too that if you are at DCA and want to go back to the hotel to cut through the Grand California Hotel back out into DTD. The entrance is by Grizzly River Run and it is much shorter than going all the way back to the front gates. You can come in to DCA that way too but early in the morning, they ask for your hotel key, not the charge slip.

Well, if I think of anything else, I'll post some more but sigh...I so wish I was going! I can not complain though as you can imagine the time I have spent there to learn all of this-lol.

 

[VWCat]

wow fidoprincess ,that was AWESOME!
I gotta copy all that down

 

[kaoden39]

We just got home from a trip to the DLH. When I reserved I reserved for standard view as always and was pleasantly surprised to get a wonderful set of rooms in the Marina Tower with a great view of the pool and from the "balcony" you could see The Tower of Terror and DTD. So if you are willing to take a chance you might still get a premium view without paying extra.

Michele

 

[VWCat]

nice free upgrade
well we paid for one already,but that's alright well my man did so that is a-okay it's worth it to know we will be getting what we want hopefully