Just Back from 7 night stay...

[godalejunior]

We got back today from a 7 night stay at GC with a standard view room. We were on the sixth floor in a very nice sized room, which I had requested knowing the rooms often run on the small side.

We rode DL Express from LAX as we always do without any issues. Love the DL Express.

We only encountered nice wonderful CM's our whole trip as well as very nice guests in our hotel and throughout the park.

We had dinner at Goofy's our first night...we have ate dinner there once before. Character interaction was great however the food was disappointing this time as it all tasted the same, and was pretty much flavorless except for dessert. Not a huge deal but it is not cheap and flavor is nice.

We also ate at Lilo and Stitch and Minnie's during the trip. Both were great however Minnie's was more chaotic then I thought (this was the first time for us) but did mellow out closer to 11 a.m. We saw 8 characters at Minnie's and DS had a great time...character interaction was awesome including tic tac toe and hangman at our table with Chip. We will definitely do both of these meals again...and probably lean towards breakfast vs. dinner at Goofy's.

I have to say I am sold on staying at the GC as is DS who has been totally sold on the DLH until this trip....we moved our reservations due to the Neverland Pool being down during this visit. He loved the Redwood pool, WWS and the location of the hotel in relation to his favorite ride GRR. We rode that ride got completely drenched, waltzed up to the room and changed. Boy, we needed more clothes and I should have packed more because we went through them..

We also ate at NR on Thursday night, a redo of our chef's counter experience that was so-so on our last trip. We had an AMAZING dinner and spoke to Andrew and Gloria during our meal. I had the Vintner's menu and I can honestly say it was the best meal I have ever had in my 37 years...

DS stayed at Pinocchios Workshop, also a first, while we were at NR. Barbara and her staff were great and DS begged to stay another hour when we went to pick him up...and he was the only one there! Josh the storyteller came in as well as the CM who sings songs in the lobby. He loved it so much he wanted to go back the next night so DH and I booked him there again and spent two hours in the park shopping. I will definitely use them again and Barbara is wonderful.

We also spent one full day at Knotts, renting a car from Alamo in DTD. Knotts was great and we will definitely go and do this again. It was only 15 min. from DL and had great coasters.

During our car rental day we drove over to the Fullerton outlet and it was pretty cool. We each made a purchase and I will definitely do this again as well on future trips.

DS got chosen for Jedi Training Academy.......thanks to the good ol' sign that I made. We were the only ones there with a sign and he was the first one chosen. We did this same thing two years ago and it worked then as well.

Let me know if you have any questions.....crowd wise was slightly busier than our last two trips this same week in years past. Last night was a zoo and we had a hard time just with shopping.

DS laid in bed this morning before we had to leave and was bawling because he did not want to go home. We had a great time.

 

[DiSNEY[MOMMA]]

YAY!! for your exciting and enjoyable trip
Knotts is pretty fun. I havn't gone in a few years, but I've enjoyed it everytime I have gone. So you planning the next DLR trip?!

 

[Bunless]

We also ate at NR on Thursday night, a redo of our chef's counter experience that was so-so on our last trip. We had an AMAZING dinner and spoke to Andrew and Gloria during our meal. I had the Vintner's menu and I can honestly say it was the best meal I have ever had in my 37 years...

.

Just had to second just how amazing the Vintner's menu is. While it wasn't the best of my life, I do think it was top five. It's just such a special thing to have that meal.

 

[Sherwin]

DS laid in bed this morning before we had to leave and was bawling because he did not want to go home. We had a great time.

That. Is. My. Greatest. Fear.

Lying in the hotel bed grief stricken on the last day.

Glad to hear you had fun though!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Glad you had a good time - we love the standard rooms off the lobby!

Isn't Andrew awesome? We haven't met Gloria yet, but heard she came from the fabulous upstairs winery restaurant in DCA that was closed.

Andrew did our rehearsal dinner for our 2001 wedding held there at GCH. We couldn't get a reservation for our anniversary dinner there this year - all booked up!

I'm glad you guys had a great trip. Sorry we missed you - we were in the park last weekend!!!!

 

[godalejunior]

YAY!! for your exciting and enjoyable trip
Knotts is pretty fun. I havn't gone in a few years, but I've enjoyed it everytime I have gone. So you planning the next DLR trip?!

I want to go in May for the Food and Wine Festival but I am also graduating with my Master's and have to go through the orals process....so....I am waiting for a scheduled date for that and then I can start planning again!

 

[godalejunior]

Glad you had a good time - we love the standard rooms off the lobby!

Isn't Andrew awesome? We haven't met Gloria yet, but heard she came from the fabulous upstairs winery restaurant in DCA that was closed.

Andrew did our rehearsal dinner for our 2001 wedding held there at GCH. We couldn't get a reservation for our anniversary dinner there this year - all booked up!

I'm glad you guys had a great trip. Sorry we missed you - we were in the park last weekend!!!!

I had a LGMH on my bag and lanyard (the foam key chain ones). I did look at times for others but it is actually hard to do because people could hang them on their stroller, bags, etc.

The foam ones do not hold up however. I bought a new one last week and one year fell off and now my other one is doing the same thing. I think I need to make them bigger or come up with another plan.

 

[Sherry E]

SO glad you had a great time, Godalejunior! It is always refreshing to read a good report of a DLR trip, and always a little depressing for me to read about a bad or not-so-great trip. For some reason, when I read that people did NOT have a good time at DLR, it bums me out! I don't know why - it doesn't have an impact on my life in any way, but I like to hear that people enjoyed themselves, other than the occasional things that pop up and make a trip take an unexpected direction. I mean, we all have little annoyances and things that pop on a trip to make us grumpy momentarily, but it is the overall bad trips that are sad to read about!

I have to agree with you on Goofy's - well, actually, Goofy's IS my favorite restaurant in ALL of DLR, and I will eat there every time I go to DLR as long as I can afford it....but it is the BREAKFAST that I am a big advocate of. I was not impressed with the dinner when I ate it back in the '90s, and I just had no interest in eating it again, though I acknowledge a lot of time has passed and maybe I should try the GK dinner once more. But the GK breakfast is why I KEEP going back almost 17 years later!!!

 

[DizMe]

Thanks for the review!! I was interested in your take on GCH since our one experience there was kind of disappointing. The hotel was beautiful but our room was small and very far from everything.

Do you know how long the Neverland pool is going to be down? We're supposed to go this weekend and I never thought to check about the pool status. My mom is going with us and is looking forward to doing her pool exercises, which is part of her daily routine. Don't know if we'd be able to switch at this point, though.

 

[Golfing Goofy]

I am happy to hear that you enjoyed your time! We were there as well, on the sixth floor. We left on Wednesday. Did you go to the lounge? Maybe we saw you.

Everyone in my family prefers the GCH, so that is where we always stay now. I love the DLH because of the nostalgia, but I have always had a wonderful experience at the GCH. The kids love the pool at the GCH. The GRR was not open when we went to DCA on Monday so everyone was very disappointed. That is so great that your DS loved it. It is such a fun ride and one of the kids' favorites....of course, all the rides are their favorites.


Thanks for sharing! We always have a great time at DLR & GCH so its great to hear someone else having a terrific time.

 

[Queenbillabong]

It's great to hear you had a wonderful time. I think the secret is asking for a room off the lobby. We stayed in October and our room was as far from the lobby as you could possibly get, so the walk was realllllllllllllly far. DS loved the pool and WWS too. If we stay here again, that's what we'll do

 

[godalejunior]

Thanks for the review!! I was interested in your take on GCH since our one experience there was kind of disappointing. The hotel was beautiful but our room was small and very far from everything.

Do you know how long the Neverland pool is going to be down? We're supposed to go this weekend and I never thought to check about the pool status. My mom is going with us and is looking forward to doing her pool exercises, which is part of her daily routine. Don't know if we'd be able to switch at this point, though.

I was told prior to our trip it would be down until 1/31. When we were there it was empty...no water.

This was our second stay at GC. Our last trip we had a king bed only and the room was fine for two people. This time we had the two queen configuration with the sofa sleeper, which I requested, knowing the room would be larger to fit everything. I also liked having the balcony where you can actually sit down during the evening and enjoy the surroundings.

 

[godalejunior]

I am happy to hear that you enjoyed your time! We were there as well, on the sixth floor. We left on Wednesday. Did you go to the lounge? Maybe we saw you.

Everyone in my family prefers the GCH, so that is where we always stay now. I love the DLH because of the nostalgia, but I have always had a wonderful experience at the GCH. The kids love the pool at the GCH. The GRR was not open when we went to DCA on Monday so everyone was very disappointed. That is so great that your DS loved it. It is such a fun ride and one of the kids' favorites....of course, all the rides are their favorites.

Thanks for sharing! We always have a great time at DLR & GCH so its great to hear someone else having a terrific time.

We were on the sixth floor but were not staying concierge...which I thought was interesting. During our last trip with just DH and I, we were at concierge level and stayed on the sixth floor. My guess is we got the room because of my request of wanting a two queen bed room with the sofa and that was what they had available.

 

[tinkermell]

I was told prior to our trip it would be down until 1/31. When we were there it was empty...no water.

This was our second stay at GC. Our last trip we had a king bed only and the room was fine for two people. This time we had the two queen configuration with the sofa sleeper, which I requested, knowing the room would be larger to fit everything. I also liked having the balcony where you can actually sit down during the evening and enjoy the surroundings.

So was this room more than a regular standard room?

Thanks!

 

[godalejunior]

So was this room more than a regular standard room?

Thanks!

No, we paid the $228 rate advertised on the DL website. The AP8 rate was $249 so going with the DL advertised rate was a better deal. I believe this rate is good through 2/7.