Live trip report from the DLH

[SOCALMouseMommy]

First night at the DLH. This is our first time staying at any Disney hotel. Getting onto the grounds and parking was a bit of a snafu due to Dapper Days (self park was all full and took us a half hour to valet) but all has been wonderful since we arrived. Checked in and then had lunch at Tangaroa Terrace.... pretty tasty teriyaki chicken bowl. Then swam in the pools until our room was ready at 2:30. The water was very warm so it was nice even though only 69 outside. My toddler son loved the little slide and wanted to ride the big one... maybe tomorrow. We booked a standard room but ended up with a fantastic room in the Fantasy tower on the seventh floor facing DL.... we just watched the fireworks from bed. It was so awesome! Can wait for extra magic hour tomorrow at DCA, plan to ride Guardians for the first time!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Have a wonderful visit!

 

[MacMama0930]

First night at the DLH. This is our first time staying at any Disney hotel. Getting onto the grounds and parking was a bit of a snafu due to Dapper Days (self park was all full and took us a half hour to valet) but all has been wonderful since we arrived. Checked in and then had lunch at Tangaroa Terrace.... pretty tasty teriyaki chicken bowl. Then swam in the pools until our room was ready at 2:30. The water was very warm so it was nice even though only 69 outside. My toddler son loved the little slide and wanted to ride the big one... maybe tomorrow. We booked a standard room but ended up with a fantastic room in the Fantasy tower on the seventh floor facing DL.... we just watched the fireworks from bed. It was so awesome! Can wait for extra magic hour tomorrow at DCA, plan to ride Guardians for the first time!

Guardians is the best!! Can your son do it? Or will you guys have to RS? I can't believe you got such a great room with a stand room booking. That is so awesome!! I bet it's because they gave all the Dapper Day guests the most standard of the standard rooms with their discounted rate. The one I time I used a 40% pin code at the grand. I got a terrible, terrible view. I figured they give the full paying guests better views

Enjoy your day!!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Guardians is the best!! Can your son do it? Or will you guys have to RS? I can't believe you got such a great room with a stand room booking. That is so awesome!! I bet it's because they gave all the Dapper Day guests the most standard of the standard rooms with their discounted rate. The one I time I used a 40% pin code at the grand. I got a terrible, terrible view. I figured they give the full paying guests better views

Enjoy your day!!

My little guy is not 40 inches yet so he can't ride a lot of the big ones. We will rider swap, which as a side note is really annoying now if you don't have maxpsss as you can't see what time the swap is valid for. You have to ask the CM when they give it to you and sometimes we forget to ask.

We are actually here for Dapper Day so we got the rate! Not only did they give us these great rooms but them managed to get our family three rooms all together consecutively (me, hubby and son in one, my parents next door and my brother and his wife and daughter next door to them). I'm not sure how we got so lucky but we are so happy!

Yesterday was amazing seeing everyone all dressed up, it was just magical. I hope some Dapper Day participants who are staying a bit longer will still be dressing up today. I can't get enough of the gorgeous clothes!

 

[rentayenta]

How fun! We'll be there today too.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

How fun! We'll be there today too.

Yay, have fun! I hope crowds aren't too bad today!

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

So excited for you and your family!

Have an awesome time!

 

[Malcon10t]

We booked a standard room but ended up with a fantastic room in the Fantasy tower on the seventh floor facing DL.... we just watched the fireworks from bed. It was so awesome! Can wait for extra magic hour tomorrow at DCA, plan to ride Guardians for the first time!

That is a standard room! Just because you have a standard view doesn't mean it is a bad view. Everyone requests Adventure, but those rooms are generally just the 2nd-4th floors. All the floors facing the parking area of the Frontier tower, including the 14th, are standard. And all the floors facing the parking area of the Fantasy tower are standards, despite the fact you really have a disneyland view! Some people, all they can see is the parking lot, while others love the fact you can see the fireworks and parts of the park.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

That is a standard room! Just because you have a standard view doesn't mean it is a bad view. Everyone requests Adventure, but those rooms are generally just the 2nd-4th floors. All the floors facing the parking area of the Frontier tower, including the 14th, are standard. And all the floors facing the parking area of the Fantasy tower are standards, despite the fact you really have a disneyland view! Some people, all they can see is the parking lot, while others love the fact you can see the fireworks and parts of the park.

I really had no idea! I feel lucky that we got the Fantasy Tower!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

So today was great. Did early entry at DCA and rode Guardians for the first time. It is a really well done ride and I appreciate it for what it is, but I will never be riding that one again, ha ha. I'm not a fan of dropping rides, I was shaking from the adrenaline when I got off.... glad I did it, but once is enough for me! Too bad because it really is a cool ride!

Today I also rode Soarin and RSR, which is fun for me because I usually don't get the chance to ride these rides since I'm most often here alone with my 2 year old.

Back to to the hotel for a nap for my son (that maddeningly didn't happen) then went to DL for a few hours. We rode the monorail to Tomorrowland from DTD and then hopped on the train for a round trip. Met Darth Vader and Chewbaca, rode teapcups and then my son was fading so we went back to the hotel. (By the way, Christmas tree is up on Main Street and it looks glorious!)

We had dinner at Trader Sam's on the patio. It was so nice, especially with some live music. The food was quite good and reasonably priced for Disney. Will definitely come back here again. I love the ambiance on the grounds of the DLH in the center courtyard, it feels so tropical, like Hawaii.

After dinner I put my son to bed and my parents babysat while my brother and niece and I went to WOC. We had yellow fast passes and went 30 minutes ahead as that was the fastest we could get there. The view was bad, which I expected since we didn't invest much time. We got pretty wet tonight and we were pretty far back. I think the poor people in the wet zone must have been soaked to the bone tonight.

Finished up the night with a S'mores square... wow that is good. I never had one before. Might be my new go-to treat.

Tomorrow is our last day. I might do early entry at DL depending on whether my son wakes up early or not. Either way, we will head to DL tomorrow. I'm planning on picking up a pool key from the front desk so we can swim late afternoon before heading home. I want to prolong this mini vacation as long as possible!

 

[smartlabelprint]

So today was great. Did early entry at DCA and rode Guardians for the first time. It is a really well done ride and I appreciate it for what it is, but I will never be riding that one again, ha ha. I'm not a fan of dropping rides, I was shaking from the adrenaline when I got off.... glad I did it, but once is enough for me! Too bad because it really is a cool ride!

Today I also rode Soarin and RSR, which is fun for me because I usually don't get the chance to ride these rides since I'm most often here alone with my 2 year old.

Back to to the hotel for a nap for my son (that maddeningly didn't happen) then went to DL for a few hours. We rode the monorail to Tomorrowland from DTD and then hopped on the train for a round trip. Met Darth Vader and Chewbaca, rode teapcups and then my son was fading so we went back to the hotel. (By the way, Christmas tree is up on Main Street and it looks glorious!)

We had dinner at Trader Sam's on the patio. It was so nice, especially with some live music. The food was quite good and reasonably priced for Disney. Will definitely come back here again. I love the ambiance on the grounds of the DLH in the center courtyard, it feels so tropical, like Hawaii.

After dinner I put my son to bed and my parents babysat while my brother and niece and I went to WOC. We had yellow fast passes and went 30 minutes ahead as that was the fastest we could get there. The view was bad, which I expected since we didn't invest much time. We got pretty wet tonight and we were pretty far back. I think the poor people in the wet zone must have been soaked to the bone tonight.

Finished up the night with a S'mores square... wow that is good. I never had one before. Might be my new go-to treat.

Tomorrow is our last day. I might do early entry at DL depending on whether my son wakes up early or not. Either way, we will head to DL tomorrow. I'm planning on picking up a pool key from the front desk so we can swim late afternoon before heading home. I want to prolong this mini vacation as long as possible!

Whoa! Sorry you got wet.

Where did you get a s’mores square?

 

[wowsmom]

Whoa! Sorry you got wet.

Where did you get a s’mores square?

They sell the S'mores squares at all the candy stores - they usually have a yellow Mickey head on the top. They're one of my favorites. They're super yummy!

 

[mom2rtk]

That is a standard room! Just because you have a standard view doesn't mean it is a bad view. Everyone requests Adventure, but those rooms are generally just the 2nd-4th floors. All the floors facing the parking area of the Frontier tower, including the 14th, are standard. And all the floors facing the parking area of the Fantasy tower are standards, despite the fact you really have a disneyland view! Some people, all they can see is the parking lot, while others love the fact you can see the fireworks and parts of the park.

I was all set to request Adventure for our visit, but now you have me thinking Fantasy might be better. I wish I had never seen that Youtube video with the view of the parking canopy!

 

[MommaBerd]

The one and only time DH & I went to DLR, we stayed at DLH. I fell in LOVE with it. We are taking our family in April 2018, and I had pretty much decided to stay off-site using CC points. But oh your report really makes me want to stay there again!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I was all set to request Adventure for our visit, but now you have me thinking Fantasy might be better. I wish I had never seen that Youtube video with the view of the parking canopy!

Our daytime view is basically looking down at the front entrance of the hotel with the parking lot beyond the flagpoles and the Mickey and Friends parking structure beyond that. To the left is roof parking. To the right I can see them building Star Wars Land and then the Matterhorn. The fireworks we could see were mostly those coming from Toontown although you could see a bit of those that were set off over on Main Street too. It's not a bad view as there are a lot of trees.

 

[Malcon10t]

I was all set to request Adventure for our visit, but now you have me thinking Fantasy might be better. I wish I had never seen that Youtube video with the view of the parking canopy!

It is all about the persons perspective. There are 14 floors, yes, if you are on floor 2, view isn't as great as it is a couple floors higher. Personally, I'd ask for highest floor available rather than Adventure Tower.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

The one and only time DH & I went to DLR, we stayed at DLH. I fell in LOVE with it. We are taking our family in April 2018, and I had pretty much decided to stay off-site using CC points. But oh your report really makes me want to stay there again!

I am absolutely in love with this hotel. Yesterday while we were waiting in the lobby for my brother Goofy came over and was just hanging out, visiting with kids. Earlier that day I saw Minnie, Chip (or Dale) and Goofy out near the pool playing with a special needs child. I love the grounds, the pools are fantastic, I love the available restaurants on property and I love how easy security is going into DTD. Staff and service are excellent.

I'm extremely happy with my room and the bedding. The light up headboard is sooooo wonderful. I adore all of the historical Disney photography in the rooms and in the hallways. One of the bathrooms downstairs in the lobby even has this amazing vintage looking Disney wallpaper. I find all the Disney touches in this hotel to be absolutely perfect.

Totally lucked out and got a room with a full closet over by the bathroom that my pack n play actually fit inside... so my toddler had his own suite and we could watch TV and hang out in the room after he went to sleep.

This is an older hotel and yes, some things are a little worn. The plumbing is a little wonky (hot water will get really hot, then cold, then hot) and the furnishings are not brand new. The bathrooms are a little dated. but none of this detracted from my stay in the least bit.

I was originally debating between the DLH and the GCH... after getting a lot of feedback here on the boards I chose the DLH and I am sooooo happy with that choice. I think it was absolutely the perfect hotel for us.

I do still find the regular room prices to be outrageous. I am very happy with my Dapper Day rate (which after all of the taxes were paid basically came to $300/night) but I would not pay full price for this hotel, as much as I love it. I will definitely keep my eye out for specials and promotions in the future because we will most certainly be back!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Getting ready to pack up, check out and hopefully make early hours at DL. Wish me luck!

 

[Butterfly123]

Fun trip report...thanks!

 

[chirurgeon]

The difference in Chip and Dale is their noses. Chip has a nose like a chocolate CHIP!