Maximizing GCH stay

[MommyJKM]

Yes, minifridges but no microwaves. There are coffee makers, though. We always do the Vons order and it is great. We get milk, juices, sprite, diet coke (hubby is an addict), yogurt, bagels and some fruit. I think it pays for itself in what dh would spend on diet cokes if we bought them at the resort.

I want to say when my DD was a baby we requested a microwave to warm up milk. And the minifridge is pretty good sized - fits a lot of groceries.

You all have made me so excited for our 8 day stay at GCH. We only want to do the parks for 3 days because there are so many other things we want to do. It is probably going to be very busy because it is June 28-July 5 but I don't care. We have been to the parks many times before and really want to take time at the resort. I can't wait and this thread made me even more excited. Yay! Thanks.

Make sure to book one day a "Cabana Day" for the pool. And remember you can do DLH or PP pool cabana rentals too. We like to go down to GCH pool super early and grab seats and get breakfast at White Water (I mention the breakfast items in my TR) then do the other half of the day with a cabana at DLH pool.

 

[calilou]

You all have made me so excited for our 8 day stay at GCH. We only want to do the parks for 3 days because there are so many other things we want to do. It is probably going to be very busy because it is June 28-July 5 but I don't care. We have been to the parks many times before and really want to take time at the resort. I can't wait and this thread made me even more excited. Yay! Thanks.

How fun! Try to reserve a cabana at both the GCH and DLH (even for just half days) since you have extra days not at parks. They book fast so call now if you haven't already. And if you're venturing out to the beach, our favorite is Laguna Beach. Huntington Beach is more classic so cal, but we love Laguna (there are several spots to park and beach but try to get a spot at the little underground parking lot at the Montage Resort - you turn into the resort but then there's a public lot and public access to the beach). The town of Laguna Beach is fun to explore as well.

 

[MinMou]

I have some questions about using a concierge. Can they reserve a baby sitter for you? (Our LO is too young for Pinocchio's Workshop). And can they set up a ride on the Lilly Belle for you? What about a cabana?

I'm asking because I don't want to bother the concierge with things that are outside their purview.

 

[MommyJKM]

I have some questions about using a concierge. Can they reserve a baby sitter for you? (Our LO is too young for Pinocchio's Workshop). And can they set up a ride on the Lilly Belle for you? What about a cabana?

I'm asking because I don't want to bother the concierge with things that are outside their purview.

You need to ask ahead of time for them to refer a babysitting service for you.Then they fax you a disclosure to sign and then send you the list they have. I think "Whoever" on these boards has used a babysitting service his family liked. You can probably DM him or do a search of his TR's. We used Care.com and were happy. But you have to again, reserve in plenty of time.

Lilly Belle is only for C33 members now - the concierge can NOT reserve it for you.

Concierge can reserve the cabana but as Pp above have said, if you are going at a busy time you need to call ASAP to have them do it for you.

 

[Malcon10t]

I do not believe they can line up a sitter, only make suggestions. (Lining one up can lead to legal liabilities.) They can line up the cabana if available. I do not think they can do the Lilly Belle as the Main ST station has to have cast members available to assist, and Guest Services can't line that up. (They used to be able to.)

 

[whoever]

Be warned - once you stay you will always want to stay in a resort hotel! We flip flop between resort hotels but after going once just to try it out I haven't been able to stay off property again!!

This. We stayed for our first time on our first trip and have stayed at the GCH 7 times afterward. It's "our" Disney home away from home. We are trying the DLH on our next trip so we'll have a better frame of reference but the GCH has been a total treat every time so far.

 

[whoever]

You need to ask ahead of time for them to refer a babysitting service for you.Then they fax you a disclosure to sign and then send you the list they have. I think "Whoever" on these boards has used a babysitting service his family liked. You can probably DM him or do a search of his TR's. We used Care.com and were happy. But you have to again, reserve in plenty of time..

http://www.disboards.com/threads/ma...-report-with-mickeys-halloween-party.3344654/

I outlined the sitter selection process towards the end of the TR. There's some details mid-TR too when we went to Napa. Great experience.

 

[Spacepest]

Wow, thanks to everyone on this thread for providing such informative suggestions! I want to book a splurge GCH stay over this summer and all of this advice really helps.

 

[MinMou]

Thanks for answering all my questions, and especially the babysitting info - I printed it out for when it gets closer to our departure.
I CAN"T WAIT!!!

 

[SixteenFeet]

Thought I'd update - we did a 3 night stay here, and did a 3-day parkhopper. The rooms are seriously nothing special - bathroom area not my cup of tea with those little square tiles and dirty-looking grout. Toiletries are nice, but thought the renovated rooms at DLH are definitely a bit nicer. Bed linens not the best either (keep in mind I'm a major hotel snob since I travel a lot for work and typically stay at nice places like the W, etc). We didn't use a lot of the other "perks" since we were really just trying to maximize time in the parks, but did Storytellers for dinner one night because they could seat us quickly and we were tired - it was pretty blah. The location of course is what makes it worthwhile. We have 2 little girls who are almost 7 and get tired walking at the end of the day because of a physical issue and the location of this hotel totally helped, as did the foot rub lotion they include! LOL!! We had to ask for more towels (but we have this problem at every hotel - we just like lots of towels) but we did reuse them all for our stay before anyone tries to flame me for water usage Our room was on the 2nd floor just above the lobby - great location walking-wise. I was worried about noise from the lobby and elevator since the hallway was totally open to the lobby and we were right by the elevators but we were pleased to find that the doors and walls are pretty well insulated. Lobby noise (while you could hear it) didn't keep anyone up at night. Fireworks are loud though, if that's a consideration, because they're RIGHT THERE! Guest services was very slow. I imagine because it was soooo busy. It took us a ridiculous amount of time to get our car and luggage when checking out - more than 30 minutes!!! Getting extra towels took sooo long that DH ended up going to the pool and grabbing some. We also forgot the kids' toothbrushes...and that also took soooo long that DH went down to the front desk and got them to hand him a couple. All in all, not convinced it's worth the price, but we had a good stay and did definitely appreciate the location.

We always get beignets for breakfast which was pretty much right around the corner - decent coffee there too which is nice!

Probably will be visiting again soon, and so far undecided on whether we would come back (it's SO EXPENSIVE). Always have loved the DLH, and one day I want to try the new Courtyard Marriott since DH gets lots of points and we may be able to book a free stay

 

[Chrisfilm]

Thought I'd update - we did a 3 night stay here, and did a 3-day parkhopper. The rooms are seriously nothing special - bathroom area not my cup of tea with those little square tiles and dirty-looking grout. Toiletries are nice, but thought the renovated rooms at DLH are definitely a bit nicer. Bed linens not the best either (keep in mind I'm a major hotel snob since I travel a lot for work and typically stay at nice places like the W, etc). We didn't use a lot of the other "perks" since we were really just trying to maximize time in the parks, but did Storytellers for dinner one night because they could seat us quickly and we were tired - it was pretty blah. The location of course is what makes it worthwhile. We have 2 little girls who are almost 7 and get tired walking at the end of the day because of a physical issue and the location of this hotel totally helped, as did the foot rub lotion they include! LOL!! We had to ask for more towels (but we have this problem at every hotel - we just like lots of towels) but we did reuse them all for our stay before anyone tries to flame me for water usage Our room was on the 2nd floor just above the lobby - great location walking-wise. I was worried about noise from the lobby and elevator since the hallway was totally open to the lobby and we were right by the elevators but we were pleased to find that the doors and walls are pretty well insulated. Lobby noise (while you could hear it) didn't keep anyone up at night. Fireworks are loud though, if that's a consideration, because they're RIGHT THERE! Guest services was very slow. I imagine because it was soooo busy. It took us a ridiculous amount of time to get our car and luggage when checking out - more than 30 minutes!!! Getting extra towels took sooo long that DH ended up going to the pool and grabbing some. We also forgot the kids' toothbrushes...and that also took soooo long that DH went down to the front desk and got them to hand him a couple. All in all, not convinced it's worth the price, but we had a good stay and did definitely appreciate the location.

We always get beignets for breakfast which was pretty much right around the corner - decent coffee there too which is nice!

Probably will be visiting again soon, and so far undecided on whether we would come back (it's SO EXPENSIVE). Always have loved the DLH, and one day I want to try the new Courtyard Marriott since DH gets lots of points and we may be able to book a free stay

Yep, this about sums it up. Did you also feel the lobby was nice but so crowded that you didn't/couldn't spend time there anyway. If so, our views are almost identical. Looking forward to staying at the DLH next trip. Haven't stayed there since it was re-vamped.

 

[SixteenFeet]

Yep, this about sums it up. Did you also feel the lobby was nice but so crowded that you didn't/couldn't spend time there anyway. If so, our views are almost identical. Looking forward to staying at the DLH next trip. Haven't stayed there since it was re-vamped.

The lobby is a zoo!! Probably because it's not just guests - I'm sure at least half the people there are there to take a break in the A/C or use the bathroom or to use the DCA entrance or whatever. We spent ZERO time in the lobby - only to check in and to stand in the luggage storage line (yep, there was a LINE). No one had any inclination to hang out in the lobby, it was not at all inviting! The dark also bugged me a bit but I tend to like bright and airy. I felt like the lobby was just this expansive uninviting dark space.

I wish we had a chance to hang out at the pool to see how they are compared to DLH but we were pretty much at the parks allll day.

If you liked the DLH pre-revamp, you will probably LOVE it now. I never saw what it looked like before but the re-vamp is really nice. And that's coming from a hotel snob

 

[Chrisfilm]

The lobby is a zoo!! Probably because it's not just guests - I'm sure at least half the people there are there to take a break in the A/C or use the bathroom or to use the DCA entrance or whatever. We spent ZERO time in the lobby - only to check in and to stand in the luggage storage line (yep, there was a LINE). No one had any inclination to hang out in the lobby, it was not at all inviting! The dark also bugged me a bit but I tend to like bright and airy. I felt like the lobby was just this expansive uninviting dark space.

I wish we had a chance to hang out at the pool to see how they are compared to DLH but we were pretty much at the parks allll day.

If you liked the DLH pre-revamp, you will probably LOVE it now. I never saw what it looked like before but the re-vamp is really nice. And that's coming from a hotel snob

You didn't miss anything with the pool. Crowded and only one underwhelming slide.