**Official August 2016 Check In Thread**

[finchy3]

Staying at the Grand Californian Aug 1st - 12th can't wait!

 

[seelyt2]

Our family of four (DH, DS19, DD15, and myself) will be enjoying our first trip to DL August 13-18! We're WDW vets and DVC, and will be staying at the Grand Californian. We won't be renting a car so will be staying on site throughout except for one day where we are taking a tour into LA with a local company. Can't wait!!

 

[disneymomto5]

We'll be there Aug 6-12 staying at the Grand Californian! It will be me, hubby and 5 children! It will probably be our last family trip before the kids go their separate ways, so it'll be fun and a little bittersweet. I suspect they'll be getting married and having their own lives soon. The kids have never been to DL only WDW and I have only been for 1 day about 6 years ago.

 

[BriannaRuth]

Have you stayed at the Sheraton before? That's where I stayed on my last 3 trips. The rooms tend to be a little smaller than most Sheraton's I think but still very nice. The park views can be awesome from there too.

No, we haven't stayed there before. Actually I'm not all that excited about it because we're used to staying onsite but free is free. I'm glad to hear you like it. Haven't decided whether or not to spend the extra points on park view but we may.

 

[disneycrazy2004]

Yay more firsttimers as well! You'll never forget your first trip to Disneyland

@disneycrazy2004 sounds like you've got a fabulous trip planned!

It is very excited indeed I am finding it a bit overwhelming planning as we have never been to either if the places. Lots of planning to do, but that is lots of fun for me

 

[Disney_Alli]

No, we haven't stayed there before. Actually I'm not all that excited about it because we're used to staying onsite but free is free. I'm glad to hear you like it. Haven't decided whether or not to spend the extra points on park view but we may.

I've always enjoyed my stays there. I've never paid for a park view but have been given one when I asked at check-in 2 out of the 3 trips. The walk isn't bad at all and if you're tired I've heard you're really close to the Toy Story lot and can hop their shuttle but we've never bothered. There's a grab and go cafe and if you walk through it (and say grab a muffin and a drink for breakfast) the door out from there is the closest to Disneyland and can save you a few steps.

 

[monorailrabbit]

We will be there for our first trip 8/28-9/1. So excited we will get to see 60th stuff! We are also celebrating our anniversary (6th) and are staying at the Disneyland Hotel! Can't wait!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

We will be there August 18-22 celebrating my daughter's friend's quinceanera. It will be my boyfriend and I, my daughter and my parents.

We will be staying at the Desert Inn and my daughter's friend will be joining us in the room since her present from us is a Disneyland ticket.

 

[Belle2006beauty]

Welcome to the people who have recently planned their trips.

I agree with people about the park times and dining. I'm also going to WDW in Oct, and I can book my dining for then in 15 days. We are only planning on booking at one place though, so hopefully we'll get it.

 

[pbb322]

Finally convinced my husband we needed to go back to Disneyland after 7 years (we go to WDW at least once a year). Booked right now Aug. 10-13 at Grand Californian, although waffling on whether to save some $ and stay at the Disneyland hotel (I welcome any input on this point, we always stay onsite at WDW generally in deluxe but our one short trip to DL we stayed at a hotel I was at for a conference). We have only been to DL once for 2 days, DS8 was only 18 months so he does not remember it and DD4 was not born, so they are both super excited that they will get to go to both DL and WDW this year!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Finally convinced my husband we needed to go back to Disneyland after 7 years (we go to WDW at least once a year). Booked right now Aug. 10-13 at Grand Californian, although waffling on whether to save some $ and stay at the Disneyland hotel (I welcome any input on this point, we always stay onsite at WDW generally in deluxe but our one short trip to DL we stayed at a hotel I was at for a conference). We have only been to DL once for 2 days, DS8 was only 18 months so he does not remember it and DD4 was not born, so they are both super excited that they will get to go to both DL and WDW this year!

It depends what you're looking for from your hotel. While Grand Californian is the closest it's designed by the same architect as the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge at WDW so some consider the rooms to be darker and smaller than others. It's also hard to get an extra sleeping surface if your kids don't like to sleep together. Disneyland Hotel is much more "DISNEY" to most people with awesome light up headboards and each tower is themed to a different land in Disneyland. There's lots of memorobilia and such in the lobbies. Most rooms also have a pull-out couch in them so your kids could probably have seperate beds. It is a little farther away but still not bad. If I was picking I'd probably take the Disneyland Hotel but that's just me.

 

[vcgirl925]

We are most likely taking our first DL trip August 3rd - 10th. We are seasoned WDW vets so this is all so new to us! We are a family of five, DH who is a CM, myself, and our three kids 12,10, and 5. Staying at Disneyland hotel.

 

[pbb322]

It depends what you're looking for from your hotel. While Grand Californian is the closest it's designed by the same architect as the Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge at WDW so some consider the rooms to be darker and smaller than others. It's also hard to get an extra sleeping surface if your kids don't like to sleep together. Disneyland Hotel is much more "DISNEY" to most people with awesome light up headboards and each tower is themed to a different land in Disneyland. There's lots of memorobilia and such in the lobbies. Most rooms also have a pull-out couch in them so your kids could probably have seperate beds. It is a little farther away but still not bad. If I was picking I'd probably take the Disneyland Hotel but that's just me.

This is VERY helpful! Thank you! You might have just changed my plan...

 

[Disney_Alli]

This is VERY helpful! Thank you! You might have just changed my plan...

...So now I feel like I should mention that I've only ever stayed at Paradise Pier - I have my first stay at Grand Californian coming up in August but if I was going to stay on-site again and not use our DVC I would definitely stay at the Disneyland Hotel (after I sold a kidney to afford it) but I've been studing pictures and videos of all of them for years...

 

[pbb322]

...So now I feel like I should mention that I've only ever stayed at Paradise Pier - I have my first stay at Grand Californian coming up in August but if I was going to stay on-site again and not use our DVC I would definitely stay at the Disneyland Hotel (after I sold a kidney to afford it) but I've been studing pictures and videos of all of them for years...

thanks! The comparison to the Wilderness is actually what helped my decision. We have stayed at the Wilderness several times, and I'd like to have a "new" experience in California, and it sounds like the Disneyland hotel will be that

 

[alyssa810]

Spending my 40th birthday at DL on the 10th then coming back on the 14th-19th to stay at GCV! While we are currently wait-listed for the 10th, it was a better use of points to not stay on the weekend. Can't wait!

 

[monorailrabbit]

It is very excited indeed I am finding it a bit overwhelming planning as we have never been to either if the places. Lots of planning to do, but that is lots of fun for me

I enjoy planning as well, but some things are starting to stress me out! I'm used to WDW where I can see calendars and things much further in advance! Especially on the fence with the BB PTN package. Most things I'm super excited for - like I can't wait for good ol' paper FP and I'm so excited about the different rides and characters!

 

[disneycrazy2004]

I enjoy planning as well, but some things are starting to stress me out! I'm used to WDW where I can see calendars and things much further in advance! Especially on the fence with the BB PTN package. Most things I'm super excited for - like I can't wait for good ol' paper FP and I'm so excited about the different rides and characters!

Feel exactly the same! we only have 3 days tickets, so I really want to make the best of it! Plus LA is so big and there is so much we want to do

 

[Disney_Alli]

So we're definitely leaning towards APs for our trip. We'll skip the character meals the first day and eliminate out down day by the pool for a lazy park day to switch hotels. I like the idea of being in the park on arrival day again. It's been several years since that was an option for us!

 

[Aussie Princess]

We will be at HoJo between 18-26 the second leg of our WDW and DL trip