Onsite Hotel Decisions/Opinions - Surprising My Mom

[ISpyMickeyMouse]

Hi, everyone.

I have been reading this forum for the past few weeks and have loved it, thank you all for the great information!


I visit DL on regular basis, but am planning a trip October 5th - 10th for my mother, my 3.5 year old daughter and myself. This trip is special since we are celebrating my mom's 60th birthday and it is our first trip with a small group. Typically we go with husbands, my sisters family, grandparents, etc. Due to the size, staying onsite has never really been an option since we need for 4 rooms and my grandparents usually foot the bill.

I have stayed at GCH 3 times and PPH 2 times, my mom has never stayed onsite and she goes to DL at least 2 times a year. I plan our trips and make the hotel reservations. My mom thinks that I booked our usual hotel on Harbor Blvd (Camelot Inn), but I have us booked at the PPH concierge room with an upper level park view. This is a surprise to my mom. She will not be too happy since she knows the relative prices of the hotels, however, I am hoping that when we pull into the parking lot the surprise element and my daughters excitement will ease her unhappiness.

My dilemma is that everyday I change my mind about changing our room reservation to another onsite property.

I will be paying for the rooms and money isn't necessary an issue (she only turns 60 once!). Since my mom knows that PPH is the cheapest, that is why I booked that one, plus I figured I could just attribute the concierge services and view as a little pixie dust If we were to change rooms, I would do a deluxe pool view on floors 3 - 6 at DLH. We love the pool area, trees, etc. and would prefer that over the upper level rooms. At GCH I would probably book a partial view room and request to not be in the never lands. The concierge options are not available for our dates with our AP discounts, however, if offered at checkin I would probably entertain the idea.

My mom really likes being close to the park and I am doubting the PPH walk (which I understand isn't bad, but it does seem to be farther than the spots where we usually stay.) Plus you leave the bubble a little. Staying at GCH would be great with the balconies since the park closes earlier during our stay and I like the vanities outside the bathrooms, but the rooms are on the smaller side (my mom really likes bigger rooms) and aren't very Disney themed with Mickey's for my daughter. Since we both haven't stayed DLH I thought that would be special. However, without doing concierge I am concerned that we won't receive any of the specialness since it seems like it is sometimes hit or miss.

I have read all of the super threads and other reviews on this board, and I understand that nobody can tell me the right decision. However, I was just hoping for others opinions to see if I missed something and/or what you might do in my position.

We are also planning on Goofy's Kitchen, Ariels Grotto and Blue Bayou, plus Mickey's Halloween Party (a first for all of us), so there will be lots of great celebrating opportunities while we are there.

Thank you for your time reading my novel, I appreciate it

 

[DHSbutcher]

First of all- so sweet for you to surprise your mom! We have stayed at DLH once, on our one and only DLR vacation so I have no other DLR hotels to compare it to, but the rooms did have a touch of magic, and we loved it! It was about a 10 minute walk to the parks through DTD but still very pleasant. We visited last september and the weather was perfect, and the parks did close very early- 5, 7, and 8pm while we were there. We did enjoy the pool area, trader sam's, tangaroa terrace while we were there as well. We are returning to DLR in august, and sadly staying offsite, but it is free with points so I can't complain too much. But my vote is DLH!!

 

[5forMickey]

I have never stayed at PP but between the GC and DHL, I'd do the Disneyland. I to am a fan of the larger rooms and while they both are wonderful I just prefer the DHL. Since the remodel, I actually prefer the decore of the DLH. I think the pools are more Disney and didn't really find the walk to be a big issue. She is going to fall in love with staying onsite.Whichever of the three you pick you will have a fantastic trip!

 

[Congo Queen]

I would do DLH pool view. At DLH walking is mitigated by use of Monorail. You get those awesome pools and slides that your daughter will love. The rooms are bigger and have been refurbished more recently than GCH or PPH. You don't have those long long, winding hallways of the GCH. I know some people love concierge, but I have never found that we eat enough of the concierge room food nor spend enough time in the lounge to make it worth the extra $. I'd rather hang out in the parks, at the pool or napping in my comfy room.

 

[Disney Dory]

I think this is awesome of you to do this for your mom! My daughter and I have been doing DL trips together for several years and this last trip we added a new Disney buddy, my little granddaughter! We stayed at the DLH and absolutely loved it!! We just love the atmosphere of the DLH and it was so, so nice to have the monorail just steps away from the hotel. It was so easy to hop on and go back to our room in the afternoon for the baby to nap! Oh, and if you opt to walk through DTD, you still never feel like you are out of that Disney bubble! The best part to us about staying at the DLH was we felt completely safe even walking back at night! there is security all throughout DTD and it is well lit up! Goofy's kitchen is right there at the DLH so that would make it so nice for you too! And we really liked eating breakfast one morning at Tangora Terrace as well. We stayed at the PPH a couple of times and enjoyed that too. We took a shortcut through the Grand and that walk wasn't bad at all. The only thing that we didn't like about the PPH was the long waits for the elevators!!! We haven't stayed at the Grand, but maybe one day we will try that if we can get a good rate. We do go there though to enjoy the lobby and eat at the White water snacks for lunch sometimes. And we sometimes go throught the Grand to enter into CA. No matter what you choose, I sure your mom is gong to LOVE it!!! Mom, daughter and granddaughter trips are the best at DL!!.... We are looking forward to our next trip there! We will have a new granddaughter to join us

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We normally stay off site but have been fortunate to stay at all 3 on site hotels a couple of times. I would, without a doubt, stay at DLH. GC is beautiful beyond compare but lacks the Disney magic, PPH is fun and lively but the elevators are horribly slow. We don't mind walking down stairs from several floors up but at PPH if you do the stairs it actually takes you outside the hotel and then you have to walk through the grass to get back in the lobby. DLH is the perfect balance, rooms are large, pool is the best and you definitely feel like you're still at DL the entire time. Plus the fiber optic scene over the beds is really cool. I think your family will enjoy any of the hotels but this is just my two cents.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you stay concierge at PPH and no one has an issue with the glass elevator, the slowness of the elevators is a non issue, because you can call that elevator to your floor and bypass the madness of the regular elevators.

The only bubble you're out of is crossing the street from one Disney hotel to another. This is not a problem for me. But then, I need no bubble. Then you just walk through the Grand almost as though you had stayed there.

The issues we have had with DLH and the walk...the monorail sometimes isn't open when you need it to be. Sometimes the line is atrocious. Sometimes you're not, actually, going all the way into the Nemo ride, which is where it goes to, and sometimes you're not leaving from that same area.

I did some walk-mapping on our last trip, and the walk from Frontier Tower through DTD to the esplanade is actually just about the same as from the front of PPH, through the Grand, to the enter of the esplanade. Of course, if you get one of the closer towers the walk is shorter.


That said, I really like the new DLH decor, and concierge (at least before renovation) was very nice.

 

[krispin41]

See the Paradise Pier thread...for pictures. Truthfully, the view cannot be beat. You can watch World of Color from your room, its very neat for a different perspective.

As to "being in the bubble," IMO, it's only crossing the street, and then boom you are in the GCH, and it's a nice stroll through DD to the fun.

And my trick for the elevator. Ride it up then down. Works every time.