Paradise Pier Superthread

[Cheshirecatty]

Hi, cheshirecatty!!! So glad to hear from you!!! Thank you for your input! I really appreciate it!

I saw that expedia had a sale last night! I couldn't resist! DD originally wanted to go to American Girl at the Grove by Farmers Market in LA for her bday. So I asked her about it & of course she said PPH! We will just be so excited to be in property again. We will be pool junkies and just relax and go to DTD!!! I think I may do a miniature TR on this (weekend of September 6/7) and for my bday day trip in October!!!

You are so welcome!

Looking forward to both of your upcoming Trip Reports!!!!

I hope you and you DD have so much fun together!

When you're ready to head for Downtown Disney from the Hotel, just go out the sliding glass doors, at the back of the PPH, turn right, and follow the brick path way till you hit Earl of Sandwich(it'll be on your right), you can't miss it---sooooo quick, easy, and convenient!

If you come back the same way in the evening, make sure to have DD look up on the north side of the parking garage as you're walking to the Hotel---she'll see a profile of Goofy surfing!

 

[Mabel67]

Can anyone tell me if the Park view rooms have windows that open? And if you can hear the sounds from CA? I love hearing park sounds in the background...even if it means traffic noise in between!

Thanks!

 

[Jenasweetemotion]

Can anyone tell me if the Park view rooms have windows that open? And if you can hear the sounds from CA? I love hearing park sounds in the background...even if it means traffic noise in between!

Thanks!

Yes the windows open but only about 1-2 inches or so but it is nice to hear the noise from the park.

 

[Mabel67]

Yes the windows open but only about 1-2 inches or so but it is nice to hear the noise from the park.

Thanks for the great news! Now I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the great news! Now I'm really looking forward to it!

Mabel67 -

One of my favorite things about the park view rooms at the PPH is to hear the screams coming from Mickey's Fun Wheel, California Screamin' or the Silly Symphony Swings. Depending on how close to the end of the hallway you are (and how close to DCA you are), you can also see people milling about in the Paradise Pier area of DCA.

Then, of course, you can hear some noise from fireworks in DL and from WoC in DCA at night. (Plus, there will be a channel you can turn to on the TV to hear the World of Color soundtrack when WoC is happening.) In December I could hear a lot of the Viva Navidad music and see the VN performers from my window.

 

[GetGlowing]

Hello, everyone. Hubby and I arrive in 6 days for our first visit to Disneyland. We're staying at PPH in a CL TPV room. Celebrating our anniversary so we figured we would GO BIG!

We are east coast people so we are looking forward to the time difference, getting up early (late on east coast time) to enjoy the CL breakfast before rope drop and enjoying the parks for a leisurely visit.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Congratulations on your Anniversary, AND on your 1st visit to Disneyland!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful trip, and that you enjoy staying at the PPH!

 

[Mabel67]

Mabel67 -

One of my favorite things about the park view rooms at the PPH is to hear the screams coming from Mickey's Fun Wheel, California Screamin' or the Silly Symphony Swings. Depending on how close to the end of the hallway you are (and how close to DCA you are), you can also see people milling about in the Paradise Pier area of DCA.

Then, of course, you can hear some noise from fireworks in DL and from WoC in DCA at night. (Plus, there will be a channel you can turn to on the TV to hear the World of Color soundtrack when WoC is happening.) In December I could hear a lot of the Viva Navidad music and see the VN performers from my window.

This sounds absolutely perfect to me.

 

[GetGlowing]

Thanks!

Does anyone know what kind of beers are currently offered in the concierge lounge?

 

[liesel]

Hello!

We are back from our 4 night stay at Paradise Pier. On the "is onsite worth it?" scale we are in the "I'm sure its nice but I just can't bring myself to pay that much for a room when we will be spending most of our time in the parks" camp. Our only previous onsite experience was a one night stay 2 years ago (same weekend too!). I was looking forward to this stay, since I was running Dumbo and DS was running his first 10K I wanted to be close to everything and have a shorter walk on race days.

I booked a standard room and made zero requests. The hotel was sold out last weekend and we were going to be checking in very late Thursday night so I figured we could be looking at a dumpster or something outside our window. We were just happy to be there.

So I checked in and the CM tells me that our room is on the 15th floor. I had no idea how many floors the hotel had and that this is the top floor. She then apologized and said she wasn't able to get me a view room (I figured, sold out hotel, I'm not the type to ask anyway) but that the computer put us in a family suite! It was fantastic! It really came in handy, especially the extra space to get ready for the races and the two huge bathrooms were awesome. My DD got sick and was able to get more rest too. So you can get a little pixie dust with a late check in. I don't know if we were assigned this room or they had checked in all the standard rooms and had to upgrade us, but we'll take it!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Hi Lisa!

That's fantastic that you were upgraded to a suite!

That is some serious Pixie Dust---just one of the reasons we love staying at the Paradise Pier Hotel!

 

[Sherry E]

Hello!

We are back from our 4 night stay at Paradise Pier. On the "is onsite worth it?" scale we are in the "I'm sure its nice but I just can't bring myself to pay that much for a room when we will be spending most of our time in the parks" camp. Our only previous onsite experience was a one night stay 2 years ago (same weekend too!). I was looking forward to this stay, since I was running Dumbo and DS was running his first 10K I wanted to be close to everything and have a shorter walk on race days.

I booked a standard room and made zero requests. The hotel was sold out last weekend and we were going to be checking in very late Thursday night so I figured we could be looking at a dumpster or something outside our window. We were just happy to be there.

So I checked in and the CM tells me that our room is on the 15th floor. I had no idea how many floors the hotel had and that this is the top floor. She then apologized and said she wasn't able to get me a view room (I figured, sold out hotel, I'm not the type to ask anyway) but that the computer put us in a family suite! It was fantastic! It really came in handy, especially the extra space to get ready for the races and the two huge bathrooms were awesome. My DD got sick and was able to get more rest too. So you can get a little pixie dust with a late check in. I don't know if we were assigned this room or they had checked in all the standard rooms and had to upgrade us, but we'll take it!

I haven't seen you around in a while, liesel -- like, probably 2 or 3 Christmas Superthreads ago!

You've probably been hanging out in different threads than where I've been.

That's so awesome that you got the suite! I think that having that extra space and the extra bathroom would really come in handy.

I think that people can get a little pixie dust at any time -- late in the day or early in the morning. (I know of another DIS'er and her family who became the Big Kahuna family of the day, and they ended up in a suite quite a while back -- just for arriving at the right time on the right day, I suppose.) I think it mainly depends on how booked up the hotels are, how long of a stay the guest has (in other words, people who are staying 7 nights or more are probably unlikely to be upgraded), what kind of mood the CM at the front desk is in that day, etc. Someone probably gets upgraded on a daily basis, I would imagine.

 

[liesel]

I haven't seen you around in a while, liesel -- like, probably 2 or 3 Christmas Superthreads ago!

You've probably been hanging out in different threads than where I've been.

That's so awesome that you got the suite! I think that having that extra space and the extra bathroom would really come in handy.

I think that people can get a little pixie dust at any time -- late in the day or early in the morning. (I know of another DIS'er and her family who became the Big Kahuna family of the day, and they ended up in a suite quite a while back -- just for arriving at the right time on the right day, I suppose.) I think it mainly depends on how booked up the hotels are, how long of a stay the guest has (in other words, people who are staying 7 nights or more are probably unlikely to be upgraded), what kind of mood the CM at the front desk is in that day, etc. Someone probably gets upgraded on a daily basis, I would imagine.

Hi Sherry!

Yes, I am still around, but mostly on all the race check in threads. I am FINALLY returning for the Christmas season this year since I am doing the Avengers half so I will check out the super thread. I can't wait to see some Christmas decorations again!

We really did enjoy the suite, especially since we had more hotel time planned for this trip. I wasn't expecting anything because our stay was 4 nights and I thought that would be too long for some surprise magic. I think it is awesome that they randomly choose people to upgrade!

 

[Cheshirecatty]

Hi all, my DH and I stayed at PPH, May 17th thru the 23rd. We were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and his 60th birthday. To tell you the truth, we were quite disappointed in the standard room overlooking the parking lot and the really small bathroom. After staying there the first night, we decided to see if we could transfer over to DLH. After talking to the front desk, the moved us to "The Huntington Suite" at no additional charge. This suite was just beautiful. Way to much space for the two of us, but we loved it non the less.

That's too bad that you weren't happy with the first room(that's only happened to us once, in all the times we've stayed at the PPH), but amazing how it all turned out for you!

What a great way to help celebrate a 10th Wedding Anniversary, and a 60th Birthday!

We've never had the need to stay in a suite, but sometime down the road, would love to experience that!

 

[kkmcan]

I'm pretty excited about our first stay at PP Oct 3-5th but I'm a little bit worried about the slow elevators. Actually having second thoughts and started looking at staying at an offsite motel.

Should I call and request lowest floor possible so we can use the stairs? What is the lowest floor we could end up with? I'm don't know which floors have rooms. 2nd? 3rd?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[bellebookworm9]

I'm pretty excited about our first stay at PP Oct 3-5th but I'm a little bit worried about the slow elevators. Actually having second thoughts and started looking at staying at an offsite motel.

Should I call and request lowest floor possible so we can use the stairs? What is the lowest floor we could end up with? I'm don't know which floors have rooms. 2nd? 3rd?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

I believe the third floor is the lowest floor with rooms. However, when we were there in May, our room was on the 14th floor, so we always used the elevators. They were never slow for us, as there were four of them, including the glass one. There was only one night that I saw them overwhelmed and even then the crowds were pretty patient.

 

[Speechphi]

I'm pretty excited about our first stay at PP Oct 3-5th but I'm a little bit worried about the slow elevators. Actually having second thoughts and started looking at staying at an offsite motel. Should I call and request lowest floor possible so we can use the stairs? What is the lowest floor we could end up with? I'm don't know which floors have rooms. 2nd? 3rd? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

We were at PPH in mid-June and never noticed slow elevators either. I think the most we had to wait was for " the next" elevator because the one that arrived was full. But there are three available on each floor & a fourth on the first floor. They are pretty roomy & our group of 7 easily fit with a coupe more people.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm pretty excited about our first stay at PP Oct 3-5th but I'm a little bit worried about the slow elevators. Actually having second thoughts and started looking at staying at an offsite motel.

Should I call and request lowest floor possible so we can use the stairs? What is the lowest floor we could end up with? I'm don't know which floors have rooms. 2nd? 3rd?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

kkmcan --

Oh goodness! Don't let the "slow elevators" worry you! They're nothing to be worried about, and they're certainly not a reason to switch hotels.

I'm not sure what impression you have in your mind about what you will be facing with the PPH elevators, but please trust me -- they are not that bad!

I have said before on this forum (can't recall if it was in this thread or in another thread) that I'm sure there have been a couple of times when an elevator arrived and because it was full I had to wait for the next one, but it's not like I stood there for 45 minutes. The next one probably arrived in a minute or two.

Honestly, whatever experiences I have had with waiting for elevators at the PPH were so insignificant that I can barely even remember them. They were not even a blip on the radar for me. I just went on with my days and trips without a second thought to the elevators, and I continue to return to the PPH -- so the elevators clearly have not scared me away.

 

[sgrap]

kkmcan --

Oh goodness! Don't let the "slow elevators" worry you! They're nothing to be worried about, and they're certainly not a reason to switch hotels.

I'm not sure what impression you have in your mind about what you will be facing with the PPH elevators, but please trust me -- they are not that bad!

I have said before on this forum (can't recall if it was in this thread or in another thread) that I'm sure there have been a couple of times when an elevator arrived and because it was full I had to wait for the next one, but it's not like I stood there for 45 minutes. The next one probably arrived in a minute or two.

Honestly, whatever experiences I have had with waiting for elevators at the PPH were so insignificant that I can barely even remember them. They were not even a blip on the radar for me. I just went on with my days and trips without a second thought to the elevators, and I continue to return to the PPH -- so the elevators clearly have not scared me away.

I agree that it isn't anything to change hotels or even floors for, but just be prepared if you want to make rope drop that it might take a while if you are running close to the time. Do the 'go up to go down' trick. And bring your patience if you are going to a late evening event like WOC--that was when we had to wait the longest--after WOC with a huge bunch of people returning at once.

 

[kkmcan]

Thanks everyone. With slow elevators being a major complaint for the PP, I guess I just got a little nervous with our choice. I feel better now that maybe it won't be such a big deal.