Paradise pier

[eeyorefanuk]

I note it's not as close as other two hotels .... Are there any negatives to staying here?

Thanks

 

[auteur55]

It's actually closer then the DL Hotel (because you can easily cut through the Grand). The negatives are the elevators are torturously slow and hard to get into when a crowd shows up. Also the pool is just meh. It's a great place to stay otherwise.

 

[Kindermouse]

I'm a budget Mouseketeer for sure so I have only stayed there once. I did like it a lot and I felt that the Disney customer service really adds magic to your stay. We were going for a my sons 5th birthday and when we checked in there were balloons and a little birthday packet and a birthday button waiting for us which was extra special and awesome of Disney.

We also had the stuff we bought sent to our room some didn't have to carry it around. A big plus when your a single mom in the park with only so many hands and you don't want to leave new souvenirs unattended in your stroller when your on rides.

Also, it may not be as close as the Grand it's still very close, just a very short walk to the monorail at downtown Disney and a quick cut through the grand to DCA.

We also did a character breakfast at the on site resturant which, if your planning a character breakfast it's just so much easier when it's right downstairs. It was lilo and stitch back then but that was pretty much right after that movie came out so don't know if it still features LILO and stitch. It wasn't only them though it was chip, dale, Mickey and Minnie and Donald and daisy as far as I remember.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I have stayed here quite a few times; we will be there 8 days in August. Cutting through the Grand makes this closer than DLH (in my opinion). And it's great when you ride the Grizzly River run (which we did every time we walked back to the hotel) to take our soaking wet selves through the private entrance of GCH to get back to our room. Definitely do NOT use the private entry first thing in the morning but once the park has been open a couple hours it is super quick. As PP said; we loved the Surf's Up breakfast. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Pluto and Stitch. We also ate there a couple times at night and it was never crowded and the service was good. Our room was on the 3rd floor the last time and I don't remember any difficulty with the elevators. It's the "cheap" option for an on site hotel with less theming but I really like it.

 

[GatorChris]

The first negative is the price. There are a lot of hotels on Harbor and within walking distance that are half the price, and suites that are 2/3 the price. Second negative as mentioned before is the elevators. It can be totally non-busy (is that a word?) and it can take the elevators several minutes to get to you. We were on the 12th, and while the elevators were decent most of the time, there were times when you waited and waited.

It does have that Disney feel when you check in, and it does have a really cool character breakfast. You can splurge for a park view, too. It's pretty close to the side DCA entrance, which is nice. But you do have to cross a street, so that kinda takes you out of the Disney bubble. And the waterslide is a hit with the kids.

 

[Watchtower]

We're not rich, but I love getting the extra magic hour in the parks, so we always splurge on staying at the Paradise Pier, since it's the cheapest of the three Disney hotels. The rooms are big, and have a "beachy" relaxing feel to them. Many people complain about the lack of Disney theming, but I feel like there are enough Disney touches to feel like you're still in the "bubble". It's a bit of a walk, but honestly not as bad as when we got stuck in the Frontier Tower of the Disneyland Hotel last December. The elevators CAN get overloaded in the morning and at park close when everyone else is trying to go UP from the lobby, but that's the only downside we faced during our 4 night stay there last week.

 

[4Siamese]

Loved our stay there.
Really the only negative was the price in the sense that it is still fairly expensive, but if you want to stay on site (like we did) then the property is great.
We only ever had an issue with the elevator once so maybe we just got lucky, the location is great, the walk very manageable, character dining was good as was the food and the service throughout the hotel was top notch.
Would not hesitate to stay there again.

 

[Aladora]

We've stayed at all 3 onsite hotels and PPH is our new favourite. We did not experience the long elevator issues that others have mentioned, the walk felt shorter than when we stayed at GCH because our GCH room was almost at the very end of the hallways. We did not do the character meal this trip but we did enjoy the dinner buffet.

I am planning a trip next March for my 45th birthday and will likely pick PPH again.

 

[Whistlebee]

We've stayed at all 3 hotels and we really like the PPH. We just got back a week ago from a 3 night stay. The staff is friendly here, I like the way the rooms are decorated. I love the fold-out couch for one of my kids. The rooms are a nice size. Yes, it's still pricey compared to non-Disney hotels but we love using the EMH. The walk to the parks is not bad at all. I enjoy using the shortcut through the Grand. I think the PPH might be my favorite of all 3. I know many will disagree with me but I find PPH to just be easy. The DH is a longer walk and we didn't have a great experience when we stayed at the Grand. The pool at PPH is definetley a step down from the Grand or DLH so if the pool is really important to you might want to stay at one of the other Disney hotels. We've waited a few minutes for an elevator but nothing that affected our stay. When leaving our room in the morning we always ride the elevator up (to go back down) and I think this seems to help. We've enjoyed the character breakfast, Surf's Up, here as well.

 

[bumbershoot]

the walk felt shorter than when we stayed at GCH because our GCH room was almost at the very end of the hallways.

Some of those rooms at the Grand are ridiculously far away. It's painful.

When leaving our room in the morning we always ride the elevator up (to go back down) and I think this seems to help.

Yep. if it's busy, just get on the next elevator that comes.

When going UP, we take the glass elevator that's more *in* the lobby. You can only take it down if you're on a concierge floor (other floors don't have a button to call it), but anyone can take it up.

 

[Whistlebee]

We mostly used the glass elevator as well. We were on the 10th floor and were able to access it from there.

 

[algae]

Hmm.. negatives.. let's see...

• parking is so close to the hotel
• nice and quiet lobby to return to after being in the parks
• great club sandwiches at the bar
• nice view of WOC if you get a room above the palm trees
• fun beach ball pillows in the room
• free fruit-infused water at the bar (shh... it's our secret)
• bright, airy rooms

PPH was our favorite hotel until we became DVC members. Sure, GCH has great rooms, but the prices went from high to astronomical over the years. DLH didn't feel all that special to us. Truthfully, though, PPH is starting to really show its age and is in need of some minor refurbishing:

• window tints were not applied correctly and are severely warped (it's being addressed)
• none of the Ethernet ports in the rooms have power (someone keeps stealing the power bricks?)
• plumbing fixtures could use some replacement for leaks and squeaks

It has the best value of the 3 Disney properties IMHO.