Pixar Place vs DLH

[maleficent55]

Contemplating letting my daughter bring a friend for this next trip. As an only child, this would be very exciting for her but for us parents we feel like we may want separate sleeping areas. Which these would you choose from and why?

Disneyland Hotel: 1 bedroom family suite. 1 king bed (or 2 queen beds) and a queen size sleeper sofa. One bathroom

Pixar Place Hotel: 1 bedroom suite. 2 queen beds (no option for king) and a queen size sleeper sofa. One bathroom

we've never stayed at the Pixar Place Hotel. And only the DLH once. We have the GCH booked already and love it there. Separate sleeping areas there is too much $
When we stayed at the DLH in the past it DID feel like a long walk. Will Pixar Place feel so much farther? I know the new (ish) gate exists now, into DCA.
Pixar Place is ~$100 less per night than the DLH for our dates.
Or maybe we suck it up and stay at the GCH after all?

Opinions anticipated and welcomed.

 

[elvispursley]

Could you rent points and stay at the villas at DLH?

 

[maleficent55]

Could you rent points and stay at the villas at DLH?

I feel like that could be a lot more than either of my two options. Plus I think for my time frame, there wouldn't be availability

 

[SFMommy]

There are TWO FULL BATHROOMS in the PPH one-bedroom suites.

I have stayed at both of these room layouts. For me, having 2 fulls baths would make it an easy decision for PPH.

We stayed there last summer and found the theming to be great throughout the hotel. The entrance/exit to/from DCA is literally across the street. Very convenient.

Whichever you choose, enjoy! Our DD is also an only child and for her 16th birthday, we let her bring a friend to DLR. It was a great trip!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Pixar isn't a much further walk. It's a closer walk to DCA and has it's own gate across the street.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Pixar Place isn’t that much further from the Disneyland park entrance than the Disneyland Hotel (and the walk goes through DTD). And it’s a short walk across the street from California Adventure.

People on these forums brag about how convenient the Contemporary is to the Magic Kingdom, and then the same people complain about how far the DLH and PP are from Disneyland… even though it’s a similar walk as the Contemporary to Magic Kingdom. I don’t get it.

1/2 mile walk shouldn’t be a big deal to most people, and if it is, take the Disneyland Railroad to the Tomorrowland station then make the short walk to the monorail and ride it to the entrance of the DLH.

 

[maleficent55]

There are TWO FULL BATHROOMS in the PPH one-bedroom suites.

I have stayed at both of these room layouts. For me, having 2 fulls baths would make it an easy decision for PPH.

We stayed there last summer and found the theming to be great throughout the hotel. The entrance/exit to/from DCA is literally across the street. Very convenient.

Whichever you choose, enjoy! Our DD is also an only child and for her 16th birthday, we let her bring a friend to DLR. It was a great trip!

was there a shower in each one? This would be a HUGE selling point, these are teens (13 and 14)!

 

[twodogs]

Contemplating letting my daughter bring a friend for this next trip. As an only child, this would be very exciting for her but for us parents we feel like we may want separate sleeping areas. Which these would you choose from and why?

Disneyland Hotel: 1 bedroom family suite. 1 king bed (or 2 queen beds) and a queen size sleeper sofa. One bathroom

Pixar Place Hotel: 1 bedroom suite. 2 queen beds (no option for king) and a queen size sleeper sofa. One bathroom

we've never stayed at the Pixar Place Hotel. And only the DLH once. We have the GCH booked already and love it there. Separate sleeping areas there is too much $
When we stayed at the DLH in the past it DID feel like a long walk. Will Pixar Place feel so much farther? I know the new (ish) gate exists now, into DCA.
Pixar Place is ~$100 less per night than the DLH for our dates.
Or maybe we suck it up and stay at the GCH after all?

Opinions anticipated and welcomed.

Did you price out 2 standard rooms at PPH versus the suite? Often the price is the same or even a little less for 2 rooms versus the 1 bedroom suite. Technically, you would have to book one adult on each room (must have an adult lead guest on each room), but in reality, especially if they honor connecting rooms (which they always have for us at GCH), the girls could sleep in one room and parents in the other. Then you know you will have two full baths, and some privacy, and more space!

 

[SFMommy]

was there a shower in each one? This would be a HUGE selling point, these are teens (13 and 14)!

Yes! Huge walk-in shower in each bathroom. I’ll post a link to a YouTube video showing the one-bedroom suite at the PPH.

 

[SFMommy]

Here is a video of the one-bedroom suite at the PPH.

 

[maleficent55]

Here is a video of the one-bedroom suite at the PPH.

Did they ever get room service?....

we are used to the Grand now, not sure I can do this lol
just for another kid

 

[DizMe]

That's a tough call. I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. I do love the DLH suites, but they have so many configurations and you don't know which tower/suite type you'll get. Some of the 1 br suites have an extra half bath and I think most have a mini kitchen, which would be great in your situation.

I *personally* am not a huge fan of Pixar Place, but I also haven't stayed since it was redone. I'm not a fan of the theming and I don't love the location, but that's just a personal thing. It doesn't quite feel like you're in the resort to me.

I'd say go with GCH except I don't know how comfortable that would be for you and your dh to have 2 young teen girls in the same space and sharing a bathroom with you. We used to go as a family of 5 and stay in one room (me, DH, and our 3 girls) and it wasn't a big deal to us, but we were all family. So in your shoes, I'd probably opt for DLH suite unless you're all fine with sharing one room.

 

[LAS2AMS]

That's a tough call. I'm not sure what I would do in your shoes. I do love the DLH suites, but they have so many configurations and you don't know which tower/suite type you'll get. Some of the 1 br suites have an extra half bath and I think most have a mini kitchen, which would be great in your situation.

I *personally* am not a huge fan of Pixar Place, but I also haven't stayed since it was redone. I'm not a fan of the theming and I don't love the location, but that's just a personal thing. It doesn't quite feel like you're in the resort to me.

I'd say go with GCH except I don't know how comfortable that would be for you and your dh to have 2 young teen girls in the same space and sharing a bathroom with you. We used to go as a family of 5 and stay in one room (me, DH, and our 3 girls) and it wasn't a big deal to us, but we were all family. So in your shoes, I'd probably opt for DLH suite unless you're all fine with sharing one room.

You haven’t stayed at PP since the renovation, but have you walked through the public spaces? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

We stayed there when it was the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, and they had drawings in the hotel showing the planned reimagining of the hotel. Due largely to budget cuts, and also the hotel’s strong Japanese following (previous ownership was Japanese and marketed to that demographic), Disney kept the property as is (beyond the light “Surf Goofy” theme implemented when they first acquired it).

Of course, this (not Disney enough) is largely the reason you and others citied as disliking the hotel. But when it was reimagined to Pixar Place, they gutted all of the public spaces. For example, all of those small rooms in the lobby (which were previously shops when it was the Pan Pacific, then filled in as arcade, improvised movie theater, etc. as Disney) were removed and it’s now one big, open space. All of the flooring, which was original to the Pan Pacific, had been replaced. They’ve added Disney music and fragrance to the hotel.

A lot of families prefer Pixar Place and I can see why. Can’t fault it for not being built by Disney - neither was the Disneyland Hotel . And the portions of the Disneyland Hotel that were designed by Disney were demolished when Downtown Disney was built. Of course, Disney completely reimagined the property but the (non-DVC) tower, convention center, etc. was not Disney designed.

 

[DizMe]

You haven’t stayed at PP since the renovation, but have you walked through the public spaces? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

We stayed there when it was the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, and they had drawings in the hotel showing the planned reimagining of the hotel. Due largely to budget cuts, and also the hotel’s strong Japanese following (previous ownership was Japanese and marketed to that demographic), Disney kept the property as is (beyond the light “Surf Goofy” theme implemented when they first acquired it).

Of course, this (not Disney enough) is largely the reason you and others citied as disliking the hotel. But when it was reimagined to Pixar Place, they gutted all of the public spaces. For example, all of those small rooms in the lobby (which were previously shops when it was the Pan Pacific, then filled in as arcade, improvised movie theater, etc. as Disney) were removed and it’s now one big, open space. All of the flooring, which was original to the Pan Pacific, had been replaced. They’ve added Disney music and fragrance to the hotel.

A lot of families prefer Pixar Place and I can see why. Can’t fault it for not being built by Disney - neither was the Disneyland Hotel . And the portions of the Disneyland Hotel that were designed by Disney were demolished when Downtown Disney was built. Of course, Disney completely reimagined the property but the (non-DVC) tower, convention center, etc. was not Disney designed.

No, I've not stayed since they remodeled. I thought the rooms were nice when we did stay there but that was before it was more nicely incorporated into the resort; it looks like they did a great job sprucing them up. The theme park views from some of the rooms are awesome.

My main dislike of PPH is not about the spaces as much as the property. The pool just doesn't measure up IMO to the other 2 hotels. There are no grounds at all. You're on a traffic street. You're sort of in and sort of out of the bubble. I'm not a huge Pixar fan and I'm not going with kids, so the theme is not as fun to me as it would be to many others. I don't like what I've heard about the concierge lounge, but that's hearsay since I've not experienced it myself. There've been posts about it on this board, though.

But the remodel is beautiful. I ate in the restaurant and it was good. It's just not really my vibe, and I fully acknowledge that that's a personal thing and doesn't mean others wouldn't love it.

On a fun note, I did stay in it once when it was the Pan Pacific (somewhere in the early '90s) and was pretty wowed LOL.

 

[twodogs]

We have stayed in rooms at all 3 onsite hotels many times, and we have stayed in 1 and 2 bedroom suites at both DLH and GCH. Our favorite is the GCH, and we will stay there about 80% of the time, only going to the DLH or PPH if the GCH is booked or if the price is just outrageous!

We stayed in the PPH for the first time about a year ago in October, when GCH was super $$$, and PPH was less than half the price of GCH. Renovations were still in process, but the lobby and pools were complete, and they looked super fun for kids. We were placed in an un-renovated room, so I have not stayed in a renovated room. We had one of our DDs and our niece, at the time they were 15. We stayed in one room with 2 queens and day bed. We actually did fine all sharing a bathroom, but it would have been nice to have 2 baths! But we were trying to keep the costs down.

Obviously, it is not the luxury level of the GCH. The beds and bath were fine, probably nicer now after the renovation. I did not love that the AC unit is in the wall, and it was cold for the bed that was on that side of the room, and then a little warm for the bed on the other side of the room. We didn’t have a single elevator issue (others have), but that likely was because half of the rooms were basically out of service for renovation during our stay. I was super happy to be saving so much money over the GCH, for this stay! So we gave up some of the luxury of GCH! We were there for OBB, and we were only there 3 nights. Our days were very park-heavy, so we did not spend a lot of time in the room (just took a midday break for a few hours to nap/rest in the room, and this was no big deal to walk back for, not much worse than the GCH). We didn’t use the pools because we were at the parks all day.

A plus for the PPH was that the proximity to the park entrances (to me) was actually better than the DLH. We walked across a short street and entered DCA through the new entrance (and used this as an exit many nights). We used our room key to get through the gate to GCH on the mornings we started at DL. The walk from the parks was not much longer than going to GCH to us (and felt shorter than walking back to the DLH, which can feel like an eternity to me at the end of a long day!). Yes, you have to walk across a street (not just stay within DTD), but is is really super short, so no big deal to me. There was one street vendor selling fruit and fruit juices on that corner, but that is it.

The suites that we have had at the DLH have been varied in size and layout. I felt they were dated and just not well-cared for, for that price point. I like the theming of the DLH, and my DDs loved the pools when they were younger. Now that they are late teens, the pool at the DLH is much, much less of a draw. We like Trader Sam’s for sure!

Overall, if I am trying to save money, I would not hesitate to stay at the PPH (over the DLH). As I mentioned above, if you need some separation, you can often get 2 rooms for the same price or less than a 1 bedroom suite. And then everyone has a real bed instead of the kids on a sofa bed in the suite. And 2 bathrooms of course, which I completely understand with 2 DDs myself!

Have a great trip, and hopefully your daughter and her friend appreciate the gift you are giving them with this trip!! We took both of our DDs and both of our nieces 2 years ago for a HS grad trip for our oldest DD and oldest niece. It was so fun!!

 

[twodogs]

One other thing to think about for GCH, you can try for the King room with the sleeper chair and day bed. That would give everyone a little bit of space. And almost all rooms have a balcony (unlike DLH or PPH), so that can be another space to have some separation. As well, there are the neat places in GCH like the “mini lobby” on the 3rd floor, the upper balcony area and the WOC viewing area that could serve as places to decompression and separate. From one GCH super fan to another, I am always trying to figure out how to make GCH work for every single trip!! We have 2 DDs and always stay in one room at GCH (we did do 2 rooms when we also had our nieces with us, or if my parents come with us). So maybe you can make one room work at GCH!

 

[maleficent55]

You haven’t stayed at PP since the renovation, but have you walked through the public spaces? If not, I highly recommend doing so.

We stayed there when it was the Disneyland Pacific Hotel, and they had drawings in the hotel showing the planned reimagining of the hotel. Due largely to budget cuts, and also the hotel’s strong Japanese following (previous ownership was Japanese and marketed to that demographic), Disney kept the property as is (beyond the light “Surf Goofy” theme implemented when they first acquired it).

Of course, this (not Disney enough) is largely the reason you and others citied as disliking the hotel. But when it was reimagined to Pixar Place, they gutted all of the public spaces. For example, all of those small rooms in the lobby (which were previously shops when it was the Pan Pacific, then filled in as arcade, improvised movie theater, etc. as Disney) were removed and it’s now one big, open space. All of the flooring, which was original to the Pan Pacific, had been replaced. They’ve added Disney music and fragrance to the hotel.

A lot of families prefer Pixar Place and I can see why. Can’t fault it for not being built by Disney - neither was the Disneyland Hotel . And the portions of the Disneyland Hotel that were designed by Disney were demolished when Downtown Disney was built. Of course, Disney completely reimagined the property but the (non-DVC) tower, convention center, etc. was not Disney designed.

Do you know anything about the noise level there? They didn’t change the walls…are they thin? I thought I read reports of that in the past.

 

[twodogs]

Do you know anything about the noise level there? They didn’t change the walls…are they thin? I thought I read reports of that in the past.

We didn’t have any trouble with the noise there, but we were almost at the end of the hallway. We were overlooking the pool deck, and I could not hear anything. I am sensitive to noise, but I was ok there. That said, the hotel was only at 1/2 occupancy due to renovations when we stayed. Usually I am so exhausted at DLR that I sleep pretty well no matter what!

 

[LAS2AMS]

Do you know anything about the noise level there? They didn’t change the walls…are they thin? I thought I read reports of that in the past.

We’ve never had problems with the noise level. Keep in mind that the property was built as a high end luxury hotel and build quality is superior to any Disney built property.

 

[LAS2AMS]

No, I've not stayed since they remodeled. I thought the rooms were nice when we did stay there but that was before it was more nicely incorporated into the resort; it looks like they did a great job sprucing them up. The theme park views from some of the rooms are awesome.

My main dislike of PPH is not about the spaces as much as the property. The pool just doesn't measure up IMO to the other 2 hotels. There are no grounds at all. You're on a traffic street. You're sort of in and sort of out of the bubble. I'm not a huge Pixar fan and I'm not going with kids, so the theme is not as fun to me as it would be to many others. I don't like what I've heard about the concierge lounge, but that's hearsay since I've not experienced it myself. There've been posts about it on this board, though.

But the remodel is beautiful. I ate in the restaurant and it was good. It's just not really my vibe, and I fully acknowledge that that's a personal thing and doesn't mean others wouldn't love it.

On a fun note, I did stay in it once when it was the Pan Pacific (somewhere in the early '90s) and was pretty wowed LOL.

I appreciate your thoughts. Many people continue to argue against PP as “it’s not Disney enough” even though they haven’t even walked through the hotel since it was reimagined. Most people don’t realize, that the Disneyland Hotel was not built by Disney. Disney did help design the original hotel, but it was demolished when DTD was built.

When we stayed at the PP (as Disneyland Pacific Hotel) in the mid-1990s, they had drawings of the property’s intended transformation. They showed that the pool and some dining facilities would be relocated from the DLH, in the area that was demolished for DTD, to between the Paradise Pier and DLH. Of course, they ended up demolishing the marina at DLH and building the pool there. They continued to use the space between the properties as parking.

Oh, what could’ve been… we didn’t even get our DisneyQuest in DTD!