Sell me on PPH

[Rubygoose]

We were on the fourth floor, so we never really bothered with the elevators in the morning - we would just take the stairs, which puts you out directly at the crosswalk to GCH. We LOVED how close we were to everything.

I know you said pool wasn't important - but the hot tub is HUGE and amazing at PPH. There's a great little pool bar too. I felt like the smallness of the hotel really made it feel laidback. The lobby was always bustling with people, but our room was so quiet - and this was on a sold-out weekend because of the half marathon.

That said - it also boils down to what you think you DL time is gong to be like. Are you going to spend a ton of time in the parks? Then PPH is your answer, no question. It's a close, great hotel that's an awesome place to stay. Are you looking for more relaxing and downtime at the hotel to close out your whirlwind vacation? Then, yeah, PPH is not going to be right for you.

Thanks. From what I've read, it sure sounds like the elevators are a nuisance. If we request a lower floor, are we missing out on the view? I don't mind coming down stairs in the morning, but I'm sure the kids and DH will not want to climb up the stairs at the end of the day!

Not sure if you're confusing my post with a different one, but yes, the pool is important to us. We will have plenty of time on our arrival day and departure day for pool time, and we often take a mid-day pool break. But this trip might be a little different than in the past, since we'll be going in March and in the past we have traveled in July, August and September. My kids love the slides at DLH, but I don't like how it's so hard to find a chair on the pool deck and you can't watch the kids from inside the pool, like at GCH. The pools at the grand seemed to close pretty early - does anyone know the hours of the pools at PPH? Do they have any kids activities around the pool deck in the afternoon? (maybe this is just a summer thing?)

I've stayed at both Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian. I love the Grand, but two things I liked about PPH were the daybed which meant our party of 3 each got to have our own bed, and the size of the room. There was actually quite a bit of space to move around in the room. As others have said we also got upgraded to a theme park view room when we only had a standard room booked. You really can't beat the view that you get from this hotel!

Do all of the rooms have daybeds, or just a specific room category? The premium view room at DLH had a couch and a desk in a little nook around the corner from the room, but the deluxe view room didn't have a couch and the desk was right in the main area. I think my kids would enjoy having a day bed, since they're getting to the point where they don't really like sharing a bed. Problem is, though, they like to put a row of pillows down the middle and then put their stuffies on the pillows, and somewhere in the middle of the night, one of the stuffies will fall onto the other kid's side and all he!! breaks loose!

 

[Aladora]

Do all of the rooms have daybeds, or just a specific room category? The premium view room at DLH had a couch and a desk in a little nook around the corner from the room, but the deluxe view room didn't have a couch and the desk was right in the main area. I think my kids would enjoy having a day bed, since they're getting to the point where they don't really like sharing a bed. Problem is, though, they like to put a row of pillows down the middle and then put their stuffies on the pillows, and somewhere in the middle of the night, one of the stuffies will fall onto the other kid's side and all he!! breaks loose!

It looks from the Disneyland site that all of the rooms have either 2 queens plus a daybed or 1 king plus a queen sleeper sofa.

Paradise Pier Rooms

 

[cruisehopeful]

I know there are people on here who have stayed at all 3 onsite properties and they rave about PPH. Should I give it a try, or would we all be happier spending the extra $$$ to stay at DLH, which we know we will love?

I've stayed at all 3 and prefer PPH over DLH. The rooms are more spacious and brighter and overall, there wasn't as much hustle/bustle. You can still do just about anything you want at the DLH expect use the pools. I'd pay an extra $800. to stay at GCH, due to location, but not for DLH.

 

[crystal1313]

We haven't stayed at the PPH in a couple years due to price, but when the DLR hotels were affordable, it was our favorite! As many others have mentioned, they are very large room and super bright too. All the rooms we have ever stayed in have 2 queens and a sofa that turns into a bed, which worked out great since my mom usually comes with us making us a party of 5. One time they put us in a ADA room, and that room did not have the sofa sleeper, but I called and asked to change rooms since there wasn't a bathtub and my kids at the time, would not take showers (they were little). We have been upgraded to a view room almost every time we have stayed there. Once, we got a room on the 3rd floor, facing the pool and we had our own little patio, which was super neat. For us, $800 is A LOT of extra money! You can use that on your trip, or use it toward your next trip We have only ever had an issue with the elevators one trip, when a cheer leading competition was going on, and we would just hit the up button and it wasn't that bad. I know others have had much worse time with that. Good luck with your decision!

 

[tlovesdis]

We love PPH! The rooms are large and bright and the walk isn't bad at all! We have stayed there 5 times and never had issues with the elevators.

 

[GatorChris]

Is the shortcut through GCH pretty obvious? Staying there for the first time on Friday. I've been looking at Google maps and *think* I figured it out.

The first time you go in, it might be a little confusing, but there are signs to follow. And it's even more confusing when you come back because there's no sign saying "This way back to Paradise Pier." So check your landmarks carefully - maybe even snap a few photos backwards with your phone as you take different doors and corridors. That will help.

 

[lilsassymom]

If it were me, I would spend the extra money for DLH.

We stayed at PPH 8/1-8/6 and I wished the whole time we were at DLH. We had an amazing view of DCA, but the room was very run of the mill, with no Disney feel, IMO. The elevators were ridiculous. We regularly waited 10-15 minutes going up or down.

This was us too. We stayed at PPH in April and we wished we were at DLH. Missed the feel of the Disney Bubble. I hated seeing the street and the cars and traffic light.

However, with that said our next trip we will be staying at the GCH and I'm excited to say we will have experience with all 3 so we know for the next time.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

The first question that comes to my mind is to ask how much time you actually think you'll be spending in the hotel? If you're up and out in the parks in the morning and come back just to crash at the end of the day, then my thought is that you probably have better things to do with $800 than stay at the DLH for nicer theming and slightly closer access to Downtown Disney. If you're people who spend a significant amount time in the room and (especially) in the pools, then DLH may be a better option for you.

 

[LizzyS]

We didn't use the elevators in the morning because we were on the 3rd floor right next to the stairs, so we just hightailed it out on the stairs in the morning, which was really easy. The elevators are honestly the biggest complaint I ever hear about PPH.

 

[Rubygoose]

Thanks, everyone! I guess DH and I need to think about whether we want to spend more time and money at the resort and choose DLH, or if we want to focus our time in the parks and use that money towards park tickets. This is a much longer vacation than we have done in the past, since we are spending 6 nights in San Diego, so I think PPH will be a good fit for us for this trip.

 

[Keels]

Like I said, I was there during a sold-out half marathon weekend and we never had a problem with the elevators - we took the stairs down in the morning, just because it was a nice warm up, but there was never a wait for an elevator when we came back from running.

 

[casagray]

Is the shortcut through GCH pretty obvious? Staying there for the first time on Friday. I've been looking at Google maps and *think* I figured it out.

I think when I stayed there I found a youtube video about the walk so I could "see" it before I went, you might want to see if you can find it.