Staying at Paradise Pier...some questions....

[addysmom03]

Hello friends
I was just wondering if you could give me some tips for staying at PPH, this is our first time.
I'm not completely sure about how the parking works or how to get to the parks...shuttle or monorail, I'm pretty new to this.
Any help, or suggestions of things not to miss, would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Suz

 

[tinkrbl]

Hi there, i just got back from 4 nights at the PPH - i would strongly recommend walking it really would be the fastest way to and from the parks without having to back track around the hotel or downtown disney to catch the monorail or the tram. Also, in order to get to the parking garage you should go to the front of the hotel for registration and then you can take the ONE WAY drive back to the parking garage (we did not know this and ended up driving the wrong way on this one way stretch ) Also iam not certainhow many in your group or what ages - but the PPH does not have laundry facilities - they refer you to walk over to DLH to use those - very inconvenient!!! Ended up hand washing in the bath tub I hope this helps. All in all it was nice accomodations clean rooms of course not very disney but still nice - also they only put 2 pillows per bed so if you need more take them.

 

[nana50]

I used to go to DTD and take the monorail. The whole walk to the front is kind of tiring. You will love the pool if you have kids. I also found it to be plenty Disney for my grandchildren.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I thought everyone who stays at PP cuts through the Grand Californian!

 

[Peri]

We love PP.

Parking garage is nearby, just read signs carefully - park your car, you're done.

There is no shuttle or monorail from PP. You walk to the park - first cross the street, go into the Grand Californian Hotel, then either use their inside entrance to DCA or go out the front, turn right, and walk into the main hub for Disneyland and DCA.

It is not far.

 

[Sherry E]

In this specific post of my TR (link below), you will find some PPH in-room pictures I took in 12/08 (I think everything is pretty much the same now, including the adorable toiletries):

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29331933&postcount=103

I have stayed at the PPH many times and I like it. I like the sun/surf/beach/nautical theme of the hotel. There is not much to the PPH, mind you. It is not like the other two DLR hotels in that it doesn't have expansive property on which to build. So you pretty much just have the main building and the parking lot. (This is why it is the least expensive of the 3 DLR hotels!) There is just one main restaurant - the PCH Grill - which, in the morning houses the Surf's Up with Mickey character meal and at lunch and dinner functions as a 'regular' restaurant. There is also a little walk-up counter service type of place just off of the lounge area, called the Surfside Lounge, which serves yummy coffee drinks and expensive sandwiches, juice and pastries. There is also just one main gift shop.

When going to and from the gates of the parks, take what we all call the "short cut." Do not follow the signs on the PPH property to get to Downtown Disney, or it will feel like you are miles away. Instead, go out the front entrance of the PPH, veer to the left, walk to the light at the corner, cross the street to the Grand Californian Hotel, cut through the gorgeous GCH lobby (a great place to sit and relax mid-day, by the way), and from there, follow the signs to Downtown Disney and the parks' gates. Then, on your way back to the PPH, do the same in reverse. Walk through DTD to the turn-off into the GCH, cut through the lobby and out to the front of the GCH, veer to the left, cross the street to the PPH and there you are! Voila! That's the short cut!

 

[nana50]

I thought everyone who stays at PP cuts through the Grand Californian!

You do cut through the Grand California, that is true, still seems like a long walk though. also the really short cut through GC is to go to CA. To go to Disney, you still have to walk through DTD.

 

[bumbershoot]

Whatever you do do NOT follow their signs to Disneyland, if you are intending to walk!

But DO follow their signs if you want to ride the monorail in. However, know that sometimes the monorail isn't working...our whole first trip where we stayed at PPH, every single time we wanted to us it, either in or out of the parks, it was "down". So we got to walk the entire way through DTD, which is a huge long walk.

Much better to go out the *front* entrance of PPH, cross over to the Grand, and use their pathway...either follow their signs to DCA if you want to end up near Grizzly and have the 'back' of the park closer, or go down the first hallway to the left after going in the pretty front doors, and follow that hallway, turn right out the sliding glass doors, and that plops you out more than halfway through DTD, which is MUCH better than walking ALL the way through DTD!