To stay at PPH or not

[mpadilla89]

Every time we have been to Disneyland we have stayed off site. Usually at the Hilton(convention) which I like and my daughter likes the kid pool area. We are planning a trip again this xmas and wanted to stay at PPH which is about $500 more than the other good neighbor hotels we have been looking at (hilton & sheraton). We are taking our niece who is God daughter who has never been.

Is it worth staying at the disney Hotels? What perks do we get that we wouldn't have if staying at good neighbor hotel?

We have said that one day we will stay at a Disney Hotel just not sure if this is the time.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

We stayed there for 6 nights last December. We were on vacation and they were running a decent mid-week special so we decided to splurge in order to stay on property for the first time and enjoy EMH since we don't get MM with our AP's.

They hotel and rooms were nice, but nothing special. I didn't feel like we were anymore "in the Disney bubble" than we were staying at one of the Harbor hotels within walking distance. As rope drop people, we did enjoy EMH, which was the primary factor in us switching to PPH (we had originally had reservations at the Sheraton Park). Other perks include charging things to your room in the parks, delivery of things you buy in the parks to your hotel room and having sound piped into the fireworks viewing areas at the hotels.

I would say that if you can get a discounted rate and you will take advantage of the perks they offer like EMH then it is worth the higher price. But I would not personally stay there at full price or if we were not going to use EMH because there are other options with similar or better accommodations that are just as close and cost less.

Like you, we have plans to stay at the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian "one day" for a special occasion, but when they cost $200-$500 more per night than many of the other nearby hotels, it's hard to justify. Since we live within driving distance (4 hrs away) and have AP's that extra money could easily fund an extra weekend in the parks. When I put it in terms of "would I rather have one three day long weekend staying at the GCH or two staying at a Best Western" or as I told my wife while we were finishing our exquisite dinner at Napa Rose for our 11th anniversary earlier this month when she brought up staying at the Grand; "would you rather stay here or stay across he street and enjoy a dinner like this every night complete with a bottle of nice wine?", it's makes it that much harder to spend the extra money.

 

[Malcon10t]

Perks - Early entry to one of the parks every day of your stay, being able to send packages back to the bell desk instead of carting them back, and (this may or may not be a perk ) you can charge purchases/meals from Disney locations back to the room.

 

[mpadilla89]

We stayed there for 6 nights last December. We were on vacation and they were running a decent mid-week special so we decided to splurge in order to stay on property for the first time and enjoy EMH since we don't get MM with our AP's.

They hotel and rooms were nice, but nothing special. I didn't feel like we were anymore "in the Disney bubble" than we were staying at one of the Harbor hotels within walking distance. As rope drop people, we did enjoy EMH, which was the primary factor in us switching to PPH (we had originally had reservations at the Sheraton Park). Other perks include charging things to your room in the parks, delivery of things you buy in the parks to your hotel room and having sound piped into the fireworks viewing areas at the hotels.

I would say that if you can get a discounted rate and you will take advantage of the perks they offer like EMH then it is worth the higher price. But I would not personally stay there at full price or if we were not going to use EMH because there are other options with similar or better accommodations that are just as close and cost less.

Like you, we have plans to stay at the Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian "one day" for a special occasion, but when they cost $200-$500 more per night than many of the other nearby hotels, it's hard to justify. Since we live within driving distance (4 hrs away) and have AP's that extra money could easily fund an extra weekend in the parks. When I put it in terms of "would I rather have one three day long weekend staying at the GCH or two staying at a Best Western" or as I told my wife while we were finishing our exquisite dinner at Napa Rose for our 11th anniversary earlier this month when she brought up staying at the Grand; "would you rather stay here or stay across he street and enjoy a dinner like this every night complete with a bottle of nice wine?", it's makes it that much harder to spend the extra money.

We would definitely be taking advantage of the EMH which i am a bit confused since we have never stayed at one of the hotels. When we have stayed at a good neighbor hotel and have a 3 day park hopper we get magic morning. What is the difference of this if staying at a Disney hotel? If we stay two nights or one(lol something we would never do) would we still get to enter early to the parks because we are staying at a Disney Hotel?

The difference is only $500 for the package not per night. Would we be able to deliver items we purchase at the Downtown stores?

We would otherwise stay at the Hilton which I like their pool are, but it would be December so not sure how much we would use or the Sheraton Park because we could get breakfast at the club lounge and snacks, but we are planning on doing breakfast at Minnies one morning and Dinner at Goofys or one other one we like( not Ariels Grotto) and once we are in the park we usually do not leave until we are tired or leave at 4 come back for fireworks, etc.

Decisions. Decisions.

 

[Davin_Felth]

We would definitely be taking advantage of the EMH which i am a bit confused since we have never stayed at one of the hotels. When we have stayed at a good neighbor hotel and have a 3 day park hopper we get magic morning. What is the difference of this if staying at a Disney hotel? If we stay two nights or one(lol something we would never do) would we still get to enter early to the parks because we are staying at a Disney Hotel?

The difference is only $500 for the package not per night. Would we be able to deliver items we purchase at the Downtown stores?

We would otherwise stay at the Hilton which I like their pool are, but it would be December so not sure how much we would use or the Sheraton Park because we could get breakfast at the club lounge and snacks, but we are planning on doing breakfast at Minnies one morning and Dinner at Goofys or one other one we like( not Ariels Grotto) and once we are in the park we usually do not leave until we are tired or leave at 4 come back for fireworks, etc.

Decisions. Decisions.

When you buy a 3 day park hopper, you get 1 Magic Morning. And that's only for 1 Magic Morning at Disneyland. When you stay at one of the DisneyLand Resort hotels, you get an early entry every day (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for Disneyland, California Adventure on the other days). Technically, they call this Extra Magic Hour for the resort guests, instead of Magic Morning.

As for having purchases delivered to your hotel, I don't know if everywhere in Downtown Disneyland does it. But, I know World of Disney did do it when we stayed at PPH last year.

 

[mpadilla89]

When you buy a 3 day park hopper, you get 1 Magic Morning. And that's only for 1 Magic Morning at Disneyland. When you stay at one of the DisneyLand Resort hotels, you get an early entry every day (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for Disneyland, California Adventure on the other days). Technically, they call this Extra Magic Hour for the resort guests, instead of Magic Morning.

As for having purchases delivered to your hotel, I don't know if everywhere in Downtown Disneyland does it. But, I know World of Disney did do it when we stayed at PPH last year.

This is good and bad. Good because now I can justify staying there bad because I will spend more money. We always like entering early to the park because we can get a lot done from opening until about 1pm which is around the time we sit to eat.

 

[BriannaRuth]

If you are staying in a regular room at the PPH (ie not a view room), the hotel does not feel very Disney. It's outside the Disney bubble because you have to cross a large, busy street to get to the parks and the hotel itself just does not have the Disney feel that the other two Disney properties do. Personally I'd have a hard time justifying $500 extra to stay there. Mainly you have to decide if the extra per night is worth it for the MM.

I do like the PPH theme park view rooms, but then you're looking at much more $$.

 

[Jerryp49]

Take advantage of getting Extra Magic Hour the day you check in if possible. You can check in at 6 or 6:30AM and even though your room possibly won`t be ready until 3PM they will give you your room keys and text you when your room is ready.You need to show your room key along with admission ticket to enter EMH. Make sure you ask for room keys for every one in your party , even the little ones. So, if you were staying 2 nights you get EMH for 3 days. Like Davin Felth posted , EMH is Sat, Tues. , Thurs for DL ( same as MM ). and Sun. ,Mon, . Wed . and Fri for DCA. Keep following this and other Blog sites. There is a rumor that MaxPass in some form may be added to Resort Hotels as a perk.

A good spot to watch the fireworks is the third floor Pool area, They pipe in the audio.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Is it worth staying at the disney Hotels? What perks do we get that we wouldn't have if staying at good neighbor hotel?

The main benefit is the early entry. It alternates parks each day. As posted above, if you get to the hotel early on the first day, you get to use that benefit on that day, too. It's easy to go on a lot of rides that first hour and even the second hour. The extra cost is worth it to me if I know I'll be up early enough to use that benefit.

 

[mpadilla89]

If you are staying in a regular room at the PPH (ie not a view room), the hotel does not feel very Disney. It's outside the Disney bubble because you have to cross a large, busy street to get to the parks and the hotel itself just does not have the Disney feel that the other two Disney properties do. Personally I'd have a hard time justifying $500 extra to stay there. Mainly you have to decide if the extra per night is worth it for the MM.

I do like the PPH theme park view rooms, but then you're looking at much more $$.

That is one of the things holding me back that the rooms do not seem very Disneyish unless you pay even more it will probably take more walking there than taking a shuttle from the Hilton. Especially when you are walking with kids, for the youngest it will be the first time there and I do not like to rush things. At Disneyland we like to wake up early and enjoy everything. The EMH is the only reason I would stay there.

We were there about 3 years ago one week before xmas and it was packed. Mornings it was fine but after around 2pm there was no escaping the crowds. I might just add an extra day at the parks instead of staying at a Disney proprty.

Are Fast passes given out during EMH or only after the park opens?

 

[ChloroformSdxn]

I usually stay across the street on Harbour, but one time we did stay at PPH because of a sale. It wasn't great, mainly because we had a room with no Wifi. It's an older building, and there are a couple rooms that cannot get Wifi - this is an issue because I needed to work remotely after my son went to bed. The service though was generally good, and after an (unrelated) incident, the manager comped our breakfast.

Proximity-wise, as others have said, the non-Disney hotels are closer. Because we're Canadian, I liked being able to give the bulk of my cash to the front desk then charge almost everything to the room. I usually don't carry cash at home, so I'm constantly nervous about bills falling out of my purse.

The rooms are fine, but nothing spectacular as far as theming. No light-up headboards or anything. The pool is ok, not great. For the money, I would do DLH if I were going to a Disney property, otherwise I would rather do offsite.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

DH and I stayed there for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We have now stayed at all three on-site hotels. We both agreed we would probably only stay at PPH again if we really wanted to utilize EMHs and the DLH and GCH were both more than we wanted to spend. The EMH access to DCA really sealed the deal for us, but if we weren't going to be using it for some reason, I would definitely choose Park Vue Inn over PPH. And when the cost is within our budget, I would definitely choose DLH and GCH over PPH. I thought the PPH CMs were terrific and the room was very cute with its beachy theme and Disney touches (not a lot, but they were there!). It was also a pretty good size, clean, with very comfortable beds. It just wasn't $350/night "nice" unless you really counted the extra money as a perk for getting into a nearly empty DCA for an extra hour.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Personally I would suggest considering spending a bit more and staying at the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian. I am not a big fan of PPH because I don't like the location, and it doesn't have as much of a Disney feeling as the other two hotels. The early morning access is nice, but whether it is worth it is a personal choice. During the EMHs I have gone to, we usually only manage to do 1-2 rides before everyone else is let in.

One alternative suggestion I have is to see about the possibility of renting DVC points to stay at the Grand Californian Villas. It may be difficult to book but if you were able to do it you would save a lot of money.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Around Xmas? Absolutely. The extra magic hour is invaluable to me during crowded times at the parks- BUT YOU MUST be willing to get up early & get to the parks during EMH or you lose the main benefit of staying onsite...

 

[Jerryp49]

The GCH can`t be beat for its location, especially with small kids. But the price they ask is painful. We only stay there when we can get a price break, like during Dapper Days

 

[BriannaRuth]

Are Fast passes given out during EMH or only after the park opens?

Traditionally they've only been given out after the park opens, but recently they've been available during EMH for some attractions ... TSMM, GotG, Space, and RSR.

 

[mpadilla89]

Personally I would suggest considering spending a bit more and staying at the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian. I am not a big fan of PPH because I don't like the location, and it doesn't have as much of a Disney feeling as the other two hotels. The early morning access is nice, but whether it is worth it is a personal choice. During the EMHs I have gone to, we usually only manage to do 1-2 rides before everyone else is let in.

One alternative suggestion I have is to see about the possibility of renting DVC points to stay at the Grand Californian Villas. It may be difficult to book but if you were able to do it you would save a lot of money.

GCH is definitely out of the question. Why Disney hotel or PPH? They seem to be as far away from everything and unless you get a suite or a very nice upgrade the rooms seem almost similar to the ones at any upscale hotel.
We ususally wake up and are in the park at rope drop. We always go to the park that does not have EMH that day. Last xmas we were there we managed to do most of fantasy land rides before park opening. at dca we got fastpasses for RSR, and got on soaring, walked through redwood creek challenge and made it to paradise pier before park opening. EMH would really help, but PPH is just not going to justify us spending so much more. Not sure if three are any perks worth it to book Disney hotel. I honestly would not mid spending the extra $1k if i knew the experience would be awesome, but it seems it would just be slightly better than our usual stay at hilton.

 

[are you ready]

If you are staying in a regular room at the PPH (ie not a view room), the hotel does not feel very Disney. It's outside the Disney bubble because you have to cross a large, busy street to get to the parks and the hotel itself just does not have the Disney feel that the other two Disney properties do. Personally I'd have a hard time justifying $500 extra to stay there. Mainly you have to decide if the extra per night is worth it for the MM.

I do like the PPH theme park view rooms, but then you're looking at much more $$.

I have stayed PPH on both our trips with discounted mid week rates (the prices wasn't nearly as bad as it looks like for Christmas but still more than off site for sure) We loved the hotel both times, It is not super Disney as I assume the Disneyland Hotel is and I Just couldn't ever see spending the money to stay at the Grand. but as far as the Disney bubble I felt like it was there. We never crossed a main road to get to the parks we always exited the hotel at the back by the parking structure and crossed a little side road (saw very little traffic here) and entered downtown Disney by the earl of sandwich where they now have a bag check set up. Maybe its adding a few minutes to the walk but starting and ending the day with a stroll through downtown Disney is worth it to us.

 

[Malcon10t]

I personally love DLH, and it is my go to hotel. If I can't get a decent rate, then I will stay at the Candy Cane Inn, if they are booked, then I go with the Hilton. The DLH rooms are slightly larger than the Hilton. I love the Disney details in the rooms. For us, we don't park storm. We do spend time in the room. We do room service, we use the pools, we use cabanas, and are there for characters. My granddaughter loves seeing the roaming characters.

PPH is also very nice. Not on the same level, the rooms have a surfer feel. If you get a room facing DCA, it is gorgeous. Love watching WOC at night form the room and seeing the fun wheel all night.

My kids will get up early to hit EMH in DCA. We can usually get 2-3 rides on Guardians during that hour. Hit Toy STory before we need a FP for it. Then we would head out for breakfast, and some relax time before hitting it again for a bit.

I personally don't like teh GCH. Yes, it is closer, but the rooms are so much smaller, and despite retrying several times, I just didn't like them as well. I will try again after the remodel.

 

[mom2rtk]

I personally love DLH, and it is my go to hotel. If I can't get a decent rate, then I will stay at the Candy Cane Inn, if they are booked, then I go with the Hilton. The DLH rooms are slightly larger than the Hilton. I love the Disney details in the rooms. For us, we don't park storm. We do spend time in the room. We do room service, we use the pools, we use cabanas, and are there for characters. My granddaughter loves seeing the roaming characters.

PPH is also very nice. Not on the same level, the rooms have a surfer feel. If you get a room facing DCA, it is gorgeous. Love watching WOC at night form the room and seeing the fun wheel all night.

My kids will get up early to hit EMH in DCA. We can usually get 2-3 rides on Guardians during that hour. Hit Toy STory before we need a FP for it. Then we would head out for breakfast, and some relax time before hitting it again for a bit.

I personally don't like teh GCH. Yes, it is closer, but the rooms are so much smaller, and despite retrying several times, I just didn't like them as well. I will try again after the remodel.

Can you tell me more about the characters at DLH? Are they predictable at all? Are they generally in the lobby?