We are staying at GCH next week....any tips?

[Disneylvrforever]

i am taking notes on this thread, because we are staying there in april.

oh and i am glad to know a DTD view is good. DP wanted to go all out but i was a little bit nervous about the cost of park view. and i heard you can see fireworks from your room with DTD view? swell.

Besides seeing the fireworks from your room, there's also a station on TV that plays the music. The last time I had a DTD view, I watched the fireworks from the balcony and blasted the music so I could hear it outside. It's not the same w/out the music.

 

[jerseygal]

We'll be using our Marriott Points..San Diego Marriott seems so convenience to alot of restaurants..Pool rated very highly...Looks pretty.

Probably doing San Digo Marriott Marina Hotel...Have heard to upgrade to Bayside there..Cityview supposedly you get noise from a train that runs by...2nd choice is Marriott Coronado Island....We'll be doing LaJolla Beach and Coronado Beach(By the Del).....1st trip to California for our family..Can't wait.

Notice you're from NY???? Do you fly Continental? The fare has been running $398 Continental before tax; have been tracking it...Uugh........Sincerely hope after Jan 1st, Continental lowers the fares a bit....Fares are SO HIGH EVERYWHERE IT SEEMS!

Enjoy planning!

 

[wdhinn89]

We'll be using our Marriott Points..San Diego Marriott seems so convenience to alot of restaurants..Pool rated very highly...Looks pretty.

Probably doing San Digo Marriott Marina Hotel...Have heard to upgrade to Bayside there..Cityview supposedly you get noise from a train that runs by...2nd choice is Marriott Coronado Island....We'll be doing LaJolla Beach and Coronado Beach(By the Del).....1st trip to California for our family..Can't wait.

Notice you're from NY???? Do you fly Continental? The fare has been running $398 Continental before tax; have been tracking it...Uugh........Sincerely hope after Jan 1st, Continental lowers the fares a bit....Fares are SO HIGH EVERYWHERE IT SEEMS!

Enjoy planning!

I will have to check out your hotel suggestions. Not really sure of my dates. Thinking around July 27 to Aug 4th. Depending on when the airfare is cheapest. We are pretty flexible.

I have been waiting for Jet Blue and Virgin America's fares to come out. We are trying to do a non-stop out of JFK or LGA. We figured we would fly into LGB and fly home from San Diego. I will have to check out Continental too. Planning for DL seems so much harder than WDW.

Happy planning to you too

 

[DizMe]

This is my only tip for GCH, and doesn't seem to bother others but I'll pass it along anyway: if I ever go back (we stayed there in Oct, standard room), I will ask for a room that is close to the elevators and/or lobby!!! Our room was ridiculously far away from both. I think it's a real design flaw. After the somewhat zig-zag path to get to the lobby elevators, we then had to go up to the 5th floor, walk to the end of the hall, turn right, walk way down to the end of the whole wing, turn right, and walk all the way down to the end of the next wing to get to our room. It pretty much negated any proximity advantage and was quite a bit more walking than if we'd stayed at DLH. It was very simple to take the stairs down and cut out all of the zig-zags, but of course that doesn't work going up and wouldn't be an option for someone who would have trouble negotiating several flights of stairs.

I might not have been quite so turned off by it if I hadn't had a kidney stone attack and had to walk all the way back to the room from DL!

BTW, I was told by a former employee that if you can get a room with 2 queens and a daybed, they're all located close to the elevators/lobby.

 

[Jennifer in WA]

Do u think we should request the 2 queens and a daybed or the bunk beds? I just hope they don't give us 2 beds and then a mat and sleeping bag. We are paying for much, I would hope there would be a real bed for the 5 of us!

 

[DizMe]

Do u think we should request the 2 queens and a daybed or the bunk beds? I just hope they don't give us 2 beds and then a mat and sleeping bag. We are paying for much, I would hope there would be a real bed for the 5 of us!

We were told when the reservation was made and when I checked shortly before we left home that we would have the 2 queens/daybed room, but by the time we arrived (8 PM), we'd been given a bunk bed room. I figured my kids (5, 5, and 8) would like that, but I actually prefer the 2 queens. It depends on your family and the ages/sizes of your kids. The bunk beds are small! They worked for my girls but though I am not tall (5'2"), they would not have been comfortable for me. If your kids are young it will be fine and they'll probably love it. My girls have bunk bedsw/trundle at home and weren't nearly as happy to find them in the hotel as they would have been last year, before we put bunks in their room. I have heard, though I can't confirm, that the 2 queens/daybed rooms are larger. I think they must be but the only ones I've stayed in were at DLH, which has different room sizes than GCH. My girls can all sleep in one queen bed easily, so we don't really need the daybed though we did use it when we stayed at DLH. With the bunk bed room, we used the trundle and then you have to pull it out every evening and push it in every morning. Not a big deal, but I just like the regular bed better. I was originally told when I booked our room at GCH that there were no bunk bed rooms, so I was surprised when we got one. Now that we've stayed in one, I'd not request it in the future, but that is just my personal view.

You will have a fabulous time! It's a gorgeous hotel. Oh, I do have one more tip! Have a drink in the Hearthside Lounge. It has its own fireplace and you can sit in cozy chairs and sofas all throughout. The kids can get a cocoa or better yet, you can drop them off at Pinocchio's Workshop for an hour or two

 

[hawky7]

You will love GCH. We've only stayed there once, (back when they used to have semi okay annual passholder rates) and the hotel is wonderful!!! The rooms are amazing and its a great great hotel. It is so nice to just walk to the park and not have to worry about the hassle of that darn tram and the parking structure.

As far as Goofy's Kitchen...my very fav rest. Have you been before? If not try and go earlier if the kids will allow it, you'll get more time with the characters, because once 8:30 hits the place is a zoo!!! And of course don't forget your camera. They're now offering this very spendy package for like $30 of pics for people who forget theirs.
They offer an annual passholder discount if you have one, so ask for that if you've got it.

 

[Sherry E]

You will love GCH. We've only stayed there once, (back when they used to have semi okay annual passholder rates) and the hotel is wonderful!!! The rooms are amazing and its a great great hotel. It is so nice to just walk to the park and not have to worry about the hassle of that darn tram and the parking structure.

As far as Goofy's Kitchen...my very fav rest. Have you been before? If not try and go earlier if the kids will allow it, you'll get more time with the characters, because once 8:30 hits the place is a zoo!!! And of course don't forget your camera. They're now offering this very spendy package for like $30 of pics for people who forget theirs.
They offer an annual passholder discount if you have one, so ask for that if you've got it.

The spendy $30+ package at Goofy's is only one picture with Pluto, too, correct? I mean, they give you different sizes of the same photo but is just one pose/shot, right? We didn't purchase it when we went. Too spendy! It was a cute photo, though. I wonder what they do with everyone's photos when people turn them down. They are in a nice folder.

I agree - Goofy's is my friend's and my favorite, too. I never realized they had a 90 minute time limit! Not that we are ever there longer than 90 minutes, but when I made my Goofy's PS's today, the CM told me it was a 90-minute time limit. To me, it always seems like people just kind of linger and hang out forever! I made the earliest possible PS for 7:00 a.m., just so we could beat some of the crowds...but then the CM told me that Goofy's and the other character meals are strangely available and non-crowded in terms of PS's for December. Not as many folks are making plans to eat with the characters, and if they do eat there, they may just be walk-ins.

 

[hawky7]

Oh my gosh, I didn't know it was a 90 min time limit either! I'm with you, I swear people stay in there for hours! I'm sure we've stayed at least 90 minutes before!!! Thats crazy!

 

[DisneyloverinWA]

I definitely want to stay at GCH someday...it's just hard to pay the extra money when you see how much more expensive it is then the other hotels. (sigh).....I wish I wasn't such a cheapskate.

 

[Queenbillabong]

This is my only tip for GCH, and doesn't seem to bother others but I'll pass it along anyway: if I ever go back (we stayed there in Oct, standard room), I will ask for a room that is close to the elevators and/or lobby!!! Our room was ridiculously far away from both. I think it's a real design flaw. After the somewhat zig-zag path to get to the lobby elevators, we then had to go up to the 5th floor, walk to the end of the hall, turn right, walk way down to the end of the whole wing, turn right, and walk all the way down to the end of the next wing to get to our room. It pretty much negated any proximity advantage and was quite a bit more walking than if we'd stayed at DLH. It was very simple to take the stairs down and cut out all of the zig-zags, but of course that doesn't work going up and wouldn't be an option for someone who would have trouble negotiating several flights of stairs.

I TOTALLY agree! When we stayed in October, we had a DTD view room, but the room was basically at the entrance to DTD. That means that when walking back from the parks (the DCA entrance was not always available), we had to walk all the way to the lobby, then basically all the way back but through the hotel. When people mention how far the hotel is, they are meaning to the front door. This easily doubles the distance and it sucks at the end of the day, especially when you've paid so much. I would ask for a room near the lobby for sure. The only good part of where the room was - was the staircase to exit close to the entrance way. It was good when we were leaving in the morning, for sure.

I have to say though - our room was quite noisy on the last day we were there (DTD view). They had the CHOC Walk that day and there was a radio station broadcasting from just below our window. It actually woke us up. So there are times when it does get very loud, even with the windows/doors closed.

It is a very beautiful hotel and the shampoo and conditioner are fabulous! I personally would think twice about staying there again though (maybe in a room by the lobby??). Whitewater Snacks was great and my son loved it. I'm glad we did it the once, but I'm not sure if we would do it again....

 

[Sherry E]

I had that same zig-zag experience at GCH when I first stayed there back in 2001. We had a DTD view room, which was fantastic and gave us a great view of the fireworks, but I couldn't believe how far the room was from any signs of life! It seemed like every time we turned a corner, there was another long corridor awaiting us, and another corner, another corridor, etc. It seemed endless! In 2007, when we stayed at GCH again, we were right next to the elevator, which was a happy accident. I can definitely see how being so far from the lobby and the elevators would be a huge pain (literally) when you are in a situation like DizMe was, where there were health issues involved and pain was intense, trying to walk down all those long hallways. If I were having one of my bad pain days with my back and leg (disc problem) and had to walk all that way, I would probably collapse in the hall, burst into tears, or pass out! I almost think I would rather be next to the elevator than have a great view, if given the choice - unless I just planned to stay in the hotel room the whole time and never go out.

 

[Echie]

We just came back from our "long" weekend stay at GCH and loved it!
We had DTD view as well and loved watching the fireworks from our balcony! As others have said, the zig zag walk to the room can be a bit tiresome, but it didn't really bother us.

What I didn't like was that you could (even with the balcony door closed) hear music playing from DTD every night (we were there Fri, Sat, Sun nights) until midnight! If you like silence for sleeping I'd probably request a different room... My family wasn't bothered by it at all, but I like to sleep in silence and found it really hard to get to sleep with hearing music playing...