Which Hotel to stay at?

[QueenAnne]

My DH and I are planning to go to DL in April '03. We will be staying on DVC points and cannot decide between Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier. We were looking basically at a standard view room, what are the differences between the 2 hotels? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[teri]

Hi, Anne. I used DVC points to stay at PP, have been there a few times and also to Disneyland Hotel a few times. Disneyland Hotel is by far my favorite place to stay at Disneyland. The rooms are older, but they have been refurbished and they are much larger. It is significantly closer to Downtown Disney and the monorail station, and there are more features there for kids. The nightime view of DCA from the upper floors of PP Hotel cannot be beat, and if there was no availability at DLH, and I didn't have enough points to do GC, I would happily stay there.

 

[QueenAnne]

Thank you so much for your reply I was leaning toward DLH, but really don't know anything about any of the hotels in DL. I have only been to California once when I was 6!! So this should be an experiance We didn't want to use the points at GC,we would have liked to have stayed there but we are staying at HH in a GV with family in June '03!!

Thanks again!

 

[jcanary]

We were just there in August and I would recommend the GC highly. WE stopped for 4 days on our way back from Hawaii and the convenience is great. Out one entrance and your are in Downtown disney, out the other and you are at the water raft ride in California Adventure. The rooms were spacious. The rooms reminded us of a studio at Boardwalk without the kitchen area. It was the same layout. If you can afford it I would highly recommend it. Just one more thought, What about selling your points that you would use at DLH and pay for accommodations. I paid cash for one night and used points and found that if I had sold the points I used for those two nights I could have paid for all three nights and had some extra. Just a thought.

 

[teri]

Jcanary has a point... I no longer use my points for non-DVC properties because I can usually find cash ressies that are a better deal than 'spending' the value of the points.

 

[QueenAnne]

We have thought about that. I know a lot over DVC'ers discourage using points at non-dvc resorts. I will really have to look into that. What kind of disounts should I look for in paying cash and would I even be able to researve a room 11 months in advance?? I am very new to planning trips, I used to have my travel agent do it all! I appreciate all the advice!!

 

[teri]

Wellllllll..... Dreams Unlimited is the travel agency that got started by the same guys who started this site, and the Dreams agents can always check prices for you. (Many of the moderators are Dreams agents and they are not supposed to soliticit customers from the boards, so they are biting their tongues every time someone asks a question like this Dreams pays for this site. There are several other travel agents and website that also specialize in Disney travel.) DVC Member Services can also arrange cash ressies, they sometimes have a discount. Travelocity and Expedia sometimes have excellent discount rates. Disney Club and AAA also have specials from time to time. Disneyland Annual Passholders also get frequent discount rates, although they tend to go quickly. Most cash ressies are done on shorter notice than the 11-month window we are used to in DVC, but I believe it can be done.

I love trip planning -- I LOVE trip planning. Trip planning is therapy to me. I just started seeing it that way about 2 years ago. My husband's grandmother was an expert trip planner, everyone remembers how great it was to go with them on their vacations... I wanna be remembered like that.

 

[QueenAnne]

Thank you so much for that info! I will definately look into that ! Planning vacations has become a new hobby of mine also, but we are still new to DVC and doing it ourselves. My husband thinks that I have gone crazy with all this planning though! We aren't planning to go to Disneyland until April 2003!!!!! I like to start early! Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[Disney*All-Stars*]

Geez, that makes two of us! Planning a trip this month and working on a trip to DL in July. It's my new full time hobby. Gotta admit, you can't go on a Disney trip without planning out what you are doing each day! DH doesn't understand what I 'm doing when I plan out our trip, but when we get there he can't appreciate it enough!!! He knows what we are doing in advance and won't have to ask something like, "when is E-ride nite?" (after that one night has passed).