Disneyland Hotel vs. Grand Californian

[ljgirl]

Hello!

My family is planning a trip to Disneyland in March. We are trying to decide between these 2 hotels. Surprisingly, the cost is not that different. We have 2 kids, ages 11 and 14. What are your thoughts??? Thanks!

[BW Fan]

Not a hard decision. Grand Californian is a spectacular hotel. It's direct entry to California Adventure is very convenient, and it is in the middle of downtown Disney.
:thumbsup::mickey:

[BrerGnat]

I don't know...we LOVE the Grand, and have stayed there several times. We are headed to CA in May and our kids asked for the Disneyland Hotel. They really want to try out those monorail waterslides. Also, rooms at the DLH are larger than the Grand. The rooms have a daybeds. Only a TINY number of rooms at the Grand have a daybed. The rooms there are similar in size to the Wilderness Lodge and the majority only have two beds, or a queen and bunk beds.

I also really think the DLH, since tbe refurbishment, has a much better theme going on than the Grand. The best part of the Grand are its public spaces and restaurants, and anyone can enjoy those.

[Melanie]

Disneyland Hotel, all the way! I do think, at the ages your kids are at, that they'd enjoy DLH more.

[tinkwest]

You can't go wrong with either. Kids might lean a bit toward the Disneyland Hotel.

[cohoman]

My family has stayed at the GC 4 times now, and we always have a great time. Lots of amenities to keep everyone happy (game room, lobby hangout, restaurants, pools and hot tubs, etc). Now, I have older kids (two teenagers and a 9 year-old), so you might like the DH better if you have smaller kids since that hotel has rooms with a true Disney theme. GC has the craftsman-style rooms with very virtually no Disney theme (except for the hidden mickey in the carpet). But, either way I'm sure you'll have great fun!

[Lacy]

My vote would be Disneyland Hotel! Both are great but I like the classic Disney themeing a bit better and the pool is great! Plus, I like the Trader Sams and the quick service restaurant right next store.

[RedSoxFan]

I was wondering the same thing: which resort. It's a $300 difference. It will be myself, DH, DD17 and BFF 17. Last time we stayed at PPH; but I don't want to stay there this time.

[BrerGnat]

I was wondering the same thing: which resort. It's a $300 difference. It will be myself, DH, DD17 and BFF 17. Last time we stayed at PPH; but I don't want to stay there this time.

What does your family prefer? For a $300 difference, it really comes down to which one appeals to you most at this point, based on pictures. I will say, if you are comparing "standard" rooms at each, you will have a nicer view at GCH as well as a balcony. No balconies at DLH and most standard rooms have pretty bad views. When we stay at the Grand, we always book standard and we have always loved our room view and location. The non standard view rooms there tend to be at the end of some LONG hallways.

[cohoman]

My family stayed at the GCH last year in April for 5 days, and we paid a rate of $308/night. I've been reading some recent postings that the price has jumped to $600/night, which is really high in my opinion. Personally, I was able to budget in the $308/night into our vacation plans, but if the rate has truly risen to $600/night I probably wouldn't stay at the GCH. It's a very nice experience, but not at that price IMHO.

[BrerGnat]

My family stayed at the GCH last year in April for 5 days, and we paid a rate of $308/night. I've been reading some recent postings that the price has jumped to $600/night, which is really high in my opinion. Personally, I was able to budget in the $308/night into our vacation plans, but if the rate has truly risen to $600/night I probably wouldn't stay at the GCH. It's a very nice experience, but not at that price IMHO.

If you paid $308 per night, that was a discounted rate. Rack rate at the Grand is close to $400/night much of the time. Rack rate for a standard room can be as high as $585 during peak dates.

It's not worth rack rate. None of the Disney resorts are. That is why discounts exist.

[MNNHFLTX]

I love both places, but Disneyland Hotel is so nice since the refurbishment! So I guess that would be my pick. :thumbsup:

[RedSoxFan]

What does your family prefer? For a $300 difference, it really comes down to which one appeals to you most at this point, based on pictures. I will say, if you are comparing "standard" rooms at each, you will have a nicer view at GCH as well as a balcony. No balconies at DLH and most standard rooms have pretty bad views. When we stay at the Grand, we always book standard and we have always loved our room view and location. The non standard view rooms there tend to be at the end of some LONG hallways.

What do the standard rooms overlook? Website doesn't say and woods view is an extra $44. And do all rooms have balconies? I would prefer to stay at GC and that is what I'm leaning towards. I plan on booking it this week with Terrisue.

[BrerGnat]

Usually Standard rooms overlook the resort main entrance. You can see the DLH and Paradise Pier. Or, you may overlook the courtyard that the monorail goes through (if they haven't made that an upgraded view yet). As far as I know, there are a small handful of rooms at GCH without balcony, but the majority have full balconies.

[RedSoxFan]

Thanks Natalie :mickey:

[tinkwest]

Last June we requested a Courtyard view at Grand Californian when making our reservations through Magical Journeys (http://www.yourmagicaljourneys.com/). We had a great room that looked out over the Monorail line. We were lucky enough to be able to view the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony. I love the balconies, and in fact that is probably the biggest draw for me when it comes to the GCH. To us it was worth the extra approx $30 a night to have that Courtyard room over the Standard.

[BrerGnat]

We have had the Courtyard view room twice and loved it. It is so peaceful. And we could also see the fireworks because we were higher up. We had the "other" standard view two times as well, and it was actually quite lovely with a nice view of the sunset at night. All the lights from the two other hotels are really pretty at night as well.

[RedSoxFan]

Terrisue booked the GC/Woods View for me today. It was worth the extra $47 for the view for the 4 days in my opinion. I'm excited to stay here this time (last time was PPH).

[Disney4us2]

I have stayed at both. I was at the DVC villas with a theme park view... just incredible. At the Disneyland Hotel, we were in the Adventure Tower (using DVC points) with a theme park view. Also incredible.

Of the two, I liked the Disneyland Hotel better. I loved the large room, and we had a view of the fireworks with the music piped in.

My 14yo DD loved the slide better at DLH. I also like Tangaroa Terrace. The Grand Cal is very nice and I love the entrance into DCA. Especially after getting wet on GRR. Whitewater snacks at GCH is a nice quick service and they have great nachos.

If I can't use my points at GCH, I would certainly use them at the DLH any day. To me, the DLH just seems to be a bit more magical with all of the Disney touches. The GCH has more elegance to it's theming.

[cohoman]

If you paid $308 per night, that was a discounted rate. Rack rate at the Grand is close to $400/night much of the time. Rack rate for a standard room can be as high as $585 during peak dates.

It's not worth rack rate. None of the Disney resorts are. That is why discounts exist.
You are right. I checked again, and we actually paid $505/night. The $308 was an upgrade charge to the next level of room. Yikes, I must have really wanted to please my wife and kids on that trip! :blush:

[AvonleaCF]

Staying at DLH during my next trip and very happy with the decision. I like the themeing better as I've stayed at WL before and Grand is similar. Sure, it's a further walk, but everything at DL is close compared to WDW.

[BrerGnat]

OK so we spent a week at the DLH. We liked it a lot. The pool area, especially. We stayed Club Level and that was fabulous!

That said, we still prefer the Grand overall. We were in the adventure tower at DLH and after we checked in, we never went back to the lobby. I kind of missed that. We never really found time to hang out in the lobby of the Grand either, and I missed the ambiance that a nice lobby adds to a vacation. I sort of didn't feel like the DLH was a hotel, weird as that sounds. It felt more like an apartment building with a really great pool area. It was just odd to come back to the Adventure tower every day and never really see anyone else around.

Also, and it sounds nitpicky, but the distance was a pain after several days, especially because the monorail at DL isn't very reliable. It was down about 50% of the time we needed it. I was tracking my steps and it was 1/2 mile from the lobby of the Grand to the Adventure tower. That really adds up over a week's time. If we had stayed at the Grand, our feet wouldn't have been so tired EVERY day. I honestly felt like we were at WDW! We walked an average of 8 miles per day and those weren't even "commando" type days.

The rooms are nicer at the DLH but I didn't like the bathroom setup as much and the water pressure in the shower was slightly less powerful than a trickle, which wasn't fun.

[AvonleaCF]

Other than the distance, is Disneyland Hotel a good choice? I'm staying there in September and chose it over Grand.

Also -- does the DLH have fridges in the rooms? And does the gift shop sell groceries? Or do you have to go to Grand for those (since they have the Villas)? Usually when I go to WDW I pick up a package of bagels and some cream cheese the day of arrival so I can have breakfast in the room each day. Just trying to plan out DL to see if I can do the same thing.

Any other tips/tricks about the resort?

[tinkwest]

I like GCH for the balconies, the lobby and the proximity to the parks. I like DLH for the rooms (they tend to be larger) and the feel of the property. I've said it before and I truly believe it - I would be happy with either.

I haven't stayed at DLH for several years but at that time they did have refrigerators. I know there were some issues with fridges on some Disney properties, but am not sure if it affected the southern California properties.

Groceries on property? No. You should plan on having them delivered by Vons or Albertsons or pick some things up yourself at a nearby grocery store.

[BrerGnat]

No groceries at DLH. The Grand has a small selection at the QS location but it's not much at all. I made a Target run for some basics but we had a rental car.

The DLH is a very nice hotel. I liked it very much, don't get me wrong. There was a fridge in the room.

One other thing you should know, the pool area/slides open at different times. The pools are open 8-10pm. The slides 10am-7pm only. The pools DO actually close, since they are surrounded by a gate. They padlock the gate when it's closed so no swimming outside posted hours is allowed.

Also, rooms facing Downtown Disney will get a LOT of noise from nighttime musical performances. There is a stage right there and nightly performances until 11pm or so. It was quite loud. Recommend pool view if you are noise sensitive.