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In about 2 weeks I am staying at the Paradise Pier for a few nights and I have a few questions.
1. What is the parking policy for resort guests? I have heard it's $15 a day is this true?
2. What about internet access? Is it the same as WDW $9.95 a day?
Internet is free. Parking is $15/day. There used to be a $14.80 "resort fee" tacked on per night that included parking, internet, and a daily newspaper. They elimunated the resort fee effective 1/1/2011. The parking fee took its place. The internet is now included in the cost of your room. Its also wifi.
Still difficult to believe how the same company has so many different policies running it's parks and resorts :confused: :huh:
I was thinking it used to be the other way around, but I thought the 'resort fee' was internet, paper and fitness center priviledges. Actually though, I prefer the current fee. Not everyone drives. Of course, not everyone uses the internet either, but I sure do. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by BrerGnat
Jeff, hope you enjoy PPH. I love that hotel. It's the first resort property I stayed at back in 2003.
I wanted the Grand Californian but DVC was sold out so I am settling for Paradise Pier so I really hope I like it :thumbsup: I already stayed at the Disneyland Hotel a few times but decided to save the points. My big fear is it won't be worth the outrageous point value they are hitting me up for compared to a place like AKL which is like 15 points cheaper a night!
Um, yeah, I think you may be disappointed then. Sorry to say that. I've always been lead to believe the Disneyland thing with DVC is not really worth it. I maybe would have paid cash?Quote:
Originally Posted by JPL
Yeah I probably should have paid cash but I had points so just decided to use them. My big fear is that I am going to feel like I'm staying a regular run of the mill hotel.
Paradise Pier is comparable to a WDW moderate, in my opinion. The rooms are large, but feel a bit cheap, old, and not generally up to Disney Deluxe standards. What is most frustrating about PPH is the utter lack of quick dining options. Of course, you can walk to many places, but it's an inconvenience. The theming is also sort of bizarre. Outside of the lobby, which is barely themed, there is not much personality to the resort as a whole. It's a perfectly fine hotel, but I can't call it a "resort". You'll have a good time, though. It's Disneyland! FYI, if you are in DCA and want to get back to PPH, cut through the Grand and exit at the main lobby door. PPH is right across the street from GCH main entrance.
And I feel the total opposite of Natalie regarding PPH. I love it and it definitely has the Disney feel to me. Everything is so close. I'm one that can't get on the Grand Californian train though. Love the lobby, restaurants and such, but I cannot see shelling out all that $$$ for such a small room.
Guess I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that I like it. I wouldn't exactly call myself a resort snob but I like to get what I am paying for. If I am paying Deluxe Prices, I want a deluxe experience!
Well, to me it's a bit different at DLR because your resort choices are limited and they charge what people pay. There are definitely reasons I'd rank PPH above a WDW moderate - location and (potential) theme park view, interior hallways, large rooms with queen beds, digital safes and a restaurant with a character meal.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPL
Yes, I'm a cheerleader for PPH for whatever reason. I love it!
I don't dislike PPH at all. I stayed there more than once, but I guess it's just not my cup of tea. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it wasn't originally a Disney property, and it shows. It's like the saying about putting lipstick on a pig. I always think about that when I am at that hotel. Disney did as much as they could to put their mark on it, but it's still just a run of the mill high rise hotel tower. The pool is probably the single biggest fail. The quiet pools at most WDW value resorts are bigger!
Jeff, you will come to your own conclusion about whether or not you are getting what you paid for. Personally, based on my last stay there, I find that it isn't even as nice as most Holiday Inn Express hotels, nor as good a value. Just go in with realistic expectations.
Well...maybe I should've skipped reading this whole thread. I'll be at DL in October and we are staying at Paradise.
And that's one of the charms to me - that it used to be a Japanese-owned hotel. :sumo:Quote:
Originally Posted by BrerGnat
Like I said earlier though Jeff, I sure hope you aren't upset using your points there. I'm being honest and saying I probably would have paid cash. :unsure:
Please don't let this thread cause you concern or scare you away from PPH. It is all a matter of opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by IwannabeinNarnia
My main thing is the pool. I wish they could transform some of the surrounding parking in to a multiple pool area.
Also there is a lack of restaurants. We loved Yamabuki when it was there and really miss it. Wish something else wonderful would take its place. But the Disneyland Hotel is a stones throw away and they have a variety of restaurants to choose from. Grand Californian and Downtown Disney are also super close and both with plenty of restaurants.
I have stayed at the PPH almost as many times as the DH. I personally love the rooms. They are a good size. Very comfortable. Plus the added plus was the resort view which I pretty much always paid for.
I liked being able to watch the construction of DCA, and then eventually watch DEP from my room.
True it doesn't have all of the perks of a deluxe WDW resort, but right outside your door is DtD and both parks. What could be more convenient than that???
:smickey:
I like the PPH as well.
The post putting it under a Holiday Inn are way off base IMHO.
I agree that the pool is lacking, but then again, I usually spend ZERO time at the pool on a Disney vacation.
Okay, just for the sake of argument, I am going to tell you why I said that. We just moved cross country. We stayed in four different hotels for a total of 12 nights. In addition, we just took a 2 night trip down to North Carolina to visit my MIL. The hotels were: Springhill Suites, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express (two separate ones). All four hotels exceeded the PPH in terms of room appointments and hotel offerings. The Holiday Inn even had a full service restaurant. The others did not have a restaurant on site, for comparison's sake. The most we paid for our room was $123/night at the Springhill Suites in Irivne, CA, before we left the state. The Holiday Inns were all either $89 or $95/night.Quote:
Originally Posted by MegaDisney
In all the hotels, we had triple sheeted queen pillowtop beds, DUVETS, four pillows per bed (2 firm, 2 soft), marble baths with massage showerheads, granite topped bathrooms, name brand toiletries (Bath and Body Works), an easy chair with ottoman, refrigerator AND microwave, 32' LCD HD tv's with a plethora of cable channels, desk with several outlets and FREE internet (and free wifi in the case of Holiday Inn) and our smallest room was 400 sq feet. All these hotels had interior corridors, bell services, INDOOR pools that were all larger than the PPH pool, fitness centers, business centers, and FREE hot breakfast (a good breakfast, not just continental). In fact, the breakfast exceeded what I've gotten at all Disney owned resort concierge level stays I've done.
Of course, none of these hotels was on Disney property, and we all know that Disney resorts are mostly about location, but I stand by my assesment that the PPH resort and rooms are not as good as those we JUST stayed in over the past month at the Holiday Inns. It's a fact. I'd even venture to say that my room on the Club Level of the Boardwalk Inn just a couple months ago was not as nicely appointed as the Holiday Inn ones. And, for FULL disclosure, I'm a hotel snob. I thought I'd be cringing at the condition of the Holiday Inns, and I was more than pleasantly surprised by all my experiences in them. Our worst hotel experience during this process was one night at a Four Points Sheraton at LAX that was just godawful. I don't even want to think about that hotel ever again. But, I am going to be fully honest and say that that room reminded me the most of the rooms at the PPH, in terms of room condition and appointments. The Holiday Inns were on par with the rooms at the Contemporary Resort, in terms of room appointments and decor. Maybe surprising, but true.
I think it stinks that we cannot use our DVC points on regular rooms at the Grand Californian when villas are full. I wrote to Member Services about this in December - you might want to too.
Anyway .........
I like Paradise Pier as well, Jeff -- and I'm an admitted resort snob. ;) The rooms are very nice and I love PCH Grill. We don't utilize the pool so that falls into the 'no big deal' category for me.
You will not have to pay a resort fee for papers and such if you are utilizing DVC points. It's all included.
(Personally I find using points for rooms at the DL resorts are WAY overpriced. I've done it many, many times - but it zaps A LOT.)
Does this include parking?Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol
Let me check with Michael. I get a parking pass but he is the one driving and parking.Quote:
Originally Posted by JPL
Do you have to pay Michael?
Confirmed with the GCH Guest Services -- if you are staying at any DL Hotel on DVC points you can have 2 cars self-parked on property at no charge -- if you use valet then you must pay the regular daily valet price.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol
Thanks, Michael. I didn't think we had to pay. I recall just showing the pass. :)
Thanks Michael! :mickey: Good to know!
well Im thinking im going w a nondisney hotel from the sounds of things. a lot less $. any closeby recommendations?
I would recomend looking a a 'street view' set up to see where exactly the hotel is in relation to the enterance of the park. A lot of places advertise 'one block from Disneyland Resort' when in actuallity, they may be one block from the back of the resort, but quite a distance to get to the enterance.
I've stayed at the Tropicana a couple of times. VERY close, comfortable and clean and free parking. Breakfast isn't very good, though. There is a pool but I've never used it. I've heard good things about the Park Vue Inn as well but haven't stayed there myself. I stayed at the Del Sol once and it was also very close but don't even bother with the breakfast. Not very good, plus I think they purposefully time it that you can't take advantage of it if you want to hit the parks early. (They only start serving a half hour before park opening.) Also, they charge for parking. Don't get me wrong, in a pinch I would stay there, but it wouldn't be my first choice.
Also, just as a side note, there are several restaurants very close to the park enterance on Harbor, IHOP is right across the street, a Mimi's, McDonalds, etc, are in easy walking distance. It's a good alternative to paying huge amounts of money in the parks for food and you really don't need to go very far.
thanks for the tip. Yes i have seen some 1 block listings but thats on the backside.
Havent checked into Tropicana but I will. A friend stayed at Del Sol and said it was ok and close, but i dont know. Ill keep checking though
I suggest the Ramada Maingate. Free parking, standard continental breakfast & super close to the park.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robnadina
What is considered the "backside"? I cannot tell from the official Disney hotel maps where the enterances are.
The best way to see this is to Google Maps "Disneyland Resort". You will see Disneyland to the north, DCA to the south. In between there is a space called the Esplanade. If you go directly east of the middle of that spot, towards Harbor Blvd, you will see what appears to be some circles (three of them). These are offsite hotel shuttle loops. This is where EVERYONE who is staying off property enters the resort complex. You will see that the nearest offsite hotel is a Best Western.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoosierDisneyFan
The "backside" is the portion of Harbor that intersects with Katella, which runs parallel to the back of DCA. There are many hotels located along this corridor (along Katella), and while they are close to the park (DCA) there is no entrance over there, and thus the walk is much longer.
If you are staying at a Disney hotel, the only way into the parks is by walking through Downtown Disney and entering the Esplanade on that end.