DLH concerns

[Disney Ron]

Hello I need some help from the DL vets. We just returned home from our first every DL trip and stayed at the GCH. We absolutely loved it, but the price for a standard view next year is $892 per night so we decided to book the DLH which we visited while there and thought that also looked great.

My concerns are:

1) Will I be disappointed because we are not at GCH?

2) It seems the DLH were last refurbed in 2011 is this true? And, if so, how is the condition of the 12 year old rooms? Our room at GCH was awesome.

Our daughter lives in Florida and works for WDW so she booked us a Cast Member discount that saved us plenty of money to stay at the GCH, but it seems WDW cast members can't book DL rooms until 3 months before the trip. So I booked DLH so we knew we had something and may switch if she can get us the discount at GCH.

TIA!!!

 

[monkeypat83]

Hello I need some help from the DL vets. We just returned home from our first every DL trip and stayed at the GCH. We absolutely loved it, but the price for a standard view next year is $892 per night so we decided to book the DLH which we visited while there and thought that also looked great.

My concerns are:

1) Will I be disappointed because we are not at GCH?

2) It seems the DLH were last refurbed in 2011 is this true? And, if so, how is the condition of the 12 year old rooms? Our room at GCH was awesome.

Our daughter lives in Florida and works for WDW so she booked us a Cast Member discount that saved us plenty of money to stay at the GCH, but it seems WDW cast members can't book DL rooms until 3 months before the trip. So I booked DLH so we knew we had something and may switch if she can get us the discount at GCH.

TIA!!!

During COVIDish times they did replace the carpet in all the rooms and also I think the bedding. I don't think they replaced the furniture (that I remember) and they definitely didn't replace things like bathroom fixtures so there was small refresh but yeah the last full refresh was probably 10 or so years ago.

To answer the disappointed question that one is harder to answer and will depend on your priorities and what you liked about the GCH. The walk is further but I have little kids so I love the pools/slides at the DLH for them so for us it is really a toss up

 

[tink89]

We have stayed the last few times at GCH, but prefer the DLH. We prefer the DLH decor and feel like it has more of a Disney feel. There are way less people walking around the hotel unlike at GCH where many go to relax, eat, or whatever. DLH is only 3-5 min walk more than GCH.

Not sure if you will be disappointed since we all like and expect different things. But my family prefers the DLH.

 

[DLgal]

The DLH is fine, but it's not the GCH. It is a downgrade no matter how you slice it. The biggest negative is the lack of dining there. There are 2 options, (4 if you count the coffee house and Trader Sam's (I don't, personally). Trader Sam's is literally the same menu as Tangaroa Terrace, so it's redundant. The food sitiation is super weak and relies heavily on Hawaiian inspired cuisine. This gets old fast. The bar is outdoors which is a problem when the weather isn't the best.

The pools are nice, but always super crowded. The foliage around the pools looks pretty, but there are constantly leaves and palm fronds in the water so it always feels dirty. I hate that; it's a major pet peeve of mine. The slides are fun but I don't like how they end up in a separate pool. And the lounge chairs aren't the fancy cushioned kind the GCH has.

The rooms definitely need some TLC at this point. Maybe that will happen after the DVC tower is fixed? They just feel old. Everything is a bit tired looking. It's an old hotel, so that is to be expected. I stayed there last year and was glad I only paid like $300/night.

The gift shop is fabulous. The cast members are great and the theme is classic Disney which I appreciate.

To ME, the walk to the hotel is long. It's noticeable on a multi day trip when you have to do it every day.

I'd wait for a discount for GCH. Get a Disney Visa if you don't have one. They have been doing DV discounts lately. Around 25% off. Or wait until 3 months out and get the CM discount from your daughter. There is a slim to none chance that the hotels will be fully booked at any point next year. That rarely ever happens. Worst case, you book rack rate room at the last minute at DLH.

To sum it up, I'd pay rack rate at GCH, but I never would at DLH. GCH is worth it. DLH is not.

 

[DizMe]

It's so hard to say what will disappoint and what will delight. Many just love DLH and choose it over GCH. Others feel the opposite.

I personally much prefer GCH. I don't usually go with kids (mine are in their 20s, like yours) and I myself don't care about the monorail slide. I DO care that there isn't much in the way of dining at DLH. I'm not interested in Goofy's Kitchen and Tangaroa is a minimal dining venue. Trader Sam's is fun but also not really geared to dining as much as drinking.

I like having the monorail close by, but honestly don't use it that much.

I dislike that DLH hasn't got much of a lobby or large indoor area to just hang out. I like that I can go to Hearthstone Lounge in GCH, indoors, without a reservation, for a light meal and a drink and be in a beautiful lounge.

DLH is great as it has a lot of history and cool pictures/memorabilia around the property. It's really nice for kids and has a whimsical feel. As an older adult, I prefer the more elegant adult atmosphere of GCH.

Maybe figure out which type of atmosphere you'd find more appealing and whether or not the extra cost would be worth it to stay at GCH. I have to say that rate seems exceptionally high and I doubt it will stay that price, but I think you did a smart thing to book DLH for now. You can always switch later (I used to book the cheapest room at PPH because I wanted to pay the smallest deposit and then I'd switch to GCH. They didn't used to increase the deposit amount but now they do, sigh. Anyway, it's rare that the hotel books up months in advance unless there is a special event/holiday thing. I usually book in early fall for an early Dec trip. This year I booked in May just so I could have it paid off really early.

 

[joseph821]

Hello I need some help from the DL vets. We just returned home from our first every DL trip and stayed at the GCH. We absolutely loved it, but the price for a standard view next year is $892 per night so we decided to book the DLH which we visited while there and thought that also looked great.

My concerns are:

1) Will I be disappointed because we are not at GCH?

2) It seems the DLH were last refurbed in 2011 is this true? And, if so, how is the condition of the 12 year old rooms? Our room at GCH was awesome.

Our daughter lives in Florida and works for WDW so she booked us a Cast Member discount that saved us plenty of money to stay at the GCH, but it seems WDW cast members can't book DL rooms until 3 months before the trip. So I booked DLH so we knew we had something and may switch if she can get us the discount at GCH.

TIA!!!

I think you should be ok at DLH. It is not GCH but you could get a Disney Visa or wait for a summer sale. Book the DLH and you can always change to GCH. I expect Disney will adjust pricing and definitely do sales.

 

[Jwaire]

My concerns are:

1) Will I be disappointed because we are not at GCH?

2) It seems the DLH were last refurbed in 2011 is this true? And, if so, how is the condition of the 12 year old rooms? Our room at GCH was awesome.

1) Yes. There's nothing like the location of GCH. The only advantage DLH has over GCH is the feature pool (which is amazing) and Trader Sam's. I love Disneyland Hotel (for the nostalgia), but it's a tier under GCH in my opinion. That doesn't mean it's a bad place to stay by any means—it's just a B tier compared to GCH's A tier.

2) Last full refurb started around that time. However, the rooms are still in great shape and it's not like WDW where they let them get trashed before replacing components. They even (gasp!) replace the carpet there!

The rooms are classic and gorgeous.

https://wdwnt.com/2021/07/photos-new-themed-carpeting-and-flooring-installed-at-disneyland-hotel/

I will say this for DLH. It feels very LA. Sleek, mid century modern, lots of blue glass, upper floors have great views of the hills, pool area is very California vacation, etc.



https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vk5cdEUW...sneyland-hotel-anaheim-california+%287%29.jpg

 

[Aladora]

The DLH is fine, but it's not the GCH. It is a downgrade no matter how you slice it. The biggest negative is the lack of dining there. There are 2 options, (4 if you count the coffee house and Trader Sam's (I don't, personally). Trader Sam's is literally the same menu as Tangaroa Terrace, so it's redundant. The food sitiation is super weak and relies heavily on Hawaiian inspired cuisine. This gets old fast. The bar is outdoors which is a problem when the weather isn't the best.

The pools are nice, but always super crowded. The foliage around the pools looks pretty, but there are constantly leaves and palm fronds in the water so it always feels dirty. I hate that; it's a major pet peeve of mine. The slides are fun but I don't like how they end up in a separate pool. And the lounge chairs aren't the fancy cushioned kind the GCH has.

The rooms definitely need some TLC at this point. Maybe that will happen after the DVC tower is fixed? They just feel old. Everything is a bit tired looking. It's an old hotel, so that is to be expected. I stayed there last year and was glad I only paid like $300/night.

The gift shop is fabulous. The cast members are great and the theme is classic Disney which I appreciate.

To ME, the walk to the hotel is long. It's noticeable on a multi day trip when you have to do it every day.

I'd wait for a discount for GCH. Get a Disney Visa if you don't have one. They have been doing DV discounts lately. Around 25% off. Or wait until 3 months out and get the CM discount from your daughter. There is a slim to none chance that the hotels will be fully booked at any point next year. That rarely ever happens. Worst case, you book rack rate room at the last minute at DLH.

To sum it up, I'd pay rack rate at GCH, but I never would at DLH. GCH is worth it. DLH is not.

Yeah, I am going to agree with all of these points.

We recently stayed at DLH, it was my sister's second DL trip and we stayed at a DVC villa at the GCH the first trip of hers. We picked DLH this time because of a few things. First, she had never stayed there and I wanted her to experience the OG DLR hotel. Secondly, we were looking at a 2 bedroom suite and the only ones I could book at the Grand were the signature suites and wow, were they expensive! There was no availability for a DVC at the time.

So, we stayed at DLH and added on Concierge level. We liked the suite, although we all agreed that it would have been much nicer if we had a balcony. As the poster I quoted said, dining options are not great and my sister and I ended up walking to the lounge at the Grand a few times. The walk felt really long and every time we walked by the DTD entrance to the Grand, we all wished we were staying there.

Our preference is to stay at the GCH and my sister (who is a big bougie, TBH) actually said that she would prefer to stay at one of the Harbor Blvd motels over staying at the DLH just because of the walk.

She and I are doing a sisters only trip in April and we are staying in a DVC villa at the Grand.

 

[Disney Ron]

Well thanks to all you pro GCH people and because of how much we loved it I just changed from DLH to GCH for next summer.

Thank you for everyone's response either way. My wife and daughter are very happy.

 

[joseph821]

Well thanks to all you pro GCH people and because of how much we loved it I just changed from DLH to GCH for next summer.

Thank you for everyone's response either way. My wife and daughter are very happy.

The money is well Spent. I am glad for you Ron!

 

[DLgal]

Well thanks to all you pro GCH people and because of how much we loved it I just changed from DLH to GCH for next summer.

Thank you for everyone's response either way. My wife and daughter are very happy.

Good move. Summer is Disneyland's slow season. There will most definitely be discounts offered down the line.

 

[tink89]

Good move. Summer is Disneyland's slow season. There will most definitely be discounts offered down the line.

We went this summer and last and it was not less than $800 per night.

 

[joseph821]

We went this summer and last and it was not less than $800 per night.

When did you go?

 

[tink89]

When did you go?

end of June this year and the beginning of August last year.

 

[Disney Ron]

Good move. Summer is Disneyland's slow season. There will most definitely be discounts offered down the line.

Thanks DLgal now if you could only start a Go Fund Me page for me it would be appreciated.

 

[joseph821]

Ok. There was no summer sale in June 2023 ..it started on August 1, 2023.
The 2022 summer sale started on August 7, 2022.
Disneyland Resort Hotel usually have summer sales.

https://www.mousesavers.com/disneyl...sked-questions-about-disneyland/#newdiscounts

end of June this year and the beginning of August last year.

 

[bbeagle]

The DLH is fine, but it's not the GCH. It is a downgrade no matter how you slice it.

We did a split stay last time. Our 2 bedroom VGC was amazing. Views of the World of Color and the park from our balcony. And the close walk to both parks. The parents LOVED it.

The kids? They LOVED DLH because of the pools, the monorail and the trails with all the greenery. They were bored by the VGC. They loved going through Downtown Disney every morning, afternoon and evening. Maybe because they got snacks and toys? The kids never want to go to VGC again.

Our next time in February, we’re going to the VDH. So the kids will love it!

 

[tink89]

Ok. There was no summer sale in June 2023 ..it started on August 1, 2023.
The 2022 summer sale started on August 7, 2022.
Disneyland Resort Hotel usually have summer sales.

https://www.mousesavers.com/disneyl...sked-questions-about-disneyland/#newdiscounts

yes I am aware of when the summer sale was. Most of the time they start in August. I consider summer to be when DD is out of school for summer and was just stating both times I have gone in the summer there was no sale going on for my dates. I did get one day on sale in the August trip that was about $680 a night the rest were over $800 because i am sure the days of the week we went were not on sale but one. I was just stating not all dates in summer have a sale so OP needs to be aware of that.

 

[joseph821]

yes I am aware of when the summer sale was. Most of the time they start in August. I consider summer to be when DD is out of school for summer and was just stating both times I have gone in the summer there was no sale going on for my dates. I did get one day on sale in the August trip that was about $680 a night the rest were over $800 because i am sure the days of the week we went were not on sale but one. I was just stating not all dates in summer have a sale so OP needs to be aware of that.

SUmmer sales usually start in August. I think Disney Ron knows. He was there this year in August.

 

[Pluto468]

I agree with everyone about the walk. It feels SO long to DLH at the end of the night. I take the monorail when I can, but it's not always running.

I think you'll be happy at the Grand