The Disneyland Hotel Superthread

[BayGirl22]

I made a reservation for a Cabana for the thursday after Labor Day. The time choices were 9:30 to 2 or 2:30 to 6:30. She said the slides open at 10am. (Park hours are 10am-8pm starting that week) The cost was $110 for a half day or $180 for the full day.

I wanted to be near the monorail slides, she said 1-3 are in that area. We got #1.

We're doing the morning since I don't think we'd stay as late as 6:30. Not sure if it will be super crowded then, but we love the luxury of being able to relax in the cabana with the kids. Apparently they will bring over a pack n play so the baby can sleep in there too.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm going to Disneyland in October with my DD6. Right now we're booked at the BWPPI but I admit I would feel safer if we could stay on site. Maybe that's silly since BWPPI is right across the street.

I've stayed at DLH (pre-renovation but that makes no difference for this particular topic) and just the other week at BWPPI. DLH is a hotel, with inside corridors. So people walking by are almost certainly fellow guests. BWPPI is a motel, with cars parked immediately outside, and it's possible that people walking by aren't guests.

If I went with pure safety, or rather FEELINGS of safety, I could see that DLH would feel a little less nervous-making that BWPPI. We (my 8 year old and I) were at the very very very end of the building, so while we had almost no one walking by our room, if there were a problem with someone, say, rattling a doorknob, it would have taken some time for an employee to get to us!

On the other hand your bed isn't right next to the window/door, or at least it wasn't for us. Since it's a little mini suite, you've got your living area right there. Makes it a tad bit less nervous-making.

But as for walking to the parks, there was no worry at all. It is SO close, and that area of Harbor is always SO busy. I've walked Harbor early in the morning and I've walked through DTD early in the morning, and I think there are more Disneyland-goers on Harbor that early!

I would go with your budget, and not let worries about that sort of thing make your decision.

Stayed at GCH last summer and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that kids were allowed to wear life vests/life jackets on the water slides.

We were there the 1st week of June, and I saw several kids wearing the DLH provided life jackets down the water slide.

I find both of those statements incredibly interesting! It isn't been an issue for us for awhile since DS is tall now and a good swimmer, but when it WAS an issue, he couldn't even go on the GCH's slide, and I definitely remember that they had signs prohibiting life jackets on slides.

So either they've changed it or I have a horrible memory!

Additionally, The Disneyland Resort hotels recently changed the way they charge for the resort fees. It is now a flat fee of $15 / day and it covers parking, use of the fitness center and daily Internet charges.

Didn't that change to simply a *parking* fee now? The rest of the things are just included, and you only pay that 15+ tax if you have a car? Or have I been mis-reading horribly? (but PPH didn't charge us anything resort fee-ish last Feb when we didn't have a car)

 

[DizMe]

Didn't that change to simply a *parking* fee now? The rest of the things are just included, and you only pay that 15+ tax if you have a car? Or have I been mis-reading horribly? (but PPH didn't charge us anything resort fee-ish last Feb when we didn't have a car)

You are correct! It's now a parking fee, which you don't have to pay if you don't have a car. All of the other amenities are included with your room rate.

 

[smiley_face2]

Well here are our pictures, we did not end up renting a cabana, did not want to commit a whole half a day to staying at the pool. What we did was head over to the park for early entry, then back to the hotel for a swim and lounge by the pool, then while grandson went for his nap we took turns going up with him while the others stayed by the pool for a bit longer, then got ready for going out to dinner. I would stay at the Disneyland Hotel every time if we could, I just wish we could afford to stay there for a whole 2 weeks at a time! We did like the Park Vue Inn though, and staying at the Disneyland Hotel for the last 4 nights was a perfect way to end out time at the park.
So annoyed I forgot to take a picture of the menu they bring you by the pool. the drinks are different than what is offered in Trader Sam's.
This is a banana cabana which was soooooo yummy, and I can't remember what hubby's was. we also tried the mai tai (wow was it strong!! big nap after that one) and the equivilant of a blue hawaiian. had the banana cabana more than once

Jacob having chicken nuggets by the pool came with potatoe chips and grapes which were both really good! him and his mommy had the fruit smoothy type drinks, one tastes like a yummy orange creamsicle and the other is like raspberries and cream, sooooo good!

the view of the slides from where we chose to sit every time.

view of the pools from our room which was on the 6th floor.

 

[smiley_face2]

different views of our room, and around the grounds, and the front of the hotel. Because we were moving from the PVI we checked in quite early and the room that was available was a handicap accessible room which was fine with us, it was extremely spacious, but had only a chair instead of small sofa and the sink was quite far back in the counter in the bathroom. but the bathroom was huge!

 

[BriannaRuth]

Loved hearing about the drinks! Great photos!

 

[ArchOwl]

Stayed at the DLH from 7/29-8/2. Had a lovely stay, although I think the Grand is our favorite.

The Extra Magic Hour was so great! I am so glad we decided to stay on site this time.

Including some of the check in materials which list some of the events that are available at the DLH. On our check in day, they were showing Ratatouille on the Magic Kingdom Lawn, which our check in CM said was a new thing they were doing. It is called "A Magical Nights at the Movies". We didn't go, but she did say we were welcome to bring drinks and enjoy.

You can see this new event description at the bottom of the calendar of events here:

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You can also see on the above photo that they still list the Extra Magic Hour as only going through September 13, so they will need to update that!

I also have a picture of the events they had available when we were there, I thought this might help someone in their planning if they were interested.

[/IMG]

And some more information for those who like to plan:

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[smiley_face2]

Trader Sam's tiki bar, we had the pupu platter, fish tacos, cheeseburger and yam fries. the drinks that made the volcano erupt were the krakatoa punch, and I think the uh-oa! to make it rain and the ship sinks in the bottle which in an AMAZING effect!! is the shipwreck on the rocks, which I didn't like but hubby did. again grandson and mommy had a skipper sipper with no alcohol and was very good!

 

[nana50]

Wow, those are the best pictures I've seen. Nice and big for old eyes. I'll be there in Sept.

 

[bumbershoot]

Those are fabulous pictures, smiley. Thank you!

 

[Mel522]

I have a quick question about the Toiletries at DLH. My family and expecially myself all have Excema, is the soap/body wash good quality? I want to take as little as possible, and just want to see if I can get away with not taking as many toiletries. Has anyone with Excema had any experience with the soap/body wash in particular?


I've heard it's h2o, and went to their site http://www.h2oplus.com/category/bath+and+body/disney+resort+amenities.do?nType=2. Is this the exact same stuff at DLH?

 

[smiley_face2]

I have a quick question about the Toiletries at DLH. My family and expecially myself all have Excema, is the soap/body wash good quality? I want to take as little as possible, and just want to see if I can get away with not taking as many toiletries. Has anyone with Excema had any experience with the soap/body wash in particular?


I've heard it's h2o, and went to their site http://www.h2oplus.com/category/bath+and+body/disney+resort+amenities.do?nType=2. Is this the exact same stuff at DLH?

when I have a flare up of my exzema it is extreme, and unfortunately I had a flare up at the start of our trip. I am now using the H2O products I hoarded during our stay!! don't know if it's that or coincidence but my skin is clearing right up! I was so happy, housekeeping put 2 of everything in our room every day!! maybe because they could see we were using them? the face soap is soooo nice and I plan on finding a place to get it here. Dear daughter works in the spa industry so I am going to ask her if she can get it through the place she works. I'm sure you will be very happy with it, maybe just bring little bottles of your normal stuff just in case.
here you go, went and took a close up pic of them so you can see exactly which ones they are. Quite a strong grapefruit smell to them, but very refreshing! OOPS I see I forgot to put the body lotion in there! there is also one of those, same type.

 

[Laundress]

I see in the recent room photos that there is not a fold out couch in your room.
Is that right? Was it because it was HC? Do the new rooms not have them?

 

[smiley_face2]

I see in the recent room photos that there is not a fold out couch in your room.
Is that right? Was it because it was HC? Do the new rooms not have them?

I am pretty sure that is why we did not have one, as I have seen recent pictures of the rooms with the small sofa in them

 

[kindakrazy2]

the drinks that made the volcano erupt were the krakatoa punch, and I think the uh-oa! to make it rain and the ship sinks in the bottle which in an AMAZING effect!! is the shipwreck on the rocks, which I didn't like but hubby did.

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[dana278]

Nevermind!

 

[ArchOwl]

Thanks for the pics!

I have another question that I was hoping someone could help me with. I was reminded of it when I saw the photo above where it explains parking, and how your room key is your parking permit.

I'll be visiting the DLH with my mom in September. I made the room reservation for 2 people, and we'll be self parking one car. However, my brother lives in the area, and since we're allowed 2 cars for that $15 charge I was going to have him park in the hotel lot when he comes to meet up with us each day. When I check in, will it be a problem getting a third key for him? I can't imagine that it would, because I'm playing around with pricing online and prices are the same whether you choose 2 or 3 adults, so I'm sure it'll be fine. And will he be able to get INTO the lot to meet us for the first time (so I can then give him the key) or will I need to figure out how to meet up with him somewhere else first?

Oh and don't worry, I'm not trying to rip DL off and get out of paying for his parking. He works there so he can park for free anyways. LOL I just thought it'd be better for him to be able to meet us in the hotel or at our room instead of somewhere outside at the park.

Thank you!

I can answer this because we did something like this when I was there last week. My DH and I had one car to park , but my in-laws were meeting us at the hotel prior to dining at Napa Rose. We explained the situation to the front desk CM and they gave us an extra key for the room, no problem. You only need the key upon exit, so it worked out great. My in-laws flashed the room key and were let out, no muss and no fuss.

 

[Purple Opal]

I am pretty sure that is why we did not have one, as I have seen recent pictures of the rooms with the small sofa in them

Thank you!! These are fantastic photos and I will be adding them to the front of the thread.

One quick question for you Smiley Face: do you remember which room you were in?

 

[Purple Opal]

Stayed at the DLH from 7/29-8/2. Had a lovely stay, although I think the Grand is our favorite.

The Extra Magic Hour was so great! I am so glad we decided to stay on site this time.

Including some of the check in materials which list some of the events that are available at the DLH. On our check in day, they were showing Ratatouille on the Magic Kingdom Lawn, which our check in CM said was a new thing they were doing. It is called "A Magical Nights at the Movies". We didn't go, but she did say we were welcome to bring drinks and enjoy.

This is terrific! Thanks for posting these ArchOwl; I will add them to the front of the thread, as they are much more recent than the ones I originally posted.

 

[coopersmom]

Stayed at the DLH from 7/29-8/2. Had a lovely stay, although I think the Grand is our favorite.

...

Can you elaborate on why you prefer the Grand to the renovated Disneyland Hotel? We currently have Grand reservations but I'm still tempted to change them to the DLH, both for cost reasons and because the rooms just seem so much nicer to me.