DLH, GCH, PPH, or others for anniversary

[DJC6535]

Hello everyone,
My wife and I had our Honeymoon in Disney World, and would like to celebrate our first anniversary at Disney Land. We have looked at Disney's site for hotel information but honestly it's a little sparse. What good and bad things should we know about the Disney Land hotel, Grand Californian, and Paradise Pier hotels? Is there really a difference between those and the other top notch hotels nearby (aside from price of course). What case is there to be made for staying at the expensive Disney hotels over the top end places owned by other companies?

Thanks!

[coopercaseycody]

My family and I have stayed at all three resort hotels and like them all for different reasons. GCH is gorgeous. The best part about it is its proximity to the parks. When you are tired and need to rest...it is very convienent. The pool is a lot of fun, too.
PP is fun. It has a great water slide for kids, (and adults) but it is the farthest walk from the parks. It has a laid back, beachy vibe, that's really fun. The Lilo and Stitch breakfast is alot of fun, too.

DH - well it's the classic. It has it all. There is Disney magic everywhere. You feel like you are in the park. I hope this helps.

[DJC6535]

Thank you, that definitely helps. Would you say that it is worth the extra for those hotels versus staying at some other very nice hotel in Anaheim?

[july baby]

I have stayed at both onsite and offsite hotels while visitng Disneyland and for me it is worth the extra money to stay at a disney owned hotel. The convenience of being able to take a short walk back to the room during the day when I am tired or hot etc. is nice. There are non-disney motels across the street and a short walk from disney but they do not have the disney magic the onsite hotels have. The Grand Cal is the closest to the parks and the pool area and lobby are great but the rooms seem kind of small and it is very expensive. I have only stayed at the disneyland hotel once and that was 9 years ago. The theming around the entire Disneyland Hotel was great and it felt like I was still in the park while I was walking around the grounds of the hotel. My hotel of choice is the Paradise Pier. I stay there twice a year. The rooms are larger than the grand and the rooms with a view of Cal Adv are so pretty.

[coopercaseycody]

Thank you, that definitely helps. Would you say that it is worth the extra for those hotels versus staying at some other very nice hotel in Anaheim?

I would say, that if you have never been to one of the resort hotels, it is probably worth the experience. But, if you don't plan to be in the rooms that long, then it probably isn't worth the extra expense. Just a side note: the wait for the elevators in PP is horendous. They take forever. If you stay there, keep that in mind.

[Danijo]

We just stayed at the Paradise Pier for 3 days. I thought it compared nicely to other Disney hotels we've stayed at in WDW. GCH is definitely the nicer of the three, but PP is no slouch. The rooms are spacious and we were upgraded to a park view room at no cost. Also, it's a really short walk to both parks. Only negatives were slow elevators and no self-laundry facilities.

[MatterhornMama]

We visit DLR every year and usually stay off property (across the street on Harbor). If you stay in the 1400 or 1500 block, you literally have a 5 minute walk. Most of these hotels offer continental breakfast (nothing fancy but it will get you through till lunch). Unless you stay in a suite, most of the rooms you find will be standard size, if not a bit on the small size. But if you're only there to sleep, then no biggie. Also, many of these hotels have very narrow parking spaces.

Ok, having said all that, this year we stayed at the Paradise Pier Hotel. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel several years ago.

I was very pleased with the PPH. It's actually only a 5 minute walk to DCA and Downtown Disney (cut through Grand Californian Hotel) and about a 7 minute walk to Disneyland (again cut through Grand Californian and then walk through Downtown Disney). However, you can also take the monorail directly from Downtown Disney to Tomorrowland.

Paradise Pier Hotel had a nice Parking Garage and the spaces were ample. It's true that there are no self-service laundry facilities onsite, but I just got in my car and exited the parking garage, turned on Disneyland Drive and then turned right on Katella. There are two laundromats right down the road---one on the left and one on the right. I used the one on the right.

The PPH elevators are a bit on the slow side, BUT if you can, take the big glass elevator. It usually doesn't have the wait for some reason.

Another nice thing about PPH is that you can go out to their pool deck (3rd floor) and watch the fireworks. They pipe the music in and it's fabulous!

If you're going for your anniversary, you could spend a little extra and do the Grand Californian. It's truly a beautiful hotel (reminiscent of 1920s California).

Another idea (which we wanted to do but did not), was purchase the Concierge Level at the Paradise Pier. They have a breakfast, then water and snacks all day, and hot hors d'oevres with beer and wine from 5-7 or something like that. All in a private lounge for concierge guests only.

Ok, hope all this helps. Enjoy your anniversary!! I don't know how long you plan to be there but here are some romantic restaurant ideas for you:

Blue Bayou in Disneyland
Wine Country Trattoria in DCA (much more informal----but great for a quiet lunch!)
Napa Rose at Grand Californian

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If your alone and celebrating a anniversay GC is probably the best for romantic exsperiences.It has what I call A homey feeling because we live 40 min from the Awanhee in Yosimite. So I prefer the Disneyland Hotel because it has Disney magic!The Paridise pier my husbands favorite because its the quietest!He's a Fire Cpt and like his rest.But all the suites are fantastic but with view rooms.Its your anniversary celebrate!!