Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian?

[captainkidd]

We're taking our first trip to Disneyland next summer, and our conflicted about which resort to stay at. There are 2 adults and 3 kids in our family. Which of the 2 resorts has bigger rooms?

We ultimately want Disney theming, but the GC looks like it has a much better location.

Can anyone familiar with DL shed some light or opinions?

 

[Mukta]

I am a local, so while I have visited both hotels, I have not spent the night in either.

The location of the GC is ridiculously awesome. You can walk a matter of feet to be inside both parks.

Disneyland Hotel definitely has better theming for children though.

GC is more expensive. Standard rooms are 353 sq ft. They accomodate 5.

DL Hotel has more rooms and they are larger. Standard rooms are 364-415 square feet and accomodate 5.

http://allears.net/dlr/acc/acc.htm

 

[skimbob]

I love the GC. It is more expensive but it is conveniently located to DCA and also to the monorail for DL.

 

[Victoria]

Grand Cali has an amazing location. The resort is gorgeous. If you can afford it, do it. I think the DL hotel has better child theming though. More whimsical and "Disney."

 

[captainkidd]

I'm definitely looking for something more Disney. I got this feeling from reading a few books that DL Hotel has no theme though.

 

[nolatron]

The DL hotel is undergoing a major renovation with some of the work not being completed until summer 2012. So there may be some construction mess at the hotel there. So something to consider.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/05/disneyland-hotel-makeover/

We stayed at the GC back in 2008 and loved it. Being able to walk to either gate and DTD, and the private entrance into DCA was great. Never stayed in the DLH so can't really compare the two.

The GC has a Wilderness Lodge kinda of feel to it. So if you like that theming you'll like the GC. Some of the DLH hotel rooms look fantastic (Club level and up I think), but the standard rooms shown on the Official site don't look much better than a offsite hotel room to me (see 360 views at official site).

We had a "Theme park" view room, but mostly saw trees with DCA in the background.

Here's a few pics:

Lobby:

Single Bed Room:

Our "Theme Park" View:

Pool:

And the awesome courtyard good for monorail watching.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

I'm far from an expert on Disneyland, but we visited in 2006 and stayed at the DL Hotel. While not quite as prime a location as the GC, it still has a great location next to Downtown Disney and is a very short walk to both parks. My personal opinion is that while the GC is more luxurious and in the prime location, the DL hotel has a distinctly "Disney" feel to it. The new rooms have several magical touches and are a big improvement over the old rooms. From everything I've read, it seems like most, if not all, of the reno work should be completed by next summer.

Here's a look at the new rooms. Be sure to watch the vid.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/9171/A_new_look_for_the_Disneyland_Hotel

 

[amjt660]

As they say in Real estate - Location, location , location!!

We have stayed at both DLH and GC 2 times.
Without a doubt if you have the $ go for the GC.
The theme park view that we had was great (Grizzly River Run, Tower of Terror and Soarin.)
The entrance to the park is a big selling feature. If you are an early riser you are let in 1/2 hour prior to park opening for rope drop. The cool part is that your rope drope is closer to Toy Story which allows you to get there sooner than main entrance guest(No Fast Pass on this one in DCA). Or it allows you to get into the fast pass queue for World of Colour faster. And going back mid-day is so convenient from either DL or DCA.
The pool is well themed with a decent water slide for the kids.

Max

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We're hoping to make our first visit to DL in September 2012. Personally, I'm leaning towards the Disneyland hotel. I've stayed at AKL and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge this September. The same architect designed the GCH. I have a kind of been-there-done-that feeling about it. The location might be better but I feel like the theming isn't as fun and DL-unique. In the grand scheme of things, the small difference in the walk doesn't phase me. Overall I know I'll still not be spending as much time getting from my resort to the parks and back. Also, it's my impression that the overall distance walked in a day won't be as much as I'm accustomed to at WDW. :wave:

 

[captainkidd]

We're hoping to make our first visit to DL in September 2012. Personally, I'm leaning towards the Disneyland hotel. I've stayed at AKL and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge this September. The same architect designed the GCH. I have a kind of been-there-done-that feeling about it. The location might be better but I feel like the theming isn't as fun and DL-unique. In the grand scheme of things, the small difference in the walk doesn't phase me. Overall I know I'll still not be spending as much time getting from my resort to the parks and back. Also, it's my impression that the overall distance walked in a day won't be as much as I'm accustomed to at WDW. :wave:

Those are my exact feelings.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

We're hoping to make our first visit to DL in September 2012. Personally, I'm leaning towards the Disneyland hotel. I've stayed at AKL and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge this September. The same architect designed the GCH. I have a kind of been-there-done-that feeling about it. The location might be better but I feel like the theming isn't as fun and DL-unique. In the grand scheme of things, the small difference in the walk doesn't phase me. Overall I know I'll still not be spending as much time getting from my resort to the parks and back. Also, it's my impression that the overall distance walked in a day won't be as much as I'm accustomed to at WDW. :wave:

You're exactly right about that. The GCH is closer to the parks, but the difference is really nothing compared to the distances at WDW. You won't be walking far either way. It's basically the difference between being able to walk out the front door and literally be in DCA or having the inconvenience of a (slow) 5-minute walk to the park's front gate.