Tips for Grand Californian Hotel

[mgat5]

We are staying at the GCH... any tips? I read somewhere they have an "scavenger hunt" for hidden mickeys and special events throughout the day... Any areas of the hotel that are a "must see"... Please dont be shy and share away!
Thank you!!

 

[Figments Friend]

Don't miss the opportunity to sit back and relax in the main lobby area in the late afternoon.
The fire is usually ablaze, the stuffed chairs and couches are really comfy, and best of all...there is a live piano player starting at about 4/5pm.
Makes for a great way to begin your visit when you arrive...or later on while you are in town as a way to take a break from the Parks.

 

[westie]

The best thing about the grand californian is its location. Its probably the most centrally located spot on property so wherever you are, whatever your doing, you can be back in your room in a flash. A word of advice I'd give you is on early admission day to california adventure, line up about 15 minutes early. The line tends to snake arround all over the place and getting there a little early can ease the headache of a long line first thing in the morning.

 

[Disneysea05]

If you are interested, take The Art Of The Craft tour. It should still be free and gives you insight on the design and details of the hotel. Ask when it is, because it's not daily.

I enjoyed it!

 

[kkocka]

If you are interested, take The Art Of The Craft tour.

I second this, it's a great and sort of hidden thing - ask the front desk. Likewise you might be able to hop over to the Disneyland Hotel and get on their tour as well. Its very nice.

Other than that, the pool is very nice to lounge around in. You feel secluded when its not busy and its great. Right off the pool is White Water Snacks and let me tell you they have delicious chicken nachos. It's sort of a secret for the average annual passholder/guest and you'll have it right in your hotel.

 

[KeithVH]

+1 on the nachos. Also, if you're not a big breakfast person, head down to the Hearthstone Lounge early. They do great coffee and pastries. Earlier the better. Great blueberry muffins. Better gingerbread men at Christmas.

 

[Thumper14]

We stayed at the Grand Californian for our 30th wedding anniversary, and fell in love with it! We live in St. Louis and gladly make the trek each year to DLR and splurge on the Grand Californian. We went to WDW more often when the kids were little and had to stay off property at DLR to save money. They are all grown up so we choose the coziness of Disneyland and luxury of the Grand Californian.

Here are my favorites:
Gorgeous hotel!
Location, location, location! (Ride Grizzly River Run a few times in single rider line and hop in hotel to change.)
White Water Snacks has a great breakfast, snacks and even better nachos.
Story Teller Cafe has the best Character breakfast it is very relaxing and fun.
Sipping early morning coffee wearing the provided robes and my Mickey jammies on the balcony is awesome.
The roaring fireplace on cold evenings.

I need a Disney fix!  

 

[PacNWTigger]

+1 on the nachos. Also, if you're not a big breakfast person, head down to the Hearthstone Lounge early. They do great coffee and pastries. Earlier the better. Great blueberry muffins. Better gingerbread men at Christmas.

Good to know about the gingerbread men! I will keep an eye out for them when we go down this next holiday season.

 

[Gaston's gal]

You will absolutely love this hotel! It is beautiful & very relaxing. My daughter loved relaxing at the pool & in the hot tubs at night. You should not be disappointed. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Disneysea05]

It's refreshing and pleasant to hear positive comments of the DLR hotels on this forum especially from out of town visitors.

I've stayed at The Villas at Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel a handful of times, and I really do think it adds on to the overall Disneyland experience.

I tried the Paradise Pier hotel once, and while the view was amazing it could still use some more Disney plussing.

 

[mgat5]

Don't miss the opportunity to sit back and relax in the main lobby area in the late afternoon.
The fire is usually ablaze, the stuffed chairs and couches are really comfy, and best of all...there is a live piano player starting at about 4/5pm.
Makes for a great way to begin your visit when you arrive...or later on while you are in town as a way to take a break from the Parks.

I agree, the architecture is amazing!! We stayed at PPH a couple of years ago and loved using the GC as a shortcut to the park... Can't wait to actually stay there and enjoy it super early in the morning.

 

[mgat5]

You will absolutely love this hotel! It is beautiful & very relaxing. My daughter loved relaxing at the pool & in the hot tubs at night. You should not be disappointed. Enjoy your trip!

Awesome! Didn't even think about the hot tub... Might just have to do that a couple of nights.

 

[mgat5]

We stayed at the Grand Californian for our 30th wedding anniversary, and fell in love with it! We live in St. Louis and gladly make the trek each year to DLR and splurge on the Grand Californian. We went to WDW more often when the kids were little and had to stay off property at DLR to save money. They are all grown up so we choose the coziness of Disneyland and luxury of the Grand Californian.

Here are my favorites:
Gorgeous hotel!
Location, location, location! (Ride Grizzly River Run a few times in single rider line and hop in hotel to change.)
White Water Snacks has a great breakfast, snacks and even better nachos.
Story Teller Cafe has the best Character breakfast it is very relaxing and fun.
Sipping early morning coffee wearing the provided robes and my Mickey jammies on the balcony is awesome.
The roaring fireplace on cold evenings.

I need a Disney fix!  

Do all the rooms have a balcony?

 

[Disneysea05]

As far as I know or have seen, yes. There may be a few connecting rooms in where both don't have them, just one. May I ask what view category you booked?

 

[mgat5]

We did the courtyard view since it was only $2 extra a night compared to the standard view.
Do you know if all the rooms have a connecting door? That's what we requested.

 

[Disneysea05]

Oh that should be great, if you get a Brisa courtyard view, you should be able to see the monorail glide through the hotel from your balcony!

I'm not as sure about the connecting doors being in every room.

 

[loveglobe]

Napa Rose is one of the best restaurants in Orange County and worth every penny. Fantastic service and wine list, plus the executive chef is there pretty much every night. If you can reserve a seat at the chefs table which is actually more of a counter facing the open kitchen you'll have a fantastic meal tailored to your individual tastes. But if you don't want to spend the money or time, the adjacent lounge shares the wine list and includes a pared down version of the menu. Enjoy your trip!

 

[westie]

Did PPH once. The elevator situation was horrible. You had to go up to come down and trying to get an elevator at the end of the night was terrible too. The wife asked to never stay there again. Oh, and I paid for a courtyard view one time also at DGC and all we got was a view of a hedge lol.

 

[mgat5]

Did PPH once. The elevator situation was horrible. You had to go up to come down and trying to get an elevator at the end of the night was terrible too. The wife asked to never stay there again. Oh, and I paid for a courtyard view one time also at DGC and all we got was a view of a hedge lol.

Im sorry you had a bad experience at PHH... we stayed there a couple of years ago. I read about the delays using the elevator and warned my family ahead of time... They weren't happy but we made it work.
Even though there were a few things we didnt like about staying there, you can't beat the price... we did Concierge level at PHH for almost as much as we are doing GCH in a courtyard room view this time around.

 

[mgat5]

Napa Rose is one of the best restaurants in Orange County and worth every penny. Fantastic service and wine list, plus the executive chef is there pretty much every night. If you can reserve a seat at the chefs table which is actually more of a counter facing the open kitchen you'll have a fantastic meal tailored to your individual tastes. But if you don't want to spend the money or time, the adjacent lounge shares the wine list and includes a pared down version of the menu. Enjoy your trip!

I keep reading amazing reviews about Napa Rose... got to admit, I'm very tempted to sneak out one night leaving the grandparents on "grandparent duty"...