Hello All : ) It’s been hard to decide which content I want to begin with this week. There is nothing that inspires me more than having been on a trip and wanting to share that knowledge with all of you. Today’s post comes from a question I received by a reader asking about what the largest differences are when it comes to booking a room at one of the 3 hotels of the Disneyland Resort. The short answer is the view type. All rooms at the Disneyland Hotel (DLH), Grand Californian Hotel and Spa (GCH) and Paradise Pier Hotel (PPH) are booked by view type unless it is a suite. Suites are booked by bedding type.
What Are the Different View Types?
Each hotel has its own unique features, let’s break them down. When you pull up the official Disneyland website, it is going to give you the option to book a: standard, deluxe (GCH or DLH only), woods (GCH only), downtown disney (DLH or GCH only), premium, standard concierge, premium concierge or suite.
Standard View
A standard view room for all 3 properties may be described as a “city view.” It will either look out over the street, parking lot, rooftop or most likely have an obstructed view. Some standard view rooms can have their advantages. At the Disneyland Hotel, for example, some standard view rooms in the Fantasy Tower can see the fireworks. If you really won’t be spending a whole lot of time in the hotel, I really wouldn’t worry about the view. More than likely you will be using it to sleep and enjoy the inside of the hotel as opposed to the view.
Deluxe View and Woods View
A deluxe view room will only be available at the Disneyland Hotel or Grand Californian Hotel. It is going to be a room with a partial view. At the Disneyland Hotel this is a room facing the pool on a lower floor, typically the third through fifth or sixth floors and can be in any of the 3 towers. At the Grand, it is going to be a room that will be typically on the second or third floors facing California Adventure theme park, or Downtown Disney. These rooms will have a wall or trees obscuring part of the view.
Now the Grand Californian does offer the ability to book a woods view room. These rooms can be on the second floor and above and will face the Barista Courtyard in the center of the hotel. This is the better option than the deluxe, in my opinion, if you want a non-street view as opposed to spending the extra money on a deluxe view.
Downtown Disney View
At the DLH, the downtown Disney view rooms are often the most difficult to get as they are the most popular. They are only located in the Adventure Tower of the hotel and offer the best views at the Resort. You can see all of the Downtown district and will even be able to see fireworks. These rooms are on the sixth floor and higher. They are located at the end of the district overlooking the Earl of Sandwich area. Higher level rooms at the very top of the tower are usually reserved for concierge level guests.
The GCH downtown Disney view rooms can be scattered throughout the downtown district. The rooms are built above the shops that comprise the downtown area and can have some interesting people watching views. They start at the World of Disney area and go all the way down towards the Sephora store. Contrary to popular belief, these rooms may or may not be able to view fireworks. There is only one area in the entire hotel that has a view of them and that is the Craftman’s Club concierge lounge.
If you book one of these rooms, the noise can be hard to sleep with. A lot of families do not realize that that sound echos and bounces off the buildings. We would receive a handful of complaints about the noise at 9 or 10 at night for families with kids. The noise typically doesn’t die down until 11 at night on weekends and if it is “off-season” close to 9 or 10 at nights.
Premium View Rooms
The best value for money rooms of all three hotels for the view type are the premium view rooms at the Paradise Pier Hotel. These rooms are face California Adventure theme park and almost all can see the World of Color show at night. These were one of my favorite rooms to stay in.
The DLH premium rooms are face the pool area of the hotel. Rooms can be in all 3 towers and on any floor.
The GCH premium view rooms can either face the pool area of the hotel or face California Adventure. Now most of the rooms that overlook the Paradise Pier area of California Adventure are rooms that are only available to members of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). They are villas that are booked months in advance. This leaves a handful of rooms that can overlook the Grizzly Peak area or Redwood Creek Challenge trail. These rooms are very hit or miss with guests as the trees in DCA have really grown over the last few years.
Concierge Level Rooms
No matter the type of concierge level room you book, you will have access to the concierge lounge area where you have a continental breakfast, snacks and refreshments available throughout the day. The concierge lounge does have hours (usually 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and it should be noted that the level of service offered at the PPH is not as high as the DLH or the GCH. The DLH and GCH lounges both offer fireworks viewings. The DLH has the best lounge : )
All standard level concierge rooms at the PPH and GCH will most likely look over the street or woods area (GCH only). They are on the higher level floors, but the name as it implies is “standard” with access to the concierge lounge. The standard level concierge room at the DLH all face the pool area.
All premium level concierge rooms at the PPH will face DCA. The Grand premium concierge rooms overlook the theme park or pool areas and at the DLH all rooms overlook downtown Disney. These are all premium rooms with concierge access.
Bedding in All Rooms
You will be told numerous times that bedding is always subject to availability at all 3 properties. This is NOT the case in Orlando at Disneyworld. Rooms are typically assigned based on the number of people in them. There are more rooms with 2 queen bed in them than king as all 3 properties host families in them a majority of the time.
Bedding at the PPH will only be a King or 2 Queens with a daybed. At the DLH it can be rooms with a King, King with sleeper chair, 2 Queens, or 2 Queens and a daybed. For the Grand there are no bunk beds available anymore, but rooms are a King, 2 Queens, 2 queens and a daybed or rooms with all of these and a twin sleeper chair.
The maximum number of people allowed per room is 5 people. With families with more people you will be required to book a suite or a second room. This is due to the fire code restrictions.
Suites
I could do an entire post just on suites and signature suites, but all of these are booked by the bedding type over the view that they offer. The Paradise Pier offers 1 and 2 bedroom suites with a King bed or 2 Queens, while the Grand and Disneyland Hotel offer 1, 2 or 3 bedroom suites. The suites all have different bedding configurations and it really depends on how many people are in your party yo see where the suite is going to be.
I can’t stress enough that the rooms for multi bedroom suites are individual rooms when they are not used as suites. They do not all connect together without the connecting door or foyer area. So many people assume the suites have a main common area and individual rooms connected to the common area without the door or foyer. That is not the case.
Subject to availability, the suites may be able to add concierge services onto the room.
Accessible Rooms
All 3 hotels do offer accessible rooms for the hearing impaired or those that need a roll in show or accessible tub. The locations and view types will vary. These rooms are only a guarantee if they are booked as an accessible room.
Signature Suites
I think I will do an entire post on this, but the signature suites are in all 3 hotels if you are looking for a special themed room and extra VIP services.
Wrapping Up
When you book these rooms know that parking is not included in the rate and that self parking and valet is available subject to availability. As of this point in time parking is $25 for self parking, $35 for valet, and $30 for oversized vehicles. Breakfast is also not included in your hotel stay unless you have a concierge room. All rooms do have mini fridges though if you decide to bring some snack with you. They are able to hold a gallon of milk.
I hope this post helps answer some questions you may have about how the different view types are booked at Disneyland Resort’s hotels. Until next time, happy travels.