Disneyland Hotel Concierge or Grand Californian Premium View - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Disneyland Hotel Concierge or Grand Californian Premium View
I have to stop torturing myself about our hotel choice for our 1 and only trip to Disneyland. Which one would you pick and why??
__________________
1996-Offsite, 1998-All Star Music, 2003-All Star Movies, 2005-All Star Movies, 2006-All Star Movies, 2007-Pop Century, 2008-Pop Century, 2009-Pop Century,2010-Beach Club Resort, 2011- Beach Club Resort, 2012-Yacht Club, 2013-Beach Club Resort, 2014-Beach Club Resort
I'm no help...I've never stayed at either. With so many great hotels near the park with much lower rates, I just cannot justify a stay at a Disney Hotel at DLR. (PS: That's just me...everyone else, your money, your choice, and I say go for it! )
(Oh, and IF I did stay in one...I would choose Grand Californian!)
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I have heard good and bad about all of the Disney hotels. We want to definitely stay at the hotel that has the best options for our trip. I like the theming at the Disneyland Hotel, but am wondering if the proximity of the Grand Californian would be better. We are Disney World people so I have never been to Disneyland so I am very unsure of what the best option would be.
__________________
1996-Offsite, 1998-All Star Music, 2003-All Star Movies, 2005-All Star Movies, 2006-All Star Movies, 2007-Pop Century, 2008-Pop Century, 2009-Pop Century,2010-Beach Club Resort, 2011- Beach Club Resort, 2012-Yacht Club, 2013-Beach Club Resort, 2014-Beach Club Resort
The proximity of the Grand Californian is a major advantage. Although the walking distance from the Disneyland Hotel to the park entrances isn't that much worse that walking distances within some of the Walt Disney World value and moderate resorts, the ability to walk from your hotel right into California Adventure is fabulous.
I have never stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, so I can't comment on the value of the rooms or concierge lounge. I have visited the concierge lounge at the Grand California, which gave a good view of the evening fireworks and a good spread of food -- I would guess the one at the Disneyland Hotel is similar. So, you need to think about which is more important to you: concierge services and lounge, or quicker access to the parks and Downtown Disney?
That is my current dilemna. Always wanted to stay concierge, but am starting to think it might be worth switching over to the Grand and just grabbing snacks at Walmart. Torn since I have never been and can't decide.
__________________
1996-Offsite, 1998-All Star Music, 2003-All Star Movies, 2005-All Star Movies, 2006-All Star Movies, 2007-Pop Century, 2008-Pop Century, 2009-Pop Century,2010-Beach Club Resort, 2011- Beach Club Resort, 2012-Yacht Club, 2013-Beach Club Resort, 2014-Beach Club Resort
We have been to both.
Disneyland Hotel has a lot of charm and nostalgia, the grounds are very pretty and Trader Sam's is worth a visit whether you stay there or not. We found the rooms to be comparable to the WDW moderates in size but concierge level may have more space.
The Grand Californian has a very deluxe feel and there are rooms that look right out over the theme park so when you are sitting on the patio you hear the theme music and sounds from the park or you are looking over Downtown. If you like being in the middle of it all you can't get closer. In contrast to that the resort itself is very mellow. The lighting is subdued, music calming, darker woods so it was a nice retreat to the hustle & bustle outside.
Personally if it were my one and only trip to Disneyland I would choose the Grand Californian because it is rare that you can feel that close to the action. We went on the water ride and walked 5 minutes to the room to dry off. If you like the Wilderness Lodge at all think of it like that with a lot more polish and less rustic. You can visit the Disneyland Hotel easily and have a meal at Goofy's Kitchen (I highly recommend it!) or a drink at Trader Sam's. If you are going to soak in the history of it all then Disneyland Hotel will give you that sense of being transported back to when it all began.
I haven't stayed at either of them. But if I had to choose I'd go with the Grand Californian premium view room. I've seen photos and videos of this hotel and it looks spectacular. It has it's own entrance into DCA. And with a premium view... I'd never come out of the room.
I would live in the Grand Californian if I had the option. Year around. Minus four or ten weeks to go to Walt Disney World. I am one winning lottery ticket away from living my dream!!!
WDW August 1987 (wife), 4 trips before kids (married), Oct 2012, April 2013, Nov 2013, March 2014, Sep 2014, Nov 2015. DCL March 2014. DL May 1985 (me..Senior Trip), plus 4 trips or so before kids (married), June 2015.
I would live in the Grand Californian if I had the option. Year around. Minus four or ten weeks to go to Walt Disney World. I am one winning lottery ticket away from living my dream!!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
About This Page: 
1996-Offsite, 1998-All Star Music, 2003-All Star Movies, 2005-All Star Movies, 2006-All Star Movies, 2007-Pop Century, 2008-Pop Century, 2009-Pop Century,2010-Beach Club Resort, 2011- Beach Club Resort, 2012-Yacht Club, 2013-Beach Club Resort, 2014-Beach Club Resort
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
~
)
Linear Mode
