Paradise Pier Hotel?

[StormyCA]

PP is the only onsite I haven't stayed at. I've been wanting to, but now they've put the kibosh on cutting thru the Grand on your way in I don't know if I will. BFF and I were joking about it and saying if we do stay there, we're taking an Uber in the morning! 1/2 mile is quite a hike when you have limited mobility.

 

[SMD]

At 5yo, unless there is something very delayed, he should be able to ride RDR. My granddaughter (who is on the taller side) was riding RSR at 2.5yo, and Screamin' at 5. Her cousin who is on the very small side rode RSR just before his 4th birthday. And yes, as soon as Mom points them out, he will know.

You never know. My neighbors growing up had short parents, and the youngest boy is only 5'3" as an adult. My sister was off the charts tall, and at 18 months was taller than he was at almost 3. I know another kid who is an extremely picky eater, has short parents, and wasn't as tall as the top of the kitchen counter until he was a few months past 4, and that's less than 40 inches. Even at 13 now he hasn't reached 5 feet. It's something to think about.

 

[GatorChris]

PPH was the first place we stayed at DL after doing 7 huge trips to WDW. We just HAD to do a Disney property because that's the way things are supposed to be when you do WDW. Right? We didn't like it at all. Of course, we didn't pay for or get the park view, which may have made it a better experience. But we had city view/water slide view. My kids like the single water slide, but it got old fast. And the hotel just doesn't feel like a Disney property that exists at WDW. In Orlando, the resorts are an escape. The PPH is just a big tower hotel with a Goofy statue at the entrance. Honestly, the only hotel that's like a WDW hotel is Grand Cali, and it's waaaaaaay too pricey. Again, having a view of Cars Land at PPH may really add to the appeal. If you can't get that, it's just not a great place to stay for the price.

 

[Angrose]

We stayed at PPH last December and liked it. I much prefer DLH but we were paying for two rooms so we had to go with the cheaper option. I thought the rooms were cheerful and bright. We were on the 10th floor and didn't have any problems with the elevator but I think that was shortly after they installed the new system where you put in the floor you are going to and then they tell you which elevator to use. We did not have a theme park view but could see it at the end of the hallway. It was awesome! Your son will love it! We also took our son for the first time when he was 5 because he was a HUGE Cars fan. Now at age 9 it is still one of his favorite areas. As a mom, I'm sure you already checked on the height requirements for the RSR ride and are well aware if he is tall enough

Also, we didn't find the walk to be too bad. We were able to cut through GCH going and coming since we were there before the security changes, but entering the security area over by DLH is not a problem and it's nice to walk through DTD in the morning. I find that we have more energy in the morning anyway, it's when we were heading back later in the day that we appreciated the short cut through GCH.

I'm sure you will have a great time. Happy planning!

ETA: Make sure you stick around Cars Land for the neon lighting that happens at dusk, it's awesome, just like in the movie. Also DJ's Dance and Drive is fun too. They do it in the afternoons and evenings. The DJ car comes out and plays fun music that gets everyone dancing, so fun!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We've stayed at PPH twice and have really liked it. The walk isn't bad, even going up by Earl of Sandwich to get to the parks. That said, for me, it's only with it if you get a theme park view. That view makes it totally worth it!

 

[LizzyS]

We have stayed at this hotel twice and both times have been thoroughly disappointed. I don't believe it was originally built by Disney, and you can tell that when you walk through the "lobby" and see the amenities. It does not feel like you are "in the bubble" of Disneyland whatsoever, and for the price you could get something far nicer off-site. I can't think of anything at WDW that really compares... it is very VERY lightly themed and feels like a Hilton.. If you can manage the cost for GCH or the DLH, do that. You will not regret it.

I believe it was a Pan Pacific hotel originally, if I'm not mistaken.

We stayed at PPH for our 5th anniversary and actually had a very good experience, but it's certainly going to hinge on what aspects of the hotel stay are important to you. They knew it was our anniversary and laid rose petals all over our bed while we were at Steakhouse 55 eating dinner, for example. I would not say the hotel is super Disney-themed, however, but we liked it enough.

 

[Andrea0710]

Will a 5 year old know that the rocks are CL? And is he talk enough for RSR? If he can't ride the only recognizable part of CL, you may want to rethink how thrilled he'd be with that view.

He is tall enough, and believe me he will know. He has Carsland memorized and has wanted to go there since he found out about it when he was 3 years old.

 

[Andrea0710]

At 5yo, unless there is something very delayed, he should be able to ride RDR. My granddaughter (who is on the taller side) was riding RSR at 2.5yo, and Screamin' at 5. Her cousin who is on the very small side rode RSR just before his 4th birthday. And yes, as soon as Mom points them out, he will know.

Agreed! I won't even need to point them out. He has all areas of the map memorized.

 

[Malcon10t]

You never know. My neighbors growing up had short parents, and the youngest boy is only 5'3" as an adult. My sister was off the charts tall, and at 18 months was taller than he was at almost 3. I know another kid who is an extremely picky eater, has short parents, and wasn't as tall as the top of the kitchen counter until he was a few months past 4, and that's less than 40 inches. Even at 13 now he hasn't reached 5 feet. It's something to think about.

I understand. Yes, if he is at the 0.5 percentile (5.5yo male, at 39") the mom already knows he won't make it. The 50 percentile is 43.5". My grand kids are at the 98 and 99 percentiles, so a bigger issue for us is stopping them from riding things that may not be appropriate for them yet.

ETA: Make sure you stick around Cars Land for the neon lighting that happens at dusk, it's awesome, just like in the movie. Also DJ's Dance and Drive is fun too. They do it in the afternoons and evenings. The DJ car comes out and plays fun music that gets everyone dancing, so fun!

This is a lot of fun to watch. Our kids have enjoyed it a lot. They love DJ's Dance.

 

[Malcon10t]

I believe it was a Pan Pacific hotel originally, if I'm not mistaken.

It started as The Emerald of Anaheim. (I'm old, stayed there once.) Then it merged with Pan Pacific and renamed The Pan Pacific Anaheim. Then Disney bought it mid 90s and it was The Disneyland Pacific Hotel. And then finally Paradise Pier Hotel. Lots of name changes since the 80s.

 

[disland7]

We have stayed at PPH 4 times before we upgraded to VGC due to our party being too large (9 when my sister and mom come too). We really liked it there. I felt like the rooms were light and my kids loved the decor there. Honestly I think it's better than VGC in terms of my kids being excited about the decorations of the room (pre-renovation). And we really liked the daybeds. One of my favorite memories of the PPH is mousekeeping staff arranging my kids toys like they had been up to something while we were gone. We know that PPH (all of the Disneyland Hotels really) are overpriced but we really wanted extra magic hour. We always walked through the Grand before and so that's a bummer that you can't do that anymore but I would definitely be walking through on the way back. I feel like it's closer than DLH when you cut through the Grand. I don't have anything bad to say about my stays at PPH and I think you will have a fabulous time.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

We like it but also don't hesitate to stay off-site depending on that particular trip's budget. The elevator situation is much better as many have mentioned. We like the Cabana rooms which are a Standard price. They are on the 3rd floor and have a patio onto the pool area. Makes the room seem larger and nice to have a table on the patio. We fax and call a request and always get one of the rooms Cabana rooms. If you have theme park views, it really is neat to watch WOC from your room (once you've seen it up close!)

 

[Sun_soakin]

We have stayed at PPH 4 times before we upgraded to VGC due to our party being too large (9 when my sister and mom come too). We really liked it there. I felt like the rooms were light and my kids loved the decor there. Honestly I think it's better than VGC in terms of my kids being excited about the decorations of the room (pre-renovation). And we really liked the daybeds. One of my favorite memories of the PPH is mousekeeping staff arranging my kids toys like they had been up to something while we were gone. We know that PPH (all of the Disneyland Hotels really) are overpriced but we really wanted extra magic hour. We always walked through the Grand before and so that's a bummer that you can't do that anymore but I would definitely be walking through on the way back. I feel like it's closer than DLH when you cut through the Grand. I don't have anything bad to say about my stays at PPH and I think you will have a fabulous time.

We like the light and beachy theme better than the dark GCH rooms too. We've stayed at GCH twice so far this year and haven't gotten a renovated room yet...hopefully we will next month!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Is it weird that I actually love PPH? I haven't ever stayed at GCH due to the price and the size of the rooms, which from what I've seen when visiting others staying there, is quite small, but between DLH and PPH, I will almost always choose PPH. It has a more laid back feel to it. With my kids, I just feel like DLH is too formal. But then, I'm also a huge fan of beach/seaside theming, so maybe that's it. The pool isn't quite as nice, but a pool is a pool and in November it doesn't matter much, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[DebbieB]

I've stayed there several times, including 2 weeks ago for D23. Always get park view, it's awesome! Watched World of Color with the sound from the TV. There was 3 of us, plenty of room with the daybed. We were at VGC for 4 nights before that, it is more convenient for the parks. Our 3 nights at PPH were for D23 so it was closer. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there.

 

[LYSE]

Okay so I've seen some people one here saying that its not worth it to stay at DLR, so far from the truth! I would not stay off site at DL. The area around the parks is unappealing as there are a lot of homeless people that like to sleep at the bus stops and are clearly stoned. The only problem with PP is it's across the street. This picture is from the Disneyland Hotel in Frontier tower which is our preference. You can see the fireworks from Disneyland and have a view of DCA if you get a standard corner view room at the end of the hall. PP is physically closer as you can see but its not near the direct walking path to DL. From the Disneyland hotel its a straight shot and takes about 7 min to walk to the parks.

 

[SteveMP]

Is it weird that I actually love PPH? I haven't ever stayed at GCH due to the price and the size of the rooms, which from what I've seen when visiting others staying there, is quite small, but between DLH and PPH, I will almost always choose PPH. It has a more laid back feel to it. With my kids, I just feel like DLH is too formal. But then, I'm also a huge fan of beach/seaside theming, so maybe that's it. The pool isn't quite as nice, but a pool is a pool and in November it doesn't matter much, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy your trip.

I don't think its weird at all. I actually like the hotel and theme and thats probably my favorite character breakfast at DLR. Island themed breakfast and Stitch! Whats not to love. I just think its way overpriced for what it is. But then again we pretty much are only in the room to sleep.

 

[blue888]

We stayed at PPH in 2013 and my kids loved the park view. We liked the hotel. Very clean, amazing service and the rooms were very nice. We easily did the walk with 3 kids under 5. I had zero complaints. We weren't very high up (floor 7), so we couldn't see Carsland, but we could see the lights, mickeys fun wheel, the roller coaster. My kids loved the lights at night before bed time.