Originally Posted By kari12177 Ok, because the economy is so crappy we want to save money. We booked a AAA package and WERE staying at the GCH. My husband was thinking we would stay at HOJO'S (1ST TIME) and what i want to know is- 1: can i change my resvs and 2: how open are HOJO'S for booking? We are going in 93 days. Thanks for any help you tell me.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Kari, I can't be a lot of help except to say this, I'm sure you can change your reservations, can't imagine a scenario in which you couldn't, unless you waited to the last minute. Also, I booked our ressies for HoJo's about 3 weeks in advance. I went through getawaytoday.com because it was by far the best deal I found. Check out their site, the price they quote includes all hotel taxes and fees, except the actual $20.00 getawaytoday fee. Now, I'm going to throw in my personal opinion because, well, I can!!! ;P Don't know if you've stayed at GCH before or not, but we stayed there last November, and just stayed at HoJo's last week. HoJo's is just as nice, the rooms at HoJo's are bigger, it's just as clean (or more clean) than GCH. The walk to our specific room in GCH was VERY far from Disneyland because we were above World of Disney, but you have to walk all the way to the lobby, which is by Libby-Lu, then through the lobby, back outside and backtrack to get to the part of the building in which we were staying. If you stay at HoJo's and don't want to be awoken early by sunlight coming in, call and ask for a room without the skylight/arched window. Also, we were in building 2, which was by the pool, but I swear it was the furthest building to walk to and from Disneyland. So I'd request a little closer building, just to save that extra bit of walking.
Originally Posted By serendipityaey A lot of times when you book a package deal, it is harder to change reservations. There would probably be a fee. I would call and talk to someone and see what they can do for you. That being said, GCH is amazing, in my opinion. Staying there last december was by far the best disney experience I've ever hard. Nothing beats being on property and never leaving the magic. Hojo's is a very nice place; the walk seems very far at the end of the day. Building 2 is where most of the standard rooms are (2 queens, pool view) I think, so it might be hard (or more expensive) to get a room in a building that's less of a walk. Hojo's has an entertainment card discount on certain days, an AP holder discount and a code you can get from laughing place for a discount as well. Check out hojoanaheim.com.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney I've booked package deals before, and you're right, there usually is a small fee. I think it was like $50.00 to cancel completely, but only $10.00 to change, or something like that. I'm not sure how we missed out on the GCH everyone loves so much. I'm not doubting it's a great hotel, just for the price, I don't think it's worth it. We did love our view of DCA though, it was awesome. But I think the rooms are on the small side, and I really wasn't impressed with their customer service (sorry if I offend anyone). Our room wasn't ready when we arrived, which was well past check-in time, and no one could seem to figure out if/when it was ready. And the housekeeping didn't empty our garbage the second day, which was very surprising. HoJo's was great though, super friendly staff, and a clean, large room. It is quite a treck however.
Originally Posted By LuLu Re HoJo: I believe there are standard rooms in all the buildings. Bldg 3 thru 6 have 2 double beds, I think, instead of queens. The lower floors in bldg 1 are considered standard - once I was on the 3rd floor and could see the Matterhorn! I love GCH but IMO you get more for your money at HoJo.
Originally Posted By kari12177 Im going to AAA 2mrw to see what they say,we stayed at the GCH before, but if we went to HOJO'S id be saving 500 bucks.
Originally Posted By mater4 AAA does charge a fee to change but it is small compared to cancelling the trip. You can't get the entertainment rate at Hojo's when you book as a package. I have found the AAA rate is better than the Hojo's discount when there is not an entertainment rate available.
Originally Posted By mater4 Just found my papers for last AAA package for DL. The change fee for 30 + days before trip is $25 and $100 to cancel.
Originally Posted By kari12177 My husband decided not to change our resrvs to the GCH. He said lets just make it our last year here and next year we will stay at HOJO'S. He and my son like walking into the park and not having to walk a lot of taking a shuttle. So I guess it will be next year.
Originally Posted By serendipityaey Obviously everyone's experience is going to be different, and that will change everything. We actually had 5 people in our room, and I didn't feel it was small at all. We had 3 people when we stayed at Hojo's, and I didn't really feel it was big. We ended up with a great AP discount when we stayed at the GCH and saved almost $400 more than what I was expecting. When we got there, we were upgraded to a park view. Our room was directly over the entrance to DCA and connected to our friend's room; both of those things were amazing unexpected bonuses and I don't expect that to ever happen again. But I really enjoyed it while I had it
Originally Posted By redlegtwo DyGDisney - You're not the only one. I had the same not so wonderful experience as you at GCH. Oh the hotel is beautiful as are the rooms, but the service was bad. For the money I paid, I guess I expected more. I can stay 5 nights at Hojos for the price I paid for 1 night at the GCH and not have one complaint there.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Man am I glad I'm not alone. I was beginning to feel I was too picky. But I think when you are paying that much, you have a right to be picky!!
Originally Posted By fkurucz I have never found the Disney hotels to be worth the exorbitant rates they charge.
Originally Posted By kari12177 This will be our last year at the GCH, we can save 500 by going to hojo's next year
Originally Posted By Jenasweetemotion We went in April and I booked through Disneyland.com and I saved a bit of money my experience is that the Paradise Pier is wonderful especially the theme park view and it was still almost 800.00 dollars cheaper then GCH and the Paridise Pier is right in back of GCH and you still get the perks of staying with a Disneyland Resort like early entry four days a week and the private entrance through GCH. I think to many people think that Hojo's is cheaper and most of the time it is not.
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains You do realize most people stay at HoJo's because you get a discount for being a LP member (15%) and they have many times where the rate at HoJo's is only $59. I booked for July through AAA - I got the ramada - here's the difference - and all three are walkable... Ramada - $1081 PPH - $1833 park view - $2041 GCH - $2453 Park view - $2913 So I am happy with my choice - now most of the time I only need a hotel but my PAP expired - So these prices include the tix for the 3 of us that need them. And the early entry - magic mornings isn't a guarantee for staying onsite anymore - Many people are still getting it - but it just depends on the day. The
Originally Posted By mater4 I have stayed at PPH and GCH and have never seen the rooms there cheaper than Hojo's. The only time I have seen the rooms remotely close to Hojo's rates is for people attending a convention or maybe a special AP discount. The only way I would choose a DLR hotel over one on Harbor is for the Magic Mornings or for the DL theming. Since we usually go during the less busy times we choose Hojo's. We have more to spend on extras and still get one MM with our park hoppers which is enough for us. I think the passes the DL hotels give for MM every day is supposed to come to an end in the near future. At least that is what has been said by others.
Originally Posted By mater4 I stayed at Hojo's with a theme park view for 5 nights at a grand total of 425.00. Disney hotels were over $200 a night during that same week I was there. That is a big difference in price to me.
Originally Posted By Jenasweetemotion I think it depends on who you go through and what time of year with a theme park view and tickets for four people and Paradise Pier from Saturday to Friday was $1250.59 maybe I just got lucky but I did look around allot and had called and asked for the cheapest possible rate for that time which was in April. mater4 that $425.00 was that with tickets ? I sure that things are always changing.
Originally Posted By mater4 The $425 was just for the room for a week. As far as tickets I have two kids that we have to pay for. We did look at staying at a DLR in April but it was almost $1700 for tickets and room. Did you stay a full six nights and how many days were your passes. That price just seems unreal to me. AAA is always cheaper than disneyland.com when booking online and they both use Walt Disney travel to book the trip as far as I know.
