We have a WDW trip in January but we are starting to be very intrigued with possibly visiting DLR in late April. It is our family of four with a DD5 and DD1. I cannot pick between DH and The GC. Any words of wisdom here? Pros and cons? We were looking at a Premium view either way. We are avid WDW goers so we are stoked about DLR and all the awesome differences.
I’ve stayed at all 3 DLR properties and was most disappointed in my GC stay. Payed extra for the Park view room and my view was the back of Soarin’. 
DH was with my extended family so I had a 3 bedroom suite. We had a view of the pool and it was fantastic room situation.
My best premium view was actually at Paradise Pier. The park view room let us watch World of Color from our room in the evening.
Don’t know if this will help you decide, but it’s my two cents. 
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Funny, I am fan of GC The fact that you have direct park access to DCA is for me a big advantage. I always take a Woods / Courtyard view and was never disappointed in the view from my room. I’ve done all three on-site hotels as well and I rank them 1) GC 2) DL 3) PP.
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Our favorite is DH. It is the most Disneyfied hotel out of the 3. We love the little touches, like the light up headboard, the hidden Mickey’s everywhere. Hands down, it is our first choice when staying at the resort.
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I haven’t stayed at the DH in quite a while because we always choose the GC. The walk from GC to DCA can’t be beat, and the walk to DL is still the shortest of any hotel. It’s true that the views are not all great - if that’s the most important factor to you, either pay for premium and insist on the best, or go elsewhere. But in every other way, GC is the premier Disney resort, rivaling any other hotel at DLR, WDW, Aulani, etc. Gorgeous lobby, great restaurants, fun pool, recently renovated rooms, and Location Location Location!
Seriously, whenever I walk from DL to Downtown Disney, I’m always exhausted by the time I get to where DH is. And the monorail is always so busy at the times you’d most want to use it. It’s equal to or better than the non-Disney hotels on Harbor, but compared to GC it can make a big difference on a long day when you just want to be back in your room already.
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I have stayed at all three and DH is my favorite. I enjoy the lobby at GC and definitely make a point of strolling through at some point each trip, but I found the rooms there to be just OK. For overall Disney ambiance, the Classic Disney Hotel wins my vote, despite the longer walk, which doesn’t feel that much longer to me. I think I enjoy the stroll through Downtown Disney as I make my way to and from the parks. Another thing I love about DH is the pool area and Trader Sam’s. With a premium view you should have a great view of fireworks.
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So much good info. I think we may do DH since we have the two young girls. I think the theme will be fun for them and I feel like it almost has a mixture of WDW deluxe hotels involved. Probably an unfair comparison since it is older. But it feels a little Contemporary and Polynesian to me in some ways. We plan on doing Premium with a Downtown Disney view. I read somewhere where Adventure Tower would be the best for views. Any truth to that? We may go GC next time. I like the proximity and we will definitely hit up Napa Rose regardless.
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Yes! The one time we stayed in the adventure tower, with my then 7 year old daughter, was the best. Huge windows overlooking Downtown Disney with prime view of fireworks. She also loved the light up headboard and had a blast in the pool area. Our room there seemed more spacious then any of my other DLR hotel stays. I’d request a higher floor for the best view. I think your daughters will love it. Admittedly, it is a longer walk to parks than from GC, but as I said previously, I’m not bothered by that.
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I was personally on the fence about DLH for a long time and it eventually won me over. Now it is the family favorite! I love the the ambience of each of the Towers. Adventure Tower was my least favorite because it is the most run down (or at least the room we had). We did have a pool view that also had a partial DTD view and could see part of the fireworks. The advantage of the Adventure Tower was that we when we were in DCA, we would exit through Grand Californian and go across the street to our Hotel bypassing having to go into DTD. You described it perfectly as a cross between the poly and contemporary, although the furnishings are a bit different. Not sure what, if any WDW hotel has similar to DLH. Maybe Port Orleans French Quarter?
As much as I love DLH, if it were me and I was going with a child under 3, I would pick DCA. When we stayed there, I counted steps and we were 27 steps from elevator to DCA. It makes it very nice when you ride GRR and want to change or for a quick nap, etc.
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Just wanted to say you won’t be disappointed with DLH. It really is quite charming and every bit as good as GC other than location. I have a few little kids so every extra step to the hotel room can be torturous at the end of the day (which is why we prefer GC), but as long as you’re aware of that, you really can’t go wrong with DLH.
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