pindecisive
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
We just got back from our trip staying at GCH and 100% not worth it for us. Basic standard, $600+ for one night and next trip that we sleep over, we're either staying at Disneyland Hotel or Paradise Pier again.Wanna hear something crazy?
The first time we stayed CL at the Grand was in 2007. We got a military discount rate. I pulled out the receipts.
We paid $279/night. For club level.
I agree with this assessment. I think part of it is that Disneyland has gotten too complicated for normies. With park reservations, Genie+ and the difficulty of getting dining reservations, the people who visit are more prepared and those who don't want to deal with it often decide to not go. Being more prepared means that people are more likely to pay attention to the special events. Years ago, I didn't feel like Halloween Party at Disneyland affected wait times that much during the day but in 2021, Guardians of the Galaxy had consistently 30-45 minutes longer waits on days that had the Halloween Party.
Hong Kong and Tokyo crowd patterns have long been more attuned to special events but I definitely feel it a lot more in California now. Hong Kong has adopted a strategy where every couple of months, they have an exclusive show that only runs for 2-3 days. Reservations basically never run out in Hong Kong but on those days, Annual Passholder reservations do run out.
I loved using the Disneyland app this trip and it has come such a long way in just the past few years. The ease of the map navigation, the LL, and mobile order. IMO don't think Disney can easily be done any longer without a smartphone and the DL app.