We stayed at the JW recently over spring break in March. We normally stay at the Grand but it was last minute and both The GC and DLH were sold out and the JW rate was amazing (have stayed at PP once and will never again). The hotel was nice, bright and modern - however they seemed terribly understaffed and overwhelmed. Now, given that it was the first school holiday since many COVID restrictions had been lifted I will cut them some slack, but the experience was not great. The pool area is on the smaller side, especially when overrun with kids. Also there were often no towels, dirty dishes everywhere and the odd manager out trying to clean up (again likely due to staff shortages, but still not what you would expect at a JW). The rate we paid was cheap enough that we took it all with a grain of salt. But needless to say my husband said after our trip was over - we will never try that again, the Grand or we stay home. We like being in the bubble and the location is priceless and worth the $ in our opinion. It was not so magical and since DL trips are short, we like to be immersed in the magic for a few days.
If you are looking for a luxury hotel experience offsite, you will not find it. This hotel is nothing special and is a good hike to the parks (especially with small children). Although we did go to the Toy Story parking lot and take the shuttle in the morning, we found that much more efficient, especially since you go through security there instead of at the park entrance. Hopefully they get their staffing up to improve the experience, but I don’t see this hotel as any better than any of the chain hotels around the area (other than being newer).
