Paradise Pier Superthread

[dizneekrazee]

Glad I found this thread!! Just booked our stay the other day for my kids surprise Disney trip. We stayed at PPH once before, in 2005, which was my youngest DS's very first trip, well, except for while inutero.
We are just getting a standard view room, and we got an AMAZING deal, which I could not pass up. After our last trip, August, I was not planning on returning for about 3 years as I wanted to do other things. But, now we are just short of 7 weeks for another trip!!

I remember on our last stay, we were in room 1100 (why do I remember that 7 years later, idk). Right on the corner. Had fantastic views into DCA. Maybe we will get lucky and get an upgrade.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I'm staying here late May/ early June..I think I made a wise choice.

 

[gokdog]

We have stayed at PPH a few times with great results and will be staying again next week for our 5 day New Years trip.

We are splurging slightly and will be doing Concierge, but Standard, so will take some pics and maybe a video of the room and lounge while we are there.


Cheers,
D

 

[bumbershoot]

We have stayed at PPH a few times with great results and will be staying again next week for our 5 day New Years trip.

We are splurging slightly and will be doing Concierge, but Standard, so will take some pics and maybe a video of the room and lounge while we are there.


Cheers,
D

Make yourself an espresso, rent some DVDs, and grab some tasty strawberries for me!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Hahaha, I believe it! I went to a concert on Friday night and brought my iPhone with me... I'm impressed with the camera they got on 'em. It's no DSRL (pro photographer speaking, here) but ya can't discount the iPhone!

I took most of my pictures this last August with the 4s, turned out very nice...sold the DSLR.

Jack

 

[tweedlemom]

Going to DL for the first time in 2014. We know we will be staying at PPH and cannot wait! Keep the info coming!

 

[kevdo]

Just got back from our first stay here. Gotta say, we LOVED the room and most likely will find ourselves as converts to staying here in the future rather than the places on Harbor Blvd.

Pros:
Nicely furnished rooms. Lots of room. Convertable couch turned into a bed so our 10 year old and 14 year old sons didn't have to share a bed.
We had standard room with view of the pool but the views were still nice.
Nice bathroom overall
Comfortable bed
Nice TV and wireless internet
Convenient cafe and store in lobby
Fun water slide and nice hot tub
I like the theme - they've updated some of the artwork for new DCA but more is needed.

Cons
Shower wasn't very powerful
Getting down in the elevator on Sunday morning was a big pain (we ended up going up to 14 to come down to 1).
Room service met their 6:00-6:30 delivery window by 1 minute. All we had was continental breakfast (no cooking) so disappointed it was so late in the window.
Pool was a bit cold for my taste

The location worked out well for us, since we had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen and we ended up skipping the gigantic line at Earl of Sandwich and had a great meal at Tangaroa Terrace just steps away (and even better we ate it inside Trader Sam's). Walk through CGH was easy (and definitely closer than some of the Harbor hotels we've stayed at).

We originally booked to get Extra Magic Hours, which wasn't needed since we are now APs and could get in early anyway. But we did enjoy the stay and definitely felt the $60-70/night difference was worth it.

 

[awdsmama]

Anyone have any recent PPH pictures they can share!?

 

[gunka]

I would be curious to hear about the poolside rooms? Are they all concierge? Are they all one floor below the pool deck?

 

[lizzywoods]

We have booked a theme park view room at PPH for 6 nights in August 2013 but we are thinking of upgrading to concierge level.

Can anyone tell me if the concierge lounge will open earlier in August, as I'm assuming early entry will be 7am so it would be good if we could grab some breakfast at 6am?

Thanks!

 

[micheleq]

We have booked a theme park view room at PPH for 6 nights in August 2013 but we are thinking of upgrading to concierge level.

Can anyone tell me if the concierge lounge will open earlier in August, as I'm assuming early entry will be 7am so it would be good if we could grab some breakfast at 6am?

Thanks!

Would love to know this answer as well -- we are booked PPH CL 8/23-26. DH is an early riser & would love some coffee before we hit the parks at early entry!

 

[lana772]

The earliest we have seen it open is 6:30 in the busy season.

Lana

 

[DarthMole]

We considered the PPH and this was one thing that steered us away. A 6:30 lounge opening is useless to me if EMH is 7AM. I'm also not thrilled that Steakhous 55 opens late too. There don't seem to be any good options for a proper breakfast prior to a 7AM EMH if staying on site.

 

[j2thomason]

First timers question....my daughter and I will be staying at Paradise Pier May 27-31. This is her graduation gift from her dad and myself. This will be a once in a lifetime trip for her because after college she plans to work overseas and would never really be able to afford another trip to DLR. We live in Alabama and drive to WDW each summer and visit a different park each year on the way to my uncle's place at the beach. We are HUGE, HUGE, HUGE Disney fans!! She has always dreamed of visiting DLR where Walt began the magic for everyone.

My question is... Does Paradise Pier do anything special if you contact them and tell them that this is a graduation (once in a lifetime) trip? We could only afford a standard room. I am going to request an upgrade when we check in, of course, with a look of kindness and pleading on my face I am hoping that we might get a park view room. I was also hoping that we might get some special welcome treat because of her graduation. I know with WDW you can fax a room request a few days before check-in. Is this true for DLR also? If so, I was going to let them know that this was her graduation trip & hope that they would leave a magical surprise in our room. I want this trip to be as special as possible for her, so any suggestions or tips would really be appreciated!

WDW preview center 1971, WDW 20 times, DL 3 times, Disney Cruise 1 time, DL Paris 1 time, Upcoming: MK, AK & DHS May 1-5, DL & DCA May 27-31, MK June 12

 

[babyatlas]

congrats to your daughter and family on what i am certain will be a fun graduation trip. my daughters are much younger (6 & 8) but when we stayed at the GC two years ago i made a goody bag for each of them - with a T-shirt a couple of pins and other small toys - things i got at Target or the dollar store (i realize this might not work for an older child but maybe you could do a shirt, PJs, book on disney history or something). when we checked in i passed the bags to the GC on the sly. later in the day they delivered the bags to our room. i asked that they just leave them on the bed but we happened to be there so the person told my girls that "Mickey Mouse wanted me to give these to you". SO PERFECT!

we are going next month - unfortunately not staying on site though i check the prices daily - but i will do the same thing. just ask the desk attendant if someone can delivered the goody bags a few moments later. your daughter wouldn't have to know that the gift came from you and you could likely find some inexpensive things beforehand.

enjoy!

 

[CateinPhoenix]

We stayed at PPH last June and requested a room with a patio. We were given room 313. Room wasn't ready when we checked in at 11:00am but we got a text about 2 hours later that it was ready. Really liked having patio for extra space even though there is not much of a view. Let's see if I can post a picture:





Here is the walk from PPH through the GCH (not bad at all):



In this picture, we are parked in front of PPH...this street is on Disney property so there is not much traffic....


This year I am torn about requesting a patio. I really like the view others have had from the top floors. Right now we are booked with a Concierge Standard View. The other good thing about the patio rooms is not waiting on the elevators. Would like to have a King bed but the patio rooms are only 2 queens.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

Can anyone tell me if the concierge lounge will open earlier in August, as I'm assuming early entry will be 7am so it would be good if we could grab some breakfast at 6am?

That is the ONLY drawback about Concierge at PPH, it doesn't have extended hours like GCH, so it may take some planning. We brought baggies, refillable bottles/coffee mugs and brought food with us to eat while we waited in line for park opening....

This is what is out during the day....unlimited softdrinks and water are in a fridge under the counter....



I have a few more pictures from the late afternoon/dinner options that I can post later...

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Does anyone know what type of coffee pot is in the standard rooms? POD style or a little standard style coffee pot?

 

[laurasvwee]

We where there last Oct. and is was just the standard coffee pot. I wish they had the Keurigs. My favorite way to start the day

 

[larina]

Does anyone know what type of coffee pot is in the standard rooms? POD style or a little standard style coffee pot?

Pod style. We ship a coffee pot and coffee to the hotel before our arrival (because we go at Christmas, I also ship our stocking and a couple of small gifts for the kids). We drink WAY too much coffee to wait on single servings!