GCH December 2011 - Looking for lots of advice

[MoxieMarlo]

Hello. My first post, and I did search the forums and read everything on the GCH for the past 2 years... but I have a lot of questions.
I travel a lot - have done lots of domestic and international travel...
And I have a lot of family in San Diego and Orange County... but this will be my first time at Disneyland without any of them, and on my own, with my own kids. We will fly in from Denver with a 3 year old and a 6 month old. Here are my questions to you wise sages!! (I am 99% on staying at the GCH because I have stayed at another DL resort hotel and was really put off by the paper thin walls and NOISE. Naps are very important to us, and we will need a mid-day nap as well as a good nights sleep)

1) How to get the best deal. I heard that December is a very slow month, and bound to have deals. Agree?
2) We have the whole month of December to come... we can come any week, weekdays or weekends. What is the best to get a discount? (early in the month or later and mid-week vs. weekends)
- If the park is slower, will it mean less characters and less options?
3) When to book? I am back and forth on waiting (like now the summer discounts are out) or booking in advance?
4) Resources for booking with the best deals? Disney directly or a travel agent, or Costco, or where?
5) Is there a crafty way to get a better deal like an AP or something else I don't know?
6) How long? At first I was thinking a quick trip, couple of days... but then I got to thinking my son loves Toy Story and Cars, so he may want a day at the Adventure Park too... any suggestions? (I plan to "go big" at DisneyWorld when kiddo #2 is a bit older)
7) What type of room? I hate to drop the $$ on a suite, but we usually need a living seperate from the beds so that mom and dad can stay up a bit later, and we have a place to hang out while the little ones nap. AND if I did get a suite, could we get groceries for breakfast and snacks and save on that as well? (We eat whole foods, organic, and healthy... so it may help with that too)
8) We are thinking to shuttle from the airport and just let family come to us to visit. (but I am having a hard time with not getting any time in San Diego... but it just got too complicated with the parking charges and not using a car, and how to get one short term, etc.)

I relaize that in all liklihood GCH is overpriced for what it is, but at the same time, it is right there, and for naps, I think it wil lbe best for us. Plus it will be Christmas time and people say it is lovely for that. I also considered renting on VRBO - and some say they have a lightrail type of ride to the park. Can that work? I am not sure how close that is, and I have some concerns about Anaheim in general anyway...

THANKS!!!!

[fairestoneofall]

(I am 99% on staying at the GCH because I have stayed at another DL resort hotel and was really put off by the paper thin walls and NOISE. Naps are very important to us, and we will need a mid-day nap as well as a good nights sleep)

1) How to get the best deal. I heard that December is a very slow month, and bound to have deals. Agree?
2) We have the whole month of December to come... ions?
3) When to book? I am back and forth on waiting (like now the summer discounts are out) or booking in advance?
4) Resources for booking with the best deals? Disney directly or a travel agent, or Costco, or where?
5) Is there a crafty way to get a better deal like an AP or something else I don't know?
6) How long? At first I was thinking a quick trip, couple of days...
7) What type of room? I hate to drop the $$ on a suite, but we usually need a living seperate from the beds so that mom and dad can stay up a bit later, and we have a place to hang out while the little ones nap. AND if I did get a suite, could we get groceries for breakfast and snacks and save on that as well? (We eat whole foods, organic, and healthy... so it may help with that too)
8) We are thinking to shuttle from the airport and just let family come to us to visit.

I relaize that in all liklihood GCH is overpriced for what it is, but at the same time, it is right there, and for naps, I think it wil lbe best for us. Plus it will be Christmas time and people say it is lovely for that. I also considered renting on VRBO - and some say they have a lightrail type of ride to the park. Can that work? I am not sure how close that is, and I have some concerns about Anaheim in general anyway...

THANKS!!!!

First of all, to address the noise level comment, I have not noticed the GCH to be any more quiet than the DLH. Unless you have a DTD view, then you might hear the music from DTD at night.
1- I have gotten great AP rates in December. But when I say "great" I don't mea like $100 or anything. The deals will be the first week of December. The last two weeks you'll be hard pressed to get any sort of "great" deal since it's the busiest time of year.
2-If you want better pricing and lighter crowds, I would go within the first two weeks of December. Once the week of Christmas rolls around it gets very busy in the parks.
3-Book as soon as you want to. If you book through Small World Vacations or WDTC and a better rate becomes available you can call and have it applied to your existing reservation. Actually SW TA should be looking for those things for you, too.
4-I would use a WDTC or a Disney specialist TA. I have used Costco, but have had issues with making any changes to dates and/or pricing.
5- You do get a room rate discount with and AP. Sometimes it's better than DLR's current promotion, sometimes it's not. You just have to do your homework.
6-This is totally up to you. I was there for three days last weekend and it was enough for me. But, I usually make two trips a month, so I'm not the best person to answer this question.
7- Room type is totally your preference. We've stayed in a suite at the GCH and it was lovely. It didn't have a larger fridge than their standard rooms though. If you're looking for more room and a full kitchen you might want to look into renting DVC points and stay in a one or two bedroom villa. It will give you the full size kitchen and plenty of space for privacy, plus an extra bathroom.
8- I have no comment on this as we always have our own vehicle since we only live an hour away.
I'm not sure what you meant by light rail to the park when renting offsite. Perhaps they were talking about ART? If so, that's a bus service, and if your rental is close to an ART stop then you could use it.
Hope this helps.

[Mermaid]

I can try to help... I have never stayed at GCH but we like PPH better than DLH for what it is worth.
1) The first week (maybe 2) will have deals probably. They won't come out until Fall but you can change any exisiting reservation to get the best discount. Once you get closer to Christmas, there will be no deals as the parks is VERY crowded.
2) Go towards the beginning and during the week for the lightest crowds. One thing though, there are usually 2 days in early December where the park closes early for cast member parties, I want to say 6:00. With little ones, this may not be a deal breaker and I have heard the crowds are SUPER light those days. The first weekend of December brings the Candlelight Processional which brings big crowds onto Main St for the performance. During the week, there will not be fireworks. One nice thing about this time of year compared to other slower times, is generally there are not many (if any) rides down because there is so little time between Thanksgiving and Christmas crowds.

3) See above

4) I have found very little price difference in any booking. A (Disney specialized) travel agent will stay on top of discounts for you, so if you book now, you won't have to watch as closely for later discounts. AAA and Costco seem to offer a few perks, but it may be harder to change your reservation- not sure on that.

5) You could look into a Deluxe Annual Pass. Sometimes they offer AP rates on the hotel, but my last trip it was cheaper to go with the discount they offered the public.

6) I would say 3 days is good. That should give you time to see most everything and allow for naps and breaks. This also gives you one later night if you happen to go during the cast parties.

7) Not sure on this. My son is a horrible napper so we are staying at Embassy Suites so he can have a quiet room.

8) There is no light rail in Anaheim that I am aware of. Especially not right to the park. There is ART which is a bus or the Monorail which sort of goes from the DLH (just outside of it) into Disneyland.

[MoxieMarlo]

Now that was a helpful response!! Thank you very much.
I debate the psychology of waiting to book because maybe if fewer people book in advance, they offer better discounts to fill the rooms. I can overthink anything.
Can hardly wait to go!!
Thanks again for the advice, ad I appreciate any responses as they come in.