Courtyard Theme Park Entrance vs. DLH Villa

[koaboa]

My family and I stayed at DLH and GCH on our earliest visits to Disneyland, but once we stayed at the Courtyard we've stuck with it (we've even had the special bunk room on a couple of our trips). GCH in particular was lovely because of the location, but I personally don't feel like there's enough value in staying on-property to justify the price difference. I prefer the Downtown Disney walk back to the hotel, but the Harbor walk to the Courtyard has never bothered me or felt unsafe. We have always enjoyed our stays at the Courtyard, and my kids particularly love the water slides and bunk beds. So, personally, I would choose the Courtyard and saving $3,000. But I can totally see spending the money if the Disney magic/bubble is a priority. Just depends on what matters more to you. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong either way, you have two really nice choices!

 

[mattyp1123]

My family and I stayed at DLH and GCH on our earliest visits to Disneyland, but once we stayed at the Courtyard we've stuck with it (we've even had the special bunk room on a couple of our trips). GCH in particular was lovely because of the location, but I personally don't feel like there's enough value in staying on-property to justify the price difference. I prefer the Downtown Disney walk back to the hotel, but the Harbor walk to the Courtyard has never bothered me or felt unsafe. We have always enjoyed our stays at the Courtyard, and my kids particularly love the water slides and bunk beds. So, personally, I would choose the Courtyard and saving $3,000. But I can totally see spending the money if the Disney magic/bubble is a priority. Just depends on what matters more to you. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong either way, you have two really nice choices!

THANK YOU! That's really helpful info. Much appreciated.

 

[mom25kiddos]

I am now so invested in your decision, you will need to report back, lol. This has helped me decided to look at booking courtyard for our next trip instead of the JW. So thanks for all the discussion!

 

[mattyp1123]

I am now so invested in your decision, you will need to report back, lol. This has helped me decided to look at booking courtyard for our next trip instead of the JW. So thanks for all the discussion!

haha, will do! If my kids were a bit older I'd be looking at the Westin and just uber if the walk was a little too long. We're going to make a decision this weekend. As many have commented, we have 2 good options - in my mind, it just comes down to value and whether it's worth the additional money for Disney property.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I am now so invested in your decision, you will need to report back, lol. This has helped me decided to look at booking courtyard for our next trip instead of the JW. So thanks for all the discussion!

FWIW, we like a lot of things about the JW, but there can be a LOT of noise at outdoor events at GardenWalk (the theme park view side) and we had nightmare experience trying to get our kids to sleep before midnight with the not particularly soundproofed windows.

If you’re going to be at the parks until midnight either way, I recommend it. The walk is a little further than the courtyard to the main entry plaza but you can walk to the Toy Story lot and take the shuttle from there…or you could the last time we stayed there in 2022.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I am now so invested in your decision, you will need to report back, lol. This has helped me decided to look at booking courtyard for our next trip instead of the JW. So thanks for all the discussion!

You won’t regret that decision. The JW is nice if it’s just my husband and I, but my kids love a good pool. While the pool area at the JW is beautiful, it is also on the north east side of the building and the building’s towers block the sunlight a good portion of the day. The pool is heated to a temperature that is okay for myself to stay in it for a longer period of time, but our youngest (he was 1 1/2 last time we stayed there) ended up with blue lips and chattering teeth (but also throwing a fit about being forced out of the pool) after being in the water for 15 minutes. And there is no hot tub! I’ll never understand why they didn’t put one in, there is room for one. The rooms do have huge soaking tubs so we ended up filling that up and letting our youngest go “swimming” in there. But we love the Courtyard and have found the level of service we receive there to be the same as the JW.