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.

 

[ten822]

Hi! That is A LOT of money for 4 nights. But we stayed in a 1-bedroom villa in January, so I thought I'd let you know what we thought about it. We LOVED it!

It is definitely the nicest place we have ever stayed at on a Disney trip. The queen Murphy bed is so much better than a sofa bed. We did laundry...in our villa. So convenient. Having 2 bathrooms was amazing. And the balcony, full kitchen, huge dining table...so much space.

We definitely utilized the kitchen. I had an Amazon Fresh delivery arrive between 2:00-4:00 on our arrival day. We got a full case of water, milk (for coffee & cereal), bread, bagels, cream cheese, deli meats, sliced cheese, cereal, lots of fruit and baby carrots. We had breakfast (including coffee) in our villa every morning. And my husband (who doesn't like to eat big restaurant dinners) usually had a sandwich and some fruit for dinner. So that was very convenient and a bit of a money-saver.

I'm really glad that we stayed there when we had the chance. Because I'm sure that those villas will sell-out in the next year or so. We also used a Disney Visa Discount which was a huge savings. I'm not sure if there are any promotions for your dates, but you can call and ask if any discounts can be applied to your reservation.

We have stayed on Harbor and down on Katella. And I would do it again, depending on the circumstances. But we loved our stay in the 1-bedroom villa.

I'm in a similar situation and considering changing from HoJo-guaranteed connecting rooms. This is so we get 2 bathrooms and the teens get their own beds. I am tempted to switch to DLH one bed villa but I am worried about the Murphy bed but more importantly the pull down twin that my 17 yr old son would sleep on! Are the pull downs good enough?? Price difference isn't crazy but I don't want to hear my teen complain lol

 

[Pluto468]

I'm in a similar situation and considering changing from HoJo-guaranteed connecting rooms. This is so we get 2 bathrooms and the teens get their own beds. I am tempted to switch to DLH one bed villa but I am worried about the Murphy bed but more importantly the pull down twin that my 17 yr old son would sleep on! Are the pull downs good enough?? Price difference isn't crazy but I don't want to hear my teen complain lol

The pull downs at GCH were super comfortable. I actually slept on that instead of the queen bed because the mattress was firmer. My 6ft teen has slept on the pull down beds at DLH and found them quite cozy.

 

[katyringo]

I would choose DLH every time if I could afford it every time.

Have not stayed at courtyard... but you said three kids and that seals the deal for me. You also mentioned car seats which makes me think they are younger... You will have better service at DLH and with the age of your kids you could really enjoy an empty fantasy land during early entry..